Beyond the Gates of Antares: The Dice Game
Beyond the Gates of Antares: The Dice Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- 6 Blue Skirmish dice
- 4 Black Fate dice
- 12 Yellow Control dice
- 5 Headquarters faction cards
- 1 Gate System card
How To Win
Gain control of the Gate by scoring the most victory points by claiming yellow and black dice before the last yellow Control die is taken and the Gate falls.
Players must roll six blue Skirmish dice each turn to see the outcome of their offensive actions, but be wary of the fates of battle as they can turn the course of your well planned offensive!
Game Layout
There are two areas on the table:
- The Gate System card: this is the card where the yellow Control dice are initially placed within reach of all players.
- Army Headquarters: a faction-specific card placed in front of each player that holds all Control dice logged in with the victory results scored.
Logging In Dice
When a player has finished rolling their dice, the final result will tell him or her the number of yellow Control dice they have earned this round.
The player takes those dice from the Gate System card and after rolling them, he or she keeps the result showing on the Data Log section of the Headquarters card (the 1-point, 2-point and 3-point Control faces) Black Fate dice earned this way are also kept in the Headquarters card until they are used.
Set Up
Arrange the yellow Control dice on the Gate System card: this represents the planetary system where the Gate over which you are fighting for is located. The number of yellow Control dice varies according to the number of players:
- 2 players: 9 Control dice
- 3 players: 10 Control dice
- 4 players: 11 Control dice
- 5 players: 12 Control dice
The player who has most recently opened a gate is the first player and starts the game.
With the exception of the first player, each player starts the game with one black Fate die logged in their Headquarters.
Prepare the six blue Skirmish dice to be rolled in front of the first player's Headquarters. Lastly, place any remaining black Fate dice on the table, within reach of all players.
Playing The Game
Starting with the first player and moving clockwise, each player rolls all 6 blue Skirmish dice to try to score as many Victory or Victory-and-Strike faces as possible.
Players may either keep the result scored or re-roll any number of blue Skirmish dice during their roll, however, players must keep at least one die from each roll. Once a die has been kept, it is placed on the Headquarters card. These dice cannot be re-rolled! The group of all blue Skirmish dice finally kept in the Headquarters is called the Offensive and represents the resources and forces used to attack the Gate System that turn.
When a player decides to stop rolling or cannot roll anymore, he or she counts the Victory or Victory-and-Strike faces and checks the chart below.
- One Victory face = Nothing
- Two Victory faces = Claim one Control die
- Three Victory faces = Claim a Fate die
- Four Victory faces = Claim two Control dice
- Five Victory faces = BUST! (turn ends, see below)
- Six Victory faces = Claim three Control dice OR two Fate dice
Note: For all game purposes, a Victory-and-Strike face equates to a Victory face and a Strike face. Players can apply both results.
Bust! - The offensive is routed - you have over-committed! If a player ever has exactly 5 Victory faces showing at any time, their turn immediately ends. The player busts, he or she cannot claim dice, NOR can they trigger their special actions with Strike - the entire turn is forfeit. "Miss a go".
Finally, pass the blue Skirmish dice clockwise, it is the next player's turn.
Claiming Control Dice
When a player claims one or more yellow Control dice from the Gate System, they are rolled to determine their effects.
- 1-point Control face - Worth 1 point at game end. Place the die on the Data Log space showing this face.
- 2-point Control face - Worth 2 points at game end. Place the die on the Data Log space showing this face.
- 3-point Control face - Worth 3 points at game end. Place the die on the Data Log space showing this face.
- Black Fate face - Return the yellow Control die to the Gate System and claim a black Fate die, either from the table or from another player if there are none available. Keep the black Fate die on your Headquarters.
Claiming Fate Dice
The black Fate dice are usually claimed from those available on the table. If there are no black Fate dice left, you must take one kept on another player's Headquarters. Each black Fate die a player has by the end of the game, is worth a 2-point Control face (two victory points).
Using Fate Dice
Players can take one or more black Fate dice from their Headquarters and put them into any player's hand before that player rolls or re-rolls the dice. Should more than one player wish to add Fate dice to a player's hand, make the decisions to add them or not clockwise from the rolling player. Any Fate dice results scored must be resolved before the Offensive is calculated.
- Sabotage: The player rolling this result, returns one of the logged in yellow Control dice with the highest value to the Gate System.
- Warped: The player rolling this result turns each of their previously claimed yellow Control dice to display one fewer control icon. So a result of a 3-point Control face will turn into a 2-point Control face, a result of a 2-point Control face will turn into a 1-point Control face and a result of a 1-point Control face will return the die to the pool.
- Routed: The player rolling this result must end their turn immediately, just like a Bust! (see page 3). All other Fate dice must first be resolved as normal before this effect.
Using Strike For Special Faction Traits
Each Headquarters card presents one or more faction-specific traits that can be used during the turn. Some of them are triggered by scoring a certain number of Strike or Victory faces by the end of the round.
Game End
When a player claims and logs in the last Control die from the Gate System, that player receives the Gate card and the game ends. Victory points are then calculated in the following way:
- Add together the 1-point, 2-point and 3-point Control faces from the Control dice logged in to score that number of victory points.
- Add two victory points for each unused Fate die kept in the Headquarters card.
- Add any 1-point, 2-point and 3-point Control faces awarded by the Gate card if claimed.
The player with the most victory points is the winner of the military campaign, controls the Gate and wins the game. In case of a tie, the player that claimed the Gate card is the winner.
Factions
Printed spellings "sociaties" and "reclutant" are corrected here; "knowns" is kept as printed.
Mighty space fleets battle to control the ancient and mysterious Gates of Antares - inter-dimensional wormholes that connect millions upon millions of worlds to the great Nexus of Antares. Each gateway takes us to a different solar system, perhaps a different galaxy, or even a different time. No one knowns the true extent of the Nexus - only that control of its gateways is the key to controlling entire worlds! The rival powers of Antarean space include embittered enemies and determined competitors, some human, others strangely alien, and yet more driven by implacable machine-intelligence.
- PanHuman Concord - The NuHu Mandarins of the Concord are but the living elements of an integrated machine intelligence - IMTel - that controls and directs untold millions of worlds. The military shard of the PanHuman Concord is the Concord Combined Command, the most advanced, most lavishly equipped and most deadly fighting force in Antarean space.
- Isorian Shard - The Senatex of the Isori encountered a mysterious alien race in ages past, and became both corrupted and enriched by inhuman technologies as a result. Once part of the PanHuman Concord, now the rival IMTel of these two societies has become incompatible, locking them into an unending war for domination.
- Algoryn Prosperate - Caught between dangerous and implacable rivals, the stalwart Algoryn fight to maintain their independence in a sector threatened by enemies upon all sides. Centuries of endless warfare have driven the Algoryn to develop a strongly militaristic society dominated by a determined warrior elite.
- Boromites - The Boromites are an itinerant race, wanderers amongst the Antarean nexus, a secretive people reluctant to be drawn into the powerful machine-driven societies that surround them. But behind their labour guilds and mining operations lies a sinister organisation the existence of which few even suspect.
- Ghar Empire - The Ghar are an ancient bio-engineered race created to fight a forgotten war at the dawn of time. Unable to divert from their primary goal, they continue to fight whomever and whatever they encounter, waging a ceaseless war of eradication with blind and bitter hatred. The Ghar will prevail!
Quick Reference
Victory faces (Playing The Game):
- One Victory face = Nothing
- Two Victory faces = Claim one yellow Control die
- Three Victory faces = Claim a black Fate die
- Four Victory faces = Claim two yellow Control dice
- Five Victory faces = BUST! (turn ends immediately)
- Six Victory faces = Claim three Control dice OR two Fate dice
Skirmish Dice: Victory, Strike, Victory and Strike (both results apply).
Fate Dice:
- Sabotaged - return one of the Control dice with the highest victory score to the Gate System
- Warped - turn all Control dice to show one less victory
- Routed - the turn ends immediately as if a Bust! had been rolled
Control Dice:
- 1-point face - Score one victory point at game end.
- 2-point face - Score two victory points at game end.
- 3-point face - Score three victory points at game end.
- Black Fate face - Log in one Fate die and return the Control die to the Gate System.
There is an almost infinite number of gates in the Antares universe that lead to different planetary systems. The Xilos Gate System being only one of them.
- When a player claims the Xilos Gate System card after logging in the last Control die, he or she scores one additional victory point at game end.
Look out for more Gate System cards in future expansions and promotional campaigns or visit www.warlordgames.com/gates-of-antares, for regular updates and downloadable Gate Systems.