Border Reivers: Anglo-Scottish Border Raids, 1513-1603 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1.0 Introduction
  • 1.1 Key Definitions
• 2.0 Components
  • Component List
  • 2.1 Map
    • 2.1.1 Scottish Borders Map
    • 2.1.2 Livestock Boxes
    • 2.1.3 Winter Combat Area
  • 2.2 Card Decks Display
  • 2.3 Victory Track
  • 2.4 Family Sheets
  • 2.5 Permanent Defense Tokens
  • 2.6 Defense Tokens
  • 2.7 Livestock
    • 2.7.1 Cattle
    • 2.7.2 Sheep
    • 2.7.3 Horses
  • 2.8 Summer Cards
  • 2.9 Event Cards
  • 2.10 Warden Cards
  • 2.11 Target Cards
  • 2.12 Attack Indicators
  • 2.13 Cubes
  • 2.14 Trait Cards (Advanced Rule)
  • 2.15 Unused Components
• 3.0 Setup
  • 3.1 Changes for 2- or 4-Player Games
  • 3.2 Family Selection
  • 3.3 Family Sheets
  • 3.4 Map
  • 3.5 Randomization Cups
  • 3.6 Cards
• 4.0 Sequence of Play
• 5.0 Summer
  • 5.1 Recruit
  • 5.2 Play
    • 5.2.1 Defense Tokens
    • 5.2.2 Cattle
    • 5.2.3 Sheep
    • 5.2.4 Horses
    • 5.2.5 Permanent Defenses
    • 5.2.6 Bastle
  • 5.3 Hold
  • 5.4 Discard
  • 5.5 Default Actions
  • 5.6 Sixth Round
  • 5.7 Abbot of Kelso/Keeper of Tynedale
• 6.0 Autumn
  • 6.1 Economic Update
  • 6.2 Draw Events
  • 6.3 Place Defenses
• 7.0 Winter
  • 7.1 Determine Order
  • 7.2 Select Target Card
  • 7.3 Place Notoriety
  • 7.4 Select Final Target
  • 7.5 Compute Combat Dice
  • 7.6 Resolve Combats
  • 7.7 Recalculate Turn Order
  • 7.8 Repeat for Second Combat
  • 7.9 Battle Awards
• 8.0 Spring
  • 8.1 Reset
  • 8.2 Score VP
  • 8.3 Bonus Actions
• 9.0 End Game Scoring
  • 9.1 Livestock Scores
  • 9.2 Selecting the Winner
  • 9.3 Breaking Ties
• 10.0 Advanced Rules
  • 10.1 Traits (4- or 6-Player Game Only)
  • 10.2 Wildcard Target Card
  • 10.3 Balanced Summer Card Passing (3- or 6-Player Game Only)
• Example of Play
• Border Reiver Names
• Key Terms Index

1.0 Introduction

IMPORTANT NOTE: This set of rules is used only when there are two or more players. If you are playing the game solo, put this booklet back in the box; you won't be using it. Use the "Solo Rulebook" instead.

Multi-player Border Reivers is a game for up to six players that places you in the midst of the raids and battles that occurred along the border between England and Scotland during the 16th century (from the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513 CE to the unification of these kingdoms by James I in 1603 CE). Each player leads one or two of the major families of the Borders in an attempt to become the most notorious Border Reiver in the land.

1.1 Key Definitions

Family

A Family is one of the most prestigious kinship groups (known as a "grayne" in the Borders region) that fought for control of the Borders during this historical period. Each Family is based in a geographic region called a March.

Player

A player is one of the human participants in the game. When playing with 4 or 6 players, each player controls a single Family. If playing with 2 or 3 players, each player controls two of the Families. Games with 2 or 4 players also must remove the Grey and Hume Families from play.

Players	Families Controlled	Families Removed
2	2	Grey, Hume
3	2	None
4	1	Grey, Hume
6	1	None

2.0 Components

"In an attempt to impose some degree of law and order on what had become an anarchic society, both kingdoms had agreed to divide their Border territories into East, West and Middle Marches and appointed wardens and keepers to govern and police them. Between the west marches of each kingdom, however, was a narrow strip of territory known as the Debateable Land. Although both kingdoms hotly contested ownership of this small piece of ground, neither of them was prepared to take responsibility for the crimes of the inhabitants."

Strongholds of the Border Reivers: Fortifications of the Anglo-Scottish Border 1296-1603 by Keith Durham

The game takes place on a 22" x 34" map of the Borders in the 16th century. The map is divided into the six Border Marches, administrative districts (established by the treaty in 1249 CE between Henry III of England and Alexander III of Scotland) that served as a buffer zone between the two warring kingdoms. Each player takes responsibility for building the strength and the defenses of their March(es), furthering their ability to raid other players and protect their holdings. Detailed information about map elements and other game components is provided in this section of the rulebook.

NOTE: All terms defined in this section (March, Farm Region, Town, etc.) appear capitalized throughout the rulebook so players can know at a glance which items are explained here (in case they need to refer back to this section at a later time). A full index of these key terms (and the sections where they are defined) is provided at the end of this rulebook.

Component List

A complete game of Border Reivers contains:

• 1 Mounted Map (22"×34")
• 136 Main Deck Cards
• 60 Mini-Deck Cards
• 90 Wooden Cubes
• 60 Wooden Sheep Meeples
• 42 Wooden Horse Meeples
• 2 Countersheets
• 1 Multi-Player Rulebook (this manual)
• 1 Solo Rulebook
• 1 Book of Historical Notes
• 6 Family Sheets (8½"×11")
• 6 Reference Charts (8½"×5.5")
• 1 Card Decks Display (8½"×11")
• 1 Victory Point Track (8½"×11")
• 20 six-sided dice

2.1 Map

The game map shows the principal sites of the Anglo-Scottish border region in the 16th century. To one side of this main play area are six boxes used to help track combats.

2.1.1 Scottish Borders Map

The main section of the map shows the border region and contains six Marches and the Debateable Land. Embedded within each March are a number of regions and boxes, all described below.

Marches

Marches are surrounded by thick brown borders, with a darker line along the border between England and Scotland.

Each March contains:

• 1 Notoriety Track
• 4 Farm Regions
• 4 Permanent Defense sites
• 1 Town (with a Gaol)
• 1 Family Seat (with Feud box)
• 1 Battlefield

Each March serves as the "Home March" for a specific family. Marches are often referred to with a three-letter abbreviation, and each family/march pairing is assigned a specific color.

March Name	Family	Abbreviation
English West March	Dacre	EWM
English Middle March	Fenwick	EMM
English East March	Grey	EEM
Scottish West March	Maxwell	SWM
Scottish Middle March	Kerr	SMM
Scottish East March	Hume	SEM

Debateable Land

The Debateable Land sits between the English and Scottish West Marches. This special case March contains only a Notoriety Track and 1 Farm Region. Since it is disputed territory, ungoverned by either kingdom, Raids here are undefended (until the Summer Card Scots' Dyke is played). The Debateable Land is a March for Notoriety tracking and scoring only; not for any other purpose. Additionally, it is never considered to be a part of England or Scotland.

Notoriety Tracks

Each March (including the Debateable Land) has a track to record the current level of Notoriety each Family enjoys with the people of that March. The "3" space is highlighted to indicate the initial Notoriety level of each Family in their Home March. Cubes from the Families in the game are advanced along these tracks as they gain Notoriety during play. The Families in first or second place on these tracks are awarded VP at the end of each turn and extra dice when making attacks in this March.

Farm Regions

The four named, irregularly-shaped regions that appear within each March are Farm Regions. Farm Regions may contain Sheep, which increase the economic value of the region but also make it a juicier target for Raids by enemy players. Each Farm Region can be defended by the 1 to 3 adjacent Permanent Defense sites and by placing a Defense Token in the box with the green border and shepherdess symbol.

Permanent Defenses

Each March has four sites for Permanent Defenses marked with defensive tower symbols: one of the four is a castle with arrows extending in each cardinal direction; the other three are simpler towers known as Peels. Permanent Defense Summer Cards trigger the activation of these defenses which is shown by placing the counter with the matching name over the printed symbol.

CASTLE GARRISON: Activating a castle with a defensive garrison provides two defense dice that protect against Raids on the two adjacent Farm Regions.

PEEL: Activating a Peel provides one defense die protecting against Raids on the two adjacent Farm Regions.

Towns

The box with a Gaol in each March is its Town—the municipal seat where captured reivers are retained. The Town contains a Gaol box with a handcuff symbol where Cubes from other Families are stored when they have had reivers captured in Raids on this March. A second box with a militia symbol is present to hold a Defense token allocated to protect against Gaolbreak attacks. Two Towns on the map (Carlisle and Berwick) are Walled Towns, as indicated by an extra gray box and die symbol around their Gaol; players controlling such a March roll 1 extra Defense die against Gaolbreaks.

Family Seat

The box with a gray-roofed tower house in each March is its Family Seat which represents the ancestral castle of the family in charge of this March. The Family Seat contains a "Feuds with" box. Cubes from other families are stored here if the owner of this March stole Livestock from those families. A second box with a militia symbol is also present to hold a Defense token allocated to protect against Feud attacks.

Battlefield

The final element present in each March is a card-sized, rectangular battlefield where an important military action occurred between English and Scottish armies during the Border Reiver period. Each Battle may occur once during the game and is triggered when its corresponding Event Card (2.9) is drawn.

2.1.2 Livestock Boxes

Near each March's Notoriety track are three boxes used by players to store their Horses, Cattle, and Defense Tokens. Players must always display the Cattle owned by the family—as well as any Horses not allocated to a current attack—in these boxes so the other players can review that family's capabilities. When not in use during Autumn and Winter, Defense Tokens are stored face down in their box in a manner so other players can count how many this family possesses but cannot see what they are.

PLEASE NOTE: Animal "meeples" may vary slightly in appearance from those shown in this manual.

2.1.3 Winter Combat Area

To one side of the map is the Winter Combat Area, which serves as a playaid helping players through each half of Winter. This area includes six ordered, card-sized boxes, one for each family to use when they designate the Target Card they have allocated for each attack. Section 7.0 provides full detail on using these boxes.

2.2 Card Decks Display

The Border Reiver Card Decks playaid holds the cards (2.8, 2.9, 2.10, 2.11) and warden tokens (2.6) that are drawn or discarded during play. Some of the piles of cards on this deck may be reviewable, as detailed below:

EVENT DECK: Face-down deck of Event cards that have not yet come into play (2.9). This pile cannot be reviewed by the players (Exception: The top two cards can be peeked at by a player who recruits the Warden Alexander Hume.)

EVENT DISCARDS: Face-up discard pile of Event Cards from previous turns. Any cards in this pile are effectively out-of-play; these discards remain accessible to the players, if they wish to review the events that have occurred.

TARGET DISCARDS: Face-up discard pile of Target (2.11) and Warden (2.10) cards expended by players. Any cards in this pile are effectively out-of-play; these discards remain accessible to the players, if they wish to review the targets that have been selected.

SUMMER CARDS OUT-OF-PLAY: Face-up pile of Summer Cards (2.8) that are now out-of-play because they were Played (5.2) or a newly Recruited (5.1) card knocked them out of the game. Cards in this pile have been removed from the game and you are not allowed to review them (since this just slows play down without giving players any particularly relevant information). You may want to put the Day of Truce Summer Card on the top of this pile if it is played on Turn 1 or 2 since recruitment of a Warden later in the game may allow this card to reenter play.

SUMMER CARDS DISCARDS: Face-down discard pile of Summer Cards that were Discarded (5.4) and may reenter play later as the result of the Offices Abbot of Kelso and Keeper of Tynedale, as a consequence of the Double Cross Summer Card, or if selected by the family in last place during Spring. These cards may be reviewed only when you have triggered one of these occurrences and you are about to put one of these cards back into play.

2.3 Victory Track

A separate cardstock card contains the track used to show each family's current Victory Point (VP) total using one of their Cubes. Families who have scored 100 or more VP should place a second Cube in the "+100" box to the right of the track to show that their score is 100 plus the total shown by the first Cube. Families ranked near the bottom in VP receive extra actions in the Spring at the end of Turns 1 and 2. VP order is also used to establish the Winter turn order on Turns 2 and 3.

2.4 Family Sheets

The current possessions of each family are tracked on their Family Sheet. All six Family Sheets are identical, only differing in the family name, crest, and color.

ATTACK DICE BOXES: The upper left corner of the sheet contains boxes used to compute the dice you are to roll in an upcoming attack (Section 7.0). Fill each of these boxes with either the die symbol counters or actual dice to represent how many rolls of each type you will be taking.

DEFENSE DICE BOXES: The upper right corner of the sheet contains four boxes used to compute the dice you are to roll in defense against an attack (Section 7.0).

SHEEP ON MAP TRACKER: The very top of each sheet houses a single Sheep on Map marker that starts the game at 4 and moves back and forth across the columns of this tracker when you add or lose Sheep from the map. Read down from the Sheep marker to see how many Horses and Held cards you can retain during Autumn, or how many Cattle you gain during Autumn. If you recruit one of two specific Offices (Abbot of Jedburgh or Prior of Hexham) a new marker reflecting the Office replaces the Sheep on Map marker and is offset two columns to the right.

SINGLE CARD DISPLAYS: The Reiver, Warden, Allied Grayne #1, Office #1, and Office #2 or Allied Grayne #2 boxes are each used to display a single card that the family has Recruited (5.1) during Summer. Cards in these boxes are always face up so all players can view the bonuses they provide.

HELD CARD BOX: The bottom right corner of each Family Sheet contains a facedown pile of any cards that the family has Held (5.3) but not yet used during Winter or Spring. Cards in this box may be held for more than 1 turn (i.e., a card held on Turn 1 can be saved to be played during Winter or Spring of Turn 3).

2.5 Permanent Defense Tokens

A number of Permanent Defense Summer Cards may be Played to allow families to add Defense Tokens to the Castle and Peels of their March. Each player starts with their four Permanent Defense Tokens off-map in front of them until the appropriate card brings them into the game.

2.6 Defense Tokens

Each family starts the game with two Defense Tokens: one Deputy Warden and one Rumor, and players can add more during play. Families gain a specific Defense Token if they Recruit (5.1) a Warden and they gain randomly chosen Defense Tokens if they Play (5.2) a Defense Token card. The color and number of dice at the bottom of a Defense Token show where it may be placed and how many defense dice it adds. Tokens with green dice symbols may be placed to defend a Farm Region from Raids; tokens with gray dice symbols may be placed in a Town or Family Seat to defend against Gaolbreaks or Feuds respectively. Tokens with text in this area ("No Defense Dice", "Attack Dice Halved") may be placed in any defensive location.

2.7 Livestock

The three types of Livestock in the game represent each family's wealth in terms of liquid purchasing power (Cattle), overall economic strength (Sheep), or ability to project offensive power (Horses). Families gain Livestock by taking the Play action with a Livestock Summer Card or by invoking certain Default Actions. Families can gain Cattle and Sheep when successful in a Raid, or Horses when successful in a Gaolbreak. Each family scores VP for the Livestock they own at the end of the game. Keep a pool of available Livestock tokens of each type in reach of all players so they can add and remove Livestock easily during play.

2.7.1 Cattle

DESCRIPTION: Cattle are used as the currency in the game and you will spend Cattle to Recruit or Play Summer Cards or to increase the effectiveness of some Allied Graynes. You gain Cattle automatically each Autumn based on the number of Sheep that you possess. Cattle can also be added when certain Summer Cards are Played or as the result of a successful Raid. Finally, 1 Cattle is gained each time you hold a card during the Summer card drafting. Cattle come in two denominations (1 and 5).

PLACEMENT: Cattle are placed in public view in the Cattle box on the edge of the map near your March.

VALUE: Cattle are the least valuable type of livestock, worth 1 VP for every 2 Cattle at the end of the game.

2.7.2 Sheep

DESCRIPTION: The number of Sheep present in a Farm Region depicts the Family's relative wealth. Possessing more Sheep in your Farm Regions allows you to gain more Cattle in the Autumn, to keep more cards in your hand, and to support a larger herd of Horses.

PLACEMENT: Families start the game with 1 Sheep in each Farm Region but can gain or lose Sheep in a region through play. Place Sheep in a cluster within the Farm Region near the Farm Defense token box. Sheep standing up in a Farm Region are unprotected and can be stolen during Raids. Sheep flipped down onto their side are protected by a Bastle (stone farmhouse) and are not harmed when Raids target this region.

VALUE: Sheep are twice as valuable as Cattle, worth 2 VP for every 2 Sheep at the end of the game.

COMPONENT NOTE: Additional Sheep counters have been provided for the unlikely case where all the wooden pieces have been used. These additional sheep are two-sided to represent their unprotected and bastled states.

2.7.3 Horses

DESCRIPTION: Horses represent the number of horsemen your family may put in the saddle to attack other families or fight Battles. Each Horse present in a combat gives you 1 extra combat die.

PLACEMENT: Horses are placed in the Horses box on the edge of the map near your March. Standing Horses in this box are available for offensive use; Horses on their side have already been expended this turn. Horses are moved to a target region just before adding dice to an attack.

VALUE: Horses are the most valuable type of livestock, worth 3 VP for every two Horses at the end of the game.

COMPONENT NOTE: Additional Horse counters have been provided for the unlikely case where all the wooden counters have been used. These additional horses are two-sided to represent their unused and expended states.

2.8 Summer Cards

Each turn starts with Summer, when families simultaneously draft cards to increase the power of their holdings. A unique set of Summer Cards is used for each of the turns.

Summer Cards come in three distinct types: Recruit, Play, and Hold cards. Within each of the types are various subtypes, each marked with a unique symbol:

Type	Subtype
Recruit	Reiver
Recruit	Warden
Recruit	Office
Recruit	Allied Grayne
Play	Defense Token
Play	Livestock
Play	Permanent Defense
Play	Bastle
Hold	Notoriety
Hold	Attack
Hold	Defense
Hold	Target
Hold	Border Ballad

In the upper right is the card's subtype symbol and an indication of how many Cattle (if any) are gained or expended by playing the card. The lower left corner shows whether this card is always included in a 4-player game ("4P"), sometimes added ("?"), or not included (blank field). The lower right corner lists the card's number within the full set of 126 Summer cards. Below the card's title is the descriptive text that explains the card's effect and any conditions for play. Finally, the bottom of the card contains a colored stripe showing how this card is played by your opponents during a Solo game. Ignore this stripe when playing a Multi-Player game.

2.9 Event Cards

A deck of 12 Event cards is used to trigger key historical events that impacted the Anglo-Scottish border during the 16th century. These Events allow the players to capitalize on short-term opportunities like gaining Notoriety and VP fighting in Battles, receiving rerolls on combat dice due to national support for reiver activities, or gaining extra Notoriety for actions that are in vogue during a certain turn of the game. Three Events are drawn each turn during Autumn (reduced to just two Events in a 2-player or a 4-player game).

2.10 Warden Cards

Each family receives a single Warden card during setup. This single-use card can be played to rearrange your Defense Tokens and gain a +1 die roll modifier just prior to a Raid, Feud, or Gaolbreak attack that targets your March.

2.11 Target Cards

Six Target Cards are provided to each family during game setup. Two of these cards are expended each Winter (and removed from play), one for each of the two rounds of combat that occur during that season. The Target Cards for each family come in six different types, and these cards represent the various roles that a well-rounded reiver would find themselves playing during their lifetime. Those card types are: Reiver, English/Scottish, supporting their family, and targeting either the Opposite March, a Cross-Border March, or a Same Side March.

2.12 Attack Indicators

Each family is given a set of two double-sided Attack Indicators that are used to designate which attack target that family has selected and to show whether that combat has been resolved.

2.13 Cubes

A set of 15 wooden Cubes that matches a family's color is given to each family during setup. These Cubes are used for a variety of game purposes, including: marking Feuds with other families, marking when this family has had reivers captured who are in Gaol in another March, tracking VP and Notoriety levels in each March, and marking the turn order for Winter.

2.14 Trait Cards (Advanced Rule)

Six Trait cards can be added to the game for experienced players to provide the most balanced game possible (for example in a tournament setting). See Section 10.0 for details.

2.15 Unused Components

The following components are only used in Solo games and can be ignored when setting up a Multi-Player game:

• All 32 Farm Region Tokens
• Back side of all Family Sheets (which contain playaids for Solo games)
• The 10 Summer cards with a brown stripe labeled SOLO CARD at the bottom

3.0 Setup

Follow these steps to prepare for a Multi-Player game of Border Reivers.

3.1 Changes for 2- or 4-Player Games

If playing with two or four players, remove the following game components before continuing with the setup:

• HUME and GREY: Remove the Family Sheets, Cubes, Permanent Defense Tokens, Target Cards, and Warden Cards for these two families.
• DEFENSE TOKENS: Remove the 11 Defense Tokens that do not possess a "4P" designation on them.
• CARDS: Remove the eight cards for each turn that do not possess either a "4P" or "?" designation from each set of Summer cards. Randomly add in 10 of the 16 cards with a "?" designation so each Summer card set has 28 cards. Remove the cards Flodden Field, Haddon Rigg and Border Beacons from the Event deck.

Do not add Sheep to the English East March or Scottish East March during the map setup; these two Marches are out-of-play in a 2- or 4-player Game.

3.2 Family Selection

4- OR 6-PLAYER GAME: Each player chooses one of the available families, either at random or due to personal preference (perhaps due to family genealogy?).

3-PLAYER GAME: Each player chooses one of the English families. Then pair a Scottish family with these English families as follows (Dacre with Kerr, Fenwick with Hume, Grey with Maxwell).

2-PLAYER GAME: One player chooses to play Dacre and Kerr. The other player receives Maxwell and Fenwick.

Give each player the Family Sheet, Cubes, Permanent Defense Tokens, 6 Target Cards, 1 Warden Card, and 2 Attack Indicators for each family that they are controlling. They also should each receive one of the 6 Reference Charts.

3.3 Family Sheets

Place your Family Sheet near your Home March. Add your "Sheep on Map" marker on the highlighted "4" space (Exception: Place on the "5" space if this is a 3- or 6-player game and this is the Fenwick Family Sheet).

3.4 Map

Setup the map as follows:

• Place 1 Sheep standing up in each Farm Region.
• Place a second Sheep standing up in the Farm Region in the Debateable Land.
• Place the available Warden Defense Tokens (7 in a 2- or 4-player game; 8 otherwise) face up in their box in the upper right corner of the Card Decks Display.

Add these items to the map for each family in play:

• Place 3 Horses standing up in your Horse box.
• Place 8 Cattle (one 5, three 1s) in your Cattle box.
• Add a Deputy Warden and a Rumor Defense token in your Defense Token box.
• Place 1 Cube on the 0 space of the Victory Track.
• Place 1 Cube in the 3 space of that family's Home March Notoriety display.
• Place 1 Cube from the family directly across the Border (e.g., Scottish West March if you are setting up the English West March; Scottish Middle March is you are setting up the English Middle March) in the Gaolbreak Box of each March.
• Place 1 Cube from the family directly across the Border in the Feud Box of each March.

If playing with 3 or 6 players:

• Add an additional Horse to the Kerr Horse box
• Add a Sheep flipped on its side to the Farm Region of Tynedale (in the English Middle March).

3.5 Randomization Cups

Take two opaque containers (not provided) and fill them as follows:

• TURN ORDER CONTAINER: Add 1 Cube from each family.
• DEFENSE TOKEN CONTAINER: Add all remaining Defense Tokens (12 in a 2- or 4-player game, 18 in a 3 or 6-player game).

3.6 Cards

Shuffle all three sets of Summer cards separately and place them face down in three separate piles near the board. Shuffle the Event deck and place it face down in the designated space on the Card Decks Display.

4.0 Sequence of Play

"Fattened, glossy with good autumn condition, the herds came down off the hills when the weather began to close down and the year turned around the solstice. These weeks also saw the beginning of the raiding season. Dispersed over the hill pasture (and needing to feed and improve their condition in any case), the cattle and sheep were not a feasible target for reivers in the summer. Far better to come for them where they were handily corralled in the inbye fields and fat and fit enough to make a long journey when they had been lifted."

The Reivers: The Story of the Border Reivers by Alistair Moffat

The game is played in exactly three turns, each representing about 30 years. Reiver activities along the border varied widely based on the time of year, thus each turn is organized into four seasons, starting with Summer. At the end of the game a special scoring phase is added to complete the game. The rules governing each season are presented in Sections 5.0, 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0. A high-level guide to the activities in a single turn looks like this:

SUMMER

• DEAL: Deal 7 Summer cards to each family from this turn's shuffled Summer Card deck.
• DRAFT: Each family simultaneously selects a card from their current hand. The remaining cards are passed to an adjacent family (to the left on Turn 1, to the right on Turn 2, and in a random direction on Turn 3). All families undertake their planned action (Recruit, Play, Hold or Discard) with their selected card, possibly gaining or expending Cattle. These steps are then repeated for four more rounds with the incoming hand of cards just passed to each family.
• SIXTH ROUND: In this final round families select one card to act on normally, then add the final card to the Summer Card Discards pile.
• OFFICE DRAFTS: A family with the Abbot of Kelso Office gets to draft a card from the Summer Card Discards pile if this is Turn 2 or 3. This is followed by the same action from a family with the Keeper of Tynedale Office.

AUTUMN

• ECONOMIC UPDATE: Check Hand Size and Horses against each family's capacity based on their Sheep on the map. Discard any extra cards or Horses if above those limits. Then gain Cattle income.
• DRAW EVENTS: Pick 3 random events for this turn (2 events if playing with four players).
• PLACE DEFENSES: All families secretly allocate their Defense tokens to boxes in their March.

WINTER

• DETERMINE ORDER (*): Turn order is chosen for this Winter, based on the rules in place for this turn. Exception: Ignore this step during Turn 1 Winter if playing with the Traits Advanced Rule (10.1).
• SELECT TARGET CARD: All families simultaneously choose which Target Card they will play.
• PLACE NOTORIETY (*): In reverse turn order, families add Notoriety to the Marches. Notoriety cards may also be played at this time.
• SELECT FINAL TARGET: In turn order, families choose their exact target (Farm Region, Feud, Gaolbreak), moving their Attack Indicator and Horses to this map location. Target and Attack cards are played at this time.
• COMPUTE COMBAT DICE: The attacker and defender in each combat compute how many dice they will roll.
• RESOLVE COMBATS: In turn order, the combats are all resolved and post-combat awards granted.
• REDO TURN ORDER (*): If this is Turn 1, a second random determination of turn order is performed.
• REPEAT FOR SECOND ATTACK: Repeat steps above (except those marked with an *) for the second round of combat.
• BATTLE AWARDS: Post-combat awards are granted for any Battle that was only contested by one side.

SPRING

• RESET: Stand up all Horses. Reset Debateable Land Farm Region to exactly 2 Sheep. Discard current events. Return Defense Tokens to their family's box.
• SCORE VP: Add VP for Notoriety and Reivers in Gaol. Play Spring cards (Turn 3 only). Record end-of-turn total VP.
• BONUS ACTIONS (Turns 1 and 2 only): Family in last place: select and play a discarded Summer card for free, or take 1 Default action. All other families in bottom half by VP: take 1 Default Action.

END-OF-GAME SCORING (TURN 3 ONLY): Families are awarded VP for livestock in their possession.

5.0 Summer

Summer on the borders was a peaceful time when construction projects were completed and the livestock could graze in comfort across the hills and dales.

At the beginning of Summer, each family receives a hand of 7 Summer cards, dealt randomly from the deck of cards for this Turn. Each Summer is made up of 6 rounds. During each round the families select a single card and separate it from the remaining cards in their hand. Those other cards are passed facedown to the next family, as follows:

• Turn 1: Pass cards to the family on your left.
• Turn 2: Pass cards to the family on your right.
• Turn 3: Roll a die. If it is odd, pass cards to the left. If it is even, pass cards to the right. Once determined by a single random roll, retain this same randomly-determined direction throughout this Summer.

In 2- or 3-player games, players can select their card from either of their two families first; the order of selection is not important.

When all families have made their selection (but not yet revealed it) and passed their remaining cards (which may not be reviewed by the receiving family until all cards in the current round have been acted upon), they then all reveal their selected card and act on each card simultaneously. There are four possible actions, each described in a section below.

5.1 Recruit

The Recruit action may be used with Summer Cards of these subtypes: Reiver, Warden, Office, or Allied Grayne. You must have enough Cattle to afford the card; pay this Cattle cost (if any) to the bank. Then place the recruited card face up on the matching box of your Family Sheet. If there already was a card here, move that previous card to the Summer Cards Out-of-Play pile. If you recruited a Warden, retrieve the corresponding Warden Token from the top of the Card Decks Display and add it to your Defense Tokens box on the map. If you already had a Warden Token in that box, remove it from play along with the corresponding card for the previous Warden.

SPECIAL CASES:

a) The "Office #2/Allied Grayne #2" slot does not become available until Turn 2; in the rare case that you choose to recruit a second Office or Allied Grayne on Turn 1 the first one must be moved to the Out-of-Play pile.

b) Special rules apply if it is Turn 2 or later and you are recruiting an Office or Allied Grayne when the "Office #2/Allied Grayne #2" slot is already occupied. In that case you may move any previously played Office or Allied Grayne to the Out-of-Play pile and then swap the remaining cards as desired (as long as you do not end with more than 2 Offices, 2 Allied Graynes, or 3 cards total of these two types).

5.2 Play

The Play action may be used with Summer Cards of these subtypes: Defense Token, Livestock, Permanent Defense, and Bastle. You must have enough Cattle to afford the card; pay this Cattle cost (if any) to the bank. Then add the card to the Summer Cards Out-of-Play pile and add the livestock or defenses to your holdings as follows:

5.2.1 Defense Tokens

Draw the specified number of Defense Tokens from the cup holding these chits. Place them face-down in your Defense Tokens box on the map. The player drawing them may secretly view the tokens just drawn.

5.2.2 Cattle

Take the specified number of Cattle from the bank and add them to your Cattle box on the map.

5.2.3 Sheep

Take the specified number of Sheep from the bank and add them, standing up, to Farm Regions in your March as instructed on the card. You do not need to allocate Sheep evenly as long as any constraints mentioned on the card are satisfied.

5.2.4 Horses

Take the specified number of Horses from the bank and add them, standing up, to your Horses box on the map.

5.2.5 Permanent Defenses

Choose specific Castle Garrison and/or Peel Permanent Defense tokens from among the four provided to your family during setup—the number of such tokens should correspond to those specified by the card. Add each marker chosen to the matching, named Permanent Defense site in your March.

5.2.6 Bastle

Select standing up Sheep in Farm Regions of your March as specified on the card and flip these Sheep onto their side to indicate that they are protected from Raids.

5.3 Hold

The Hold action may be used with Summer Cards of these subtypes: Notoriety, Attack, Defense, Target, and Border Ballad. Place the card face down without revealing it to the other players on the Held Cards box of your Family Sheet. You can place a card here even if it puts you over your current Hand Size because Hand Size Limits only apply during the Autumn. These cards will be played in an upcoming Winter or Spring. Gain +1 Cattle from the bank.

5.4 Discard

Any Summer Card may be discarded to take a Default Action instead. The possible Default Actions are listed in the following rule section. Cards discarded this way are added to the Summer Cards Discards. These cards may reenter play as the result of the Offices Abbot of Kelso and Keeper of Tynedale, as a consequence of the Double Cross Summer Card, or if selected by the family in last place during Spring.

GAMEPLAY TIP: It can often be a good idea to discard a card that you cannot use yourself if it would be of interest to one of your opponents.

5.5 Default Actions

Default Actions are less powerful moves that families may want to take if they have a shortfall in a particular type of livestock, or if they are worried about the defenses of their own March. Default actions are received either when a card is Discarded during Summer, in Spring for the families lowest in VP at that time, or from the Tax Time Summer Livestock Card.

Each time a Default Action is received, a family gets to undertake exactly one of the following moves:

• Add 1 Horse
• Add 1 Sheep
• Add 3 Cattle
• Add 1 Notoriety to your Home March
• Bastle 1 Sheep (2 if this is Turn 2 or later)

Livestock are added (or Sheep bastled) just as described in Section 5.2 with no restrictions on the Farm Region chosen when adding or bastling Sheep. To add 1 Notoriety, simply advance your Cube on the Notoriety Track in your Home March by 1 space (e.g., from the "3" space to the "4" space).

GAMEPLAY TIP: Toward the end of Summer, make sure you have enough Sheep to support your current number of Horses and Held cards (see 6.1). If not, a Default Action to add Sheep may be a good play.

5.6 Sixth Round

The sixth round of Summer is a special case. At the beginning of this round, the families each receive a two-card hand from their neighbor. Each family then selects one card (like in previous rounds) but instead of passing their remaining card they add it to the Summer Cards Discards pile. The selected card is then played normally. (Exception: If playing with the Traits Advanced Rule (10.1), on Turn 1 and 2, the player with the Tireless trait may play both the cards in their hand.)

5.7 Abbot of Kelso/Keeper of Tynedale

On Turns 2 and 3, families that have recruited either the Abbot of Kelso or Keeper of Tynedale Offices get to end the Summer by selecting a card from the Summer Cards Discards pile. If both Offices have been recruited, the Scottish family holding Abbot of Kelso always chooses before the English family holding Keeper of Tynedale. Play the selected card normally based on its type (Recruit, Play, or Hold) except that you never add or subtract Cattle (i.e., this move is made for "free"). The card selected may be Discarded right back into the Summer Cards Discards pile if you prefer to take a Default Action.

6.0 Autumn

Autumn marked the time on the borders when reivers and their families prepared for the upcoming winter raids.

6.1 Economic Update

All families begin Autumn by making sure their Sheep on Map tracker is positioned properly on their Family Sheet based on the number of Sheep they own on the map and whether or not they have an office (Abbot of Jedburgh, Prior of Hexham) that moves the marker two columns to the right. Then each takes the following three actions, as necessary, using the numbers in the column directly below your Sheep on Map marker:

1. HORSE LIMIT: If you have more Horses than your current Horse Limit, return the excess to the bank.
2. HAND SIZE: If you have more Held cards than your current Hand Size, discard (to the Summer Card Discards pile) your choice of cards to get the number down to your Hand Size.
3. CATTLE INCOME: Finally, add Cattle (as in 5.2.2) equal to the Cattle Income.

6.2 Draw Events

Events are now flipped face up from the top of the Event deck. Flip over 3 events if playing with 3 or 6 players, 2 events in a game with 2 or 4 players. If any of the six Battles that take place in a specific March are drawn (i.e., all Battles except the Rising of the North), place the event card over the battlefield on the map. Any other events that are drawn are placed in the Current Events area on the edge of the map near the English East March. These non-Battle events alter the resolution of attacks made by any player for the rest of the turn. The Rough Wooing and Mary Queen of Scots events allow combat dice to be rerolled (see 7.6). If one of these events is drawn, place the specified number of reroll dice on this card now so you can track how many rerolls have been taken. Dice are taken off this card as rerolls are used by eligible families. No more than 3 of the reroll dice from one of these events can be used in a single combat. (Typically, a succession of different families will take advantage of these rerolls before they are all exhausted).

6.3 Place Defenses

Families now take the Defense Tokens on their Family Sheet and allocate them secretly (face down) to the Defense Token boxes in their March. Only one token may be added to each box. Tokens may only be placed in a Farm Defense Token box if they have at least one green die (or are text only, such as "No Defense Dice") on their face up side; tokens may only be placed in a Town or Family Seat Defense Token box if they have at least one gray die (or are text only) on that same side. Tokens with both green and gray dice may be placed anywhere, though some tokens are more valuable for defense in one type of box than the other. It is possible that a family could possess too many tokens to place all of them on the map; if so any excess are returned face down to your Defense Token box.

7.0 Winter

Winter was when the reputation of a Border Reiver was made. These were the "riding times" where there were livestock to be stolen, outlaws to be apprehended, and family reputations to be defended.

In Border Reivers, Winter consists of two rounds of combat with up to seven individual steps (detailed in sections 7.1 to 7.7 below). Note that three steps (7.1, 7.3, and 7.7) are skipped during the second round of combat. In each round, the families pick attack targets, compute the attack and defense dice that need to be rolled, and then resolve each family's attack. Combats can be one of four types (Raid, Feud, Gaolbreak, or Battle) and these attacks can cause Livestock to change hands, Notoriety to be gained or lost, and VP to be scored. Complete each step for all families before moving onto the next step.

To provide the proper context for the rest of the rules in this section, a summary of the pros and cons of the four types of combat that can be initiated is shown below. The use of these four terms (Raid, Feud, Gaolbreak, and Battle) in rules and on cards always explicitly refers to just that one type of combat (e.g., the Maid Lilliard card applies to Battle combats only and can never be used for a Raid, Feud or Gaolbreak).

RAID

Raids were attacks where the intent was to steal cattle and sheep held by another reiver family. Often initiated under the cover of darkness to make the initial theft of livestock easier, the biggest challenge was to get the stolen herd home before the warden's men on a "Hot Trod" could pursue and apprehend the thieving horsemen.

A Raid is an attack on a Farm Region that is best attempted where there are plenty of Sheep unprotected by Bastles and few defense dice provided by adjacent Permanent Defenses. An attacker choosing to Raid is very likely to gain Cattle and Sheep but scores fewer VP than with other attacks and does not receive a Notoriety boost. It is a good type of attack to weaken a player in the lead, though the attacker does risk getting a reiver captured and placed in Gaol, or even worse—hanged.

FEUD

After years of rivalry, thefts, and perceived injustices, the emotions between two rival families on the border would often boil over into a deadly feud. These direct attacks of one family on another could be very deadly, as evidenced by the hundreds of Maxwells slain by the Johnstones during the 1593 Battle of Dryfe Sands.

A Feud is an attack on a Family Seat where one of your Feud Cubes is present. Since the attacker receives an extra die for each such Cube at that location, the more poisoned the relationship the better. An attacker choosing to Feud often scores significant VP, though they will risk losing a Horse and letting their opponent pick up some VP as well. The winner of a Feud combat (usually the attacker) also gets a significant boost in Notoriety over their opponent within that March.

GAOLBREAK

As the name implies, Gaolbreaks were attempts to free previously imprisoned reivers from a town gaol. With well-placed friends on the inside and enough horsemen approaching at night, even prisoners in walled towns such as Carlisle could be sprung loose (as occurred in 1596 during the famous Rescue of Kinmont Willie).

A Gaolbreak is an attack at a Town where one or more of your reivers have been captured. Since the attacker receives an extra die for each such captive at that location, the more possible reivers to set free the better. A Gaolbreak scores less VP than a Feud but that is offset by the valuable addition of one or more Horses. Notoriety is gained much like in a Feud if one or more prisoners escape.

BATTLE

Throughout the 16th century the rivalry between England and Scotland would heat up and one side or the other would send a major army to invade the other land. When these battles occurred, border horsemen were valued auxiliary troops that would fight alongside their national army as light horsemen known as "prickers."

A Battle is an opportunity provided by an Event card that allows a reiver to pursue glory fighting for his native land, either England or Scotland. Battles vary in historical size with the larger ones offering the greatest chance of scoring hits to earn VP (but in those Battles it is also more likely for the other side to successfully block each hit). Successfully leading your nation can award you with a potentially huge Notoriety boost, especially in the largest Battles.

7.1 Determine Order

The first step in Winter is to determine turn order. Each turn has a different method:

• TURN 1: Draw Cubes at random from the Turn Order Container. As Cubes are drawn, place them in consecutive boxes at the top of each section of the Winter Combat Area (so box "1", then "2", etc.) Exception: Ignore this step if playing with the Traits Advanced Rule (10.1).
• TURN 2: Place the Cubes in the boxes in the reverse order of families by current VP score (so the Cube for the family with the highest VP goes in the "6" box—or the "4" box in a 2- or 4-player game). Thus the "1" box contains the Cube for the family in last place. Refer to Section 9.3 to break any ties, making sure to put the player who is winning the tie-breaker after the other player (since the Cubes are placed in reverse VP order).
• TURN 3: Repeat the procedure for Turn 2. Then follow the instructions for the Offices Lord Warden of the Marches and Warden-General of All Marches if those Offices are in play on a Family Sheet.

On Turn 1, prior to the second round of combat, the random Cube draw for order is repeated as detailed in step 7.7. On Turns 2 and 3 the player order established here at the start of Winter remains in effect for both rounds of combat.

7.2 Select Target Card

Families begin each of the two rounds of combat by simultaneously reviewing the Target Cards they still possess and selecting a single Target Card. The characteristics of that card determine the type(s) of combat players can initiate and where on the map this attack can take place. Place the selected card face down in the Target Card box just below your Cube in the Winter Combat Area.

GAMEPLAY TIP: Selection of targets is an important consideration each combat round. You should consider these questions (and more) when deciding which target to choose:

• Is there an event that makes Feuds or Gaolbreaks more effective?
• Can I fight a Battle for England or Scotland before any of the other families hailing from my side of the border?
• Am I expecting to roll a lot of dice for this combat (if so, I should play a card that gives +1 on each attack die)?
• Do I have a March where I will get extra dice from being in 1st or 2nd place in Notoriety?

Once all families have finalized their selections, flip all the chosen Target Cards so each one is face up. Knowing which Target Card the other families have selected (especially those earlier in turn order) is important for optimal placement of Notoriety and for selection of final targets (in the two steps that follow).

7.3 Place Notoriety

If this is the second round of combat, skip this step entirely; however, if this is the first round of combat, families add Notoriety to Marches based on play of Held cards and on the Allied Graynes and/or Offices they have Recruited to their Family Sheet. Notoriety placement always occur in the reverse order from the turn order established in 7.1 (e.g., on Turn 2 this means that the family with the highest VP total always places Notoriety first). Shrewd Notoriety allocations can set you up with Marches where you roll additional attack dice and score VP at the end of the turn. Note that it is most useful to place Notoriety last after you have seen where the other families have made your allocations. When it is your turn to place Notoriety, follow the three steps below.

Note: Although the Notoriety Tracks only go to the number 12, there is no actual limit on the possible Notoriety a family may have in a March. If a family's Notoriety marker ever exceeds 12, leave one of their Cubes on the 12 space and start advancing a second Cube up from 0.

PLAY HELD NOTORIETY CARDS

There are a number of Summer Cards that can be Held for play for "when it is your turn to place Notoriety…" Such a card can only be played now during the first round of Winter. Apply the indicated effects and then add the card to the Summer Cards Out-of-Play pile.

UPDATE NOTORIETY FROM OFFICES

About two-thirds of the Offices allow families to add 2 or more Notoriety to Marches on your side of the border. These increases can be spread as desired among the legal choices shown on this Office. For each point of Notoriety being placed, advance your Cube on the Notoriety Track in a legal March by 1 space.

UPDATE NOTORIETY FROM ALLIED GRAYNES

All Allied Graynes allow families to add at least 1 Notoriety to a March. Notoriety from Allied Graynes is usually applied to the East, Middle, or West Marches but can be placed either in England or Scotland. These increases can be spread as desired among the legal choices shown on this Allied Grayne. For each point of Notoriety being placed, advance your Cube on the Notoriety Track in a legal March by 1 space.

7.4 Select Final Target

In both rounds of combat, the next step is to lock onto a specific final attack target and combat type. This choice is guided by the initial targeting information that the family indicated with their Target Card (Step 7.2).

PLACE ATTACK INDICATOR

Final target selection occurs in the order established in 7.1. When it is your turn, take your Attack Indicator for this round of combat and move it onto the map, with the side with the rider facing up. The arrow should point to the final target for this attack:

Combat Type	Final Target
Raid	The final target is a Farm Region.
Feud	The final target is a Family Seat.
Gaolbreak	The final target is a Town.
Battle	The final target is a Battle.

RESTRICTIONS:

1. You may never Raid the other player under your control in a 2- or 3-player game.
2. You may not choose a final target selected earlier in the turn (even if it was during a prior round of combat). Exceptions: Battles can be selected as targets twice as long as one selecting family is English and the other is Scottish; Feuds and Gaolbreaks can be targeted once during each round of combat if the Ill Week or Kinmont Willie event is in play (respectively).

The final target must also be eligible based on the Target Card that the family selected in 7.2, which means it must adhere to these rules:

• If the Target Card is one of the three cards entitled "Target XXX March," a Raid or Battle may be chosen in the marches shown in the "Targets" section of that card that list the desired attack type (Example: a card can allow a Raid to be chosen in the English East March or the English West March; a battle can be chosen in those two marches plus the Scottish Middle March—assuming this is a 6-player game where East Marches are in play). These cards can also be used to select a Feud or Gaolbreak where one of their Cubes is present (as shown at the bottom of the card).
• If the Target Card is the "Reiver" card, any Farm Region on the map (including the Debateable Land, but not including the East Marches if this is a 2- or 4-player game) may be targeted for a Raid and the attacker will gain +1 to all dice rolled. Other attack types may not be chosen with this card.
• If the Target Card lists the Family name, a Feud or Gaolbreak may be targeted anywhere that one of their Cubes is present, and the attacker will gain +1 to all dice rolled. This card may also be used for a Raid on any March, but the +1 bonus is lost.
• If the Target Card lists "English" or "Scottish", any Battle on the map may be targeted and the attacker will gain +1 to all dice rolled. This card may be used for a Feud or Gaolbreak in a March across the border, but the +1 bonus is lost.

Finally, the special Battle Rising of the North can be chosen as if it was a Battle in their Home March. The first family targeting this card has the choice of representing the Catholics or the Protestants (based on what bonus they want to receive if they win). The second family targeting this card must support the opposite religion (to attempt to receive the other bonus).

COMMIT HORSES

Once the Attack Indicator is in place, the attacker takes 1 or more available Horses from the box in their March and moves them adjacent to the Attack Indicator to show that they are also part of the attacking force. At least 1 Horse must be committed to each attack, and if this is the first round of Winter, at least 1 available Horse must be left back in the box so that Horse can lead the second-round attack. If a player enters Winter with only 1 Horse, they may attack in the first round only.

REVEAL DEFENSES/USE WARDEN (skip this step entirely if a Battle has been targeted)

Next, the attacker flips over the Defense Token (if any) protecting the target. After the token has been revealed, the defender has the option to expend their Warden card (by placing it in the Target Discards pile) in order to move or swap in a different Defense Token and/or to gain a +1 die roll modifier on all their Defense dice (the defender need not move Defense Tokens to gain the die roll modifier). Any move or swap of tokens undertaken must result in all tokens ending up in a valid final location (e.g. only tokens with green dice can be in a Farm Region; grey dice are required for a token occupying a Town or Family Seat slot). Moving/swapping of a Defense Token falls into one of these three cases:

• MOVE: Possible if the target location is not defended by a token. Any token with properly colored dice symbols elsewhere in the March may move to the target.
• SWAP: A Defense Token elsewhere in the March is exchanged with the one at the target.
• REPLACE: A Defense Token elsewhere in the March replaces the one at the target and the previous token is moved back to the Family Sheet because it does not have the properly colored dice to swap into this other spot.

Tokens may not be moved or swapped if they are already in a position where they are being targeted by an attack declared earlier in this round of combat or if they were on the Family Sheet when the attack was declared.

The Held cards Warden's Tithe and Heavy Snows may be played at this time.

PLAY HELD ATTACK CARDS

After the defender has made a final decision on committing his Warden card, the attacker can now further boost their chances by playing one or more Held Summer cards that are appropriate to this combat type. Set any card(s) played face up near the combat for ease of reference.

7.5 Compute Combat Dice

After committing to their final target, the attacker may begin assembling the attack and defense dice needed to resolve this combat. Players are encouraged to assemble dice for all combat simultaneously to speed play along. Use the boxes in top left corner of your Family Sheet to facilitate gathering the dice.

Most of the sources of attack and defense dice for a combat are the same regardless of the attack type. The only exceptions are the addition of dice for Sheep that are not protected by Bastles in a Raid and the dice for Cubes of the correct type for a Feud or Gaolbreak. See the table below for a complete breakdown on populating these Attack dice boxes.

Note: Three Defense Tokens halve the number of dice that the attacker will roll. Apply this effect after all other adjustments to the number of dice and round up in favor of the attacker.

Attack Dice	Player Attacks
Reiver	Use "Bonus ATTACK dice" for this Combat Type on the Reiver card. (If the Reiver is Ralph Eure, 3 cattle may be expended at this time for 1 extra Attack die.)
Horses	1 die for each Horse committed to the attack.
Allied Grayne	Use "Bonus ATTACK die in" for this March on the Allied Grayne card. (If this grayne is the Armstrongs or Elliotts, cattle may be expended at this time for extra Attack dice. Allied Graynes that add extra combat dice for attacks in "any March" may not add dice to the Rising of the North Battle.)
Notoriety	2 dice if in sole possession of 1st in Notoriety in this March. 1 die if 2nd place or tied for 1st place. (None if tied for 2nd).
Raid Sheep	1 die for each Sheep without a Bastle in the target Farm Region.
Feud Cubes	1 die for each of the attacker's Cubes in the "Feuds with" box in this Family Seat. Return these Cubes to the attacker after computing these dice.
Gaolbreak Cubes	1 die for each of the attacker's Cubes in the "Reivers in Gaol" box in this Town. Leave these Cubes in place; they might be freed if the attack is a success.
Held Attack Cards	See effect text from card for details.
Offices	2 dice if the bonus from Captain of Berwick or Keeper of Liddesdale is allocated to this attack. Each Office can only be used once per turn.

Assemble the Defense dice to be rolled against your attack in the same fashion in the boxes in the upper right corner of your Family Sheet. Use the table below to determine the dice the defender will roll.

Defense Dice	Instructions for Computing these Dice
Peels	1 die for each Peel adjacent to the Farm Region targeted by this Raid.
Castle Garrison	2 dice for each Castle Garrison adjacent to the Farm Region targeted by this Raid.
Defense Token	1 die for each dice icon of the proper color on the Defense Token (green dice icons if this is a Raid; gray dice icons if a Feud or Gaolbreak). Add 1 die if this is a Gaolbreak occurring in a Walled Town (either Berwick or Carlisle).
Battle Dice	1 die for each die icon present on the Battle Event card.

7.6 Resolve Combats

Each combat is now resolved in the order listed in the Winter Combat area. Each player involved rolls all the dice that were allocated in 7.5. (Anyone can roll the defense dice in a Battle since those attacks do not adversely affect any defensive player).

Note: Even though the first few combats resolved might change the status of Notoriety, Sheep, or Feud Cubes on the map for later combats, players never change the number of dice to be rolled from the number that was originally computed during step 7.5.

ATTACKER +1 DIE ROLL MODIFIERS: With certain Target Cards, the attacker adds +1 to the number shown on each die rolled. Due to these modifiers, results of "7" may occur; treat those as if a "6" had been rolled instead.

DEFENDER DIE ROLL MODIFIERS: The defender receives a +1 die roll modifier for each of these situations:

• A Warden Defense Token is defending this target.
• The defender has played his Warden card in response to this Raid, Feud or Gaolbreak in his Home March.

This die roll modifier applies to all defensive dice rolled, regardless of whether they came from a Defense Token or a Permanent Defense. These two modifiers are cumulative, meaning that if both are true, all of the defender's dice are adjusted by +2. In this case it is possible to receive a result of "8;" treat those as if a "7" is the result instead.

DETERMINING RESULTS, USING REROLLS: Based on the type of Combat, each roll is evaluated and the immediate results are determined as shown by either the "Roll of X" lines below or by looking at the Combat Results Chart. Some events and Offices may allow players to reroll dice if the result was a "Miss." Players must pick a single source (e.g., Held attack card, Event card, Office, the Warden Robert Carey) for any rerolls they are taking and once that has been chosen, the player cannot take additional rerolls from a second source. In addition, each Miss may only be rerolled once, even from a single source of rerolls. Both players should roll their dice before either decides on rerolls.

Note: Mary Queen of Scots rerolls may not be used during Raids on the Debateable Land. Rerolls from either Mary Queen of Scots or Rough Wooing may not be used at the Rising of the North Battle.

RAID AND FEUD DEFENSE ROLLS: Modified defense rolls of exactly 6—or rolls of 7 or higher—against Raid and Feud attacks trigger a powerful result the first time they occur and lesser results afterwards. To properly reward the defending player, resolve all modified rolls of 7+ first, then modified rolls of 6, then modified rolls of 5.

APPLYING RESULTS: Many of these outcomes award VPs; if so, move that family's VP marker on the Victory Track and record the VP award on the Score Sheet. Finally, Post-Combat Awards are granted based on the type of combat and which side is determined to be the winner.

CLEANUP: Attacking Horses are then returned to the box in the attacker's March but are flipped on their side to show they are not available until a future turn. Flip the Attack Indicator for the combat over to its reverse side to show that the combat has been resolved. All Attack cards played in this combat are moved to the Summer Cards Out-of-Play pile. The Target Card assigned to this combat is moved to the Target Discards pile and is out of the game.

RAID

Attack Dice

• Roll of 1, 2: Miss
• Roll of 3, 4: CATTLE HIT, award 1 VP if not blocked.
• Roll of 5, 6: SHEEP HIT, award 2 VP if not blocked.

Defense Dice

• Roll of 1, 2, 3, 4: Miss
• Roll of 5: BLOCK. A block nullifies the most common hit (between Cattle and Sheep) until they are equalized. If tied, nullify a Cattle hit. (Example: The attacker has 3 Sheep hits and 2 Cattle hits. The first block nullifies a Sheep hit so the hits become 2 of each. The next Block nullifies a Cattle hit to make it 2 Sheep hits, 1 Cattle hit.)
• Roll of 6: First roll of a 6 is a CAPTURE. Subsequent 6s are BLOCKs (as if a 5 was rolled). If a CAPTURE occurs, the attacker loses 1 Horse; add a Cube from the attacker in the Reivers in Gaol box in the defender's Town.
• Roll of 7: First roll of a 7 is HANGED. Subsequent 7s are CAPTUREs (as if a 6 was rolled). If a HANGED result occurs, the attacker loses 1 Horse and the defender gains 6 VP.

Notes:

1. Capture and Hanged results are not also Blocks. They have no effect on the number of hits scored by the attacking player.
2. An attacker can never lose more Horses than were initially sent on this Raid. There is no limit on the number of Cubes that can be added to the Reivers in Gaol box.

Post-Combat Awards

CATTLE: For each unblocked Cattle hit, the attacker gains one of the Cattle in the defender's Cattle box. If more Cattle hits remain after the defender's Cattle have all been taken, those hits still score VP, but no additional Cattle are lost.

Note: Cattle are never received as a Post-Combat Award from Raids on the Debateable Land; however, VP are scored from the Cattle hits here as usual.

SHEEP: The attacker gains one Sheep for each unblocked Sheep hit from the target region. Sheep protected by Bastles cannot be stolen in this manner. If more Sheep hits remain after the unbastled Sheep have all been taken, those hits still score VP, but no additional Sheep are lost. Sheep stolen in a Raid are removed from the target Farm Region and distributed as desired by the attacker into one or more Farm Regions of the attacker's March, even Farm Regions that are about to undergo a Raid. (These additional Sheep do not change the number of attack dice computed in 7.5 even if that Raid has not yet been resolved).

FEUD CUBES: If the attacker gained at least 1 VP in the attack, the defender has gained a new Feud with that attacking family. Add one of the defender's Cube to the Feud box in the attacking family's March.

FEUD

Attack Dice

• Roll of 1, 2, 3, 4: Miss
• Roll of 5, 6: HIT, award 3 VP if not blocked.

Defense Dice

• Roll of 1, 2, 3, 4: Miss
• Roll of 5: BLOCK. A block nullifies one of the attacker's hits.
• Roll of 6: First roll of a 6 is a HIT, award 3 VP and the attacker loses 1 Horse. Subsequent 6s are BLOCKs (as if a 5 was rolled).
• Roll of 7: HIT, award 3 VP and the attacker loses 1 Horse.

Note: Attacker can never lose more Horses than were initially sent on this Feud.

Post-Combat Awards

Whichever side scored more hits gains 2 Notoriety in this March (or 4 Notoriety if Ill Week event is in play). The losing side drops by 1 Notoriety (but not below 0) in the March. If both sides scored the same number of hits no Notoriety change occurs.

GAOLBREAK

Attack Dice

• Roll of 1, 2, 3, 4: Miss
• Roll of 5, 6: HIT, award 2 VP if not blocked. Remove 1 of the attacker's Cubes in the defender's Reivers in Gaol box for each hit. Attacker also gains 1 Horse from the bank which is placed standing up in their Horses box for each hit but never more than twice as many Horses as the attacker had Cubes in this Gaol at the start of the combat. If more hits occur than the number of Cubes at the start of the combat, those hits still score 2 VP each.

Defense Dice

• Roll of 1, 2, 3, 4: Miss
• Roll of 5, 6: BLOCK. A block nullifies one of the attacker's hits.
• Roll of 7: HANGED. The attacker loses 1 Horse and the defender gains 6 VP. If the attacker still had at least one Cube in the defender's Reivers in Gaol box after the HITs were applied, remove 1 Cube now.

Note 1: HANGED results are not also BLOCKS. They have no effect on the number of hits scored by the attacking player.

Note 2: Attacker can never lose more Horses than were initially sent on this Gaolbreak.

Post-Combat Awards

If the attacker freed at least one Cube from Gaol they gain 2 Notoriety in this March (or 4 Notoriety if Ballad of Kinmont Willie event is in play) and the defender drops by 1 Notoriety (but not below 0) in the March.

BATTLE

Attack Dice

• Roll of 1, 2, 3, 4: Miss
• Roll of 5, 6: HIT, if not blocked award the number of VP specified on the Event card for this Battle.

Defense Dice

• Roll of 1, 2, 3, 4: Miss
• Roll of 5, 6: BLOCK. A block nullifies one of the attacker's hits.

Post-Combat Awards

FIRST ATTACK: Post-combat awards are not awarded when the first attack on a Battle card is resolved. Instead, add Cubes next to the attacker's Attack Indicator as a reminder of the number of unblocked hits scored (so 3 Cubes if 3 unblocked hits were achieved). Leave these Cubes in place until a second attack occurs (even if this is in a later round of combat) or until you know this was a Battle contested by only one side (see 7.9).

SECOND ATTACK: Once the second attack on this Battle card has been resolved players will know whether it was the first or second attacker who scored the most unblocked hits. That family gains Notoriety in this March equal to the value shown on the Event card. If both sides scored the same number of unblocked hits, each family gains half of the Notoriety listed on the card. The Event card for this Battle can then be discarded and both Attack Indicators returned to their respective families.

If no family makes a second attack on this Battle, then the first family becomes the winner at the end of Winter (see 7.9).

RISING OF THE NORTH: Post-Combat awards for this Battle are an exception to the rule above; these awards are not granted at all if the two sides tie in the number of unblocked hits. Also note that this Battle has unique post-combat awards either granting expended Horses to a Protestant winner or Notoriety in the March of your choice to a Catholic victor.

7.7 Recalculate Turn Order

If this is the first turn of the game, turn order must be recalculated before the second set of attacks (even if playing with the Traits Advanced Rule, 10.1). Place all the turn order Cubes back in the opaque container and once again draw them out at random. As Cubes are drawn, place them in consecutive boxes at the very top of each section of the Winter Combat Area. Skip this step entirely if it is Turn 2 or 3.

7.8 Repeat for Second Combat

Play now proceeds to the second round of Winter. Repeat the steps outlined in 7.2, 7.4, 7.5 and 7.6 to complete this round.

7.9 Battle Awards

Some Battles may not have been contested by both possible sides. Granting of Post-Combat Awards for these Battles occurs here at the end of Winter.

COMPLETELY UNCONTESTED BATTLES

If there are Battles that were not contested on either side, simply discard that event by moving it to the Event Discards pile.

CONTESTED BY ONLY ONE SIDE

If a Battle was contested by only one side, that side is declared the winner at this time, even if they did not score any unblocked hits. Award that family with the Post-Combat Awards outlined in Section 7.6. All these awards can be granted simultaneously except if the Catholic side won the Rising of the North. In that case award that benefit (+3 Notoriety in any one March) last.

8.0 Spring

The onset of Spring allowed livestock to disperse to the hills, bringing an end to the raids and allowing the borders to begin the process of renewal.

In the game, families spend Spring resetting for the next turn and recapping the previous turn by updating each family's score.

8.1 Reset

During the end of turn reset, undertake these actions:

• ATTACK INDICATORS: Any of these markers still on the map are returned to their owner.
• HORSES: All flipped down Horses are returned to a standing position in their owner's Horses box.
• DEBATEABLE LAND: The Farm Region in the Debateable Land is set to exactly 2 Sheep.
• DISCARD EVENTS: The current events are discarded to the Event Discards pile.
• DEFENSE TOKENS: Each family returns their Defense Tokens to their Defense Token box.

You can skip all the reset activities listed above during the Turn 3 Spring since there is no upcoming turn for which to prepare.

8.2 Score VP

"The Border ballads are world famous. They are earth poetry. That they survived in such quantity is due largely to the industry and enthusiasm of Sir Walter Scott, who saved them from oblivion… For those who can take the ballads—and not everyone can—they provide a haunting impression of the Border spirit, captive and restless in a hostile world, sometimes breaking free in exhilarating imagination, but always returning to the resigned sadness of the North."

Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border Reivers by George MacDonald Fraser

Although VP from combat successes accrue during Winter, the final accounting of which family is in the lead takes place in the Spring. Perform these scoring activities at this time:

• REIVERS IN GAOL: Add 2 VP to each family's score for each Cube in their town's Gaol.
• SCORE NOTORIETY VP: VP are awarded to the two families with the highest notoriety in each of the seven marches (including the Debateable Land). The number of VP awarded depend on whether a family is in first or second place and scale based on the current turn:

Turn	1st Place	2nd Place
1	3	1
2	6	2
3	9	3

If 2 or more families are tied for 1st place in a March, all of them receive the 2nd place VP; in this case no family gains the 2nd place points. If 2 or more families are tied for 2nd place in a March, do not award 2nd place VP.

• SPRING CARDS: If this is Turn 3, families can now play one or more of the five Border Ballad Spring cards to gain additional VP. Opponents who are sticklers for period flavor are welcome to insist that this player reads out the full text of the ballad printed on their card before they can be awarded the VP!
• RECORD END-OF-TURN VP TOTALS: Scoring for the turn is now complete. Ensure that all VP are recorded and totaled for the turn on the Border Reivers Score Sheet and that the total for each family matches the score shown by their Cube on the Victory Track on the map.

8.3 Bonus Actions

On Turns 1 and 2 (only), families who are trailing in score gain bonus actions here at the end of the turn, as follows:

• LAST PLACE PLAYER: The family in last place by VP total reviews the Summer Cards Discards pile and selects one for a Recruit, Play, or Hold action as appropriate (Sections 5.1 to 5.3). Cattle are never expended or gained for this action (allowing the player to select a card that would normally be too expensive). If the player prefers, they may take 1 Default Action (5.5) instead of selecting a card. If 2 or more families are tied for last place, use the tie-breaking procedure in Section 9.3 and the family who loses those tie-breakers receives this bonus action.
• FAMILIES IN BOTTOM HALF BY VP: All other families in the bottom half of the families by VP total get to take 1 Default Action (e.g., in a 6-player game this would be the players in 4th and 5th place). Again, use the tie-breakers in Section 9.3 as necessary to establish a complete ranking of all families.

9.0 End Game Scoring

At the end of Turn 3, families are awarded additional VP based on the Livestock they have accumulated. These VP are added just before the winner is determined.

9.1 Livestock Scores

Each family gains VP for the Livestock they possess here at the end of the game. Add VP as follows:

• HORSES: Gain 3 VP for every 2 Horses in your possession (an odd Horse is ignored).
• SHEEP: Gain 2 VP for every 2 Sheep in your possession (an odd Sheep is ignored).
• CATTLE: Gain 1 VP for every 2 Cattle in your possession (an odd Cattle is ignored).

9.2 Selecting the Winner

Once the Livestock scores have been determined, compute a final score for each family and record it on the Border Reivers Score Sheet. The family with the highest VP total is the winner. If there is a tie for first place use the tie-breaking procedures listed below.

2- OR 3-PLAYER GAMES: If this is a 2- or 3-player game, sum together the VP total for both of your families to arrive at your final score. If two players are tied, use the tie-breakers below based on the total set of Livestock and cards accumulated by both of those players' families.

9.3 Breaking Ties

If families are ever found to be tied in VP, break ties by reviewing the items below until a tie is no longer present (ignore the higher-numbered tie-breakers once a difference is found).

1. HORSES: The family with the most Horses is leading.
2. SHEEP: The family with the most Sheep is leading.
3. CATTLE: The family with the most Cattle is leading.
4. RECRUIT SUMMER CARD: The family with the highest numbered Summer Card on their Family Sheet is leading.

10.0 Advanced Rules

Players who have already tried Border Reivers at least once may want to consider adding one of more of these Advanced Rules to the game to add additional levels of strategy and competitive balance.

10.1 Traits (4- or 6-Player Game Only)

Replace the usual instructions for choosing a family found in Section 3.2 with these rules that add an additional drafting round for players to choose both a bonus Trait and the family which they will control during play.

The steps for this additional draft that occurs during the Family Selection step of game setup are as follows:

1. Add to an opaque container one Cube of each color that corresponds to the 4 or 6 families in this game. Draw out the Cubes out at a time, placing them in consecutive boxes at the top of the Winter Combat Area (so box "1", then "2", etc.). The usual determination of turn order at the start of the Turn 1 Winter Phase is skipped and the order established in this step is used instead for that round of attacks.
2. Now randomly determine an order that players will follow during this draft.
3. In order, each player chooses either one of the six Traits or a family that they want to play (remember that the Grey and Hume families cannot be selected in a 4-player game).
4. Once all players have made one selection, reverse the drafting order. (Thus, the last player in the first round gets first choice in the second round).
5. Then for the second round (in this reverse order) each player chooses again, selecting either a Family to play or a Trait, whichever type of item they did not select during the first round.

In a 6-player game all families and all traits are thus assigned, one of each to each unique player. In a 4-player game all families except Hume and Grey and 4 of the 6 available Traits are assigned, one of each to each unique player.

Each player now receives the Family Sheet, Cubes, 6 Target Cards, 1 Warden Card, and 2 Attack Indicators for the family they drafted. They also can take advantage of the Trait they have selected at the appropriate time.

Setup then continues with Step 3.3.

10.2 Wildcard Target Card

With this Advanced Rule players gain an additional option for play of their Warden Card. This option may not be chosen if a player has already used their Warden card defensively (see 7.4, Reveal Defenses). When Selecting their Final Target (7.4), the player ignores their original Target Card selection and instead expends their Warden card. This maneuver changes their original Target Card into a wildcard that can be used to send an attack against any valid target (Raid, Feud, Gaolbreak, or Battle) with no die roll modifier. The target must abide by the usual Target Selection restrictions in 7.4 (i.e., it can't have been targeted earlier in the turn unless one of the special exceptions applies).

10.3 Balanced Summer Card Passing (3- or 6-Player Game Only)

The usual Summer card passing sequence in a 3- or 6-player game puts the Middle March players at a slight disadvantage. For this reason, the Middle March players usually gain these benefits during Setup:

• Add an additional Horse to the Kerr Horse box
• Add a Sheep flipped on its side to the Farm Region of Tynedale (in the English Middle March).

This Advanced Rule eliminates this imbalance but slightly complicates the card passing sequence.

When using this Advanced Rule, do not give either the Kerr or Fenwick families these setup advantages listed above. The setup for all six families is thus identical. Then, follow the instructions below when passing cards (instead of the usual passing to an adjacent player regardless of whether they are English or Scottish):

Pass	Instructions
1	English families pass amongst themselves. (assume Grey is left of Dacre; Dacre is right of Grey). Scottish families pass amongst themselves (assume Maxwell is left of Hume; Hume is right of Maxwell).
2	Same as Pass 1
3	English family passes to the Scottish family directly across the Border (e.g., Dacre to Maxwell); Scottish family passes their cards directly back.
4	Same as Pass 1
5	Same as Pass 1

Examples: On Turn 1 when passing is to the left, the first pass will be as follows: Grey to Fenwick; Fenwick to Dacre; Dacre to Grey; Maxwell to Kerr; Kerr to Hume; Hume to Maxwell.

On Turn 2 when passing is to the right, the first pass will be: Grey to Dacre; Dacre to Fenwick; Fenwick to Grey; Maxwell to Hume; Hume to Kerr; Kerr to Maxwell.

Example of Play

Four friends sit down to play a game of Border Reivers: Catharine, Steve, Vera and Thomas. Based on family ties to the border region, they choose their families as follows:

• Catharine plays Maxwell (Scottish West March)
• Steve chooses Kerr (Scottish Middle March)
• Vera takes Fenwick (English Middle March)
• Thomas selects Dacre (English West March)

Setup

Following along with the setup instructions in 3.0, the players:

• Remove the Grey and Hume family components
• Remove the Defense Tokens without the "4P" designation
• Remove the 10 "Solo" Summer Cards
• Remove the 8 Summer cards for each turn without a "4P" or "?" designation
• Deal in exactly 10 of the "?" cards for each turn (for Turn 1, the cards removed in this sample game are #14, #16, #28, #37, #39 and #40)
• Remove the 3 events without a "4P" designation

Each player sits down near their March and places their Family Sheet in front of them. They then finish the setup described in 3.4, adding:

• Sheep, Cattle and Horses to the map
• Their Sheep on Map marker to their Family Sheet
• Player Cubes to various tracks, on-map boxes, and a randomization cup
• Defense Tokens to both a randomization cup and each player's map area

The Kerr player does not receive an extra horse – nor does the Fenwick player bastle a Sheep – since this is a 4-player game (not 3 or 6-player).

Summer Card Deal

The 28 cards in the Summer Deck are dealt to the four players as follows.

Catharine (Maxwell): #9, Early Defenses; #12, Provost of Dumfries; #23, Galloway Cattle; #24, Chillingham Cattle; #25, Shiels; #35, Defensible Church; #38, Devil's Beeftub

Steve (Kerr): #1, Johnnie Armstrong; #4, William de Lisle; #5, Henry Percy; #15, Abbot of Kelso; #19, Johnstone; #20, Carleton; #30, Signal Fires

Vera (Fenwick): #3, Richard Graham of Esk; #13, Keeper of Liddesdale; #27, Scottish Highland; #29, Signal Fires; #31, Signal Fires; #33, Bastle Houses; #42, Foggy Night

Thomas (Dacre): #6, Earl of Angus; #8, Early Defenses; #11, Bishop of Carlisle; #17, Forster; #18, Scott; #36, Day of Truce; #41, Maid Lilliard

Summer Draft - First Round

Let's focus our attention on Catharine's choices through this Summer of Turn 1. The decision in the first round is pretty easy. #12, Provost of Dumfries, which gives a discount on all Summer cards that cost 1 Cattle or more, is a great card to draft early in the game.

Catharine pays 4 of her 8 Cattle to the bank and recruits this card, placing it on her Family Sheet. She also takes the Provost of Dumfries marker and places it in her Cattle box on the map as a reminder that she will get a 1 Cattle discount on Summer Card drafts in the future.

The other players simultaneously resolve their first-round drafts as follows:

• Steve: Recruits #20, Carleton and places it in the Allied Grayne #1 box of his Family Sheet while dropping his Cattle by 3 to 5.
• Vera: Plays #29, Signal Fires, dropping her Cattle to 7. She places two Peels at Elsdon Tower and Belsay. Signal Fires is placed face down as the first card in the Summer Cards Out-of-Play pile.
• Thomas: Plays #11, Bishop of Carlisle, for much the same reason that Catharine chose Provost of Dumfries. His Cattle is also at 4.

All four players pass the six cards they did not select to the player seated to their left (so Catharine receives these cards from Thomas): #6, Earl of Angus; #8, Early Defenses; #17, Forster; #18, Scott; #36, Day of Truce; #41, Maid Lilliard

Summer Draft - Second Round

Catharine is eager to show the power of the Provost of Dumfries, so she now recruits the Warden #6, Earl of Angus for free (skipping the usual 1 Cattle payment). He is placed on her Family Sheet, and she retrieves his Defense Token which she adds to her stack with the Rumor and Deputy Warden she started with.

The other players make these second-round drafts:

• Steve: Plays #23, Galloway Cattle, boosting his Cattle total from 5 to 11.
• Vera: Recruits #1, Johnnie Armstrong, dropping her Cattle from 7 to 5.
• Thomas: Plays #3, Richard Graham of Esk, paying only 1 due to his Bishop of Carlisle Office (leaving him with 3 Cattle).

Each player now passes 5 cards to the left, with Catharine receiving cards that had started with Vera: #13, Keeper of Liddesdale; #27, Scottish Highland; #31, Signal Fires; #33, Bastle Houses; #42, Foggy Night

Summer Draft - Third Round

Catharine decides to boost her economic might and now plays #27, Scottish Highland to add 3 Sheep to her March. She adds 1 Sheep (standing up) to each of Nithsdale, Solway Plain and Eskdale (which now have 2 each). Only Annandale remains at 1 Sheep.

And as for the others:

• Steve: Holds #41, Maid Lilliard. His Cattle increases further to 12 and he secretly places this card face down on his Held Cards pile.
• Vera: Plays #24, Chillingham Cattle to build her Cattle up to 11.
• Thomas: Recruits #19, Johnstone. Because of his discount it only costs 2 and he has 1 Cattle remaining.

Summer Draft - Fourth Round to End

Keeping our focus on Catharine, here is what she recruits in the last three rounds of Summer:

Fourth Round: Plays #30 Signal Fires (still no cost!) to add Peels at Elshieshields Tower and Lochmaben Peel.

The other players draft as follows:

• Steve: #13, Keeper of Liddesdale
• Vera: #18, Scott
• Thomas: #25, Shiels (adds 2 Horses)

Fifth Round: This round sees Catharine viewing three cards from her original hand: #9, Early Defenses; #35, Defensible Church; #38, Devil's Beeftub

She holds #38, Devil's Beeftub, boosting her Cattle to 5.

The other players draft as follows:

• Steve: #4, William de Lisle
• Vera: #42, Foggy Night
• Thomas: #36, Day of Truce

Sixth Round: In the final round of drafting, Catharine recruits #17, Forster, filling her Allied Grayne slot. It costs her just 2, leaving her Cattle at 3 at the end of drafting. The other card, #8, Early Defenses is added to the Summer Cards Discard pile.

The other players draft as follows:

• Steve: #9, Early Defenses played (and the Riding the Bound Defense Token secretly drawn); #35, Defensible Church discarded.
• Vera: #5, Henry Percy recruited; #15, Abbot of Kelso discarded.
• Thomas: #33, Bastle Houses played (Sheep in Lyne and Caldew Valleys bastled); #31, Signal Fires discarded.

Autumn

Economic Update: With 3 Horses and 1 Held card, Catharine is comfortably within the Horse Limit and Hand Size checks, especially with 7 Sheep. None of the other players added Sheep, but since they all have 5 or less Horses and 2 or less Held cards, they also are fine.

All players gain Cattle income. For Catharine, that is 6 more Cattle, giving her a total of 9. The other players end with 10 (Steve), 11 (Vera), and 5 (Thomas).

Draw Events: The events are #6, Lochmaben Fair (placed in the Scottish West March) and #9 Ill Week (placed in the Current Events area).

Place Defenses: Catharine is worried about her 2 unbastled Sheep in Eskdale, so she puts the Earl of Angus Defense Token (facedown) there to guard that Farm Region with his 3 dice (and +1 die roll modifier). She placed the Deputy Warden in Annandale and the Rumor next to Caerlaverock to scare off the Dacres from trying a Feud – it is Ill Week after all!

The other players also add their Defense Tokens (Steve and Vera each cover 3 Farm Regions; Thomas places his Defense Tokens to cover the two Farm Regions that each have one unbastled Sheep).

Winter – Determine Order

Player Cubes are drawn from the Turn Order Container to determine who will attack first. The order is:

• Steve (Kerr)
• Thomas (Dacre)
• Catharine (Maxwell)
• Vera (Fenwick)

Winter – Select Target Card

Now each player selects their Target card for this first round of combats. Catharine's first priority is to fight the battle in her own Scottish West March to maintain her Notoriety lead there. But since Steve gets to attack first, she can't be 100% sure she will be able to represent Scotland at Lochmaben Fair. So she will go for one of the Target XXX cards that allow her to fight a Battle in her Home March, but not use her Scottish card since she doesn't want to lose the +1 die roll modifier if she can't get to the turn's only Battle. She settles on the Target Cross-Border March card since that allows her to target the English Middle March if she is kept out of the Battle; EMM is a good Raid target since she can use the Forster die roll bonus there.

All four player's Target cards are revealed simultaneously.

Winter – Place Notoriety

Notoriety placements are made in reverse turn order, so Vera starts those:

• Vera: 2 in SMM (from Scott Grayne).
• Catharine: 2 in SWM (Provost of Dumfries), 1 in EMM (Forster).
• Thomas: 2 in EMM (Bishop of Carlisle), 2 in DL (Johnstone). He decides to save Day of Truce since he is already going to lead in EWM and DL, and place second in EMM. No need to become a big target!
• Steve: 1 in DL (Carleton).

Winter – Select Final Target

Final targets are selected for these first-round combats (with Horses being allocated to these attacks):

• Steve: Raids Debateable Land with 2 Horses.
• Thomas: Raids Annandale with 3 Horses. Although it is earlier than usual, Catharine plays her Warden card to swap the Earl of Angus over to Annandale (trading places with the Deputy Warden). With 3 dice all with a +2 modifier, she has a great chance for a Hanged result, worth a big 6 VP.
• Catharine: Fights the Battle of Lochmaben Fair with 2 Horses.
• Vera: Raids Liddesdale with 1 Horse since there is no Defense Token present in that Farm Region.

No one plays a Held Attack card – the three players with Attack cards are all initiating another type of combat. These Held cards will surely prove useful later though.

Winter – Resolve Combats

• Steve: Rolls 8 dice (2 Reiver, 2 Horses, 1 Grayne, 1 Notoriety, 2 Sheep). Scores 2 Sheep and 3 Cattle hits. The Sheep from Debateable Land are taken to Tweeddale and Teviotdale. 7 VP earned. Steve's 2 Horses are expended and placed back in the SMM Horse box on their side.
• Thomas: Rolls 6 dice (1 Reiver, 3 Horses, 1 Grayne, 1 Sheep). Rolls are 2 Sheep hits, 2 Cattle hits, 2 misses. Catharine has 3 defense dice (+2 DRM). Natural rolls are 4, 4, 6 (which become 6, 6, 8) resulting in 1 Hanged, 1 Capture, and 1 Cattle hit blocked (the second 6 becomes a BLOCK because only the first 6 is a CAPTURE). Thomas scores 5 VP, takes 1 Cattle from Catharine, and adds the Sheep from Annandale to Lyne Valley. Catharine scores 6 VP for the Hanged result and adds an orange Player Cube to her gaol in Dumfries. A light blue Feud Cube is added to the Family Seat Naworth in the English West March. 2 Horses were lost and go back to the bank; the remaining 1 is returned to Thomas's Horse box (on its side).
• Catharine: Rolls 4 dice at the Battle of Lochmaben Fair (2 Horses, 2 Notoriety lead in SWM). Rolls 5, 6, 3, 4 for 2 hits, but 1 hit is blocked (a roll for the English of a 5). Thus only 3 VP scored here. She could still pick up 2 Notoriety if no one fights for the English at this battle (or if they score no hits). Catharine's 2 Horses are expended.
• Vera: Rolls 5 dice (2 Reiver, 1 Horse, 1 Grayne, 1 Sheep) against undefended Liddesdale. Scores 1 Sheep and 3 Cattle hits. Vera scores 5 VP, takes 3 Cattle from Steve, and adds the Sheep from Liddesdale to Coquetdale. A dark blue Feud Cube is added to the Family Seat Fenwick in the English Middle March. Vera's 1 Horse is expended.

The Game Continues

And so, after the first round of Winter on Turn 1, the VP scores are as follows:

• Catharine: 9
• Steve: 7
• Thomas and Vera: 5

Catharine is the only player with 2 Cubes in her Gaol, so that could extend her lead at the end of the turn. Thomas is in the best position to score Notoriety (he will gain 7 VP if he holds on to first place in the EWM and DL, and maintains second in the EMM). However, he also lost 2 Horses when the Earl of Angus showed up to thwart his Raid on Annandale. It is anyone's game as the players start to plot out the second round of Winter Combats. Will Thomas or Vera fight for England at Lochmaben Fair? Will Catharine suffer more Raids now that her Defense Tokens have been revealed and her Warden card expended?

The four Turn Order Cubes are taken from the west edge of the map, added back to the opaque container, and drawn again from the cup. The scheming for the turn's second round of combat commences immediately…

Border Reiver Names

The historical characters from the Border Reiver period have some of the most colorful names found in English or Scottish history, so players of Border Reivers need to be able to earn these flavorful epithets as well. Here's how it is done, using the table in the bottom left corner of the Border Reivers Scoresheet.

Once you have determined the order of finish of your players, write down their first names in that order in the middle "Player Name" column. Then add the name of the Family that each player controlled in the right-most column.

The left-hand column is filled in for just the players finishing in 2nd through 6th places (since the 1st place player is always a Laird or Lady). Use the Name Bank to the right to compute the exact name for this left hand column referencing the place of finish with the final (ones) digit of the player's score. Once all three boxes are complete for a player you can read their full Reiver name from left to right.

Example: A game finishes with these final scores:

• Catharine (playing as Maxwell): 159 VP
• Vera (Fenwick): 154 VP
• Thomas (Dacre): 153 VP
• Steve (Kerr): 143 VP
• Jane (Grey): 139 VP
• David (Hume): 101 VP

These players' computed Border Reiver names are:

• Catharine Maxwell the Lady
• Wantoun Vera Fenwick
• Wynking Thomas Dacre
• Hen Harrow Steve Kerr
• Gleed Jane Grey
• Ill-Drowned David Hume

(For games with four players you can skip the 3rd and 4th rows and just use the naming in rows for 2nd, 5th and 6th where some of the most colorful nicknames appear.)

Key Terms Index

Attack – The initiation of combat by a Player, either a Raid, Feud, Gaolbreak or Battle. (7)

Attack Indicator – A two-sided counter placed on the map next to the target of an attack. (2.12, 7.4)

Autumn – The second phase of each turn where Players perform administrative tasks and prepare for the Winter combats. (6)

Bastle – A Sheep piece that has been flipped on its side to denote that it is protected from Raids. Historically a "bastle" is a fortified farmhouse; in this game it is also used as a verb to describe the act of protecting a Sheep. (5.2.6)

Battle – One of the four types of combat; occurs at a Battlefield when the proper event has been drawn. (7)

Battlefield – Map location that holds a Battle event. (2.1.1)

Block – Defensive combat result that nullifies a hit by the attacker. (7.6)

Bonus Action – Extra actions granted to Families with the lowest VP totals during the Spring of the first two turns. (8.3)

Capture – Defensive combat result that causes one of the attacker's Horses to be lost and one of the attacker's Player Cubes to be placed in Gaol. (7.6)

Card Decks Display – Cardstock card holding various card decks and discard piles. (2.2)

Castle Garrison – A Permanent Defense that provides 2 defense dice against Raids. (2.1.1)

Cattle – The least valuable type of Livestock; acts as the game's currency. (2.7.1, 5.2.2)

Cattle Hit – Offensive combat result that can cause Cattle to move between Families. (7.6)

Cattle Income – Economic statistic for each Family based on the number of Sheep they possess; determines how many new Cattle they gain in Autumn. (6.1)

Current Events Area – Three boxes in the southeast corner of the map to hold Events that are active this turn which do not occur at a Battlefield. (6.2)

Debateable Land – The only Farm Region outside of any March, leaving it extremely vulnerable. (2.1.1)

Default Action – A less powerful drafting move taken to bolster Livestock, defenses or Notoriety. (5.5)

Discard – One of the four Summer drafting actions; allows you to take one Default Action. (5.4)

EEM – English East March. (2.1.1)

EMM – English Middle March. (2.1.1)

Event Card – A card from the Event Deck that presents a one-Winter-long historical opportunity for the Players. (2.9)

Event Deck – The deck of Event Cards placed on the Card Decks Display. (2.2)

Event Discards – Event Cards that have been drawn on a previous turn. (2.2)

EWM – English West March. (2.1.1)

Family – The kinship group in control of a single March. (1.1)

Family Seat – Map location that holds the Feuds With Box for a Family and a militia Defense Token box. (2.1.1)

Family Sheet – Player mat tracking Recruited cards, Held cards, Sheep On Map, and combat dice for a single Family. (2.4)

Farm Region – Map location that holds the Sheep allocated to this region and a Defense Token box. (2.1.1)

Feud – One of the four types of combat; occurs at a Family Seat where one of your Player Cubes marks an existing Feud. (7)

Feuds With Box – Holds Player Cubes representing those Families with a grudge against the Family controlling this March. (2.1.1)

Gaol – Holds Player Cubes representing those Families who have captives in the custody of the Family controlling this March. (2.1.1)

Gaolbreak – One of the four types of combat; occurs at a Gaol where one of your Player Cubes marks a previous Capture. (7)

Hand Size – Economic statistic for each Family based on the number of Sheep they possess; limits how many cards they can Hold in Autumn. (6.1)

Hanged – Defensive combat result that causes one of the attacker's Horses to be lost and immediately awards VP to the defender. (7.6)

Held Card Box – An area of a Family Sheet reserved to hold a Family's hand of cards to be used later in the game. (2.4)

Hit – Combat result that tracks progress toward winning a Battle, Feud, or Gaolbreak. (7.6)

Hold – One of the four Summer drafting actions; results in a card being placed face down in your Held Card Box. (5.3)

Home March – The March associated with a specific Family. (2.1.1)

Horse Limit – Economic statistic for each Family based on the number of Sheep they possess; limits how many Horses they can have in Autumn. (6.1)

Horses – The most valuable type of Livestock, representing your attack power. (2.7.3, 5.2.4)

Livestock – The aggregate term for Cattle, Horses, and Sheep. (2.1.2, 2.7)

March – One of six administrative districts, each controlled by a single family. (2)

Notoriety – Numerical value tracked for each March to depict which Family has the strongest reputation there. (7.3)

Notoriety Track – Set of 12 boxes near each March; Player Cubes are moved along this Track to display Notoriety for each Family. (2.1.1, 7.3)

Peel – A Permanent Defense that provides 1 defense die against Raids. (2.1.1)

Permanent Defense – A Castle Garrison or Peel; each one protects two adjacent Farm Regions. (2.1.1, 5.2.5)

Play – One of the four Summer drafting actions; results in livestock or defenses being added to your March. (5.2)

Player – Human participant in the game. (1.1)

Player Cube – Wooden Cube in one of the Family colors used to mark Turn Order, Feuds, captives in Gaol, VP, and Notoriety. (2.13)

Raid – One of the four types of combat; occurs in a Farm Region and may result in Cattle or Sheep changing hands. (7)

Randomization Cups – Opaque cups used to draw Cubes or counters at random. (3.5)

Recruit – One of the four Summer drafting actions; results in a card being placed face up on your Family Sheet. (5.1)

Rising of the North – The only Event Card that creates a Battle off-map; although it acts as a Battle it is placed in the Current Events area and special rules apply to its resolution (6.2, 7.6).

Scots' Dyke Marker – Counter that may be placed in the Debateable Land on Turn 2; if so all Raids on this Farm Region have one hit blocked. (2.1.1)

SEM – Scottish East March. (2.1.1)

Sheep – A Livestock which is more valuable that Cattle but less valuable than Horses, representing your economic wealth. (2.7.2, 5.2.3)

Sheep Hit – Offensive combat result that can cause Sheep to move between Families. (7.6)

Sheep On Map Tracker – A table in the middle of each Family Sheet that contains economic statistics used each Autumn. (2.4, 6.1)

Sixth Round – Final round of Summer drafting where one of the two cards in each Family's hand is added to the Summer Cards Discard pile. (5.6)

SMM – Scottish Middle March. (2.1.1)

Spring – The fourth and final phase of each turn where they game is reset for the next turn and scores are recorded. (8)

Summer – The first phase of each turn where Players draft cards to strengthen their families. (5)

Summer Card – A card in one of the three Summer Decks that can be drafted to improve the abilities of a Family: come in three types, thirteen subtypes. (2.8)

Summer Cards Out-of-Play – A pile of Summer Cards that have been expended and are now out of the game. (2.2)

Summer Cards Discard – A pile of Summer Cards that were Discarded; cards here may reenter play by various means. (2.2)

SWM – Scottish West March. (2.1.1)

Target Card – One of six cards given to each Family at the start of the game; one is expended whenever an attack is executed. (2.11, 7.4)

Target Discards – A pile of Target Cards that have been expended and are now out of the game. (2.2)

Town – Map location that holds the Gaol for a March and a militia Defense Token box. (2.1.1)

Trait Card – Additional ability drafted for a Family if playing with the Traits Advanced Rule. (10.1)

Turn Order – Order in which Families resolve their attacks in Winter; shown by Player Cubes in the Winter Combat Area. (2.1.2, 7.1, 7.7)

Victory Track – Cardstock card holding one Player Cubes from each Family to track scores. (2.3)

Walled Town – Berwick and Carlisle; special Towns where Gaolbreaks are harder to execute. (2.1.1)

Warden Card – A card given to each Family that can be used once in the game to reposition their defenses after an attack has been declared. (7.4)

Winter – The third phase of each turn where attacks are initiated to score VP and gain livestock. (7)

Winter Combat Area – Area on the west edge of the map used to display Turn Order and selected Target Cards. (2.1.2, 7.2)