Book of Mormon Battles Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Instructions for Play
  • Basic Play
  • Winning
  • Special Situations
    • Tie Battles
    • Too Many Power Cards
  • The Cards
  • Special Rules and Games
    • Rules for Young Players
    • Rules for a Shorter Game
  • Mounting Battles
  • Secret Weapon
  • Power Play
  • Spy's Trivia
  • Helpful Notes

Contents

• 56 Character Cards
  • 14 Gold Diamond cards
  • 14 Gold Oval cards
  • 14 Black Diamond cards
  • 14 Black Oval cards
• 16 Power Cards
  • 3 Faith cards
  • 3 Wickedness cards
  • 2 Battle cards
  • 2 Conversion cards
  • 2 Title of Liberty cards
  • 2 Secret Combination cards
  • 1 Stripling Warriors card
  • 1 Famine card
• 1 Instruction Booklet

Instructions for Play

Basic Play

1. Shuffle the cards and deal out the entire deck facedown. Each player now has an ARMY.
2. All players draw five cards from the top of their ARMY. This becomes the BATTALION.
3. From the BATTALION, each player chooses a CHARACTER card (or combination of cards if using a POWER card) and places the rest of the BATTALION facedown to the side.
4. When everyone is ready, all players take their chosen card(s) to battle by placing them faceup in the center, which becomes the battlefield.
5. The player with the card(s) having the highest value wins and takes all the cards from the battlefield. The winner places these cards faceup in a personal discard pile.
6. Each player then draws enough cards from the top of his ARMY to replenish the number in his BATTALION to five.
7. Return to step 3 and repeat.

Note: When a player's ARMY runs out, he shuffles his discard pile and places it facedown. It now becomes his ARMY.

Winning

The winner is the player who acquires all the other cards in battle. If a player only has a BATTALION (5 cards or fewer) left, he must play the card(s) for his attack and then lay the remaining cards facedown. If he loses the attack, the remaining cards are taken by the winner as the "spoils of war," and that player is done. He is then free to go to the kitchen and get some cookies.

Special Situations

Tie Battles

In the event of a tie, the highest single CHARACTER card of the tied players wins the battle.

Too Many Power Cards

If a player has 4 or more POWER cards in his hand, he must choose 2 and place them in his discard pile, then draw 2 more cards from the top of his ARMY.

The Cards

CHARACTER cards: Each card has a number value, a color (gold or black), and a shape (diamond or oval). CHARACTER cards are rated by point value first, then color (gold over black), and then shape (diamond over oval). For example: A gold oval 5000 beats a black oval 5000 but will be beaten by a gold diamond 5000.

POWER cards: POWER cards strengthen CHARACTER cards. They cannot be played individually.

• Faith: Multiply the original point value of any gold CHARACTER card under 1000 (100–900) by 10. For example, a 500 becomes a 5000.
• Wickedness: Multiply the original point value of any black CHARACTER card under 1000 (100–900) by 10. For example, a 500 becomes a 5000.
• Battle: Combine any CHARACTER cards in your BATTALION, regardless of color, and add 2000 to their combined point value. For example, a 100, a 700, and a 2000 combined with a Battle card have a point value of 4800.
• Conversion: Play this with any black CHARACTER card under 1000 (100–900) to change it to a gold CHARACTER card and add an extra 1000 to the card value. For example, a black diamond 300 becomes a gold diamond 1300.
• Title of Liberty: Combine two gold CHARACTER cards under 1000 (100–900) and add 5000 to their combined value. For example, a gold 500 and a gold 200 combine with this card for a total of 5700.
• Secret Combination: Combine two black CHARACTER cards under 1000 (100–900) and add 5000 to their combined value. For example, a black 500 and a black 200 would combine with this card for a total of 5700.
• Stripling Warriors: This card turns the tides of a battle. Instead of the highest point value winning, the lowest gold card in the battle wins.
• Famine: This card eliminates the effect of any other power cards played. The highest single CHARACTER card in the battle wins and takes all cards from the battle.

Special Rules and Games

These rules can be combined.

Rules for Young Players

Remove all the POWER cards from the deck, then shuffle and deal out the CHARACTER cards. Each player draws the top card from his ARMY and lays it down faceup. The player with the highest card wins and takes the other players' cards and puts them in his discard pile. When a player's ARMY runs out, he shuffles the cards in his discard pile, places them facedown, and they become his ARMY. The winner is the one with the most cards when you stop playing.

Rules for a Shorter Game

Set a timer for 15 minutes (or the desired time of play). The player with the most cards when the timer goes off wins. In case of a tie, tied players shuffle their CHARACTER cards and draw one card randomly for battle.

Mounting Battles

In this version, battles are determined strictly by point value, not by color or shape. In case of a tie, tied players place the top three cards from their ARMY—without looking at them—facedown on the battlefield, then choose a new CHARACTER card from their BATTALION and place it down for battle. If a player has no CHARACTER cards in his BATTALION, he must put two POWER cards in his discard pile and draw two new cards from his ARMY. If he doesn't have enough cards to play a tie, he surrenders all his remaining cards to the other player.

Secret Weapon

This is a slightly more advanced variation of the original game because it allows a player to decide what card(s) to play based on what other players have laid down.

After the cards are dealt out and each player has 5 in hand, the player to the dealer's left begins the battle by laying down his chosen card(s). The CHARACTER card(s) must be laid faceup but the POWER card will be laid facedown. Players continue clockwise until the last player enters the battle. When the final player has laid down his cards, each player in turn reveals his POWER card (if any) by turning it faceup. The winner gathers the cards as usual. In each subsequent battle, the next player in the circle goes first.

Power Play

This is a variation of the original game that brings more POWER cards into play and makes average scores higher.

Before each battle, the remaining cards in each BATTALION are placed facedown in the player's discard pile. Each time a player takes a turn, five new cards are drawn to form a new BATTALION.

Spy's Trivia

Using just the CHARACTER cards, shuffle and divide the deck evenly. One player starts with the top card and reads the clues about the character in the character description section of the card. The player who guesses first gets the card. Players do not need to wait for the complete description to be read. If there is a tie (or just to make the game more challenging), ask for the book of scripture or chapter where this character can be found. Whoever guesses first or closest wins the card. If no one knows the character, the reader keeps the card to add to his winnings and play proceeds clockwise. The game ends when all cards have been read. The best spy is the one who knows the characters the best and thus has the most cards.

Helpful Notes

If you want to become more familiar with the Book of Mormon characters in this game, announce the names of your CHARACTER cards in each battle. For example, "I attack with Zeezrom!" or "I combine Pachus and Seantum in a secret combination!"

The pronunciation of the names can be found in the Pronunciation Guide in the back of your Book of Mormon, right before the index. When children (and adults) feel comfortable saying these names, they will more easily get to know the characters.

Some character names have superscript numbers (e.g., Coriantumr³). Many people in the Book of Mormon have the same name. These numbers are used in the index to distinguish between different individuals.