Cover Your Kingdom
Cover Your Kingdom Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Battle to become The Most Noble and Supreme Majesty of Magical Might by Settling Clans (sets) of Creatures to your Kingdom. As you Settle Clans to their preferred lands (Highland or Lowland), you'll stack them in front of you in an alternating pattern. Your Kingdom's magic is the total value of the gems on the creature cards. The Ruler with the most magic at the end is the winner.
But be careful: exposed Clans at the top of each stack is vulnerable and can be recruited by Creatures from rival Kingdoms to make more valuable Clans. Want to ensure your Kingdom's magic grows? Then you'd better Cover Your Kingdom!
This rulebook is divided into standard and advanced rules. We recommend the standard rules for your first few contests. Changes for games with two Rulers can be found in the Two Ruler Rules section. For added excitement, strategy, and mayhem, try the advanced rules.
Contents
- Kingdom Boards (8) — Plus: 8 Ruler Aids / Kingdom Powers
- Clanning Creatures (116):
- 13 Yogi Yedis
- 13 Pigxies
- 13 LepreCon Men
- 13 Sighclops
- 13 VulcEnt
- 11 Peglegasi
- 11 Hentaurs
- 11 UniqueHorns
- 9 Klakens
- 9 Bragons
- Wild Creatures (15):
- 10 CerbeRussel Terriers
- 5 Spydras
- Creatures For Hire (10):
- 2 Minnowtaurs
- 2 Hypnogriffs
- 2 Grumbledalf's Elves
- 2 Wiizzaards
- 2 Mobgoblins
- Additional Items:
- Ruler's Crown
- Ruler's Book and Quick Guide
- 60 Creature Tokens
- 1 Blank Creature Card
- 237(ish) Truly Awful Puns
Setup
- Each Ruler (player) takes a Kingdom board and a player aid.
- Remove the tokens and ignore the Kingdom Powers. These are used in the advanced rules.
- Remove the Blank Creature card, then shuffle the deck.
- Deal a hand of six cards to each Ruler, face down.
- Place the remainder of the deck in the center of the table.
- Hand the Ruler's Crown to the Ruler you all agree smells the nicest (yes, you read that correctly). They will go first.
Key Terms
- CROWN: A turn reminder aid (and the prize the winner gets to wear).
- RULERS: You and each other player participating in the game.
- KINGDOM: The board on which each Ruler stacks Clans they acquire.
- LANDS: A Kingdom's two halves, the Highland and the Lowland.
- MAGIC: The value each creature brings to a kingdom, indicated by the number displayed on its gem at the top.
- CREATURES: The cards in the game that you'll play or collect.
- CLAN: A set of two or more Creatures of the same species (may include Wilds).
- SETTLE: Add a newly formed Clan of two Creatures to one of your lands.
- RECRUIT: Attempt to lure another Kingdom's Clan into your own Kingdom.
- COUNTER: Prevent another Ruler from recruiting one of your Clans.
- STACK: A pile composed of multiple Clans of Creatures.
Each Creature card shows its Land Type, witty banter, the Creature Species, and (where applicable) a Special Ability. Clanning Creatures have a solid color gem, Wild Creatures have a rainbow gem, and Creatures For Hire have a mystic orb.
The Cards
There are 3 different categories of Creatures in the deck.
Clanning Creatures (10 species): A Creature's name indicates its species. The solid color gem indicates its magic value. The symbol below a gem specifies which of the two lands it can be placed in: Highland, Lowland, or Either Land.
Wild Creatures (2 species): These Creatures (with rainbow gems) can join any Clan, but they can't be paired together by themselves to settle their own Clan. The CerbeRussel Terriers are common and adorable; the Spydras are powerful and valuable.
Creatures For Hire (5 species): These Creatures (with mystical orb icons and no magical value) do not join Clans or Kingdoms. Instead, they are played from a Ruler's hand to perform an action and are then retired.
TIP FROM ME HAT: Each Creature card is unique. The Pigxies and Hentaurs, in particular, have a special trick. Look closely and you'll spot tiny numbers in their bottom left corners. What could they be for?
On Your Turn
Beginning with the Ruler holding the crown, you'll each take turns in clockwise order. On your turn, you must take either one or two of the following actions:
- SETTLE: Form a Clan by placing a pair of matching creatures on your stack.
- RECRUIT: Attempt to steal a Clan from atop another Ruler's stack.
- HIRE: Employ a Creature for Hire to perform an action.
- ADD: Add a matching Creature from your hand to the top Clan of your stack.
- DISCARD: Place a card, face-up, on the discard pile. Then, draw a new one.
Note: If you choose to take two actions, you may take the same action twice.
Settle
Increase your Kingdom's magic by settling a Clan in one of three ways:
- Pair two identical Clanning Creatures (non-Wild) from your hand.
- Pair a Clanning Creature from your hand with a matching card from the top of the discard pile (it will be empty until someone discards).
- Pair a Wild Creature from your hand with a Clanning Creature (from your hand or the top of the discard pile).
Note: Always place Wild Creatures below Clanning Creatures within a Clan.
PLACEMENT OF CLANS: Settled Clans are placed in one of the two lands (Highland or Lowland) in your Kingdom. Match the Land icon on the card with the one on your Kingdom board. Creatures with both icons (Pigxies and Hentaurs) may be placed in Either Land.
STACKING CLANS: To keep Clans separated, each time you add a new Clan to your stack, place it crosswise on top of the previous Clan with the gem of the previously placed Clan always visible. Clans are never combined, even if both Clans are of the same species of Creature.
Recruit
Settling Clans isn't the only way to convince Creatures to join your Kingdom. You can also steal, er, recruit them from other Rulers.
You may recruit a Clan with the following conditions:
- You have at least one Clan in your Kingdom
- The targeted Clan is at the top of a Ruler's stack. The ones beneath it are safe!
- The targeted Clan isn't the only Clan in that Ruler's Kingdom (that'd be mean).
Note: The terms Kingdom and Land are not the same thing. You rule one Kingdom composed of two Lands. That means you may recruit the only Clan in a Land so long as there is at least one Clan in the other Land, of a Kingdom.
6-8 Rulers: One additional rule applies to large groups. You may only recruit from the Kingdoms of the four Rulers sitting closest to you (the two to either side). Creatures for Hire, however, may still target any Kingdom.
HOW TO RECRUIT: Attempt to Recruit (steal) a Clan from another Ruler's Kingdom by placing a Wild Creature or a Clanning Creature matching their top Clan, beside their stack.
COUNTER: DEFENDING A CLAN. A targeted Ruler may counter by playing a matching Creature or Wild Creature atop yours. You may each continue to challenge and counter for as long as you both want or are able. The last Ruler to play a card wins the challenge. They then take (or keep) the challenged Clan and add in all Creatures played during the challenge. Make sure that a Clanning Creature (not a Wild) remains at the top.
Note: You may not draw new cards during a challenge.
Wild Creatures
Wild Creatures can match any Clanning Creature. They may be used to settle, recruit, or counter. There are two types: the common CerbeRussel Terriers (CTs) and the rarer and more valuable Spydras.
Spydras count as two Creatures when played during a challenge. They can only be countered by another Spydra, or two Creatures matching the Clan being recruited (one of them may be a CT).
Note: If you fail to recruit a Clan you went after with your first action, you are not allowed to target that same Clan again that turn, in any fashion.
Example: Larissa wants to Recruit from Mike's Kingdom. A: Larissa uses a Bragon to recruit Mike's Bragon Clan. B: Mike counters with a Wild Creature, a Spydra. C: Larissa must counter with two creatures, so she uses a Bragon and CT (Wild). D: Mike cannot counter and loses the challenge, so his Bragon Clan moves to Larissa's Kingdom along with all the Bragons and the two Wilds that were played.
TIP FROM ME HAT: Clans can grow to become enticingly valuable. Cover them quickly with another Clan to protect them from your rivals!
Hire
Creatures for Hire do not join Clans. Instead, when played, they perform an action. Upon completion, they are placed into the "retired" pile (the second discard pile, see setup). Note, unless specified, they cannot be countered!
WIIZZZAAARD: Move a Clan within one stack in anyone's Kingdom (including yours), from the top to bottom, or the bottom to the top. It's up to you to remember which Clans other Rulers are hiding.
HYPNOGRIFF: Blindly take 3 cards from another Ruler's hand, add them to your hand, then return any 3 cards of your choice. If they have less than 3 cards, take all that they have and return the same amount.
GRUMBLEDALF'S ELVES: Lure away the top Clan from any Ruler's Kingdom to be discarded under the Elves, removing it from play entirely. Note that you can't target a Kingdom with only one Clan, or a Clan you've already attempted to steal that same turn.
Countering: You may defend your Clan by sacrificing a Spydra, or two Creatures matching the targeted Clan (or CerbeRussel Terriers). Discard the sacrificed Creature(s) under the Elves.
MOBGOBLINS: Swap a top Clan of your Kingdom with a top Clan of a rival's Kingdom. Your Kingdom must have at least one Clan prior to hiring Mobgoblins. Any Kingdom with at least one Clan can be targeted, even if it's their only Clan. Note: place Creatures in their correct Lands after swapping!
MINNOWTAUR: Place next to one of the two lands of any Kingdom. If placed upright next to one of your lands, it protects Clans in that Land from recruitment or attacks. Discard it at the start of your next turn. If placed sideways next to a Land of another Ruler, it prevents them from adding Clans to that Land (by settling or recruiting) on their next turn, then it is discarded. The Ruler may still defend their Clans.
Add
If you have a Clanning Creature in your hand matching the Clan on top of your stack, you may add it to that Clan. If it is a Clan of Either Land Creatures (Pigxies or Hentaurs), you may choose to move the Clan to your other Land at that time.
Important: Wilds cannot be added in this manner.
Discard
If you can't take any other action (or wish to get rid of a card), discard a Clanning Creature into the discard pile. The other Creature types cannot be discarded. Then, draw a new card from the draw pile (you may not draw from the discard). This is the only time you may draw prior to the end of your turn. If this was your first action you may still take a second action.
Note: After the draw deck runs out, you must still take this action if you can't take another. You just won't draw a new card.
Ending Your Turn
After you've taken either one or two actions, end your turn by refilling your hand to six cards from the deck. As needed, other Rulers will then take turns replenishing their hands in clockwise order. Finally, pass the Crown to the left.
TIP FROM ME HAT: When and which actions you take will have a big impact on the outcome of the game. Use your time between turns to carefully consider all available options.
A Sample Turn
Here's a scenario of a turn in a 5-Ruler game. Calvin currently has one Clan in his Kingdom: Klakens, in his Lowland.
The only Ruler with more than one Clan is Arthur. He has a Clan of Sighclops atop Bragons in his Highland and Hentaurs in his Lowland.
Here are the available actions for Calvin's turn, he may:
- Settle: Pair his two Hentaurs into a Clan, or combine his Bragon, Klaken, or Hentaur with his Spydra (Wild).
- Recruit: Attempt to recruit Arthur's Hentaurs by playing a Hentaur, or play the Spydra to try to recruit either of Arthur's top Clans.
- Add: Add the Klaken in his hand to the Klaken Clan in his Lowland.
- Discard: Discard a Clanning Creature (probably not a good move).
- Hire: Play his Wiizzzaard to bring Arthur's Bragon Clan to the top of its stack. If Calvin did this first, he would then be able to attempt to recruit the Bragons with his second action! (Oh, good strategy!)
Ending the Game
When the deck runs out, play continues as normal without drawing until every Ruler has run out of cards. But be warned: if you run out of cards before the other Rulers, your Clans are still vulnerable! Make sure you play wisely!
Scoring
After the last card is played, Rulers tally the magic value (gems) of each Creature in their Kingdom by adding up the numbers on the gems of each card in their stack. The Ruler with the most magic in their Kingdom is crowned THE MOST NOBLE AND SUPREME MAJESTY OF MAGICAL MIGHT!
Note: In the event of a tie, the Ruler with the most total Creatures wins.
Extended Contests
Thought the game ended too soon? Don't fret! Here are two different ways you can lengthen the game with more rounds of play!
- ACCUMULATED MAGIC: Play two (or three) rounds. Tally magic after each round. The Ruler with the most magic at the end wins!
- FIRST TO 2 VICTORIES: After each round, record only who won. The first Ruler to win two rounds total is crowned victorious!
Two Ruler Rules
Two-Player rules, perfect for date night, fight night, or both at once!
Setup
- Remove the following from the game: 2 of each of the 10 Clanning Creatures, 2 CerbeRussel Terriers, 1 Spydra, and 2 Minnowtaurs.
- Each Ruler takes two Kingdoms, arranging them as shown.
- Place a Hentaur token on the Land symbol of the bottom Kingdom.
- Shuffle the deck and deal six piles of seven cards, face-down.
- Each player takes one pile each as their hand.
- Arrange the other four piles in a row off to one side, as shown.
- Flip the top card in each pile, placing it atop its pile face up.
- If a Creature for Hire is revealed on a pile, shuffle it back into the pile and flip a new card. Repeat as necessary.
The Maneland
Each of your Kingdoms has a third Land: The Maneland, home to all horse Creatures. (It's a lovely neigh-borhood.) Uniquehorns, Hentaurs, and PegLegasi will only inhabit the Maneland. Pigxies can be placed in any of the three. The other six Creatures' preferences remain unchanged.
Note: When taking the Add action, Pigxies are the only Creatures that can move between lands. Hentaurs may not be moved in a two-player game.
The Drafty Inn
This establishment houses four Creatures at a time (the ones atop the four piles). On your turn, as an action, you may recruit one or more Creatures from the inn by playing a compatible Creature from your hand.
While you still can't combine different species of Clanning Creatures in a Clan, you may recruit multiple Creatures from the Inn at once so long as they are all Clanning Creatures of the same species or Wild Creatures.
EXAMPLE: Two Bragons and two Spydras are on the four piles (this would be exceptionally lucky). By revealing a Bragon or a Wild Creature, you could recruit both Bragons and both Spydras! Or, by revealing a different Clanning Creature, besides a Bragon, you could recruit both Spydras.
Challenge
Before you Settle from the Drafty Inn, your rival may try to recruit them! The winner takes all, adding the new Clan to their Kingdom! Then, new cards are flipped to replace those removed, one at a time, before play proceeds further.
Creatures For Hire (Two Ruler)
Creatures for Hire played from your hand follow standard rules. If one is revealed when flipping over new cards, its action takes effect immediately, forcing both Rulers to take the same action against each other simultaneously.
Creatures For Hire revealed in the Drafty Inn have the following effect:
- Hypnogriff: Blindly take two cards from your rival's hand.
- MobGoblins: Take a top Clan of choice from the rival Kingdom.
- Wiizzzaard: Move a Clan of choice from top to bottom, or bottom to top, within the stack of a rival Kingdom.
- Grumbledalf's Elves: Pick a top Clan from the rival Kingdom and discard it from the game, under the Elves card (no countering).
Note: After resolving a Creature for Hire, discard it and flip over a new card. If a pile is depleted before the end of the game it is not replenished from the deck.
Advanced Rules
This section contains two sets of optional rules that can be added independently, or together, for additional strategy and mayhem.
Constellation Prizes
Grab the tokens and turn over your Kingdom boards. It's time to embrace the dark side! With these advanced rules, you will attempt to earn bonus points for completing clusters of constellations.
SETUP
- Distribute ten tokens to each Ruler (one of each kind).
- Place them across the top of your Kingdom, Creature side up.
- For 7-8 Players: Separate the tokens into ten piles according to species in the middle of the table instead. Also, see note after the Bonus Values Chart.
HOW THEY WORK
During the game, the first time a new kind of Clanning Creature enters your Kingdom, through any means, you'll flip over its corresponding token, thereby adding its constellation to the sky.
Once illuminated, constellations are permanent, even if their corresponding Clan leaves your Kingdom. The constellations are divided by Land type in the sky: Highland, Either Land, and Lowland.
SCORING
At the end of the round, you'll earn a cluster bonus for each of the three clusters that you illuminate.
Illuminate all three clusters and you'll earn an astronomical bonus on top of your three cluster bonuses.
BONUS VALUES
The more Rulers that participate, the harder it becomes to illuminate all your constellations, as each of you will have fewer total turns. Hence, as the number of Rulers increases, so does the value of the bonuses, as this chart demonstrates:
| Number of Rulers | Highland Cluster | Either Land Cluster | Lowland Cluster | Astronomical Bonus | Total Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-4 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 50 | 100 |
| 5-6 | 30 | 15 | 30 | 75 | 150 |
| 7-8 | 40 | 20 | 40 | 100 | 200 |
NOTE: When playing with 7-8 players there will not be enough tokens for everyone to collect all 10 constellations. They are first come, first served!
LIGHT SPEED BONUS
This optional rule ramps up the urgency and importance of collecting constellations. With this rule in effect, the first Ruler to illuminate all ten constellations earns a light speed bonus. This bonus is equal in value to the astronomical bonus.
After a Ruler has claimed the light speed bonus by illuminating all their constellations, the other Rulers have until that Ruler's next turn to try to do the same. All Rulers that manage to do so earn a light speed bonus as well.
Kingdom Powers
Kingdom powers grant each Ruler a unique advantage. They can be found on the back of the player aids. Note: If you still need to reference the player aid, then you may not be ready to add these changes.
ASSIGNING POWERS
Shuffle the eight Kingdom powers then deal one to each Ruler. One at a time, reveal your power, read it aloud, then place it beside your Kingdom. While all powers are unique, they can be grouped into two categories:
ACTION POWERS ALLOW A FREE EXTRA ACTION.
- Wiizzz Kid: Once per turn, at any time, you may swap one of your top Clans with the Clan directly below it, at no action cost.
- DissedHard: At the end of your turn, at no action cost, you may discard up to two Creatures before replenishing your hand.
- Match Maker: Each turn, you may settle one Clan at no action cost.
MODIFYING POWERS ALLOW YOU, AND ONLY YOU, TO ALTER A RULE.
- Equinity: You may use Hentaurs as Wild cards to defend or recruit Clans of PegLegasi or Uniquehorns (but not to settle).
- Extra Freatures: You may use the abilities of Wizzzaards, Minnowtaurs, and Hypnogriffs interchangeably.
- Mighty Swine: Pigxies that you've acquired by the end of the contest are worth 15 magic each instead of 5.
- VulcEnt Hands: Increase the number of cards you hold by one.
- SubCerbient: CTs you play count as two Creatures (like Spydras) and Spydras played against you only count as one Creature.
2-3 PLAYER ADAPTATION
Remove these two Kingdom powers prior to shuffling when playing 2-3 Rulers: Extra Freatures and SubCerbient.
You may also deal two Kingdom powers (one of each kind) to each Ruler for added strategy and fun! Just separate them into two piles first.
A Small Biography of Each Creature
- Hentaur: These are not the, um, brightest magical Creatures. They used to be far more plentiful before the Bragons discovered that they taste like chicken.
- Sighclops: The dreariest Creatures around, and not by nature, but by choice! Curiously, the gloomier they are the happier they seem to be. What odd spectacles!
- Uniquehorns: These prideful Creatures are the result of generations of foals being told by their mothers that they are truly special. They are now indeed truly special.
- LepreCon Men: These devious little frauds are always cooking up a new scheme to take advantage of less intelligent Creatures (and there are A LOT of those around).
- PegLegasus: While they may appear to be fierce and terrible warriors, it's been generations since they had any real battles. Now they all design footwear.
- Yogi Yedi: To avoid others, these elusive Creatures dwell at the peaks of mountains. They spend most of their time stretching, meditating, and glaring.
- Klaken: Yes, these Creatures have been known to occasionally sink ships and eat all the sailors, however, they love to dance even more than they love to destroy things!
- Bragon: More full of themselves than any other Creatures (and also often full of other Creatures) there is nothing a Bragon would rather do than gloat and, well, brag.
- Pigxie: The smallest of magical Creatures, but also the most joyous. You can often find them flitting through sunlight, trailing behind them dust that smells like bacon.
- VulcEnt: The origin of these Creatures is something of a mystery. Some say that they awoke from a millennia-long slumber, others swear that they are from another world.
- CerbeRussel Terrier: The best boys in the Kingdom! CTs are so beloved by all other species of Creatures that they are happily welcomed into any Creature's Clan.
- Spydra: Armed with sharp teeth, a sharper sense of fashion, and an even sharper sense of humor, these powerful Creatures can talk their way into joining any Clan.
- Minnowtaur: Although they appear brutish, they're very polite and obedient guards (probably due to all the schooling they did while maturing deep in the sea).
- Hypnogriff: Powerful, and mysterious, and rumored to possess hypnotic abilities. If you happen across one, don't look it in the eyes (I lost a lot of gold doing just that).
- Grumbledalf's Elves: Formerly enslaved (At a boarding school!) but now banded together to defeat the evil Dorc SourYawn by destroying his dirty tub ring of power.