Desamparados: Stalingrado Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Objective
• Components
• Initial Setup
• Table Layout
• Game Play
• Start Phase
• Development Phase
  • 1. Deploy Soldiers
  • 2. Assign Life Cubes
  • 3. Set the Turn Order
  • 4. Execute Actions
    • 4.1 Primary Actions
      • 4.1.1 Attack
    • 4.2 Secondary Actions
    • 4.2 Passive Abilities
  • 5. Commands (Comandancias)
  • 6. Object Cards
    • a. Common Objects
    • b. Unique Objects
• Last Breath (Último Aliento)
• End of the Game, Scoring and Winners
• Glossary
• Round Summary

Game Objective

Desamparados is a confrontation game between two sides with different characteristics, in which the players try to eliminate the opposing side's forces, strategically using their units and resources to attack the enemy side and withstand its attacks.

The objective of each side at the end of the game is to have more living soldiers and life points than the rival.

Components

• a) 25 Soviet object cards
• b) 25 German object cards
• c) 18 Soviet life cubes
• d) 18 German life cubes
• e) 17 Soviet soldier cards A
• f) 17 Soviet soldier cards B
• g) 17 German soldier cards A
• h) 17 German soldier cards B
• i) 4 command markers
• j) 4 frozen weapon markers
• k) 4 action markers (1-4)
• l) 4 Soviet-German cover markers
• m) 2 round markers
• n) 2 dice
• o) 2 side separators
• p) 2 summary cards
• q) 1 objective marker
• r) 1 German side board
• s) 1 Soviet side board
• t) 1 rulebook

Initial Setup

There are two PLATOONS of soldiers per army, each represented by a different color on the back of its cards.

• Soviet Army platoons (red)
• German Army platoons (blue)

1. The players divide into two sides of at most two people per side, and each side chooses an army. The members of the same side must be from the same army.

2. The sides position themselves facing each other, trying to keep the players of the same side together, and afterwards the opposing side must not see the cards the other side holds in hand.

3. On the left side of each side, place the SIDE BOARD on the face corresponding to the number of players on that side ("TEAM" or "SOLO"), as the instructions vary according to the number of players.

4. In the center of the table, place the SIDE SEPARATORS.

5. Next to each SIDE BOARD, place the decks with the PLATOONS that will take part in the game and the OBJECT deck corresponding to each army.

6. Each player chooses a PLATOON of the army that corresponds to them (without looking at the cards). The chosen platoon determines the soldiers that player will have available during the game.

Example: If a player is on the German side, they must choose one of the German PLATOONS, while if they are on the Soviet side, they must choose one of the Soviet PLATOONS.

7. On the SIDE BOARD, place:

• The ROUND MARKER on n°1.
• The 18 LIFE CUBES in the reserve.

8. Finally, within reach of everyone, place:

• The ACTION MARKERS (1-4).
• The OBJECTIVE MARKER.
• The COVER MARKERS.
• The FROZEN WEAPON MARKERS.
• The COMMAND MARKERS.
• The DICE.

Table Layout

The printed layout diagram shows the German side (Bando alemán) at the top and the Soviet side (Bando soviético) at the bottom. Each side has three lines of play (1st, 2nd and 3rd line) and a discard pile (Descarte), and the side board sits on the left of each side. The diagram's numbered callouts (1 to 8) are not explained by a key on the page.

Game Play

The game is played over eight different rounds, between which there are two Hypothermia phases, two Reinforcement Arrival phases, and two Surrender instances.

The first seven rounds are played in the same way with some small changes, while the last round, called LAST BREATH (ÚLTIMO ALIENTO), has its own rules, explained later.

The rounds represent the passage of time and mark the development of the game. At the start, the ROUND MARKER must be placed on the first space of the SIDE BOARD, and then advanced one space at a time as the rounds pass.

Each round has a START PHASE and a DEVELOPMENT PHASE.

Start Phase

The start phases vary according to the round being played and according to the number of players on each side. Each START PHASE must alternate with a DEVELOPMENT PHASE.

Important: The Hypothermia, Reinforcement Arrival and Surrender phases are NOT considered rounds, so when their actions are carried out, the game does not move to a DEVELOPMENT PHASE, but to the next round.

a) Round 1: At the start of this round, each side must draw 4 OBJECTS. Then, depending on the number of players on each side, each player draws from their PLATOON a number of soldiers, which determines their starting hand:

• Side of 1 player: 8 soldiers.
• Side of 2 players: 5 soldiers per player.

b) Rounds 2 and 3: At the start of these rounds, each side must draw 4 OBJECTS and discard the excess (if any), by choice, until keeping a maximum of 5 OBJECTS.

c) Hypothermia: At the end of the third round, each player will have two soldiers in their hand, one of whom will die of hypothermia. To do this, a rival player must take one of these cards at random and put it in the discard pile.

d) First Reinforcement Arrival: After the death from hypothermia, each player must randomly draw new reinforcement soldiers from the deck corresponding to their PLATOON:

• Side of 1 player: draw 6 soldiers.
• Side of 2 players: draw 4 soldiers per player.

e) Rounds 4 and 5: At the start of these rounds, each side must draw 3 OBJECTS and discard the excess (if any), by choice, until keeping a maximum of 4 OBJECTS.

f) Surrender: At the end of the fifth round, if one of the sides feels completely defeated, it may lower its weapons and surrender, automatically losing the game. Otherwise, the game continues.

g) Hypothermia: If no side surrenders, the game moves to the second hypothermia phase, in which each player has three soldiers in hand, two of whom will die of hypothermia. To do this, a rival player must take two of these cards at random and put them in the discard pile.

h) Second Reinforcement Arrival: After the second hypothermia phase, each player must randomly draw new reinforcement soldiers from the deck corresponding to their PLATOON:

• Side of 1 player: draw 3 soldiers.
• Side of 2 players: draw 1 soldier per player.

i) Rounds 6 and 7: At the start of these rounds, each side must draw 2 OBJECTS and discard the excess (if any), by choice, until keeping a maximum of 3 OBJECTS.

j) Surrender: At the end of the seventh round, if one of the sides feels completely defeated, it may lower its weapons and surrender, automatically losing the game. If no side surrenders, the game continues into the LAST BREATH PHASE.

k) Round 8, "Último Aliento" (Last Breath): If none of the sides has surrendered, the winner of the game is decided through LAST BREATH. This phase is explained later in its own section.

Development Phase

1. Deploy Soldiers

In each round, the players must deploy, face down, two soldiers per side, using the spaces of the 3-row by 6-column grid formed by the SIDE SEPARATORS and the SIDE BOARD. If a side has two players, each one must deploy one soldier, while if a side has only one player, that player must deploy two soldiers. The sides alternate each round in being the first to deploy soldiers.

Each player decides which soldier to deploy based on its characteristics, its compatibility with other soldiers, the OBJECTS in its inventory, etc. Once all players have positioned their soldiers, they are turned face up and may not change position, unless a skill or OBJECT allows it during the turn.

Soldier cards have the following characteristics (callouts on the card illustration):

• a) Initiative: Determines the order in which soldiers act.
• b) Defense: Determines the minimum damage that must be suffered to be wounded.
• c) Attack: Indicates the type of weapon, the bonuses and the number of shots of the soldier.
• d) Command: Indicates whether the soldier is able to give orders to other soldiers in the Commands phase.
• e) Secondary Actions: Additional actions that the soldier may carry out during its turn (see section 4.2).
• f) Lives: Determine the amount of damage the soldier can suffer before dying.
• g) Name and age.

2. Assign Life Cubes

On each soldier deployed, and from the life cube reserve, place as many life cubes as the soldier has hearts in its lower-left corner. If there are no cubes left in the reserve, soldiers may still be deployed in the same way, but they will die at the first impact.

3. Set the Turn Order

Based on the soldiers' initiative, and considering position bonuses, OBJECTS or other soldiers, the turn order is established with the ACTION MARKERS from 1 to 4. The soldier with the highest initiative receives number 1, the one with the second highest receives number 2, and so on until 4.

If two or more soldiers tie in initiative, the following criteria are used to break the tie, in this order of relevance:

1. The soldier in the most advanced line.
2. The soldier with command.
3. The soldier with greater defense.
4. The soldier with more adjacent companions.
5. If the tie persists, both dice are rolled. Whoever obtains the higher sum keeps the disputed ACTION MARKER.

4. Execute Actions

4.1 Primary Actions

These actions are executed during the turn of the active soldier, following the order of the ACTION MARKERS.

4.1.1 Attack

Attack is one of the main actions of the game and is carried out as follows:

I. Aim: The active soldier must aim at an enemy soldier in play. To do so, it must declare the attack and mark its target with the OBJECTIVE MARKER. If the dice are rolled without having marked a target, the shot is considered to have gone wide.

II. Shooting and defense: Any attack is made by rolling the dice. If the sum of the dice (plus bonuses or minus penalties) is equal to or greater than the DEFENSE value of the target soldier, that soldier is hit and must lose one of its life cubes. If the soldier is hit and no life cubes remain, the soldier dies and must be discarded.

III. Line bonuses and penalties: Depending on the type of soldier and the line in which it is located, it will gain bonuses or penalties that are added to or subtracted from the attack rolls or the defense of the soldier, as follows:

• First line: Gives a −1 penalty to the DEFENSE value and a +1 bonus to attack rolls. Soldiers with a rifle do not get this bonus.
• Second line: No bonuses or penalties.
• Third line: Gives a +1 bonus to the DEFENSE value and a −1 penalty to attack rolls. Soldiers with a rifle do not get this penalty.

IV. Weapons: Soldiers may have different weapons, which provide different forms of attack. Some soldiers may have more than one weapon, in which case they must choose only one.

a) Submachine guns: Fire more than one shot per turn and are subject to bonuses or penalties according to the line in which the soldier is located. The shots fired with a submachine gun must all be at the same target. If the target dies and shots remain, two things can happen:

• If there are enemy soldiers left in the rival field, a new target may be chosen to use the remaining shots.
• If there are no enemy soldiers left in the rival field, the remaining shots become DIRECT DAMAGE (see section "V. Direct damage").

b) Rifles: Fire only once and have a default bonus to the attack roll. However, shots with this weapon are not subject to attack bonuses or penalties according to the line in which the soldier is located.

c) Pistols: Fire only once per turn, and are subject to bonuses or penalties according to the line in which the soldier is located.

d) Grenades: To execute this attack, the soldier must have the GRENADE OBJECT in its inventory and discard it to the discard pile; the card explains the action of this attack. (See section 6, Object Cards.)

All soldiers can throw grenades, but soldiers with the grenade-throwing icon have a bonus to the throw. Grenade throws are also subject to bonuses or penalties according to the line in which the soldier is located.

Only one grenade may be thrown per attack, and this action completely replaces the soldier's default weapon action (pistol, submachine gun or rifle). Soldiers with the FROZEN WEAPON MARKER cannot throw grenades.

V. Direct damage: If an active soldier still has shots available and there are no enemy soldiers in the rival field, each remaining shot is a direct damage to the rival. For each available shot, one life cube must be removed from the rival's life reserve.

VI. Special rolls: The following dice results trigger special effects:

• Frozen weapon (two 1s, shown with the snowflake symbol): The soldier loses its attack for the entire round, including in the Commands phases. However, it may still execute its other actions. A FROZEN WEAPON MARKER must be placed on this soldier.
• Grenade explosion in hand (grenade explosion symbol on the dice): The soldier that attacks with a grenade dies automatically, regardless of the lives it has. (Translator's note: the printed illustration shows the grenade-explosion symbol on the dice; the exact face combination is not spelled out in text on the page.)
• Loot objects (two 4s): Draw one extra OBJECT card.
• Rapid charge (two 5s): You may execute one additional shot with the attacking soldier, if it has a submachine gun, rifle or pistol (not applicable to grenades).
• Head shot (two 6s): Immediate death of the hit soldier, regardless of the lives it has.
• Critical impact (rifle): If when firing a rifle the sum of the dice plus bonuses is greater than 12, the enemy soldier dies immediately, regardless of how many lives it has.

4.2 Secondary Actions

Secondary actions are additional actions that soldiers possess and that complement the strategy. They may be executed before or after carrying out an attack:

• Boots (Botas): Allow the active soldier to move within the same line or to another adjacent line, using any unoccupied space.
• Medical kit (Botiquín): Allows recovering LIFE CUBES from the discard pile. There are two options: recover one LIFE for a wounded soldier, or recover two for the Life Reserve.
• Ammunition case (Maleta de municiones): Allows drawing OBJECTS according to the number indicated.
• Shovel (Pala): Allows the active soldier to place a TRENCH on any unoccupied space, using the TRENCH OBJECT from the inventory. Only one trench may be built per turn.
• Stretcher (Camilla): This action is only for the Soviet side. It allows carrying up to 2 other soldiers in play to an unoccupied space of the third line.
• Reorganize (Reorganizar): This action is only for the German side. It allows repositioning up to 2 other soldiers in play to any unoccupied space.

4.2 Passive Abilities

These abilities grant bonuses to the soldiers adjacent to the soldier that owns the ability. They work permanently, as long as the soldier remains in that position.

• Binoculars (Prismáticos): Adjacent soldiers located in the direction the arrows point gain an initiative bonus as indicated on the card.
• Protect a companion (Proteger a un compañero): Adjacent soldiers located in the direction the arrows point gain a defense bonus as indicated on the card.

5. Commands (Comandancias)

Commands are an instance in which active soldiers may give orders to reactivate other soldiers. This is executed at the end of the Development Phase, once the turns of the four active soldiers have passed, as follows:

• Following the priority of the ACTION MARKERS, the soldiers that have the command icon may reactivate any other soldier in play, including some of the other active soldiers.
• The reactivated soldier may execute all its primary and secondary actions.
• If an active soldier does not have command, it may be assigned the COMMAND OBJECT. In this case, the soldier is transformed into a commander and may reactivate a companion.
• A soldier may be reactivated only once per round. A COMMAND MARKER must be placed on the reactivated soldier to prevent another reactivation.
• Soldiers whose weapon is frozen during the round may be reactivated, but may only execute their secondary actions.
• If a commander has no soldiers available to reactivate, because its companions were eliminated or have already been reactivated during that round, the command is void.

6. Object Cards

OBJECT cards grant temporary bonuses or allow certain actions within or outside of the turn. Once played, they are sent to the discard pile. If the OBJECT deck runs out, all OBJECT cards in the discard area must be shuffled and returned to availability.

a. Common Objects

• I. IN COVER (A CUBIERTO): Declared when the enemy aims at one of your soldiers. Gives +2 to defense. This bonus is lost if the soldier performs any action, or at the end of the ROUND.
• II. SUBMACHINE GUN (METRALLETA): Used only by soldiers with a SUBMACHINE GUN. Gives one additional shot.

III. PRECISION (Precisión): Played before shooting with a soldier with a RIFLE (FUSIL). Gives a +2 bonus to the attack.

IV. REACTION (Reacción): Used at the moment the turn order of the round is established. Gives a +2 bonus to the initiative of the chosen soldier.

V. REORGANIZE (Reorganizar): Played before or after carrying out an action. Allows changing the position of soldiers in play within the same line or to an adjacent line.

VI. COVER ME! (¡Cúbreme!): Played during the turn of an ACTIVE soldier. The ACTIVE soldier executes all its actions except shooting. In its place, it shoots another soldier that is not active, which then is marked with a COMMAND MARKER and cannot be reactivated again during that round.

VII. COMMANDER (Comandante): Played during the Commands phase, and may only be assigned to an active soldier without command. The assigned soldier may give the order to reactivate another soldier.

VIII. GRENADE (Granada): Replaces the complete attack of the ACTIVE soldier. It may be played as a grenade once per turn. Before rolling the dice, declare whether the impact will be vertical or horizontal. In this way, the soldier hit and the adjacent soldiers (vertically or horizontally, as declared) lose one life.

IX. TRENCH (Trinchera): Played on the turn of an ACTIVE soldier with a SHOVEL. Gives bonuses to defense, attack or initiative to the adjacent soldiers in the direction the arrows point.

Trenches have a defense of 9 and can only be destroyed by grenades, affecting the adjacent soldiers, vertically or horizontally as declared by the soldier throwing the grenade. Trenches have NO defense or attack bonus or penalty according to the line in which they are located.

b. Unique Objects

Objects exclusive to their respective sides.

• I. Vodka (Soviets): May be played at any moment of the game. Allows drawing three OBJECT cards.
• II. Tactical Deployment (Germans) (Despliegue táctico): Played on the turn of an ACTIVE soldier. Allows the player to reorganize all of their soldiers in play.

c. Russian Winter

The following OBJECTS occupy space in the INVENTORY. To be discarded, lives must be paid. If they cannot be paid, the card is automatically lost.

• I. Temperature Drops (Cae la Temperatura): When discarded, both sides lose one LIFE from their reserves.
• II. Hypothermia: When discarded, the player must choose between losing one LIFE from a soldier in play or losing two LIVES from the reserve.
• III. White Wind (Viento Blanco): When discarded, the side that discards it loses one LIFE from its reserve.

Last Breath (Último Aliento)

This is the final round of the game, in which victory is contested if neither side has surrendered. Each side may reactivate up to two soldiers so that they make their last shots before dying, as follows:

• Up to two soldiers per side must be chosen to shoot or throw a grenade, marking them with a COMMAND MARKER.
• Following the rules of turn order, both dice are rolled. If the result is greater than or equal to the soldier's initiative, that soldier may execute its primary actions and then die (regardless of how many life cubes it has left). If the result is lower, the soldier dies without shooting.

Once this phase is finished, the game ends and the victory points must be counted.

End of the Game, Scoring and Winners

The game may end under the following conditions:

a) Surrender: If one of the sides has surrendered after the fifth or seventh round, the opposing side automatically wins the game.

b) Victory by direct damage: If the rival has no life cubes left in its reserve and receives direct damage, it automatically loses the game, and the opposing side is the winner.

c) Last Breath: At the end of LAST BREATH, the side with the most Victory Points (PV) is the winner. Victory points are counted as follows:

• Each LIFE CUBE scores 1 PV. Count the cubes on soldiers and all those remaining in the life reserve.
• Each soldier that remains in play scores 3 PV.
• In case of a tie, the LAST BREATH phase may be repeated and the points counted again, until one of the sides achieves victory.

Glossary

• Attack: The action of shooting at the enemy, whether using a firearm or a grenade.
• Place a card (Bajar una carta): Placing a SOLDIER or OBJECT card within the play grid.
• Play grid (Cuadrícula de juego): The grid formed by the SIDE SEPARATORS and the SIDE BOARD.
• Inventory: The cards in hand drawn from the OBJECT deck.
• Attack roll (Lanzamiento de ataque): When the dice are rolled to attack an enemy soldier.
• Draw (Robar): Take a card from one of the PLATOON or OBJECT decks, as appropriate.
• Reactivate (Reactivar): Allow a soldier to execute its primary or secondary actions again.
• Wounded soldier (Soldado herido): Any soldier that has lost at least one of its LIVES and has not yet been discarded.
• Life (Vida): A soldier's lives are the sum of the LIFE CUBES on its card, plus the life the soldier has by default. The term also refers to the cubes in the LIFE reserve of the SIDE BOARD.

Round Summary

1. Place the ROUND MARKER on the corresponding round.

2. Draw OBJECTS according to the round, respecting the OBJECT maximum for that round.

3. Deploy active soldiers, alternating each round which side deploys first.

• Side with 1 player: the player deploys two soldiers from their hand.
• Side with 2 players: each player deploys one soldier from their hand.

4. Assign LIFE CUBES to soldiers according to the number of hearts they have.

5. Establish the turn order according to the initiatives of the newly deployed soldiers, using the ACTION MARKERS 1 to 4.

6. Carry out the actions of the active soldiers, following the order of the previously assigned ACTION MARKERS.

7. Commands: active soldiers with command, or with the COMMAND OBJECT, may give the order to reactivate another soldier.