Autokrator

Autokrator Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

1 Gameboard (medieval map)
54 Battle Cards
4 Wooden Pawns (Kings)
4 Wooden Pawns (Generals)
4 Wooden Pawns (Admirals)
2 Wooden Cylinders (indicators)
60 Octagons (Garrisons/indicators)
Rulebook

The Gameboard

The gameboard is a medieval map, divided into areas subject to players' control with their coats of arms, and neutral areas (without coats of arms).

Important: Bulgaria, Armenia, Asturias, and Hungary cannot be conquered by any player.

Preparation of the Game

A. Each player receives the following:

12 battle cards
1 wooden pawn (King)
1 wooden pawn (General)
1 wooden pawn (Admiral)
7 octagon pawns (used as Garrisons)
3 octagon pawns (used as life indicators)
3 octagon pawns (used as fighting point modifiers)
2 octagon pawns (used as score, treasury indicators).

B. Place the King and the General on your capital, and the Admiral on any owned area with a harbour.

C. Place the 3 life indicators in the maximum possible value on each military unit life track.

D. Place the treasury indicator on the treasury square 11.

E. Place the score indicators on the 0 space on the grading track.

F. Place the timeline indicator on the I space on the timeline track.

Duration of the Game

The game lasts for 5 rounds. Before the beginning of each round, players read the historical reference and the conditions which are set in the new round. The players then allocate their battle cards to the military units and the round begins.

The Capitals and Order of Play

1st. Saracens (capital: Fustat) 2nd. Byzantine Empire (capital: Constantinople) 3rd. Franks/H.R. Empire (capital: Aachen) 4th. Moors (capital: Tangier)

Military Units of the Game

Each player has 3 military units to use on his turn in any order:

The King

The King may perform one move and one attack in each round. He makes his move first and his attack afterwards. If the King makes his attack first then he cannot move in the current round.

The King can move to all adjacent mainland and coastal areas. For example, if the Saracen King is in Alexandria, then he can make one move to the adjacent mainland and coastal areas: Jerusalem, Fustat, Qattara, Cyrenaica, Creta or to Cyprus.

The King may attack enemy/neutral areas and enemy military units, in the same area. If the King loses a battle, he must retreat to any adjacent owned area he wants, and lose 1 of his 3 lives marked with the appropriate life indicator pawn. If the King loses a battle and the area which he lost doesn't border with any owned area, then he must retreat to his capital.

The General

The General may perform one of the following:

A: One move and one attack each round. He makes his move first and his attack afterwards. If the General makes his attack first then he cannot move in the current round.

B: Two movements each round but only between owned areas.

The General can move to all adjacent mainland and coastal areas like the King.

The General may attack enemy/neutral areas and enemy military units, in the same area. If the General loses a battle, he must retreat to any adjacent owned area that he wants (like the King), and lose 1 of his 4 lives marked with the appropriate life indicator pawn. If the General loses a battle and the area which he lost doesn't border with any owned area, then he must retreat to his capital, and lose 1 extra life.

The Admiral

The Admiral may perform one move and one attack each round. He makes his move first and his attack afterwards. If the Admiral makes his attack first then he cannot move in the current round.

The Admiral can move only between harbours of the appropriate colour. Harbours are depicted on the map with coloured anchors.

The Saracen and the Byzantine Admirals can move only between harbours with red anchors.

The Moors and Franks/Holy Roman Empire Admirals can move only between harbours with yellow anchors.

For example, if the Saracen Admiral is in Sidon then he can make one move to all the areas with a red anchor: Cyprus, Rhodos, Creta, Ephesos, Salonica, Corinth, Alexandria, Cyrenaica, Sicily, Apulia, Calabria or Tunis.

The Admiral may attack enemy/neutral areas and enemy military units, in the same area (harbour).

If the Admiral loses a battle he must retreat to any owned area (harbour) he wants, and lose 1 of his 4 lives, marked with the appropriate life indicator pawn. If the Admiral has no owned area (harbour) to retreat to, he is immediately removed from the game.

The Garrison

A player's Garrison represents all areas that bear his coat of arms. Whenever a player conquers a neutral or an enemy area, he places one of his Garrison's pawns to denote his occupation of the area. Garrisons do not attack and do not move, they are used only for defence. A Garrison has only one life. If lost in battle, a Garrison is put back to its player's supply and the player loses possessions of his defending area.

Movements and Attacks

In the examples below the way of movements and attacks is the same for all the military units, based on their abilities.

Important: The General and the King of the same player, cannot be together in the same area except their capital. For example if the Byzantine King is on Attalia, then the Byzantine General cannot enter or pass through Attalia.

Important: While rival military units are in the same area, there will be a battle between them.

Important: If the General, the King or the Admiral remained into an enemy area from the last round and there is only the Garrison, then they cannot move, and must fight with the Garrison during the current round to conquer the area.

1st Example

The Byzantines' General is in Antiochia, he makes a move and attacks Cyprus, which is a neutral area. First he moves into Cyprus and then fights to conquer it. If he wins, then his pawn remains in Cyprus and he places a Garrison (octagon pawn) to show that he owns that area.

If he loses the battle, then he loses one of his lives and retreats into any owned adjacent area that he wishes. In the example shown, he can retreat to Antiochia or to Attalia (owned areas adjacent to Cyprus).

2nd Example

The Byzantines' General is in Antiochia, he makes a move and attacks Aleppo, which is an enemy area with a coat of arms. First he moves into Aleppo and then fights with the Saracens' Garrison.

If he wins, then his pawn remains in Aleppo and he places his Garrison (octagon pawn) exactly on his opponent's coat of arms to show that he owns the area.

If he loses the battle, then he loses one of his lives and retreats to any owned adjacent area that he wishes. For example, he can retreat to Antiochia or to Edessa.

3rd Example

The Byzantines' General is in Antiochia, he makes a move and attacks Aleppo, which is an enemy area with a Saracen General. First he moves into Aleppo and then must fight with the Saracen General (he cannot fight the Garrison because there is the Saracen General).

If he wins, then his pawn remains in Aleppo, while his opponent retreats to any owned adjacent area that he wishes (in the example shown, his only choice is Damascus). Important: after the battle the area of Aleppo is still owned by the Saracen's Garrison. If he loses the battle, then he loses one of his lives and retreats to any owned adjacent area that he wishes. For example, he can retreat to Antiochia or to Edessa.

4th Example

The Byzantines' Admiral is in Ephesos, he makes a move and attacks Sidon, which is an enemy area with a Saracen King and a Saracen Admiral. First he moves into Sidon and then must choose between the Saracen King or the Saracen Admiral to fight (he cannot fight the Garrison because there are the Admiral and the King of the Saracens).

His choice in the example is to fight with the Saracen King. If he wins, then his pawn remains in Sidon, while his opponent retreats to any owned adjacent area that he wishes. Important: after the battle the area of Sidon is still owned by the Saracens. If he loses the battle, then he loses one of his lives and retreats to any owned area (harbour) that he wishes.

5th Example

The Saracens' King is in Damascus, he makes a move and attacks Antiochia, which is an enemy area with a Byzantine General. First he moves into Antiochia and then must fight with the Byzantine General (he cannot fight the Garrison). The Saracens' King wins the battle and the Byzantine General retreats to Attalia.

The Saracens' General is in Sidon, he makes a move and attacks Cyprus, which is an enemy area with a Byzantine King. First he moves into Cyprus and then must fight with the Byzantine King (he cannot fight the Garrison). The Saracens' General wins the battle and the Byzantine King retreats to Antiochia (area still owned by the Byzantine's Garrison), he cannot retreat to Attalia because there is the Byzantine General.

The Byzantine King on his turn, must fight with the Saracen King (he cannot move).

Life Indicators for the Military Units

Life indicators are placed in the maximum numeral positions on the military unit life track in the game setup. Every time a military unit loses a battle, move its corresponding life indicator one space to the right. If a military unit's life indicator reaches 0, the unit is out of the game.

The small numbers in the bottom/right area of the squares of the life tracks (King, General, Admiral) are the fighting point modifiers of the military units. We will see how we use them below.

Army Administration - Battle Cards

Each player receives 12 battle cards bearing his coat of arms during the game setup. The player must allocate the cards strategically in sets of 3 cards to his 4 military units. The 4 battle cards with the crown, the knight, the ship and the tower are always attached to the military units shown: King, General, Admiral and Garrison respectively.

Each battle card shows: the Army (e.g. Archers), the Number of Army (e.g. 3.000), the Training (e.g. 1 sword), and the Fighting Points per battlefield.

Each player can change his battle cards before the beginning of a new round. A player must take caution when and how to allocate his cards, because 2 or more of the same cards (armies) cannot be allocated to one military unit. For example, the King always has the cavalry card and cannot have another cavalry card in his 3 battle cards.

The deck of 6 neutral battle cards

These cards are used for the defence of the Neutral Areas and for the attacks (raids) of the Neutral Generals. The player representing the Neutral Area or the Neutral General, draws randomly 3 battle cards from the neutral deck for this battle. The battle then proceeds using the normal rules. After the battle, return the 3 battle cards to their deck and shuffle.

The Battle

Stage A

The attacker must choose 2 of the 5 available battlefields where he wishes the battle to take place, based on his 3 battle cards.

In the example, the Admiral of the Byzantines (attacker) has Archers (default card), Cavalry and Infantry, and based on his higher fighting points he selects the Ambush (5-2-4) and the Plains (4-5-2).

Stage B

The defending player, the Saracen General in this example, must now choose between the 2 areas selected by the attacker, Plain and Ambush. The Saracen General has Infantry (default card), Mercenaries and Archers, and thus he chooses the Ambush because it has higher fighting points for him than the Plain. He places the battle indicator pawn there.

Stage C

The attacker first places his 3 battle cards face down side by side in any order he wishes. Also he must place the extra positive or negative fighting point modifier indicators that his Admiral has, as we will see below.

After the attacker, the defender player then places his 3 battle cards in any order he wishes, side to side face down, opposite to the cards of the attacker. Also he must setup the extra positive or negative fighting point modifier indicators that his General has, as we will see. The battle is a fight between the opposite cards.

For every military unit that has fighting point modifiers, the player must place the corresponding modifier indicators on the cards. In the example above, the Byzantine Admiral has 4 lives and therefore -2 (negative) fighting point modifiers. He chooses to place the 2 fighting point modifiers on the cavalry and archers cards. These two cards suffer one lost fighting point in the current battle. The Saracen General has 4 lives and therefore -1 (negative) fighting point modifier, he chooses to place the 1 fighting point modifier on the mercenaries card and thus the mercenaries would suffer one lost fighting point in the current battle.

Important:

2 or more fighting modifiers may not be assigned on the same card.
1 positive fighting modifier may be added to a score of 5 to make it 6.
1 negative fighting modifier can be assigned to a score of 1 to make it 0.

Stage D

The players reveal their cards on the Ambush battlefield:

1st combat: Cavalry (2-1) 1 vs Infantry 4: The Saracen General wins this combat.
2nd combat: Archers (5-1) 4 vs Archers 5: The Saracen General wins this combat.
3rd combat: Infantry 4 vs Mercenaries (2-1) 1: The Byzantine Admiral wins this combat.

For each combat won, a player gains 1 point. The score is now 2 to 1 in favour of the Saracens.

Military training (swords) and total number of armies is now taken into account:

Regarding military training, the Byzantine Admiral has 4 swords on his cards against 2 of the Saracen General, giving a point to the Byzantine Admiral, thus making the score 2-2.

Regarding the number of armies, the Byzantine Admiral has an army of 13.000 on his cards against 12.000 of the Saracen General, giving a point to the Byzantine Admiral, thus making the final score 3-2. In the example above the Byzantine Admiral is the winner.

Important: In the case of a draw, the attacker wins the battle.

Battle against Neutral Area

The role of the neutral area is undertaken by the player on the right of the attacker. The player (defender) who is representing the neutral area, draws at random 3 battle cards from the neutral deck. The battle then proceeds using the normal rules.

Important: The defending areas/garrisons have the below fighting point modifiers in battle:

All the neutral areas have 0 fighting point modifiers.
All the areas with one coat of arms have +1 fighting point modifier.
All the areas with two coats of arms have +2 fighting point modifiers.
All the Capitals have +3 fighting point modifiers.
All the areas with a Garrison octagon pawn have +1 fighting point modifier.

Treasury

Every player has 11 gold coins to use as he wishes for the following actions (every time he spends a gold coin then his indicator moves down one):

Espionage (1 gold coin): Before starting the procedure of the battle, the defending player can see the three battle cards of his opposing military unit. The course of the battle remains the same.
King's Campaign (3 gold coins): The player whose turn it is to play, may first make two moves and then attack once, with his King in the current round. Important: The King cannot pass through enemy/neutral areas and areas with his General.
General's Campaign (3 gold coins): The player whose turn it is to play, may first make two moves and then attack once, with his General in the current round. Important: The General cannot pass through enemy/neutral areas and areas with his King.
Admiral's Campaign (2 gold coins): The player whose turn it is to play can move and attack any harbour on the map with his Admiral.
Raid (4 gold coins): The player whose turn it is to play may carry out a raid with the Neutral Generals of Asturias and Armenia. The player who carries out the Raid takes the role of the Neutral General. The Neutral General has the right to attack an area indicated by the arrows once. If the Neutral General wins the battle, then the defender loses 2vp immediately in the grading scale, but doesn't lose his area. The Neutral Generals fight by pulling at random 3 cards from the neutral battle cards deck, but always have +1 fighting point modifier in battle. If the General or the King of the defending player is in this area, then the player cannot carry out Raid. The players may perform only 1 raid per round. Important: The Byzantines and the Saracens can activate only the Neutral General of Armenia, and the Franks and Moors can activate only the Neutral General of Asturias.
Truce (2 gold coins): Two players can make a truce by each paying 2 gold coins. Each of the two players can break the truce any time they want, by paying (only the one who breaks it) 1 gold coin. In truce the two players cannot attack each other but they may carry out raids.
Negotiations: The players are free to negotiate their gold coins each other. For example, when the Moors play, the Byzantines can give an amount of gold coins from their treasury to Moors' treasury, in order to attack an area of the Franks, or to activate the Neutral General of Asturias etc.

Important: The players cannot have more than 11 gold coins in their treasury.

Victory Points

A) When a player conquers a neutral area, he wins +1vp immediately to the grading scale.

B) When a player conquers an enemy area with one coat of arms, he wins +1vp immediately to the grading scale, and adds +1 gold coin to his treasury.

C) When a player conquers an enemy area with a pawn (octagon) of garrison, he wins +1vp immediately to the grading scale, and adds +1 gold coin to his treasury.

D) When a player conquers an enemy area with two coats of arms, wins +2vp immediately to the grading scale.

E) In each battle between rival military units (except the Garrison), if the attacker wins, the defender player loses -1vp immediately to the grading scale and -1 gold coin from his treasury.

F) If a player takes out of the game any opponent's King, he wins +3vp immediately to the grading scale.

G) If a player takes out of the game any opponent's General, he wins +2vp immediately to the grading scale.

H) If a player takes out of the game any opponent's Admiral, he wins +1vp immediately to the grading scale.

Victory Points at the end of the game (end of 5th round)

A) The players count their areas, in order to see how many victory points they have won or have lost based on the next table:

Areas	1-11	12	13	14	15	16	17+
Vp	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2	+3

B) The players count their gold coins (treasury), in order to see how many victory points they have won or have lost based on the next table:

Gold	0-1	2-3	4	5	6	7+
Vp	-3	-2	-1	0	+1	+2

Important: On the grading scale, no player can score under 0 (zero).

Winner

The winner is the player who has the most victory points on the grading scale at the end of the 5th round. In the case of a draw, the winner is the player who has the most lives firstly of his King, secondly of his General and thirdly of his Admiral.

The game ends immediately before the end of the 5th round if a player conquers any enemy capital.

Historical References and Round Conditions

Round I

The Battle of Yarmouk 636 A.D. was a major battle between the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate and the armies of the East Roman-Byzantine Empire. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August 636, near the Yarmouk River. The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory which permanently ended Byzantine rule south of Anatolia. The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history, and it marked the first great wave of Islamic conquests after the death of Muhammad, heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the Christian Levant.

The Battle of Guadalete 711 A.D. between the Christian Visigoths of Hispania under their king, Roderic, and an invading force of Umayyad Caliphate under Tariq ibn Ziyad. The battle was significant as the culmination of a series of Arab-Berber attacks and the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Hispania. In the battle Roderic probably lost his life, with many members of the Visigothic nobility, opening the way for the capture of the Visigothic capital of Toledo.

In this round the Saracens and Moors add +1 fighting point modifier to their Admiral.

Round II

The Battle of Toulouse 721 A.D. was a victory for a Frankish army led by Duke Odo of Aquitaine over an Umayyad army besieging the city of Toulouse, and led by the governor of Al-Andalus, Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani. The victory hindered the spread of Umayyad control westward from Narbonne into Aquitaine.

The Battle of Akroinon 740 A.D. between the Arabs lead by 'Abdallah al-Battal and al-Malik ibn Su'aib, and the Byzantines lead by Emperor Leo III the Isaurian and his son, the future Constantine V. The battle resulted in a decisive Byzantine victory, halting Arab penetration of Anatolia.

In this round the Byzantines and Franks/H.R. Empire add +1 fighting point modifier to their General.

Round III

In the 3rd round the players do not allocate their battle cards to their military units, they keep the same cards from the 2nd round and must choose one of their military units (King or General or Admiral) to use it, the other two military units are only defending.

Round IV

The Moors attack France 720 A.D. The Moors did not rest with the conquest of Iberian Peninsula. Their Holy War, forced them ever on and in 720, they crossed the Pyrenees and invaded Gothic Gaul (France), seizing several towns in the south of that country.

The Battle of Tours 732 A.D. It is also called the Battle of Poitiers. Frankish and Burgundian united forces under Charles Martel, against an army of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus. The Franks were victorious, and Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi was killed. The Frankish victory at Tours, along with subsequent campaigns in 736 and 739, effectively stopped the advance of Muslim forces from Iberia allowing the further development of the Christian states in Western Europe.

In this round all the players must remove 1 life from their General or from their Admiral.

Round V

Capture of Crete 824-828 A.D. The island was conquered by the Saracens, who landed on the island in 824 and quickly established an independent state there. Numerous Byzantine attempts to recover the island failed disastrously, and for the approximately 140 years of its existence, the emirate (called Iqritiya) was one of the major foes of Byzantium. Crete commanded the sea lanes of the Eastern Mediterranean and functioned as a forward base and safe haven for corsair fleets from the Muslim world that ravaged the Byzantine-controlled shores of the Aegean Sea. The emirate was brought to an end by Nikephoros Phokas, who launched a huge campaign in 961 A.D.

The Battle of Lalakaon 863 A.D. between the Byzantines led by emperor Michael III's uncle, Petronas the Patrician, and the Arabs led by the emir of Melitene, Omar al-Aqta. Omar al-Aqta was able to brush off the initial Byzantine resistance against his invasion and reach the shores of the Black Sea. The Byzantines however mobilized their forces, and the Arab army was encircled near the river Lalakaon. The subsequent battle ended in a complete Byzantine victory and the death of the emir on the field, and was followed by a successful Byzantine counter-offensive across the border. The Byzantine victories proved decisive: the main threats to the Byzantine borderlands were eliminated, and the era of Byzantine ascendancy in the East, which would culminate in the great conquests of the 10th century, had begun.

In this round the players cannot carry out Raids and cannot make Negotiations.

Mini Expansion Rules

The 6 battle cards of the Neutral Generals

These cards are used for the attacks (raids) of the Neutral Generals. The player representing the Neutral General, have always attached the Cavalry battle card and draws randomly 2 battle cards from the deck. The battle then proceeds using the normal rules. After the battle, return the 2 battle cards to their deck and shuffle.

The 6 battle cards of the Neutral Areas

These cards are used for the defence of the Neutral Areas. The player representing the Neutral Area, draws randomly 3 battle cards from the deck. The battle then proceeds using the normal rules. After the battle, return the 3 battle cards to their deck and shuffle.

Income

Before the beginning of every new round (except the first one) all the players add +2 gold coins to their treasury.

Important: The players cannot have more than 11 gold coins in their treasury.

Rules for 2 Players Game

The game can be played by 2 players: Saracens (1st) vs Byzantines (2nd) or Franks (1st) vs Moors (2nd).

The players one by one (in every round), must use one of their military units as in the example below:

First Round:

the Saracens use their General, the Byzantines use their King,
the Saracens use their Admiral, the Byzantines use their General,
the Saracens use their King, the Byzantines use their Admiral,
and the 1st round ends.

You may use your military units in any order that you like.

When you use a military unit, place it on its side on the board, to remember which military units have been used this round. At the end of the round, you stand all your military units upright ready for the next round.

Important: This rule can be used in the 4 players game, for more speed up gameplay.

The players cannot use the campaign of the Admiral.

The players cannot make a truce.

The players cannot conquer areas from the other two factions but they may enter and pass through without making a battle.