Crimson Company
Crimson Company Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Overview
- Setup (2-player duel)
- Phases
- Playing a Card
- Card Effects
- Scoring and Winning
- FAQ and Card Clarifications
- Card Effect Clarifications
- What if the deck runs out of cards?
- What if the coin supply is empty?
- What if there are multiple cards in a lane that change how it is scored (e.g. Bishop and Underdog)?
- How to interpret the word "then" on cards?
- Do card effects affect the played card itself?
- Am I allowed to peek under face-down cards? Do I have to tell my opponent how many coins I have?
- Optional Rules
- Variant: 2-versus-2
- Variant: Free For All (3-6 players)
- Variant: Solo
- Variant: Cooperative (2 players)
- Credits
Overview
Your goal in a match of Crimson Company is to conquer two of the three castles in the center. You conquer a castle by amassing more strength than your opponent in the castle's lane when that lane is scored. A lane is scored once a player owns at least four cards in it.
Cards represent a large variety of characters, all of which have specific strength values and unique effects. The latter are either one-time instant effects that happen when a card is played, or they are triggered in specific phases of the game.
Each turn you bid for one of the four randomly drawn cards from the sellsword character deck. Your opponent then has to decide whether to either pay you off, doubling the coins you bid, or pass and let you play the card.
Setup (2-player duel)
Use the "Competitive Mode" side of the game board. If you don't have the space, you can also play without it.
Place three regular castle cards (without text) representing the three lanes between both players on the three castle spots. Lanes are separated into two sides (your side and your opponent's side). Optionally, place the miniature castles on the castle cards.
Fill the coin supply with a total value of 40. (There are coins worth 3 and coins worth 1. Whenever the game refers to "a coin", it means a value of 1.)
Select at least 30 character cards (but as many as you like) and shuffle them into a deck. Place this sellsword deck on its designated spot. The top card is always face-up, so you see which character is coming up next.
Draw four cards from the deck and place them down next to it. Those cards are on offer initially.
Randomly decide who goes first. The first player starts with 3 coins. The second player starts with 4 coins.
The starting player may now begin the game in the Income phase (see Phases).
Phases
Phase 1 – Income
Gain 3 coins. (Again, this means "coins with a total value of 3").
Be aware that some cards' effects can generate additional income in this phase.
Check: On the first turn, the starting player should have 6 coins in total after this phase.
Phase 2 – Recruitment
Put at least one of your coins on exactly one card currently on offer.
Your opponent then chooses one of two options:
- Match: Your opponent has to put coins of the same total value on the card as you did. In this case you get all the coins on the card (worth twice the original value). Your opponent however recruits the card, placing it in front of them (but not yet playing it into one of the lanes). Afterwards you continue with phase 3.
- Pass: The coins you put on the card go into the coin supply. You recruit the card, placing it in front of you (but not yet playing it into one of the lanes). Afterwards you continue with phase 3.
Important: Whenever there are fewer than 4 cards on offer, draw from the deck to refill the offer immediately.
Phase 3 – Deployment
Play all the cards you have in front of you (i.e. the ones you recruited previously) in any order and into any lanes of your choice (see Playing a Card).
Check: Players can have a maximum of two cards in front of them at a time. One they recruited on their own turn and one they recruited on their opponent's previous turn.
Phase 4 – Score
Check all lanes from left to right (from the view of the player whose turn it is). If any player has 4 or more cards in a lane (including face-down cards), score that lane (see Scoring and Winning). Then, do another scoring phase (i.e. check all lanes again).
If there are no more lanes eligible for scoring or all lanes eligible for scoring are tied, it's now your opponent's turn, starting with the Income phase again.
Playing a Card
When playing a card, you can choose which active lane you want to play into, but you can only play cards on your own side of a lane.
Cards are always played below all other cards already in a lane (i.e. into the furthest position from the castle).
Playing a card activates its effect (see Card Effects).
Card Effects
There are five types of effects on cards:
- Deployment effects happen once when a card is played (in the Deployment phase), and each time a face-down card is flipped, i.e. turned face-up again. If no phase is specified in a card's text, it's always a Deployment effect.
- Income effects on cards in any lane happen every turn at the beginning of the Income phase of their owner's turn, as long as the card stays in play.
- Recruitment effects on cards in any lane apply every turn during the Recruitment phase of their owner, as long as the card stays in play.
- Destruction effects happen when a card with a Destruction effect is destroyed (either via another card's effect or after a lane was scored).
- Passive effects are always active, i.e. in both players' turns. They trigger an effect under a condition specified in the card's text.
- Score effects on cards in a lane only apply when that lane is scored (not before).
Note: Card effects must be resolved if at all possible (even to the player's detriment). This is also the case if an effect can only be resolved partially.
Keywords: Destroy / Flip / Move / Swap
Destroy:
- Remove a card from the game.
- Put destroyed cards face-down onto a separate discard pile.
Flip:
- Turn a face-up card face-down, or a face-down card face-up.
- Face-down cards have 0 strength points and no effect.
- Important: Whenever a face-down card with a Deployment effect is turned face-up, the effect is resolved again immediately (before continuing with previous effects). If the card has a Passive or a phase effect, they are also active again.
- Note: Players may freely look at face-down cards anytime.
Move:
- Change a card's lane. Just like when playing a card, after moving your own cards they are always placed at the bottom of a lane, and your opponent's cards at the top (i.e. always as far away from the castle card as possible).
- You can only move cards between lanes on their side. Move effects never change which side the card is on.
- Moving a card does not trigger its effect.
Swap:
- Exchange the positions of two cards.
- Swapping cards does not trigger Deployment effects.
Order of Resolution
If multiple card effects trigger in the same phase for a player, resolve them in this order (from their owner's point of view, assuming players are sitting at the bottom and top end of the board image shown under "Setup", facing each other):
- From top (close to castle) to bottom (far from castle) in the left lane
- From top to bottom in the middle lane
- From top to bottom in the right lane
This includes flip effects happening at the same time (e.g. triggered by the "Clumsy Ogre" card), as well as multiple destruction effects (e.g. after a player won a lane and all cards in it are destroyed).
If effects trigger for both players (i.e. on both sides), the player whose turn it is resolves their effects first.
If a card is destroyed or turned face-down before you get to resolve its effect, it does not resolve.
Scoring and Winning
To score a lane, follow these steps:
- Resolve any Score effects of cards in this lane from top (close to castle) to bottom (far from castle). The player whose turn it is resolves the Score effects of all cards on their own side of the lane first.
- Add up all the strength values on each player's side. Face-down cards have 0 strength (unless affected by other cards' effects).
- The player with the higher strength total wins the lane, gaining the castle card (and the castle miniature) in its center.
After a player wins a lane, all the cards in the lane are destroyed (and potentially trigger their Destruction effects). The lane is then removed from the game (i.e. cards cannot be played or moved into it anymore).
As soon as one player owns 2 castle cards, that player immediately wins the game.
Note: The destruction of cards at the end of the scoring phase can immediately trigger another scoring (e.g. if the Undead becomes the fourth card in another lane).
Resolving Ties
In case scoring a lane results in a tie, the lane stays in the game. Score effects do not apply any longer (until scoring happens again). Continue to play out the next turn as usual and check if the tie was broken in the next Score phase.
FAQ and Card Clarifications
Now you know everything you need to play the game. Should you have any questions during play about card effects or special situations, refer to the sections below.
Card Effect Clarifications
- Alchemist: Can destroy self (and has to if it is the only card on the board). Destroying face-down cards is worth 0 coins.
- Apocalyptic Rider: The active player destroys cards on their own side first. Both players can destroy as many cards as they like, but the total strength has to be at least 3. If a player does not have 3 strength in total, they have to try to get as close as possible, i.e. destroy all their cards in this lane.
- Bard: If you own the Bard, your opponent not only has to match your coins but pay you one coin extra in order to buy a card from you on your turn.
- Berserker: Can never reduce a card's strength below 0.
- Bishop: If the Bishop leads to a tie, you continue to play (as with a regular tie). Card strength does not act as a tiebreaker.
- Blood Priest: The opponent chooses which card to destroy (if there are multiple).
- Bully: Does not consider Score effects when choosing a target. Can destroy face-down cards (since they have 0 strength).
- Demon: Can flip self (and has to if it is the only card in the lane).
- Dodgy Dealer: The leading player is determined by adding up base strength values in the lane (without Score effects). In case of a tie, nothing happens.
- Fairy: Only doubles the strength of one card on each side. If multiple cards have the same strength on a side, the one closest to the castle is doubled.
- Fanatic: If destroyed by a card effect and there is only one lane left, the effect cannot trigger (so the card is simply destroyed).
- Fenrir: Since cards are played face-down, they have no Deployment effect.
- Ferryman: The card brought back from the discard pile does not trigger its effect as it is only "placed" and not "played".
- Fortune Teller: Allows its owner to bid on the upcoming card (on top of the deck), so they have 5 instead of the usual 4 options "on offer". If a player bids coins on the upcoming card, the opponent can match them as usual though.
- Heimdall: He prevents an effect targeting any card in the lane (on either side) and then flips himself.
- Hel: Does prevent Destruction effects even after a lane was scored.
- Horror: Cards are moved one by one. You can decide into which lane to move a card for each card individually. Remember that you can also put more than 4 cards into a lane (scoring just happens with "4 or more").
- Loki: The player who deployed the card also decides about the swap target.
- Monk: First you flip a card (and resolve any follow-up effects), then the opponent. If only one player has cards in the lane, only the flip on their side happens.
- Njord: If your opponent plays a card on Njord's side (e.g. the "Traitor"), they get a coin.
- Plague Doctor: If it triggers last during a scoring phase, any previous strength changes to face-down cards are negated. They then simply have 3 strength.
- Sellsword: Coins paid for the scoring effect are put back into the coin supply.
- Shadow: Yes, it flips itself.
- Shapeshifter: A Deployment effect of a card you steal from your opponent because they had to switch it with your Shapeshifter does not trigger.
- Siren: The opponent chooses which cards to move. If the opponent has only one card in another lane, they must move this card.
- Slinger: Flips all the strongest cards on both sides separately (i.e. potentially multiple cards on a side). Can flip self if there is no stronger card on its side.
- Summoner: The card put into play face-down does not trigger its effect.
- Temptress: Can target cards in her own lane. Due to the term "then" the first part of the effect is resolved independently from the second. A target card in the same lane is flipped, but then simply not moved afterwards.
- Thief: If the opponent does not have a coin, the effect does not trigger.
- Undead: If destroyed by a card effect and there is only one lane left, the effect cannot trigger (so the card is simply destroyed).
- Veteran: The card you place does not trigger its effect (as it's not "played").
- War Bear: The leading player is determined including the War Bear's strength.
What if the deck runs out of cards?
If the deck ever runs out of cards, re-shuffle all destroyed cards to build a new deck.
What if the coin supply is empty?
Whenever a player would gain more coins than there are coins left in the supply (via Income or card effects), that player gains as many coins as possible and then does not gain any more coins. If you have 0 coins at the start of your turn and there are not coins in the bank as well, you skip your recruitment phase.
What if there are multiple cards in a lane that change how it is scored (e.g. Bishop and Underdog)?
The effect that triggered last during Scoring overrides all others (see section "Scoring and Winning" for the order of effects in that phase).
How to interpret the word "then" on cards?
Treat the respective card effect as if there were 2 separate effects. The first one is resolved before the "then", the second one after. If only the first part is possible given the current situation, it is fully resolved and the second part is simply skipped afterwards.
Do card effects affect the played card itself?
Yes, unless it is explicitly excluded, e.g. via the card's text talking about "other cards" in particular (see the "Clumsy Ogre" card as an example).
Am I allowed to peek under face-down cards? Do I have to tell my opponent how many coins I have?
In general, Crimson Company is a game of open information. You can peek at face-down cards (on your opponent's side and yours) whenever you like and coin supplies should not be hidden. Of course, you can still agree on different terms with your fellow players.
Optional Rules
Coin Handicap
If one of the two players is more experienced, gaps in skill can be countered by increasing the starting coins of the less experienced player. Try a bonus of one additional starting coin and increase it from there if necessary.
Castle Cards with Rule Modifiers
To add variety to the playing experience, you can optionally replace one or more regular castle cards at the beginning of the game with castles that have additional rules. These castles come with instructions at the bottom that modify how the lane behaves given a specific event or add an extra rule to the game.
- Castle effects are considered active as long as the lane is in play (i.e. has not been scored yet).
- Score effects on castle apply before Score effects on character cards.
- Income effects on castles apply before Income effects on character cards.
- Castle effects that trigger an effect after deploying a card, apply after the deployed card's Deployment effect has been fully resolved.
Tournament Mode
You can add a pre-match deck-building component to your game to increase the sense of planning and make it even more competitive:
- Both players select 15 unique cards from their collection before the match starts.
- The cards both players brought are shuffled together to form a 30-card deck to play the match.
Note: While the 15 cards each player brings have to be unique, both players may select some of the same cards, so each card could be in the deck twice.
Note: If both players are bringing their own cards, it can be helpful to put them into sleeves of different colors, so it's easier to separate them later.
Variant: 2-versus-2
In the 2-versus-2 variant of the game, each team controls one side of the board. All cards on the same side are shared between both team members. However, every player still has their own separate amount of coins.
Setup & Goal
- Lay out 3 castle cards (i.e. lanes) between the two teams.
- Put together a character deck of at least 30 cards.
- Put coins with a total value of 80 into the coin supply.
- The offer stays the same as in the regular game: 4 characters are available at a time. The upcoming card is visible on top of the deck.
- A team wins by conquering 2 castles.
Turn Order & Starting Coins
Randomly determine a starting player and hand them the active player marker. Turns (and the marker) then alternate between both teams (A and B below) and between the players within the teams. This means turn order is as follows:
- Player 1 (Team A), Player 1 (Team B), Player 2 (Team A), Player 2 (Team B) etc.
The starting coins are 1, 2, 3 and 4 coins respectively for those players (i.e. the starting player receives one coin before the match starts, the fourth player receives 4 coins).
Phases
The phases (Income, Recruitment, Deployment, Score) generally stay the same as in the regular game. Here are some clarifications:
- Players bid on a card individually on their turn (i.e. by only using their own coins).
- Both players of the opposing team may match a bid individually (they may not combine their coins).
- Income effects on your team's cards in play trigger in every Income phase of your team, i.e. in yours and in your teammate's.
- Similarly, Recruitment effects apply for all players of the team owning the card.
Card Clarifications
- Apocalyptic Rider: Both players of the opposing team decide together which cards to destroy.
- Beggar: The player playing the card chooses a player from the opposing team as the target of the effect.
- Sellsword: The team owning the card chooses one player who may pay coins to strengthen the card during the Score phase.
- Siren: Both players of the opposing team decide together which cards to move.
- Thief: The player playing the card chooses a player from the opposing team as the target of the effect.
Variant: Free For All (3-6 players)
Note: You need a certain number of castles, character cards and coins for this variant. (A single Collector's Box is enough for the 3- and 4-player setups!)
| Free For All | Required castles | Required coins | Min. character cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 players | 6 | total value 60 | 50 |
| 4 players | 8 | total value 80 | 70 |
| 5 players | 10 | total value 100 | 90 |
| 6 players | 12 | total value 120 | 110 |
In the free-for-all variant of the game, 3-6 players are put into a fierce battle against each other. You will have to fight on multiple fronts and take into account every other player's situation when deciding which cards to auction off to the group.
Setup & Goal
- Players sit in a circle around the table. Place a front of two regular castle cards (i.e. lanes) between every two players sitting next to each other. This will result in every player having two lanes to their left and two lanes to their right.
- Select a deck of as many character cards as written in the above table. Do not use the Bard card.
- Form a big coin supply according to the above table.
- The offer stays the same as in the regular game: 4 characters are available at a time. The upcoming card is visible on top of the deck.
- All players start with as many coins as there are players.
A player wins by conquering a total of 2 castles (i.e. one on their left front and one on their right front or two castles of the same front).
Turn Order
Randomly determine a starting player and hand them the active player marker. Players then take turns one after another (in clockwise order) and move the marker around the table accordingly.
Phases
The Income, Deployment and Score phases generally stay the same as in the regular game. The Recruitment phase goes as follows:
- The active player selects a card from the offer and announces it.
- All the other players then bid for the selected card by secretly taking the amount of coins they want to bid into one hand and revealing it simultaneously.
- The highest bid sets the price. In case of a tie, the closest player to the active player in clockwise order (who is tied for the highest bid) is considered the sole highest bidder.
- The active player now decides: a. Match the highest bid by paying the same amount of coins to the highest bidder and take the card. All other players keep their coins. b. Pass. The highest bidder pays their bid to the bank and takes the card. All other players keep their coins.
Clarifications
- Movement is not only possible between the two lanes of the same front, but also between both fronts of a player (i.e. from a lane you share with your left neighbor to one you share with your right neighbor).
- Card effects are global (i.e. apply to all lanes in play) unless otherwise specified (e.g. via the card text explicitly saying: in this lane). This also means the Wizard, Chaos Mage and Bully can indeed target any card in play (even if the lane they are in neither belongs to your left nor to your right front).
- The Fortune Teller allows you to pick the upcoming card on top of the deck when deciding which card is about to be auctioned off.
- For cards like the Beggar or the Illusionist that directly refer to an opponent, the player the card is played against (i.e. in a lane of a shared front with that player) is considered the targeted opponent.
- While it makes sense to hide all your coins at the start of the bidding process (to prevent your opponents from inferring details about your bid), the amount of coins a player has is generally open information and has to be revealed when asked for it.
Optional: Placements
- Optionally, after a player wins the game by conquering two castles, you can play for further placements (2nd rank, 3rd rank etc.).
- To continue playing, simply remove the winner's cards from the game and merge the two remaining lanes from the winner's left and right front together to form a new set of two lanes between the winner's left and right neighbors. Continue to play until there is another winner and so on.
- If there is one remaining lane to the left and one to the right of the winner, these lanes are merged into one, so that the already played cards now stand against each other. The second lane of the new front is empty (example shown below).
Variant: Solo
Setup
- Use the "Solo/Coop Mode" side of the game board.
- Lay out the three castle cards in the center.
- Put together a deck of at least 30 character cards. Place it face-up.
- Fill the coin supply with a total coin value of 40.
- Put a number of coins on each castle card (see table below).
| Difficulty | Easy | Medium | Hard | Very Hard | Insane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coins | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
Gameplay
There are two parties playing: you and your opponents, the "Raiders". Your goal is to defeat the Raiders by conquering two out of the three castles while preventing them from doing the same.
In practice however, you will be handling all card plays and effects for both sides yourself. This means the game mode is about finding clever ways to use card effects against the Raiders, even when you are playing cards on their side!
This is how a turn plays out:
- Draw 3 character cards from the deck.
- Your turn: Trigger Income effects on your cards. Then play one of the 3 cards on your side of any lane.
- Raider turn: Trigger Income effects on Raider cards. Then play the two other cards from your hand on the Raiders' side with the following rules: a. Always play into the lane with the fewest Raider cards. b. If there are multiple lanes with the fewest Raider cards, choose one of those. c. You choose how to resolve any card effects by yourself.
- Check if there are 4 or more cards on the same side of any lane. If that's the case, score that lane. Coins on the scored castle count as extra strength points for the Raiders in addition to their cards' total strength.
- Go back to 1.
If you conquer two castles, you win. If the Raiders conquer two castles, you lose.
One-time Discard Ability
Once per game, you may discard a Raider card and instead put coins equal to the card's strength onto the castle (where you would have played the card). This can help you avoid a card effect you do not want to resolve. Flip your "Turn Overview" card (or turn it sideways) to indicate you have already used your discard ability this game.
Rule Changes
Effects such as "gaining a coin" or "taking a coin from your opponent" have a different meaning in this variant of the game compared to the standard rules.
If you gain a coin in your turn, take a coin from the Raiders or the Raiders have to pay a coin, you may choose any active lane, take a coin from its castle and put it into the coin supply. If there are no coins to take, nothing happens.
If the Raiders gain a coin in their turn, take a coin from you or you have to pay a coin, instead take a coin from the supply and put it onto the castle in the lane where the respective effect happened.
Card Changes / Clarifications
Either remove the following cards from the game or play them with the effects defined below.
- Apocalyptic Rider: Destroy a card on each side of this lane.
- Bard: Passive: When you gain a coin, gain one more.
- Beggar: If the castle in this lane has more coins on it than any other castle, remove one coin.
- Fortune Teller: You may discard the top card from the deck.
- Freyja: No change, but she overrides the card placement rules. All cards have to be placed in her lane as long as she is active.
- Sellsword: Score: Gain 1 strength for every 2 coins on the castle in this lane.
- Summoner: Draw a card from the deck. Flip it and place it on your side of this lane.
- Shapeshifter: Draw 3 cards. Choose one and swap it with this card, then discard the other 2 and this card.
- Troll Mother: Draw a card from the deck. Then discard a card from your hand.
- Veteran: Destruction: Draw a card from the deck. Flip it and place it on your side of any lane.
Variant: Cooperative (2 players)
- Use the "Solo/Coop Mode" side of the game board.
- Lay out the three castle cards in the center.
- Find another player and sit next to each other, facing the same direction.
- Put together a deck of at least 30 character cards. Place it face-up.
- Fill the coin supply with a total coin value of 40.
- Put a number of coins on each castle card (see table below).
| Difficulty | Easy | Medium | Hard | Very Hard | Insane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coins | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
Gameplay
There are two parties playing: you and your opponents, the "Raiders". Your goal is to defeat the Raiders by conquering two out of the three castles while preventing them from doing the same.
In practice however, you will be handling all card plays and effects for both sides yourself. This means the game mode is about finding clever ways to use card effects against the Raiders, even when you are playing cards on their side!
Here is how a turn plays out:
- Both players draw 3 character cards from the deck. You may never talk about which cards you are holding exactly.
- Both players put one card on the table face-down. The other player takes that card into their hand.
- Your turn: a. Trigger Income effects on your cards. If there are any decisions to be made, both players decide together. b. Both players play one of the 3 cards in their hand on their side of the board: i. The player sitting on the left starts and may only play into the left-most and adjacent lane (at the start of the game: left and middle lane). ii. The player on the right may only play into the right-most and adjacent lane.
- Raider turn: a. Trigger Income effects on Raider cards. If there are any decisions to be made, both players decide together. b. Alternating (starting with the left player), both players play their two remaining cards on the Raiders' side with the following rules: i. Play into the lane with the fewest Raider cards. ii. If there are multiple lanes with the fewest Raider cards, choose one of those. iii. You choose how to resolve any card effects by yourself.
- Check if there are 4 or more cards on the same side of any lane. If that's the case, score that lane. Coins on the scored castle count as extra strength points for the Raiders in addition to their cards' total strength.
- Go back to 1.
If you conquer two castles, you win. If the Raiders conquer two castles, you lose.
Note: While cards cannot be played into certain lanes by certain players, they can still be moved there via another card's effect.
One-time Discard Ability
Each player may once per game discard a Raider card and instead put coins equal to the card's strength onto the castle (where they would have played the card). This can help you avoid a card effect you do not want to resolve. Flip a player's "Turn Overview" card (or turn it sideways) to indicate that they have already used their discard ability this game.
Rule Changes
Effects such as "gaining a coin" or "taking a coin from your opponent" have a different meaning in this variant of the game compared to the standard rules.
If you gain a coin in your turn, take a coin from the Raiders or the Raiders have to pay a coin, you may choose any active lane, take a coin from its castle and put it into the coin supply. If there are no coins to take, nothing happens.
If the Raiders gain a coin in their turn, take a coin from you or you have to pay a coin, instead take a coin from the supply and put it onto the castle in the lane where the respective effect happened.
Card Changes / Clarifications
See "Card Changes" section under "Variant: Solo".
Credits
Game design by Fabian Fischer and Dario Reinhardt
Art by Janna Sophia • jannasophia.artstation.com
Card layout by Mario Veltri • marioveltri.com
3D modeling by Sebastian Walter • spyraone.com
Special thanks for their steady support and feedback go to Alex Chen, Behrad Kolachahi-Sabet, Brigitte Brylla, Caroline Fischer, Cécille Milz, Dave Blank, Edoardo Marchi, Gerhard Müller, Holger Miller, Jakob Hombsch, Juan José Serrano, Keith Burgun, Matt Harris, Nikolai Hilz, Olga Becker, Saman Pakzad, Sebastian Stautz, Simon Seene, Sud Abbas and Toni Klöbel.
Our deepest gratitude goes to all our Kickstarter backers!
All rights reserved • Crimson Company UG (haftungsbeschränkt) • 2020