Chu Han
Chu Han Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 46 dynasty cards, ranked 0-9
- 15 event cards: 5 Calm, 10 unique
- 4 summary cards, 2 per player
- 4 summary punchboard, 2 per player
- 6 Imperial Writ pieces
- 6 Imperial Writ cards
- 3 cards used to track scores
- Score Track and 2 score tokens
- Tuck box
- Historical and campaigns guide
Use the Imperial Writ cards, along with the 3 score-tracking cards and the tuck box, instead of the writs, score track, and tokens, to slip Chu Han in your pocket to play anywhere. For now, store these 9 cards in the tuck box.
Before your first game: carefully punch out the score track and writs.
Setup
- Set the score track between the players. Choose a player to go first, who puts the Han scoring token on the track's 0 space. The second player puts the Chu scoring token on the track's 1 space.
- Give each player 2 summary cards.
- If using the optional events, set aside 1 Calm event card and shuffle the 14 other event cards. Put the Calm card face up on top of them to form the event deck.
Players start each hand with a mixture of Chu and Han cards, representing strains within clans, hostage taking, and shifting allegiances.
The historical guide provides setups for 2 campaigns.
First Few Games: do not use events. Put the 15 event cards in the tuck box.
Hand Setup
a. Shuffle the 46 dynasty cards and deal them into 3 piles of 15, 15 and 16. b. Form the dynasty deck from the 16 card pile. Turn the bottom 4 cards sideways as a reminder that they will never be drawn. Place the writs next to this draw pile. c. Each player picks up their initial hand of 15 cards. The Han player is on lead and begins play.
Play
A game of Chu Han consists of 4-7 hands. In each hand, players vie to "go out" first by getting rid of all their cards.
A hand consists of a series of tricks. The player on lead plays a set of one or more cards, all the same rank. Their rival then must either play a set of equal size and higher rank or pass.
Example. The Han player begins by playing a set of 3 rank 1 cards. The Chu player must respond with a set of 3 cards all of the same higher rank or pass.
If their rival plays, then the lead player must beat that play, and so on, until one player passes. Discard the cards played ("the trick"). The player who wins a trick leads the next trick.
Example (cont.). The Chu player responds with a set of 3 rank 5 cards. The Han player responds with 3 rank 7 cards. Since the Chu player cannot play a higher ranked set of 3 cards, they would normally pass, ending this trick.
The rank 3 and rank 6 cards are all unique and can either be played normally in sets or for their special powers.
Example (cont.). Instead of passing, the Chu player plays Han Xin (a rank 6 card) for its special power: to skip a response back to the rival while giving them 1 victory point. The Han player must now respond to their own set of 3 rank 7s, cannot do so, and passes, giving the Chu player the lead.
Most points are scored by going out. However, sets of 6 or more rank 2 cards score points in the middle of a hand. To form bigger or better sets, players can choose to take Imperial writs to draw more cards, but this is risky. When a player goes out, they score points both for cards remaining in their rival's hand and for any writs that their rival took.
After a player goes out, if no one has won, begin a new hand.
If a player achieves 31 or more points, possibly in the middle of a hand, they establish China's first imperial dynasty and win!
Card note: Han Xin (rank 6, "Master Strategist") — Skip response; rival +1 VP.
Goal: 31+ VPs
Dynasty Deck
The 46 card dynasty deck consists of 9 rank 1 cards, 8 rank 2s, 7 rank 3s, ... 2 rank 8s, and 1 rank 9, plus 1 rank 0 "wild" card.
Due to this structure, since the rank of each set played on a trick must increase, it becomes harder and harder to play higher rank sets consisting of multiple cards.
Trick Sequence
Each hand consists of a series of tricks. In a trick:
- The player on lead, in either order:
- may play 1 LEAD power, and/or
- may take a writ and draw 2 cards.
- The lead player must play a set of 1+ cards, all the same rank.
- The other player is then on response. They:
- may take a writ and draw 2 cards, and then
- must either play a higher rank set or pass.
A set played on response must be the same number of cards as the set led (and of higher rank than the last set played). Continue step 3 until a player passes, yielding the lead. Then, discard all cards played.
Fine Points
The "0" can be played with a set to make it 1 larger. If so, the 0's rank is the same as those cards. Played by itself, it is rank 0.
Example. You play 2 rank 8 cards and the 0 as a set of 3 8s.
Playing 6 or more rank 2 cards scores as many victory points (VPs) as the number of rank 2 cards played.
Example. You play 7 rank 2 cards and score 7 VPs. Example. You play 5 rank 2 cards and score no VPs. Example. You play 5 rank 2 cards and the 0 and score 6 VPs.
Sidebar Notes
The small squares on a card's ribbon match the number of cards of that rank in the deck.
Marks used only in historical setups.
There are 3 LEAD powers, whose icons begin with "!".
Players begin each hand with 1/3 of the deck. Players may, up to 6 times during a hand, take a writ to draw 2 more cards.
Drawing cards gives you play options and helps you deduce what cards your rival may hold.
However, taking writs is a risk; if your rival goes out, they get 1 point for each writ you took.
There are only 6 writs. The final 4 deck cards cannot be drawn.
The scoring of 6+ rank 2 cards represents the power of having diplomatic dominance.
Special Power
| Icon | Card | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| ! (eye) | 3 Ji Bu | LEAD: look at top 4 cards of the draw pile, replacing them in the same order. When used to look at the last 4 cards of the draw pile (after all 6 writs are taken), the rival player should reveal their cards for the rest of this hand. |
| ! (discard) | 3 Yu Ji | LEAD: discard 1 card from hand to the discard pile. You must have a card to discard when you play this. |
| ! (1-5) | 6 Ying Bu | LEAD: take a rank 1-5 card from the discard pile into your hand. There must be a rank 1-5 card in discard pile when you play this. |
If a lead power is cancelled, the lead player cannot play a second one that trick.
| Icon | Card | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| X | 3 Lyu Zhi | REACT: cancel a special power immediately after it is played. Playing the 0 as a wild is not a special power and cannot be cancelled. If drawn with a writ, this cannot cancel a power used before taking the writ. |
| XX | 3 Xiao He | REACT: cancel Lyu Zhi's cancellation, so the power played takes effect. |
These react powers are played out of turn. If a card's power is cancelled, discard it and the cancelling card, returning any other cards to their owner's hand (or the discard pile in Ying Bu's case).
The following powers modify playing a set or passing:
| Icon | Card | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| → = | 3 Peng Yue | Play to respond with an equal (not higher) rank set. |
| →! (3VP) | 3 Xiahou Ying | Pass to take the lead (instead of yielding it); your rival gains 3 VPs. |
| (down arrow, wavy) | 3 Zhongli Mo | Play a set of all different cards as that many cards of the lowest rank played. This can produce sets of 6+ rank 2s that score VPs. Example. Zhongli Mo played with 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 is 6 2s for 6 VPs. Example. Zhongli Mo played with 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 0 is 6 0s for no VPs. |
| ⇄ (1 VP) | 6 Han Xin | Play to skip a response back to your rival, who gains 1 VP. The rival must respond to their previous play or pass. This skips and does not duplicate the previous play (i.e. skipping back 6 2s does not score 6 VPs). |
| 10→9 | 6 Liu Bang | Play as a rank 10 card in response to the rank 9 card (only). |
| (!) 2x VP | 6 Xiang Yu | Pass, doubling all VPs for the rest of this hand (including going out). |
If a player chose not to take a writ before using one of the above six powers, they may not take a writ if it is cancelled; they must play a set or, if on response, either play or pass.
Going Out
Once a player has no cards (and any REACT powers have been played and resolved), a hand ends.
If both players, due to REACT powers, have no cards after resolving a LEAD power or play, then the player who had no cards first is the player who went out.
The player who went out scores:
- 1 point per card remaining in their rival's hand, limited to a maximum of 5 points, plus
- 1 point per writ taken by their rival (0-6 points).
A player can go out and score 0 VPs (if their rival took no writs and their last card was a REACT power used on the final play).
Writs taken by the player who goes out have no scoring effect.
Winning / New Hand
Once a player has 31 or more victory points (and any REACT powers have been played and resolved), the game ends (even in the middle of a trick) and that player wins.
If one player achieves 31+ VPs by scoring points within a hand while the other player goes out while resolving that play, the first player wins before going out is scored.
If a hand ends without a player winning, play another hand. If using events, discard the top event and reveal the next hand's event (which may alter its setup). The player with the fewest points begins the next hand on lead.
If tied, the player who went out this hand is on lead.
Example. The Chu has 2 cards, 28 VPs, and plays the 9 Emperor. The Han has 30 VPs and plays their last card Xiahou Ying to take the lead, giving their rival 3 VPs. The Chu player now has 31 VPs and wins before the Han player scores for going out.
Example. The Chu leads 24 to 23, has taken 3 writs, and plays Zhongli Mo with 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, keeping 1 card in hand. The Han plays their last card, Lyu Zhi, to cancel Zhongli Mo's power. The Chu reveals Xiao He to cancel Lyu Zhi and scores 6 VPs. The Han went out first and scores 3 VPs for Chu's 3 writs. This hand ends Chu 30 to Han 26.
Had Chu included Xiao He (a 3) in the Zhongli Mo set (to try to win), the Han would score 8 VPs (5 max. for Chu's 7 cards in hand +3 for writs) to win 31 to 24!
Etiquette
When asked, you must reveal how many cards you have. The number of cards remaining in the draw pile may be counted. The discard pile is open for inspection.
Give your rival an opportunity to cancel a power (with Lyu Zhi) before resolving it.
Events (Optional)
Events modify setup, game play, or scoring as indicated.
Two events, Sound Advice and Stability, delay when victory is checked until the end of a hand (after scoring). A third event, Race to Hangu Pass, adds 3 VPs to end of hand scoring that either player, not just the one who went out, could score. If both players tie at 31+ VPs, the player who went out that hand wins!
A player on lead can make two plays to start a trick (by playing 1 card for its lead power and then playing a set). With Warlords, each of these plays can potentially use 1 of the face up cards.
Credits
Game Design and Rules: Tom Lehmann Development Assistance: Arnaud Charpentier and Christian Martinez Illustrations: Ryan Ferriera, Maxime Erceau Graphics and Production: Maxime Erceau Production Assistance: David Harding Cultural Consultants: Mingjie Chen, Zongxiu Yao
Playtesting and Advice James Benham, Arnaud and Clémence Charpentier, David desJardins, Jeff Goldsmith, David Grainger, David Harding, Gordon Hua, Wei-Hwa Huang, Jay and Katrina Gischer, Eric Lehmann, David Liu, Chris Lopez, Larry Rosenberg, Adam Ruprecht, Tanguy Serra, Kevin Wilson, Don Woods, and Zongxiu Yao
Special Thanks: David Grainger, Adam Ruprecht, and Tanguy Serra