Clans and Glory Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Contents
• Goal of the Game
• Setup
  • 2 Players
  • 3 Players
  • 4 Players
• Course of the Game
  • 1. Play a Resident Card (mandatory action)
  • 2. Place a Shield (optional action)
• End of the Game
• Scoring Victory Points
  • Scoring Example
• Tip for Beginners
• Tips for Experienced Players

Game Contents

• 20 Shield Tokens (5 tokens each of 4 colors)
• 42 Resident Cards
  • Each card shows a Color, a Strength, and a Symbol
• 6 Meeting Fields:
  • 2 with a campfire pictured
  • 4 plain (without a campfire)

Goal of the Game

In this game you take on the role of the chief of one of four Scottish clans and try to strengthen your clan by gathering new residents into it. On your turn you must attach one resident card to one of the meeting fields, and then decide whether to place your shield on the stone table of that meeting field. The arrangement of the shields will determine which clan the residents join at the end of the game.

Will you manage to choose the right moment to place your shield? Can you change the course of the game with just one card?

Setup

Each player receives 5 shield tokens of one color, all bearing the same symbol.

2 Players

1. Place 4 meeting fields in a line so that the fields with a campfire are at the ends and the 2 fields without a campfire are in the middle.
2. Remove the resident cards with strength 8 and 7 from the box.
3. Shuffle the remaining resident cards, then remove 3 random cards without looking at them and set them aside — they will not take part in the game.
4. Place 2 random resident cards on each meeting field, in the spaces shown in the illustration.
5. Choose the first player (for example, the player wearing a plaid pattern could become the first player) — they receive 9 resident cards.
6. The second player receives 8 resident cards.

Quick reference for 2 players

• Build the meeting place from 4 meeting fields.
• Remove all resident cards with strength 8 and 7.
• Remove 3 random resident cards.
• Place 2 random resident cards on each meeting field.
• The first player receives 9 cards.
• The second player receives 8 cards.

3 Players

1. Place 5 meeting fields in a line so that the fields with a campfire are at the ends and the 3 fields without a campfire are in the middle.
2. Remove the resident cards with strength 8 from the box.
3. Shuffle the remaining resident cards, then remove 4 random cards without looking at them and set them aside — they will not take part in the game.
4. Place 1 random resident card on each meeting field, in the spaces shown in the illustration.
5. Choose the first player. That player and the next player clockwise each receive 9 resident cards.
6. The player who will take the last turn receives 8 cards.

Quick reference for 3 players

• Build the meeting place from 5 meeting fields.
• Remove all resident cards with strength 8.
• Remove 4 random resident cards.
• Place 1 random resident card on each meeting field.
• The first and second players each receive 9 resident cards.
• The third player receives 8 resident cards.

4 Players

1. Place all 6 meeting fields in a line so that the fields with a campfire are at the ends and the 4 fields without a campfire are in the middle.
2. Shuffle all the resident cards, then remove 5 random cards without looking at them and set them aside — they will not take part in the game.
3. Place 1 random resident card on each meeting field, in the spaces shown in the illustration.
4. Deal 8 cards to each of the first three players, and 7 cards to the fourth player.
5. Players take turns clockwise, and the player with 7 cards must take the last turn.

Quick reference for 4 players

• Build the meeting place from 6 meeting fields.
• Remove 5 random resident cards.
• Place 1 random resident card on each meeting field.
• The first three players each receive 8 cards.
• The last player receives 7 cards.

Note. The two outer meeting fields each have 2 single spaces (see the picture below). These spaces are considered opposite one another, and the nearest spaces to their left and right are their neighbors.

Course of the Game

Players take turns clockwise, starting with the first player. On their turn, a player carries out the following actions.

1. Play a Resident Card (mandatory action)

The player must choose 1 of the resident cards in their hand and place it in a space on one of the meeting fields.

Rules for placing a resident card

The card being played must match either the color or the strength of at least one neighboring resident card, or of the card opposite it. A card may be placed in a space that has no other cards next to it or opposite it without restriction — any resident card can be played there.

No suitable space?

If a player cannot play a resident card according to the placement rules, they play any resident card from their hand face down into any free space on a meeting field. In that case, the player may still, as their second action, place a shield on that same meeting field as usual. A resident card played face down occupies its space for the rest of the game and is not considered a neighbor or an opposite for other cards. Such a card is not counted when scoring victory points.

2. Place a Shield (optional action)

After playing a resident card, the player may place 1 shield token of their color on the stone table of the meeting field where they just placed a card.

Rules for placing a shield

1. A player may place a shield only on the meeting field where they played a resident card as their first action.
2. Players place shields in a stack, each time placing their token on top of the ones placed earlier.
3. A player may place a shield on a meeting field even if their own token is already there. There is no limit to the number of tokens of one color on a meeting field.
4. A player is not required to place a shield on their turn.

Having played a resident card and (optionally) a shield token, the player ends their turn. Then the next player to the left takes their turn.

End of the Game

As soon as the player who started the game with the fewest cards plays their last resident card from hand and finishes their turn, the game ends immediately. The other players discard any resident cards remaining in their hands. Cards lying face down on the meeting fields are removed and are not counted when scoring victory points.

Scoring Victory Points

Starting with one of the outer meeting fields, score each of the meeting fields in turn by carrying out the following steps.

1. Turn the stack of shields over so that the last shield placed ends up on the bottom.
2. Sort all the cards played next to this meeting field by strength. The player whose shield is on top of the stack takes their shield token and the resident card (or all such cards, if there is more than one) with the lowest strength.
3. The player whose shield is next in the stack takes the resident card(s) with the lowest strength among the cards that remain.
4. Repeat this step for all the remaining shields and cards on this field.

It can happen that a player receives no resident cards from a meeting field even though their shield is placed there. This can occur if there are more shields on the field than resident cards played around it.

5. If, after all players have taken their shields, resident cards remain around the meeting field, they do not go to any player.
6. Score victory points for every meeting field in this way.
7. Each player adds up the strength values of all the resident cards they collected — this is their victory point total. The player with the most victory points has assembled the strongest clan and wins the game. In case of a tie, the player who collected the most resident cards wins — their clan is the largest. If the tie still stands, all the tied players celebrate a shared victory.

Scoring Example

8 + 8 + 7 + 7 + 7 + 6 + 6 + 5 = 54

Tip for Beginners

Clan chiefs are not born, they are made. Don't be discouraged if, in your first turns, you aren't able to work out exactly where it's best to place resident cards and shield tokens. Remember that the shield placed on a meeting field first will end up receiving all the cards with the lowest strength.

Tips for Experienced Players

• Every card affects the outcome! For example, if a meeting field with two shields on it has only resident cards of strength 4 and 6, and a player plays a resident card of strength 3 into the last free space (without placing a shield), then none of the players who placed shields on that field will receive a card of strength 6 when scoring victory points — only the cards of strength 3 and 4.
• Sometimes it can be useful to receive the resident cards with the lowest strength. For example, if a meeting field has 4 cards of strength 3 and 2 cards of strength 4, a player will score more victory points by taking the cards of strength 3, since 4 × 3 = 12 while 2 × 4 = 8.
• Think carefully about when it's most advantageous to place a shield. Remember — the number of your shields is limited, and shields that have been placed cannot be moved.