Dark Age Z Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Game Components
• Game Setup
• Gameplay
  • Overview
  • Phase 1 – Planning
  • Phase 2 – Rallying
  • Phase 3 – Combat & Scoring
  • Phase 4 – Cleanup
• The Zombie Boss Invasion
• Appendix
  • Rules for 2 Players
  • Rules for Cooperative Play
  • Commanders
  • Relic Cards
  • Kingdom Mission Cards

Objective

Dark Age Z is a strategic board game for 2 to 5 players: you are one of the kings fighting the Zombie Invasion, and all players strive to gain as many Victory Points as possible by killing the Zombies that attack the frontiers of the kingdoms' cities. At the end of the game, the player with the highest score wins the game.

Game Components

• Game Manual x 1 (This booklet). All game rules are described here.
• Game Board x 1. Main gameboard where all important information is recorded.
• Kingdom Board x 5. Used by a player as a staging base for resources and for recording technological development.
• Frontier Board x 5. Shared with a neighboring player. The upper end of the board is where the Zombies gather for the upcoming invasion. The lower end represents your City Gate. Between, there are five War Zones, namely Zone 1 to Zone 5. The players' Army Cards are deployed in the War Zones.
• Zombie Invasion Card x 6. Presents information about the day's imminent Zombie Invasion.
• Boss Invasion Card x 4. Information about the Boss Zombie attack on the last day.
• Kingdom Mission Card x 20. Each player chooses one Mission Card for the game. When the requirements listed on the card are met, the player may collect the reward.
• Relic Card x 24. Powerful items carried by the Zombies. They can be used strategically to influence the Zombies, the armies or even the kingdoms.
• Commander Card x 6. Strong heroes which can be recruited by the players and assigned to an army in a War Zone.
• Army Card x 96 (Gold, Silver, Bronze). These cards are deployed on the Frontier Boards to fight the Zombies.
• Weakened Army Card x 10. A special kind of Army Card to be used for the Boss Invasion on the last day. During the game Weakened Army Cards may also be represented by the Weakened icon.
• Quick Reference Card x 5. A summary of each day's game flow.
• Starting Player Marker x 1. To mark each day's starting player.
• Kingdom Marker x 5. A colored marker to indicate a player's position on the Victory Point Track on the Game Board.
• Zombie Token x 80. Each token stands for one single Zombie that invades a Frontier Board.
• Command Token x 65. These tokens are used by the players to issue commands to their troops.

Game Setup

1. Place the Game Board in the middle of the table.

2. Shuffle the Army Cards. Place them face down in 2 stacks on the Army Deck spaces on the Game Board. (Note: both spaces together form a single Army Deck.)

3. Take a number of Command Tokens equal to the number of players and place them on the Pioneer Reward Zone on the Game Board.

4. Shuffle the Relic Cards. Place them face down on the Relic Deck space on the Game Board.

5. Shuffle the Commander Cards. Arrange a Commander Gathering next to the Game Board by revealing a number of Commander Cards equal to the number of players minus 1, e.g. 3 Commander Cards for 4 players, 2 Cards for 3 players, etc. Deposit the remaining Commander Cards face down near the revealed Commander Cards.

6. Each player picks a Kingdom Board and places it in front of herself/himself and chooses one of her/his own Kingdom Mission Cards. All the remaining Mission Cards are put back into the game box.

   Depending on the type of the chosen card, the fulfillment of a mission will bring rewards either during the game or in the final scoring:

   • End-Game Mission: When the mission is fulfilled, get the reward once at the end of the game.
   • Daily Mission: When the mission is fulfilled, get the reward at the end of Phase 3 of each day.
   • All-Time Mission: Get the reward whenever the mission is fulfilled. (When the requirements listed on the card are met, the player may turn it face-up and get the reward.)

   Put the Mission Card face down on the Military Technology Area of the Kingdom Board (at the space marked with "RESEARCH" as shown on the Kingdom Board). During the game, this card will be used as a Technology Level Marker.

The Zombie attributes are printed on the Zombie Invasion Card: the Basic Column (Name of the Zombies, Number of Zombies, Hit Points) and the Power Up Column(s) (Zombie Speed and Damage Value). The Zombies' number and Hit Points (HP) are calculated by adding up the Basic Column and the Power Up Column(s).

Example: Number of Zombies: 3 + 2 = 5. HP of a Zombie: 3 + 0 = 3.

15. The Zombie Movement Marker will be placed on the corresponding Zombie Movement Track on the Game Board. The correct track is marked by a Zombie icon according to the number of players (Zombie Movement Track for 5 players, for 3 players, or for 2 players). On the track, place the Zombie Movement Marker on the position which corresponds to the Zombie Speed value printed on the Zombie Invasion Card.
16. Form a Zombie horde at the Zombie-spawn end in front of each Frontier Board by allocating a number of Zombie Tokens corresponding to the number of Zombies shown on the Zombie Invasion Card at the Zombie Spawning Area.
17. Put the remaining Zombie Tokens, the Command Tokens and the Weakened Army Cards on the table where they are easily accessible for all players.

Now you can start fighting the Zombies!

Gameplay

Overview

The game is played in 5 rounds, each round representing one day. Each single day is divided into 4 phases. All players participate in all 4 phases and they have to finish all the required actions before the game moves on to the next phase. After finishing all 4 phases, the day ends and a new day starts. When all players have finished Phase 3 of Day 5, the game ends. The player with the highest score of Victory Points wins the game.

Phase Summary for a Day

• PHASE 1: Planning
• PHASE 2: Rallying
• PHASE 3: Combat & Scoring
• PHASE 4: Cleanup

Phase 1 – Planning

Phase 1 is a turn-based command phase. With the Starting Player going first, the players take turns in clockwise order until all players have passed or the Zombie Movement Marker has reached the end of its track. During a turn, a player can either issue one Strategy Command or one Field Command.

List of Strategy Commands

A player can issue one of the following 4 Strategy Commands:

• Draw 2 Army Cards
• Choose 1 Relic Card
• Reactivate 1 War Zone
• Refresh Army Cards

Strategy Commands

There are 4 Strategy Command Tracks on the Game Board, each representing a Strategy Command which can be performed by the players. The marker on each track indicates the number of Command Tokens a player must spend to perform the corresponding Strategy Command.

Each type of Strategy Command is represented by its specific Strategy Command Track on the Game Board. When a player issues a Strategy Command, some of the Command Tokens from her/his Command Inventory will be consumed. The costs will rise as more players are issuing the same Strategy Command. If the costs for a Strategy Command are higher than the total number of Command Tokens you have left, you cannot issue that command.

• Draw 2 Army Cards: You may draw 2 Army Cards from the Army Deck to your hand.
• Choose 1 Relic Card: You may draw 2 Relic Cards from the Relic Deck and choose 1 of them to keep. Discard the other card.
• Reactivate 1 War Zone: You may reactivate 1 defeated Army Card by turning it face up again, leaving it in the same War Zone. The defeated Army Card is now active. You may reassign the loyalty of that army upon its reactivation.
• Refresh Army Cards: You may discard up to 10 Army Cards from your hand and redraw the same number of Army Cards from the Army Deck. This command can be performed only once per day by one player.

NOTE: In case a deck runs out of cards, shuffle all the discarded cards of that type to form a new deck.

Strategy Command Tracks

If you perform a Strategy Command, you need to spend a number of Command Tokens corresponding to the number displayed on the space to the right of the Strategy Command Marker on the matching Strategy Command Track. After performing the command, move the Strategy Command Marker one space to the right.

When the Strategy Command Marker reaches the last position of a track (with an end-of-track icon), players can still perform commands on this track by paying Command Tokens corresponding to the number shown on this space. The marker is not advanced any further.

Players can continue to issue commands on this track by paying the required number of Command Tokens without advancing the marker any further.

If the last position of a Strategy Command Track is an icon (a shield-shaped icon on the track), no further command of this track can be performed when the Strategy Command Marker reaches this position.

List of Field Commands

A player can issue one of the following 5 Field Commands:

• Play 1 new Army Card
• Upgrade Military Technology
• Play 1 Relic Card
• Get 1 Command Token
• Pass and recruit 1 Commander Card

IMPORTANT: When a player issues any one of the above Field Commands, the Zombie Movement Marker on the Game Board moves 1 step towards the end-of-track icon on the Zombie Movement Track. While the supply lasts, a player issuing a Field Command is entitled to move 1 Command Token from the Pioneer Reward Zone to the Command Inventory on her/his Kingdom Board.

Field Commands

Play 1 new Army Card. You can play one Army Card from your hand face up to one of the War Zones on one of your Frontier Boards; this card becomes an active Army Card.

War Zone. Eligible War Zones can be found on the Frontier Boards you share with an adjacent player. It is the only place where you can play Army Cards to defend your City Gates from the Zombie Invasion. There are 5 War Zones on each Frontier Board, Zone 1 to Zone 5.

War Zone Army Status

• Active Army Card: An army in a War Zone is called "active" when it has not been defeated by Zombies or when it has been reactivated after a defeat. An active Army Card is always placed face up.
• Defeated Army Card: During a combat in Phase 3, an Army Card that fails to kill all attacking Zombies is called "defeated". A defeated Army Card is always turned face down.

Loyalty. When placing an Army Card on a free War Zone, it will be loyal to you if you assign it to your side of the War Zone, facing towards you. You can also place it at your adjacent player's side facing her/him; in this case, the army will be loyal to that player. Within four of the War Zones, Reward Icons can be found at both sides. Playing an Army Card at such a zone means that the Reward Icon at your side or the adjacent player's side will be covered.

Reward Icons. Reward Icons can be found in four of the five War Zones. During Phases 3 and 4, the icons on your side of the Frontier Board will provide you with different benefits in case they are not covered by an Army Card.

• Command Icon: You take 1 Command Token from the pool and put it in your Command Inventory on your Kingdom Board for each visible icon on your side of the Frontier Board in Phase 4 – Cleanup.
• Army Icon: You draw 1 Army Card from the Army Deck to your hand for each visible icon on your side of the Frontier Board in Phase 4 – Cleanup.
• Gate Protection Icon: You lose 1 less Victory Point for each visible icon on your side of the Frontier Board when the City Gate of this Frontier Board is receiving damage in Phase 3 – Combat & Scoring.

War Zones Arrangement. Each War Zone on a Frontier Board can only contain 1 Army Card. If there are one or more zones with no Army Card, you have to play a new Army Card to the zone which is closest to Zone 1.

Once all zones are occupied, you may only play a new Army Card to Zone 5. In order to clear Zone 5 for playing a new Army Card, all other Army Cards on this Frontier Board are forced to march forward according to one of the following two conditions:

• Condition 1 – All War Zones are occupied by active Army Cards. The Army Card in Zone 1 moves into the Zombie horde in front of Zone 1 and is consumed. As a consequence, a number of Zombie Tokens matching the number of Zombification Icons on the consumed Army Card are added to the Zombie horde. The consumed Army Card is discarded. All other Army Cards march one zone forward and clear Zone 5 so that the new Army Card can be played.
• Condition 2 – 1 or more zones are occupied by defeated Army Cards. Discard the defeated Army Card from the zone closest to Zone 1. All Army Cards behind the zone of the discarded Army Card move one zone forward to clear Zone 5 for the new Army Card. The Army Card(s) in front is not affected.

Basics of Army Cards

There are 3 ranks of Army Cards: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

• Bronze Army Card – Swordsman: This is the most common army unit with good melee attack strength. However, once defeated, the Swordsmen are easily zombified due to their low resistance to the Zombie Virus. You can recognize a Swordsman and its Melee Attack Type by the melee icon next to the Basic Attack Value.
• Silver Army Card – Archer: This army unit performs ranged attacks to deliver cumulative damage together with an adjacent Army Card. Its agility helps to evade Zombie attacks, and thus Archers are less easily zombified. You can recognize an Archer and its Ranged Attack Type by the ranged icon.
• Gold Army Card – Cavalry: This is a mounted army unit with perfect immunity to Zombie bites so it can never be zombified. Its Charge Attack skill can kill one Zombie before the normal attack begins. Cavalry and its Melee Attack Type can be recognized by the Cavalry icon.

Army Card anatomy. An Army Card shows the following: the Insignia (used for reinforcing another active army in a War Zone, or for upgrading the Military Technology Level on the player's Kingdom Board); the Reinforcement Slot(s) (provide additional Attack Power when reinforced by use of a matching Insignia); the Basic Attack Value; the Attack Type; and the Zombification Icon(s) (which represent the number of Zombies generated when the army is defeated).

Zombify. A consumed Army Card will be discarded and zombified. This results in new Zombie Tokens being added to the Zombie horde, their number matching the number of Zombification Icons shown on the top right corner of the consumed Army Card. For example, 2 Zombification Icons on an Army Card mean that 2 Zombies are generated when this Army Card is defeated or consumed.

Upgrade Military Technology

If you want to reinforce your active Army Cards by using their Reinforcement Slots, you have to upgrade your kingdom's Military Technology Level first to match the level of the Reinforcement Slots you want to use. You may upgrade your kingdom's Military Technology by one level during your turn provided that you possess the appropriate resources.

In order to mark the upgrading of the Military Technology Level, you have to move the Technology Level Marker (i.e. the Kingdom Mission Card) on the Military Technology Area upwards by one position so that the new level of technology is revealed. However, advancing to a higher Military Technology Level also has a drawback: the Kingdom Mission Card will now cover a Command icon on the Military Technology Area. That means you will not be able to get this Command Token reward when you are refilling your Command Inventory in Phase 4 – Cleanup.

Marking Technology Levels with a Mission Card: Level 0, Level I, Level II, Level III.

At the beginning of the game, each kingdom's Military Technology Level is 0. All the Reinforcement Slots of active Army Cards are locked, meaning that the players are not able to reinforce them. In order to unlock the slots for reinforcement, you have to upgrade your kingdom's Military Technology Level.

How to upgrade the Military Technology Level? On your Kingdom Board, you will see 4 levels of technology: Level 0, Level I – Bronze, Level II – Silver and Level III – Gold. Upgrading the Technology Level allows you to unlock the Reinforcement Slots one by one, from bronze up to gold. The Insignia of the Army Cards in your hand can be used to upgrade the Military Technology Level of your kingdom. In order to advance to a certain level of military technology, you need to discard Army Cards with corresponding Insignia from your hand. After reaching a level of military technology, the corresponding Reinforcement Slot of the respective rank is unlocked and becomes available for reinforcements. Please consult the table below to see which Insignia are needed for each upgrade.

Military Technology Level	Insignia required to acquire this Level	Reinforcement Slots unlocked
Level 0 – Default	Default	None
Level I – Bronze	1 x Bronze Insignia	Bronze
Level II – Silver	1 x Silver Insignia or 1 x Bronze Insignia	Bronze, Silver
Level III – Gold	2 x Bronze Insignia, 2 x Silver Insignia or 2 x Gold Insignia	Bronze, Silver, Gold

Note: The source prints the Insignia requirements as icons separated by "/"; they are read here as alternatives ("or"). The Level III row lists the Insignia types in the same way.

A Bronze Army Card (Rank I) provides a Bronze Insignia. A Silver Army Card (Rank II) provides a Silver Insignia. A Gold Army Card (Rank III) provides a Gold Insignia.

Play 1 Relic Card. Relics are mysterious belongings of the modern Zombies, left behind on the battlefield and recovered by the troops of the kingdoms. They have powerful features which may help you to influence the Zombies, the armies or even the kingdoms. Detailed descriptions of the Relic Cards' functions can be found in the appendix of the rulebook.

• Phase of a Relic Card: At the top of each Relic Card you can see a number or a symbol. This tells you during which phase the Relic Card can be played: a Phase 1 symbol means Phase 1; a Phase 2 symbol means Phase 2; a "1 / 2" symbol means either Phase 1 or 2; a Relic Card with an "any phase" symbol can be played during any phase.
• When you play a Relic Card, apply the Relic Effect described at the bottom of the card. You may play 1 Relic Card during your turn.

Commanders. Each Commander has a Zones Restriction, as shown on the Commander Card. The Zones Restriction indicates the War Zones to which a Commander can be deployed. For example, Lancelot is keen on helping in Zone 4 or Zone 5, while Matilda can fight for you in Zones 2, 3 or 4.

Within the restricted zones of a Commander, you can assign the Commander Card to one of the active Army Cards loyal to you, or to a defeated Army Card of any loyalty. If you assign a Commander to a defeated Army Card, it is reactivated and becomes an active Army Card loyal to your kingdom.

Once a Commander Card is assigned to an Army Card, the Army Card is anchored, meaning that it cannot be moved to another zone and its loyalty cannot be changed, neither by a Relic Card feature nor by playing a new Army Card to Zone 5.

Get 1 Command Token. Get 1 Command Token from the pool to replenish your Command Inventory on your Kingdom Board.

Pass and Recruit 1 Commander Card. When it is your turn and you do not want to issue any more commands, you can declare to pass and then recruit a Commander for free from the Commander Gathering (provided a Commander Card is still available). Assign the Commander Card immediately to a War Zone at one of your frontiers. Regardless whether you recruited a Commander Card or not, return all of your unspent Command Tokens back to the pool. You will forfeit all remaining turns during this phase and you have to wait until all other players have passed as well or the Zombie Movement Marker has reached the end-of-track icon.

Commander Terric may only be assigned to War Zone 3, 4 or 5. (Example shown on the Frontier Board in the source.)

If you do not own any active Army Cards and if there is no defeated Army Card on the restricted zones of the Commander you want to acquire, you may still acquire that Commander but you must discard it to the bottom of the Commander Deck. The abilities and the rewards of the discarded Commander cannot be used.

Otherwise, no matter how you acquire a Commander, you must assign him/her immediately. If the assigned Commander carries rewards, you can collect the rewards at the time specified on the card, even if the Commander's army is defeated during the Combat Phase. Each War Zone can only accommodate one Commander Card.

END OF PHASE 1. Phase 1 ends when all players have declared to pass or when the Zombie Movement Marker has reached the end-of-track icon. All players return their remaining Command Tokens back to the pool.

Phase 2 – Rallying

The turn order of this phase depends on the players' ranking on the Victory Point Track. Start with the player who has the highest amount of Victory Points, and continue with the other players according to their Victory Points. The player who has the lowest number of Victory Points will be the last one to play her/his turn. When players have the same amount of Victory Points, the player with more Army Cards in hand shall play first. If there is still a tie, the turn order for those players follows clockwise from the Starting Player of Phase 1.

(Note: During this phase the Starting Player Marker is retained by the player who received it during Setup / Phase 4.)

Each player has only 1 turn during this phase. During your turn, you can perform the following 2 actions as often as you like:

Play Relic Card(s): A player can play any number of Relic Cards which are suitable for Phase 2.

Reinforce your active Army Card(s): You can freely reinforce any number of your own active Army Cards.

Insignia & Reinforcement Slots. During the Rallying Phase, the Insignia icons on the Army Cards in your hand serve as resources for reinforcement. These icons are used to boost the Reinforcement Slots of your active Army Cards.

To reinforce an army, place the Army Card(s) for reinforcement under an active Army Card with the Insignia uncovered. An Insignia can only be used to reinforce one Reinforcement Slot of the same or a lower ranking.

There are 3 ranks of Insignia, corresponding to the ranks of the Army Cards:

Army Card used for Reinforcement	Insignia provided	Reinforcement Slots that can be reinforced
Rank I – Bronze	Bronze	Bronze
Rank II – Silver	Silver	Bronze or Silver
Rank III – Gold	Gold	Bronze, Silver or Gold

Effect of Reinforcement Slots. When a Reinforcement Slot of an active Army Card is boosted, the Attack Value of the Army Card is increased by the number printed on the Reinforcement Slot. This effect will last until the end of Phase 4 when all reinforcements must be discarded.

END OF PHASE 2. When every player has completed playing Relic Cards and reinforcing Army Cards, the game proceeds to Phase 3.

Phase 3 – Combat & Scoring

Combat. The Zombie Invasion starts on the Frontier Board to the left of the current Starting Player, and continues clockwise, one Frontier Board at a time. Each frontier will be invaded by the Zombie horde which has been placed in front of Zone 1, at the end marked with the Zombie spawn icon.

Zombie Action Pattern. Zombies move from War Zone 1 to War Zone 5, attempting to damage the City Gate beyond Zone 5. If they enter the Attack Distance of an active Army Card, the army will attack the Zombies. If the army cannot kill all of them, the remaining Zombies will defeat and overwhelm this army, resulting in the generation of new Zombies. This process is called Zombification. The new Zombies will join the remaining Zombies and together they move on to the next War Zone and so on.

Army Attack. During this phase, all Zombie Tokens gathered as a Zombie horde in front of the Frontier Board are moved to War Zone 1 and the armies start their attack, attempting to kill all the Zombies. Zombies are killed using the zone's Total Attack Power, which is the sum of the Attack Values of Army Cards in range plus their reinforcements and Commanders.

Attack Distance and abilities

• Bronze Army – Swordsman (Melee), Attack Distance = 0. Inflicts melee damage on Zombies in its own zone.
• Silver Army – Archer (Ranged), Attack Distance = 0 – 1. Attacks Zombies in its own zone and in adjacent zones.
• Gold Army – Cavalry (Melee), Attack Distance = 0. Charge Attack skill: instantly kills 1 Zombie before the normal attack starts. Then inflicts melee damage on Zombies in its own zone.

Commanders. The Attack Value of a Commander Card is added directly to the Total Attack Power of the army in her/his affected zone(s). If the Attack Type of a Commander is "ranged", her/his Attack Value will apply to the same War Zone as well as the adjacent zone(s). If the Attack Type of a Commander is "melee", her/his Attack Value only applies to the Commander's own War Zone.

Note: a Commander's Attack Type will not change the Attack Type of an active Army Card in her/his zone, and vice versa.

Total Attack Power of a War Zone. The Total Attack Power is the sum of all the Attack Values of:

• the active Army Card in that zone with its reinforcements;
• • a Commander Card in that zone;
• • a ranged active Army Card in an adjacent zone with its reinforcements;
• • a ranged Commander Card in an adjacent zone.

To determine how many Zombies a War Zone can kill, you simply compare the Total Attack Power of that War Zone with the Hit Points (HP) of a Zombie. The HP value of a Zombie is calculated by adding up the Basic and Power Up Hit Point values of the current Zombie Invasion Card plus the Power Up values of Zombie Invasion Cards from previous rounds. The total is the Attack Power needed to kill one Zombie.

Power Up of Zombie Invasion Cards. Example: Number of Zombies = 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 8; HP value = 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6.

Combat results calculation in a War Zone:

• Case 1: Total Attack Power < one Zombie's HP: No Zombie is killed in the War Zone.
• Case 2: Total Attack Power is >= one Zombie's HP: One Zombie is killed in the War Zone.
• Case 3: Total Attack Power is >= Total HP of a number of Zombies: The respective number of Zombies is killed in the War Zone.
• Case 4: Total Attack Power >= Total HP of all Zombies: All Zombies in the War Zone are killed and combat on this Frontier Board ends for this day.

To keep track of the killed Zombies, remove all killed Zombie Tokens and place them next to the Frontier Board on the side of the player owning the active Army Card in the contested zone.

If the Total Attack Power is not high enough to kill all Zombies, the remaining Zombies then will defeat the defending army and Zombification takes place. Add a number of Zombie Tokens corresponding to the number of Zombification Icons on the defeated Army Card to the remaining Zombies, and turn the Army Card face down to indicate its defeat. (If there are Commander/Reinforcement Cards attached to the defeated Army Card, they are to be discarded in Phase 4.) The defeated Army Card's loyalty remains unchanged (possibly covering some Reward Icons on the owning player's side). Then, move all the remaining Zombie Tokens to the next War Zone.

Apply the above procedure to subsequent War Zones whenever a zone fails to kill all the remaining Zombies. The attack ends if all Zombies are killed. If one or more Zombies survive the battle at Zone 5, move all remaining Zombie Tokens to the City Gate and allocate damage to it. Victory Points are deducted immediately according to the damage (please refer to the paragraph "Losing Victory Points" below).

Combat example. This example simulates the invasion of a group of 5 Zombies (each with 3 Hit Points) attacking a frontier.

1. A Zombie horde of 5 Zombie Tokens invades Zone 1.
2. The Swordsman Army Card of War Zone 1 has a Basic Attack Value of 7.
3. A Silver Insignia boosts the Total Attack Power of the Swordsman Army Card by 3.
4. The adjacent Archer Army Card in Zone 2 delivers supporting fire to Zone 1, increasing the Total Attack Power by 3.
5. The Total Attack Power is 7 + 3 + 3 = 13. This kills 4 Zombies of 3 HP each.
6. As a Supporting Fire Reward, the first killed Zombie Token is awarded to the Archer Army Card in Zone 2.
7. Since Zone 1 kills only 4 of the 5 Zombies, the remaining Zombie defeats the Swordsman Army Card.
8. As there are 2 Zombification Icons on the Swordsman Army Card, 2 Zombie Tokens are generated and added to the remaining Zombie. Therefore, a total of 3 Zombie Tokens move on to Zone 2.

Supporting Fire Reward. Whenever an army with a Ranged Attack Type (e.g. an Archer Army Card, a Commander with Ranged Attack Type or a Relic Card that gives a Bronze Army Card a Ranged Attack Type, etc.) in an adjacent zone delivers supporting fire to a War Zone in order to kill Zombies, the first Zombie killed in this War Zone will be awarded as a Supporting Fire Reward to the adjacent army / Commander with Ranged Attack Type.

When Zombies pass by a defeated Army Card.

• The defeated Army Card remains face down.
• The defeated Army Card's Attack Value is 0. It cannot be reinforced.
• The defeated Army Card is not subject to any further Zombification.
• If a ranged Army Card (or an Army Card reinforced by a Commander or a Relic Card with Ranged Attack Type) in an adjacent zone kills 1 or more Zombies in the defeated Army Card's War Zone, move 1 of the killed Zombie Tokens as a Supporting Fire Award to the adjacent Ranged Attack Type army / Commander. Discard all other Zombie Tokens killed in this War Zone.
• All remaining Zombies move to the next War Zone.

Losing Victory Points. When Zombies arrive at a City Gate, they inflict damage on both kingdoms sharing that frontier. Both players lose 1 Victory Point each per damage inflicted by the Zombie Tokens on the City Gate. The total damage is equal to the Damage Value shown on the Zombie Invasion Card multiplied by the number of Zombie Tokens which have reached the City Gate. One point of the total damage can be subtracted by the player who has an uncovered Gate Protection icon on her/his side of Zone 5 of the Frontier Board.

Example – Losing Victory Points: Damage Value 2; Zombies at City Gate: 2. Damage inflicted on the left player: Damage Value x Zombie Tokens = 2 x 2 = 4 points of damage. Total: –4 Victory Points. Damage inflicted on the right player, who has an uncovered Gate Protection icon on his side of the Frontier Board which prevents 1 point of damage: 2 x 2 – 1 = 3 points of damage. Total: –3 Victory Points.

END OF PHASE 3. At this point all players who have chosen a Daily Mission Card are allowed to take the corresponding reward if the mission has been fulfilled during the day. If this is Day 1 to Day 4, continue with the next phase. If this is Day 5, the players collect the corresponding rewards if they have chosen and fulfilled an End-Game Mission and the game ends.

Scoring. When combat on all Frontier Boards has been resolved, each Frontier Board will be scored by the two players sharing that frontier. Each player's Kingdom Marker on the Victory Point Track is adjusted according to the gained/lost Victory Points.

Gaining Victory Points. You gain Victory Points by killing Zombies. Count the number of Zombie Tokens collected at your side of both Frontier Boards. 1 Victory Point is awarded for each Zombie Token collected.

Winning the game. The player with the highest amount of Victory Points wins. If there is a tie between two or more players, they win the game together.

Phase 4 – Cleanup

1. Return all Zombie Tokens on and next to the Frontier Boards back to the pool.

2. Reveal the next Zombie Invasion Card from the Zombie Invasion Deck and place it at the Zombie Spawning Area on top of the previous Zombie Invasion Card, leaving the Power Up Columns of the previous cards uncovered.

   When the Boss Invasion Card is uncovered

   • At the end of Day 3: When the Boss Invasion Card (with a Boss icon printed on the back of the card) is uncovered after revealing the 4th Zombie Invasion Card, the players can preview the boss information briefly and then return the Boss Invasion Card face down to the Invasion Deck space.
   • At the end of Day 4: Discard all Zombie Invasion Cards from previous days and place only the Boss Invasion Card at the Zombie Spawning Area.

3. Form a new Zombie horde in front of each Frontier Board by allocating a number of Zombie Tokens corresponding to the number of Zombies shown on the Zombie Invasion Cards / Boss Invasion Card at the Zombie Spawning Area. On Days 1 to 4, the total amount of Zombies to be placed at each frontier is calculated by adding up the Basic and Power Up Columns for the number of Zombies of the current Zombie Invasion Card plus the Power Up Columns of all Zombie Invasion Cards from previous rounds. On Day 5, only the values printed on the Boss Invasion Card will be used.

   Power Up of Zombie Invasion Cards. Total number of Zombies = 3 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 7. HP of each Zombie = 2 + 1 + 1 + 0 = 4.

4. Place the Zombie Movement Marker on the space of the Zombie Movement Track which corresponds to the Zombie Speed value on the current Zombie Invasion Card / Boss Invasion Card.

5. Move each Strategy Command Marker backwards (to the left) according to the Daily Restoration Rate of each Strategy Command Track. Look for the correct Daily Restoration Rate that fits the number of players.

   The Daily Restoration Rate is shown by the step values printed on the tracks: 1 step for 2 players, 2 steps for 3 players, 3 steps for 4 players and 4 steps for 5 players. In a 4-player game, this track is restored by 3 steps.

Example – Total Army Cards drawn: 1 (left frontier) + 0 (right frontier) + 2 (Commander) = 3 Army Cards.

Discard extra Army Cards until each player does not hold more than 10 Army Cards in hand.

11. Collect all Commander Cards (used or not used, assigned to War Zones or at the deck) and shuffle them back into the deck. Prepare a new Commander Gathering next to the Game Board by revealing a number of Commander Cards equal to the number of players minus 1.
12. The player with the Starting Player Marker passes it to the player with the lowest number of Victory Points. In case of a tie, the player with fewer Army Cards in her/his hand gets the marker. If it is still a tie, the player with the lowest number of Victory Points to the right of the last Starting Player gets the marker.

END OF THE DAY. When the Cleanup Procedure has been completed, the game continues with Phase 1 of the next day.

The Zombie Boss Invasion

The Boss Invasion. At the end of Day 3 the kings' scouts have reported back with valuable information about a powerful Zombie Boss. Thus the Boss Invasion Card (with a Boss icon) is previewed at the end of Day 3 so that every player can try to prepare for the upcoming menace. After 4 days of Zombie Invasions, the players will face the final Zombie Boss during the Day 5 invasion. All the Zombie Invasion Cards revealed previously during the first 4 days are discarded since they are not needed for Day 5. There is no Power Up effect for the Day 5 Boss Invasion. Only the number of Zombies and their Hit Points (which are printed on the Boss Invasion Card) will apply; additionally, the Boss' special ability will come to bear.

Boss Invasion Cards. Every player can preview the front face of the Boss Invasion Card briefly at the end of Day 3.

The Bloodshed. Number of Zombies: 7. Hit Points (HP): 7. Damage Value: 2. Zombies Speed: 3. Ability: Unstoppable – Immune to all ranged attacks. During this Boss Invasion all Zombies are immune against all Army Cards/Commanders featuring the Ranged Attack Type because the Zombie Boss's body is covered with hardened skin.

The Evil Twins. Number of Zombies: 7. Hit Points (HP): 5. Damage Value: 2. Zombies Speed: 1. Ability: Curse Of Lust – Immune to all melee attacks. When this Boss appears in front of the soldiers, they are all confused and fall into a state of chaos. This Boss is immune against all Army Cards/Commanders featuring the Melee Attack Type. Note: although the melee attack of Gold Army Cards (Cavalry) cannot hurt this Boss, the Charge Attack skill can kill one of these Zombies.

The Dark Trainer. Number of Zombies: 6. Hit Points (HP): 6. Damage Value: 2. Zombies Speed: 1. Ability: Beast Raid – Reset Technology Levels. Replace Zone 1 armies at all frontiers with Weakened Army Cards. This Boss destroys the upgrades of the Military Technology Level of all kingdoms. As a result, the Technology Level Marker of all players is reset to its starting position. In addition, all Army Cards in War Zone 1 of each Frontier Board are discarded and replaced with a Weakened Army Card, keeping the same loyalty as before.

The Death Bringer. Number of Zombies: 9. Hit Points (HP): 4. Damage Value: 2. Zombies Speed: 1. Ability: Viral Storm – Replace armies of Zones 1 & 2 of all frontiers with Weakened Army Cards. This Boss has the ability to weaken the armies in War Zones 1 and 2 of all frontiers. All the Army Cards in War Zones 1 and 2 of each Frontier Board must be discarded and replaced by Weakened Army Cards, keeping the same loyalty as before.

Weakened Army Card. A Weakened Army Card has a Basic Attack Value of 0. When defeated or consumed by the Zombie horde, 2 Zombie Tokens will be added to the Zombies remaining at this Frontier Board. Weakened Army Cards can come into play by the abilities of some Zombie Bosses. A Weakened Army Card has a Black Insignia at the upper left corner (instead of a Bronze, Silver or Gold Insignia). Thus, a Weakened Army Card cannot be used for upgrading the Military Technology Level or for reinforcement.

Appendix

Rules for 2 Players

When playing with just 2 players, there will be 3 kingdoms which have to form an alliance. Two of them are "normal" kingdoms managed by the players, whereas the other kingdom is ruled by a Barbarian King (a Dummy Player). The Barbarian Kingdom only has Bronze Army Cards and it is not cooperating well with the other two kingdoms. The Barbarian King will only deploy his armies after the two players have finished playing their Army Cards. The Barbarian King is interested neither in the relics dropped by Zombies nor in his kingdom's technological advancement. In addition, the Barbarian Kingdom does not score or lose Victory Points.

Setup (2 players)

1. For a 2 player game, the game is set up similarly to a 3 player game. Since the Barbarian King is not competing with the two players, he uses only the Frontier Boards and Army Cards. No other components are needed for the Barbarian King.
2. In total, there are 3 Frontier Boards to be shared by the 3 kingdoms.
3. Separate the Bronze Army Cards from the deck. Randomly pick half of the Bronze Army Cards (i.e. 24 cards) and put them next to the Barbarian Kingdom as a Barbarian Army Deck. These Army Cards serve as a supply for the frontiers of the Barbarian Kingdom. The remaining Bronze Army Cards are shuffled back into the main Army Deck and are placed on the corresponding spaces of the Game Board.
4. Place 2 Command Tokens on the Pioneer Reward Zone and prepare only 1 Commander for the Commander Gathering.
5. For the rest of the setup, follow the normal setup procedure outlined in the main rules.

Gameplay (2 players)

In gaming terms, a 2-player game is a special scenario of the 3-player game. Each player shares one frontier with the other player and one frontier with the Barbarian King.

The game starts normally at Day 1 Phase 1 with the players playing turn by turn. The Barbarian King does not participate in the normal turns of Phase 1.

When Phase 1 is finished, the Barbarian King will play his armies: Whenever there is an unoccupied War Zone or a defeated Army Card on one of the Barbarian King's Frontier Boards, play a randomly drawn Bronze Army Card from the dedicated Barbarian Army Deck to the War Zone, with the army's loyalty to the Barbarian Kingdom. Continue to deploy armies until all War Zones of both frontiers shared with the Barbarian King are filled with active Army Cards.

Phases 2 to 4 will be played according to the standard rules. The Barbarian King performs no specific actions during these phases. The armies of the Barbarian King will fight according to the standard rules.

Rules for Cooperative Play

The Cooperative Mode is recommended for 3 to 5 players. The game runs for a total of 4 days (normal Zombie Invasions on Days 1 to 3, a Boss Invasion on Day 4). All players fight for the common goal, i.e. helping each other to survive. Each player starts with 5 Victory Points on the Victory Point Track.

Game Setup (cooperative)

Preparation of the Zombie Invasion Deck. There are 2 levels of difficulty for cooperative play – easy or hard:

• Easy – Pick the "Grey Turtles" Zombie Invasion Card as the Initial Power Up Card.
• Hard – Pick the "Rotten Slaves" Zombie Invasion Card as the Initial Power Up Card.

Place the Initial Power Up Card face up at the Zombie Spawning Area.

Each player receives a randomly drawn Kingdom Mission Card for his own kingdom. The players may turn the Kingdom Mission Cards face up at the beginning of the game.

Similar to a standard competitive game, shuffle the Boss Invasion Cards and draw 1 card and put it face down at the Invasion Deck space on the Game Board. Shuffle and draw 3 Zombie Invasion Cards and place them face down on top of the Boss Invasion Card. All the remaining Zombie Invasion Cards are put back into the game box.

For Day 1, reveal the top Zombie Invasion Card from the Invasion Deck and place it on top of the Initial Power Up Card, leaving the Power Up Column of the Initial Power Up Card uncovered.

At the end of Day 2 when the third Zombie Invasion Card is revealed, all players can preview the Boss Invasion Card.

All other setup procedures are exactly the same as in a standard competitive game.

Gameplay (cooperative)

During Phase 4, the Starting Player Marker is handed to the player to the left of the previous starting player. Apart from this the cooperative game follows the standard rules.

Winning the game (cooperative)

To win the game, the players' combined total of Victory Points must reach a certain threshold by the end of Day 4:

Number of players	2	3	4	5
Total Victory Points required to win the game	80	120	170	230

All players instantly lose if one player loses her/his last Victory Point.

Commanders

Alexander – A genius Commander who never lost a battle. Attack Value: 2. Attack Type: Melee. Zone(s): 1/2. Special Ability: The army in Alexander's zone cannot be defeated by Zombies and will remain face up even if it succumbs to the Zombies. Any surviving Zombies will move on to the next War Zone.

Terric – A mysterious knight who appears only in times of need. Attack Value: 6. Attack Type: Melee. Zone(s): 3/4/5. Special Ability: Terric scouts the battlefields. A player may draw a Relic Card immediately upon assigning Terric to a War Zone at one of his Frontier Boards.

Lancelot – A royal knight who does not shy away from sacrificing himself to save the people. Attack Value: 4. Attack Type: Cavalry. Zone(s): 4/5. Special Ability: Lancelot reduces the total damage to the City Gates on his Frontier Board for the player who has recruited him by 1 point.

Lilith – A heroine with excellent leadership qualities. Attack Value: 3. Attack Type: Melee. Zone(s): All. Special Ability: Lilith gives the player who has recruited her 2 additional Command Tokens during Phase 4.

Matilda – A strong and kind heroine. Attack Value: 5. Attack Type: Melee. Zone(s): 2/3/4. Special Ability: A player who recruits Matilda immediately gains 2 Victory Points.

Erina – Captain of the Royal Guard who masters in ranged attacks. Attack Value: 5. Attack Type: Ranged. Zone(s): 4/5. Special Ability: A player who has recruited Erina draws 2 additional Army Cards during Phase 4.

Relic Cards

Angel's Kiss – Phase(s): 1 / 2.

• Effect A: Select up to 2 defeated Army Cards in any War Zones and turn them face up. You may decide the loyalty of these armies; OR
• Effect B: Select 1 Army Card from the discard pile and play it to a War Zone for free.

Apollo's Eyes – Phase(s): 1.

• Effect A: Draw 4 Army Cards from the deck to your hand; OR
• Effect B: Draw 3 Army Cards from the deck and play up to 2 of them for free. Discard any drawn cards which you cannot or do not want to play.

Azrael's Roar – Phase(s): 2.

• Effect A: For every 2 Zombies killed in the selected War Zone, the player owning the army in this zone now gets 3 Victory Points instead of 2; OR
• Effect B: For every 2 Zombies killed in the selected War Zone, the player owning the army in this zone now gets 1 Victory Point instead of 2.

Dracula's Potion – Phase(s): 2.

• Effect A: Reveal a new Commander Card from the deck and assign it to a War Zone on any selected Frontier Board, adhering to the Commander's Zones Restriction; OR
• Effect B: Turn either the reinforcements or the Commander of a zone into Zombies: Every Reinforcement Card will generate 1 Zombie. A Commander will generate 2 Zombies. New Zombies generated will be placed at the area in front of Zone 1.

Gaze of the Dead – Phase(s): 2.

• Effect A: Relocate up to 3 Zombies from the Zombie horde area of a frontier to another; OR
• Effect B: Pick 1 Army Card from the discard pile and play it as a free reinforcement to one of your active Army Cards, irrespective of your kingdom's Military Technology Level.

Howling Hammer – Phase(s): 1.

• Effect A: Swap 1 of your active Army Cards on a Frontier Board with an Army Card from your hand; OR
• Effect B: Select 2 other players, remove 3 Command Tokens from each chosen player.

Immortal Vest – Phase(s): Any Phase. (This card can be played at any time. Playing this card does not count as a command.)

• Effect A: This relic can be played in another player's turn to cancel/neutralize the effect of another Relic Card just played by that player (Note: It cannot be played to cancel another Immortal Vest); OR
• Effect B: Gain 2 Victory Points for yourself or for a player of your choice.

Iron Steed – Phase(s): 1. (Playing this card does not count as a command.)

• Effect A: After playing this card you can use your turn to issue 2 commands in a row; OR
• Effect B: Zombies are snared. Move the Zombie Movement Marker 3 steps backwards.

Mind Reader – Phase(s): 1.

• Effect A: Discard up to 3 randomly drawn Army Cards from the hand of a selected player; OR
• Effect B: Randomly draw up to 3 Army Cards from another player's hand and keep them for yourself. Give the other player the same number of Army Cards from your hand at your choice.

Star of Dawn – Phase(s): 1 / 2.

• Effect A: Change the loyalty of an active Army Card in any War Zone from one player to the other; OR
• Effect B: Swap positions of any 2 active Army Cards on any one frontier. The loyalty remains unchanged. An army to which a Commander is assigned cannot be swapped.

Invisible Spear – Phase(s): 2.

• Effect A: Change the Attack Type of a selected active Bronze Army Card into "ranged"; OR
• Effect B: Select a War Zone. The Zombies ignore the zone and proceed to the next zone. The army in the selected War Zone is not going to be defeated and it does not attack any Zombies during the day.

Titanic Essence – Phase(s): 1.

• Effect A: Select an Army Card from the discard pile and add it to your hand; OR
• Effect B: Add 1 Zombie to all frontiers and assign 4 Gate Protection to one of your City Gates.

Kingdom Mission Cards

Note: For the word "most" used in some missions, a tie does not count as most.

Type	Description	Rewards
All-time Mission	Whenever you play a Relic Card	Draw 1 Army Card
All-time Mission	You may discard 1 Relic Card (during your turn in Phase 1 or 2)	Reactivate 1 defeated Army Card
Daily Mission	Whenever you have played 2 or more Relic Cards during a day	+3 Victory Points
End-Game Mission	If you have the most Relic Cards in your hand	+6 Victory Points
All-time Mission	Whenever you play a Gold Army Card	+1 Command Token, +1 Victory Points
Daily Mission	If your kingdom possesses the most Command Icons during Phase 4 of a day	+3 Victory Points
Daily Mission	If you have a Commander assigned to Zone 1 or Zone 2	+2 Victory Points