For the Crown (Second Edition) Rulebook

Table of Contents

GLOSSARY
[0.0] USING THESE RULES
[1.0] INTRODUCTION
[2.0] GAME EQUIPMENT
- Parts Inventory
[3.0] SETTING UP THE GAME
[4.0] SEQUENCE OF PLAY
[5.0] THE CARDS
[6.0] ORDER PHASE
- Promotion
[7.0] ACTION PHASE
- Training Actions
[8.0] BUY PHASE
[9.0] HOUSEKEEPING
[10.0] HOW TO WIN
[11.0] OPTIONAL RULES
[12.0] UNIT DESCRIPTIONS
[13.0] CARD EFFECTS
Point-Buy Chess Game Variant
- Set Up
- Prices
- Gameplay
- Multiple Games
Designer's Notes
CREDITS

GLOSSARY

The following are terms found throughout the game.

General Terms

Barracks: An off-Board space where Trained units wait before their Deployment onto the Board.
Board: The 8x8 grid of squares on the game board.
Class: The 6 different Classes for units are: Foot, Heavy, Mounted, Pious, Regal, and Sovereign. These are indicated in bold on a card. Some units have more than one Class.
Deck: Cards ready to be Drawn into your Hand.
File: A column on the Board (labeled a - h).
Gold: The game's "currency", used to Buy cards from the Supply (see 8.0). Gold received from a card's effect is indicated by a number on a golden coin.
Rank: A row on the Board (labeled 1 - 8).
Stock: An off-Board area for unused units.
Supply: A set of cards available to Buy (see 8.0).

Movement Terms

Backward: Toward the owner.
Diagonally: Any of the 4 directions in which the corners of each square touch.
Forward: Toward the owner's opponent.
Leaping: To Move (like the Knight) directly to a destination square, ignoring all the intervening squares; thus, the move cannot be blocked.
Left & Right: From the owner's perspective.
Riding: To Move (like the Bishop) an unlimited distance in a single direction, until the path is blocked or the player chooses to stop.
Sideways: Left or Right.
Straight: Any of the 4 orthogonal directions (i.e., Left, Right, Forward or Backward).

Card Terms

Adjacent: Squares (and units) whose sides or corners touch.
Attack: To Move a unit (by its normal rules) into the square of an opposing unit, thereby Capturing it (see 6.0).
Buy: To Gain a card by spending Gold (see 8.0).
Capture: To remove a unit from play, returning it to the Stock.
Deploy: To place a unit from your Barracks onto the Board (see 6.0).
Discard: To place a card, face-up, in its owner's Discard pile.
Draw: To take the top card of your Deck and place it in your Hand.
Gain: To take a card from the Supply and place it into your Discard pile.
Hand: Cards you are currently holding. Does not include cards already played this turn.
March: To Move a unit (by its normal rules) into an empty square (without Capturing; see 6.0).
Morph: To change one unit Type into another. Replace the unit's current piece with one from the Stock of the new Type (and same color).
Move: To change the position of a unit currently on the Board. This term is used when a card ignores a unit's normal movement rules.
Swap: To exchange the positions of two units.
Train: To take a unit from the Stock, flip it to your color, and place it into your Barracks.
Trash: To place a card, face-up, into the Trash Pile. "Trashed" cards are permanently out of play.
Type: A category of units that all share the same rules (see 12.0).
Unthreatened Square: A square in which your unit cannot be Attacked by an opposing player's unit.

[0.0] USING THESE RULES

New gaming terms, when they are initially defined, appear in dark red lettering for quick referencing.

The instructions for this game are organized into major "Rules" sections as shown in large CAPS font, and represented by the number to the left of the decimal point (e.g., Rule 4.0 is the fourth Rule). These Rules generally explain the game's subject matter, its components, the procedures for play, the game's core systems and mechanics, how to set it up, and how to win.

With each Rule, there can be "Cases" that further explain a rule's general concept or basic procedure. Cases might also restrict the application of a rule by denoting exceptions to it. Cases (and Subcases) are extensions of a Rule shown in the way that they are numbered. For example, Rule 4.1 is the first Case of the fourth Rule; and Rule 4.1.2 is the second Subcase of the first Case of the fourth Rule.

Important information is in bold text.

References to examples of a Rule or Case are in blue shaded boxes like this.

Text in gray shaded boxes, like this, provides the voice of the game's designer, who is addressing you to explain an idea or concept that is not, itself, a Rule or a Case.

Cards: Each card has two effects with certain instructions printed directly on it.

[1.0] INTRODUCTION

Civil war has broken out over the succession, and the people of a once-peaceful nation must choose sides and rush to war.

For the Crown is a two-player deck-building game where players improve the cards in the decks that they draw from. Each side trains and controls opposing armies and uses them to stake their claim to the throne.

[2.0] GAME EQUIPMENT

Parts Inventory

One 11" x 17" game board
123 thick, laser-cut game units*
150 deck-building cards
This Rulebook

*Some slight soot and discoloration can occur during the laser cutting process. If any of these pieces are missing or damaged, please email us at [email protected]

The Game Board: The 11" x 17" game board shows the 8x8 grid of squares making up the board, as well as each player's Barracks, Deck, and Discard pile.

The Units: The game pieces represent the 24 different army types. These pieces are referred to as units. Each unit has a blue side and a yellow side, used to indicate its owner.

[3.0] SETTING UP THE GAME

Separate the cards, face-up, into stacks by name. Each player takes 6 Peon and 4 Guard cards, turns them face-down, shuffles them, and places them in the Deck space on his side of the board. From it, each player draws 5 cards to form his first Hand.
Select the Champion, Clergy, Tower, and Consort card stacks (the "core cards"), and 10 additional stacks of other white-named cards (the "variable cards"), of both players' choice or at random, to be used during play (for 14 total stacks). Place them to one side where both players can easily reach them and read them to form the Supply. The remaining cards aren't used this game; put them away.

For your first game, along with the core cards, I suggest you use the following stacks: Armor, Bureaucracy, Evangelism, Heir, Legend, Patronage, Quartermaster, Refiner, Stables, and Versatility.
Each player places a King unit of his color on the specially marked space on his side of the board. Players will acquire more units during the game by using Training Actions (7.0) to add units to their Barracks and then use orders to deploy them to the board (6.0).
Set aside the remaining units to form the Stock.

[4.0] SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Players alternate turns until one player is left with no Sovereign units on the board (10.0).

Each player begins with one Sovereign unit (the King), but may acquire more during the game through the use of cards. Note that Kings are not the only type of Sovereign unit in the game.

A Turn consists of one player completing all of the following Phases in order:

Order Phase (6.0): Generally, one of your units may be issued one of these orders:
- March: Move into an empty square.
- Attack: Capture an enemy unit.
- Deploy: Place a unit from your Barracks into your first rank.
- Card: Play a card with an order effect and follow its instructions.
Action Phase (7.0): Generally, you may play one card with an action effect and follow its instructions.
Buy Phase (8.0): Generally, you may play any number of cards with treasure effects and spend your gold to buy one card.
Housekeeping Phase (9.0): Discard all cards played from, or remaining in, your Hand this turn; draw 5 cards from your Deck to create a new Hand.

[5.0] THE CARDS

Timing: Cards cannot be "saved" between turns; unplayed cards are discarded during a player's Housekeeping Phase (9.0).

Importance: When conflicting, the text on the cards supersedes the text in the rules.

Limitations: The two effects listed on each card are mutually exclusive. That is, only one effect per card can occur when it is played.

Example: You hold a Peon card in your Hand. You may use it either to train a single Pawn or as Treasure for 1 Gold, but not both.

When an instruction on a card is impossible at the time of play, ignore only that instruction and follow the rest as normal.

Reshuffling: If you must draw a card but your Deck is depleted (i.e., there are no cards left to draw from it), shuffle your Discard pile to form a new Deck, and then draw as usual.

Examination: You may freely count the cards in any stack and look through any face-up stack. You may look at the cards in your Hand, but only count those in your opponent's Hand.

[6.0] ORDER PHASE

You receive one order per turn, plus one for each played card effect stating "+1 Order." An individual unit can only receive one order per turn (e.g., it cannot march and attack in a single turn, nor march twice nor attack twice; but see the Charger). Unused orders are lost at the end of this phase. You may use your order(s) for any of the following:

March: Move one of your units to an empty square following the unit's movement rules (see 11.0).
Attack: Move one of your units to a square occupied by an opposing unit, following your unit's movement rules (see 11.0). The opposing unit is captured and returned to the Stock. You cannot capture your own units (but see 12.0, False Orders).
Deploy: Place a unit from your Barracks into any empty square in your first rank. If you deploy a Foot Class unit, you may place it in your first or second rank.
Card: Play a card from your Hand with an order effect and follow its instructions. Leave it face-up in front of you until the Housekeeping Phase.

Example: You play a Bureaucracy card during the Order Phase as your first order. That card gives a +1 Order, and instructs you to march or attack with one of your Foot units. After moving one of your Foot units to comply with the instructions, you may choose to perform a second order (due to the card's "+1 Order"), which could be any order except one involving that same Foot unit.

A card played for an order effect counts as issuing an order to every unit that the effect instructs you to deploy, march, attack with, move, swap, morph, or "choose".

Unlike in Chess, you are not forced to move on your turn; Orders are optional.

Promotion

When one of your Foot units enters your eighth rank by either marching or attacking, it is Promoted (similar to Chess). If it enters the eighth rank by other means (e.g., it is placed there by a card effect), it is not promoted at that time (but it may be promoted later, if it marches or attacks and remains on, or returns to, the eighth rank).

When a unit is promoted, its owner may Morph it into any type of unit that can be trained by any of the cards selected during Set Up (see 3.0, step 2). Exchange the promoted unit for a unit of the chosen type from the Stock.

Example: You march into the eighth rank with a Foot unit. You notice Versatility was chosen in 3.0, step 2; thus a Striker unit is available. Liking that unit type, you morph your unit to a Striker.

Unlike in Chess, you may promote to a King—but only if Heir was selected!

[7.0] ACTION PHASE

You receive one action per turn, plus one for each played card effect stating "+1 Action." Each action may be used to play a card from your Hand with an action effect. Unused actions are lost at the end of this Phase.

Training Actions

A training action is a special kind of action. When you play a training action effect, you trash the card you played and train a unit of the type indicated on the card (adding it to your Barracks, thereby allowing you to deploy it later on).

If the training action has an "x2" in its banner, then when you play that effect you train two units of the indicated type instead of one.

[8.0] BUY PHASE

In this phase, you may play any number of cards from your Hand with treasure effects. When you are done playing cards, you may use the total gold you generated this turn (including gold generated during previous phases) to buy cards from the Supply (at the costs indicated on each card).

You receive one buy per turn, plus one for each card effect you played this turn stating "+1 Buy." The sum of your purchases cannot exceed your gold. Unused buys and gold are lost at the end of this phase.

Example: You currently have 6 gold and a "+1 Buy" in this phase, so you may make up to two buys where the total cost does not exceed 6 gold. You could purchase one Tower card (6 gold), or one Legend card (4 gold) plus one Champion card (2 gold), but not two Tower cards (12 gold total) or three Champion cards (3 buys).

Your newly purchased cards are placed in your Discard pile.

When a stack of cards in the Supply runs out, those cards are no longer available to buy.

[9.0] HOUSEKEEPING

In this phase, you must discard all cards remaining (unplayed) in your Hand, and also all the cards you played this turn (except trashed cards).

Afterward, draw five cards from your Deck to create a new Hand (5.0).

[10.0] HOW TO WIN

How to Win: You win at the end of any turn when your opponent has no Sovereign units on the board (normally because you Captured them all). Then the triumphal crown is yours!

Unlike in Chess, there is no "Check" or "Checkmate" in For the Crown. You are not restricted from leaving your Sovereign unit(s) in danger, but be careful when doing so!

[11.0] OPTIONAL RULES

These optional rules provide added variety to play. They may be used separately or in any combination, as you desire.

[11.1] Alternative Starter Cards

Players may each remove one Guard card from their starting Decks and replace it with a Squire card (leaving 10 cards total in each starting Deck, as normal).

There will be additional types of alternative starter cards in future expansions.

[11.2] Alternative Starting Sovereign

Players may each begin the game with an Anointed (or a Sovereign type from an expansion) instead of a King.

Both players should generally start with the same type of Sovereign, since certain cards will be more effective at attacking or defending certain Sovereign types, and so one player might have an advantage over the other if different types are used. Additionally, some Sovereigns from future expansions may simply be better or worse, in general, than others.

[11.3] Enlarged Supply

Experienced players may wish to choose additional variable cards to add to the Supply during Set Up (3.0), beyond the usual 10. This provides greater flexibility in choosing a strategy, but also gives players more to keep track of, and might increase the length of the game (since the Supply will not run out as quickly).

[11.4] Handicapping

When players of unequal skill wish to play For the Crown, there are two easy ways to apply a handicap. Both of these methods are fairly coarse adjustments, so start small.

First, the weaker player can receive a head start by taking an extra turn or two at the start of the game. This can have a very big effect, because it will usually give him a stronger economy at all points during the game.

Second, the weaker player can start with some extra units. Starting with units on the board is generally stronger than starting with units in your Barracks. Naturally, if you start with enough material to capture the Sovereign unit(s), the game can degenerate. In the unlikely event that you can't get a large enough handicap, try adding an extra Sovereign unit rather than more offensive power.

[11.5] The Last Stand

Yellow army (the "Defender") uses a limited number of units to try to survive as long as possible. Blue army (the "Attacker") cannot lose, and must try to defeat the Defender as quickly as possible. The Attacker is not required to have any Sovereign units on the board (though he can, if he wishes).

Set Up

Choose cards to play with and set up the Supply as normal. The Attacker starts with a Deck of 6 Peons and 4 Guards, but does not start with a King or any other units.

The Defender is given 10 Pawns and 40 gold to train an army. He may train any units that exist in For the Crown, except the Immortal, by paying gold equal to the cost of any card that normally trains them (if it's a "Training Action x2" card, he trains two of that unit for that card's cost). He must train at least one Sovereign unit. Some units will be stronger or weaker than usual in this variant, so choose carefully.

The Defender places one of his Sovereign units anywhere on his first rank, and the remaining units in his Barracks. He does not receive or use any cards. Any unspent gold is lost; the Defender cannot train more units once the game has started.

Gameplay

Players alternate turns, beginning with the Defender. The Attacker plays as normal, except that any cards that need to be trashed (and would normally be permanently removed from the game) are placed in the Supply instead! Keep track of the number of turns the Attacker takes during the game.

The Defender only has an order phase during his turn. In addition to the usual orders, he may spend an order to Evacuate any one of his units on the board, returning it to his Barracks. He cannot play cards, since he has none.

None of the Defender's units are allowed to enter his eighth rank under any circumstances (therefore, the Defender's units can never promote). The Attacker's units are immune to capture while in his first Rank.

Victory Conditions

The game ends when the Defender has no Sovereign units on the board. The Defender's score is equal to the number of turns the Attacker took during the game.

[12.0] UNIT DESCRIPTIONS

These describe the unit Types in detail.

Acolyte (Pious)

The Acolyte moves 1 or 2 diagonally, or exactly 2 squares straight sideways, always leaping to its destination (i.e., ignoring intervening squares).

Anointed (Pious, Sovereign)

The Anointed moves 1 or 2 squares diagonally (similar to a Bishop, except it cannot move as far).

The Anointed is a Sovereign unit, and therefore counts for victory conditions, just like a King (see rule 10.0, How to Win). A player loses if he has no Sovereign units on the board, but a King, Anointed, or any other type of Sovereign unit is equally effective in preventing defeat.

In addition to being a Sovereign unit, the Anointed is also a Pious unit, and therefore can be affected by cards like Evangelism or Temple that require a Pious unit.

Banshee (Regal)

The Banshee can move like either a Bishop (riding diagonally) or a Nightrider (see Nightrider diagram).

Bishop (Pious)

As in Chess, the Bishop rides diagonally, moving as far as it wants, but it is unable to move through any other units along its path.

Chancellor (Regal)

The Chancellor combines the moves of the Knight and the Rook, either riding straight or leaping (1,2). It does not leap when using the straight (Rook-style) move.

Charger (Heavy)

The Charger moves 1-3 squares in a straight line, like a Rook with a range limit. However, it may choose to continue moving after capturing an enemy unit (up to its maximum of 3 squares), rather than stopping in the square of the captured unit. The Charger can even capture multiple enemy units in a single attack, if they're lined up. However, it still cannot pass through or capture friendly units.

Dragoon (Mounted, Regal)

The Dragoon combines the moves of the King and Knight, moving 1 in any direction or leaping (1,2). It counts as both a Mounted Class and a Regal Class, so it can be affected by cards that target either (e.g., Stables or Consort).

Gryphon (Heavy, Regal)

The Gryphon always begins its movement by stepping 1 square diagonally. After that, it can stop, or it can begin riding straight at a 45° angle to its initial movement. It cannot move straight without first stepping diagonally. The Gryphon can capture with its diagonal step, but this ends its move.

Hero (Mounted)

The Hero leaps (1,3) or (2,3), ignoring any intervening units, whether marching or attacking.

Immortal (Foot)

The Immortal moves 1 space in any direction, just like a King.

Whenever an Immortal is captured, instead of returning it to the Stock, place it in its owner's Barracks. The owner can then return it to the board by deploying it again, following the usual rules.

King (Sovereign)

As in Chess, the King moves one square in any direction, whether marching or attacking.

At the start of the game, each player controls only a King. A player loses when he has no Sovereign units on the board (see 10.0).

Knight (Mounted)

As in Chess, the Knight moves in an "L" shape, 1 square straight in one direction and then 2 at a right angle (i.e., a (1,2) move). It leaps to its destination, ignoring anything in the intervening squares.

Monk (Pious, Foot)

The Monk can move 1 square diagonally or exactly 2 squares straight. It cannot stop in the first square when moving straight, but it does not leap, so its straight move can be blocked if there is any unit on the square it wants to move through.

Nightrider (Mounted)

The Nightrider is literally a "Knight-Rider"; it moves by riding, but its basic step is a (1,2) leap. That is, it begins its movement by leaping (1,2), but if its destination square is empty, it can continue leaping (1,2) in the same direction until it runs into something.

Like other riders, such as the Rook or Bishop, the Nightrider's movement can be blocked, but only by a unit in one of the spaces it is moving through.

For Example: A Nightrider on square a1 can move to c5, but only if b3 is empty. Similarly, it could move to d7, but only if both b3 and c5 are empty.

Oracle (Pious)

The Oracle can march 1 square diagonally, but has an unusual method of attacking: it can capture an enemy unit that is exactly 2 squares away straight or diagonally, but it does not move when making an attack. The Oracle remains in its current square, and a single eligible unit is captured (normally returning it to the Stock, but see the Immortal).

The Oracle's attack still requires an uninterrupted path to the targeted enemy unit; any unit on an intervening square prevents the attack. Capturing in this way still requires an order, exactly like any other attack.

Pawn (Foot)

As in Chess, the Pawn generally marches straight forward one square at a time and attacks one square diagonally forward. When beginning its move from the first or second rank, a Pawn may choose to march two squares instead of one (but only if the first square is empty; it does not leap).

Phantom (Mounted, Regal)

The Phantom moves by leaping (1,2) to an empty square, and then immediately Leaping (1,2) again, not necessarily in the same direction. It always leaps exactly twice; it cannot stop after the first.

The Phantom has two paths to most squares it can reach. It cannot make a move if its first leap would place it on an occupied square or off the edge of the board, but it cannot be blocked in any other squares.

For Example: A Phantom on e1 can move to e3 if either c2 or g2 is empty. It does not matter whether e2 is empty.

Queen (Regal)

As in Chess, the Queen combines the moves of the Bishop and the Rook, riding in any of 8 directions (straight or diagonally) when marching or attacking.

Rook (Heavy)

As in Chess, the Rook rides straight, moving as far as it wants, but is unable to move through any other units along its path.

Sniper (Heavy)

The Sniper rides straight or diagonally, similar to a Queen, but it must move at most two squares when marching and at least two squares when attacking. Thus, the first square along its path can only be reached by marching, the second by either marching or attacking, and the third and further squares only by attacking.

Sphinx (Pious, Regal)

The complement to the Gryphon, the Sphinx always begins its movement by stepping 1 square straight. After that, it can stop, or it can begin riding diagonally at a 45° angle to its initial movement. It cannot move diagonally without first stepping straight. The Sphinx can capture with its straight step, but this ends its move.

Spy (Heavy)

The Spy can Attack 1 square in any direction, but marches by swapping positions with another unit on the board owned by the same player. If there are no friendly units on the board, a Spy cannot march.

Marching a Spy counts as issuing an order to that Spy, but not to the unit it swaps with.

For Example: If you played a Temple card to march a Bishop, then you cannot issue another order to that Bishop on the same turn (e.g., it could not march again), but you could still order your Spy to swap with it.

By the same token, if a Spy on the eighth rank swaps with a Foot unit, that Foot unit does not immediately promote; the Foot unit itself has to march or attack onto the eighth rank to promote.

Although the word "swap" is not inherently restricted to units on the board, units in the Barracks cannot march, and the Spy's March only allows it to swap with another unit that is also on the board.

Striker (Foot)

The Striker can march and attack 1 square straight forward or diagonally forward. It can also march (but not attack) by riding backward (moving any distance, but unable to pass through another unit in its path).

Warlord (Heavy)

The Warlord can move 1 or 2 squares in any combination of directions. For example, it could move forward twice, or to the side once and then diagonally forward. It can reach any square within 2 squares if it is not blocked, and it has multiple paths it can take to some squares. Its move is the same whether marching or attacking, but it cannot continue moving after making a capture.

[13.0] CARD EFFECTS

The following describes various cards and their effects.

Academy (Order): First, select a Foot unit in your Barracks and deploy it following the usual rules (place it in any empty square in your first or second rank). You may then issue another order (but not to the same unit).

Armor (Order): Select one of your Heavy units on the board and march it (following its normal movement); it cannot be captured until your next turn. This means that any attack that would capture it is illegal, nor can it be captured in other ways (such as another card). At the start of your next turn, it loses all protection and may be captured normally. You cannot attack with Armor, though you can cleverly use it to move a unit to a square where it could attack from next turn.

Astrology (Order): You earn 1 order, 1 buy, and 1 gold. Your opponent's current Hand is revealed, allowing you to see all the cards in it before continuing your turn.

Aviary (Order): Select one of your Regal units on the board and place it in any empty, unthreatened square. This is in lieu of its normal movement.

Bureaucracy (Order): First, select one of your Foot units on the board and either march or attack with it, following its normal movement. You may then issue another order (but not to the same unit). If you have several of these cards in your Hand, they may be played in succession on different units. Any Foot unit that marches or attacks into your eighth rank may promote, as usual.

Consort (Action): Select any one of your units on the board (except a Sovereign), and place it into an empty square adjacent to one of your Regal units. You can move a Regal unit via Consort, but it must be moved next to a different Regal unit. Consort ignores normal movement rules. Since this is an action, you can consort a unit that you have already ordered this turn.

For Example: You could attack with your Knight, then use a Consort to move it next to your Queen.

Destiny (Action): You draw one card and earn one action. Trash any card in your Hand with a "Training Action" or "Training Action x2" effect, then morph any one of your units into the type of unit that effect trains. The unit you choose to morph can be either on the board or in your Barracks.

If you have no cards in your Hand with training action effects, you do not trash a card or morph a unit. If you do have a card with a training action effect, but have no units to morph, you must still trash the card, and receive no morph for it.

Evangelism (Action): Select a Pious unit in your Barracks and place it in an empty square adjacent to one of your Pious units on the board. Thus, you are allowed to deploy with this action, even in unusual places.

Evangelism has no effect if there are no Pious units in your Barracks, or if you have no Pious units on the board.

Executive Action (Order): You draw 2 cards and earn 1 action. Note that playing this uses an order but generates an action; therefore, on the turn that you play this, you will not be able to issue any normal orders, but you will be able to play 2 actions.

Executive Action (Action): This is just like deploying a unit without a card, except that it costs an action instead of an order.

False Orders (Order): March or attack with any enemy unit (except a Sovereign unit), exactly as your opponent could normally do during his own order phase. You may use his unit to capture one of your units (following its normal movement), but not one of his. Your opponent cannot issue orders to that unit on his next turn (but he could still move it with an action, and may use his order on another unit as normal). You may want to rotate that unit 180 degrees as a reminder of this restriction, then rotate it back at the end of the next turn.

False Orders (Action): Your opponent reveals the top card of his Deck so both players can see it (if there are no cards left in his Deck, he shuffles his Discard pile to form a new Deck). After examining it, you may choose either to trash it or put it back.

Fog (Action): Select one of your Mounted units on the board and march it. Follow all the usual rules for marching that unit.

This is an action, NOT an order. Therefore, you may choose to march a unit that has already been issued an order this turn, or a unit that you are not allowed to issue them any further orders on the same turn (for example, due to a False Orders or Mourning card your opponent played last turn).

Guard (Order): You can deploy to an empty square adjacent to one of your Sovereign units instead of to your first rank.

Heir (Order): First, select one of your Sovereign units on the board and march it (i.e., a non-attacking move), following its normal movement. It must end this move in an unthreatened square; if it cannot reach an unthreatened square, you cannot use an Heir card on that unit. You may then issue another order (but not to the same unit).

Legend (Treasure): When you play this effect, you earn 1 gold for each other treasure effect you've played this turn (not including this one).

For Example: If you played two Towers (3 gold each) for their treasure effects, plus one Legend, you would receive a total of 8 gold (3 for each Tower card + 2 for the Legend card courtesy of the two Tower cards).

If you play two Legends in succession for their treasure effect, the second one does count the first one toward its value, but the first one doesn't count the second (as the second one was not yet played). Legend only counts cards played for a treasure effect, not cards with a treasure effect that were played for their other effect.

Mourning (Order): Select one of your Regal units on the board and attack with it (following its normal movement). Units that were adjacent to the unit (or units) that you captured cannot be issued orders during the next turn (that is, your opponent's turn).

Onslaught (Order): Select up to four of your Foot units on the board and/or in your Barracks. March or deploy each of them (as appropriate), one at a time (in any order).

For Example: You could march four of your Foot units on the board, or deploy four of your Foot units to the board, or march three and then deploy one, and so on.

You cannot march the same unit more than once, nor can the same unit deploy and then march. You cannot attack with Onslaught. Any Foot unit that marches into your eighth rank may promote, as usual.

Quartermaster (Order): Select any 2 units in your Barracks, and deploy each of them to different empty squares in your first rank. This order only allows you to deploy units to your first rank, even if the unit in question could normally be deployed elsewhere (e.g., a Foot unit). If there are less than 2 empty squares in your first rank, you cannot use this effect.

Quartermaster (Treasure): You earn 1 gold and 1 buy. The cost of every card (including those in your Hand) is reduced by 1 gold until the end of your turn, to a minimum of 0. This is equivalent to a discount of 1 gold for each card you buy.

For Example: If you have played one Quartermaster and one Clergy (for a total of 3 gold), you could buy a card that would normally cost 4 gold, or two cards that would normally cost a total of 5 gold.

If you play several of these cards, you will further reduce the cost of all cards, but never below 0.

Refiner (Action): You draw 1 card and earn 1 action. Trash any card in your Hand with a "Training Action" or "Training Action x2" effect, then morph any one unit in your Barracks into the type of unit that effect trains. This is similar to simply playing the trashed card, but sacrifices a unit from your Barracks and gives you "Draw 1 Card" and "+1 Action."

If you have no cards in your Hand with training action effects after drawing, you don't trash a card or morph a unit. If you do have a card with a training action effect, but have no units in your Barracks to morph, you must still trash the card, and receive no morph for it.

Refiner (Alternative Action): You draw 1 card and earn 1 action. Trash any card in your Hand and then gain a card from the Supply where the cost is less than or equal to the cost of the trashed card plus 2. If all the remaining cards in the Supply are too expensive, you do not gain a card.

For Example: If you trash a card worth 3 gold, then gain a card with a cost of up to 5 gold.

Sacrifice (Action): If you have no more cards in your Hand when you play this, it has no effect. Otherwise, choose one card from your Hand and discard it. Then, choose a card from the Supply with a cost of 6 gold or less and gain it (placing it in your Discard pile). Sacrifice only causes you to discard a card. Do not trash the card.

You will draw the discarded card again after you reshuffle; discarding it just prevents you from playing it on the current turn.

Sanctuary (Order): First, select one of your Heavy units on the board and march it (following its normal movement) in such a way that it ends up adjacent to another one of your units. Then, move that adjacent unit to any empty square that is also adjacent to the Heavy unit you just marched. If you have multiple units adjacent to the unit you marched, choose only one to move. It is not possible to attack with either part of this order.

Notice this effect allows you to simulate a "castling" move from orthodox Chess.

Sanctuary (Alternative Order): You draw 2 cards and earn 1 order and 1 gold. Then, choose any two cards from your Hand and discard them. You can discard one or both of the cards you just drew, if you choose. You must discard 2 cards even if you didn't have 2 cards to draw.

You cannot discard the Sanctuary card you just played, since it is no longer in your Hand, though you can discard another Sanctuary card if one is in your Hand.

Scribes (Action): You draw 3 cards and earn 1 buy. After drawing, you may (but do not have to) select 1 card from your Hand and put it on top of your Deck (face-down) so it will be the very next card drawn. If you have no more cards in your Deck after drawing, the card you put back becomes your Deck.

Stables (Order): Select one of your Mounted units on the board, march it, and then march that same unit again. You cannot split the movement between two different units. You cannot attack with Stables, although you can move a unit to a square where it could attack from next turn.

Stables (Action): You draw 2 cards from your Deck, earn 1 action and 1 buy. After drawing the 2 cards from this effect, select 1 card from your Hand and put it on top of your Deck (face-down) so it will be the very next card drawn. If you have no more cards in your Deck after drawing, the card you put back becomes your Deck.

Squire (Order): Choose a unit from your Barracks and place it on an empty square in your second rank. Note that Foot units can deploy to your second rank without the use of a card, but Squire allows you to deploy a non-Foot unit there.

Subterfuge (Action): Select two of your units that have at least one class in common, and swap those two units (that is, place each of them in the other's former position). One of the units you select can be in your Barracks, if you choose (technically, both could be in your Barracks, but then swapping them would have no effect).

The units are allowed to have some classes that differ as long as they have at least one that is the same.

For Example: You could use Subterfuge to swap a Phantom (with the Mounted and Regal classes) and a Sphinx (with the Pious and Regal classes) because they both have the "Regal" class, even though the "Mounted" and "Pious" classes do not match.

Temple (Order): First, select one of your Pious units on the board and march it (following its normal movement). You may then issue another order (but not to the same unit).

Versatility (Order): You earn 1 order. Select up to 4 cards from your Hand, discard them, and then draw an equal number of cards from your Deck. You cannot use a Versatility to discard itself (since it is not in your Hand once you play it), but you can use one Versatility to discard another.

Vigilance (Action): You draw 1 card and earn 1 action, 1 buy, and 2 gold. After drawing the card from this effect, select 1 card from your Hand and put it on top of your Deck (face-down) so it will be the very next card drawn. If you have no more cards in your Deck after drawing, then the card you put back becomes your Deck. You must put a card on top of your Deck even if you didn't have any cards to draw.

Wish (Order): You earn 1 order, and say the name of any card. Reveal cards from the top of your Deck, one at a time, until you reveal a card with that name; put the named card into your Hand and the others into your Discard. If you run out of cards in your Deck without revealing a card with that name, reshuffle your Discard (but not the cards you've already revealed or cards that you've played on the current turn) and keep going. If you run out of cards in your Deck and your Discard and still don't find the named card, Discard all the revealed cards and don't put any of them in your Hand. You can intentionally name a card you don't have to Discard all the cards in your Deck.

Wish (Alternate Order): You earn 1 order, and any number of your Sovereign units that you choose become immune to capture until your next turn. This means that any attack that would capture any of them is illegal, nor can they be captured in other ways (such as another card). This counts as issuing an order to all the Sovereign units you choose, so you cannot issue them any further orders on the same turn. Furthermore, you are prohibited from playing any cards for their order effects on your next turn (in particular, you may not play another Wish to make your Sovereign units immune again). You can still play other cards for order effects on the current turn, and you can issue orders that do not require a card on the following turn. At the start of your next turn, the chosen Sovereign units lose all protection and can be captured normally.

Point-Buy Chess Game Variant

A Chess game with customizable armies.

Point-Buy Chess is more like normal Chess than it is like For the Crown, but For the Crown does provide a lot of useful pieces...

Set Up

Put away the cards; they are not used in Point-Buy Chess.

Players each place a Pawn on each square of their second rank, then agree on a budget for purchasing the remainders of their armies.

38 points is enough for an orthodox Chess army, and is a good starting point (larger budgets tend to give faster, tactical games while smaller ones give longer, more strategic games). If players differ in skill, the stronger player can be given a smaller budget as a handicap.

Players alternate picking units for their army (starting with white), paying for each out of their budget according to the prices below. As each unit is chosen, the player places it on any empty square in his first rank or in his Barracks. Once a player has spent his full budget, he stops picking. Once both players have used their entire budgets, the game begins. Note that each player must pick and place at least one Sovereign unit on their first rank during seting up, or they will instantly lose the game.

Alternatively, players may set up a screen across the middle of the board and pick their armies secretly and simultaneously (divide the available counters as evenly as possible beforehand).

Prices

The values of units are different in Chess than in For the Crown. The prices listed below are recommended, but they may not be perfect. Caveat emptor. (House-rule as needed.)

Sorted By Unit Cost

Cost	Unit	Cost	Unit
1	Pawn	6	Charger
2	Striker	6	Sphinx
3	Acolyte	7	Dragoon
3	Bishop	7	Hero
3	Knight	7	King
3	Monk	8	Gryphon
3	Oracle	8	Immortal
4	Spy	8	Phantom
5	Nightrider	9	Banshee
5	Rook	9	Chancellor
5	Sniper	9	Queen
6	Anointed	10	Warlord

Sorted By Unit Name

Unit Title	Cost	Unit Title	Cost
Acolyte	3	Monk	3
Anointed	6	Nightrider	5
Banshee	9	Oracle	3
Bishop	3	Pawn	1
Chancellor	9	Phantom	8
Charger	6	Queen	9
Dragoon	7	Rook	5
Gryphon	8	Sniper	5
Hero	7	Sphinx	6
Immortal	8	Spy	4
King	7	Striker	2
Knight	3	Warlord	10

Gameplay

Play as For the Crown, except that each player has only an order phase on their turn, and each player MUST issue an order each turn. There are no cards; Foot units that reach the 8th rank may promote to any unit on the list. Victory conditions are as normal, but the game may end in a draw if neither player is able to capture the other's Sovereign(s).

Multiple Games

If playing several games in a row, each player adds 1 point to their budget for each game lost (if your budgets get too high, start subtracting 1 point per win instead).

Designer's Notes

Chess and Dominion™ are profoundly different games. Chess begins with an overcrowded board and progresses largely through attrition; Dominion™ offers an accelerating race from poverty to power. Chess is won by geometry and planning ahead; Dominion™ is statistical in nature. Chess has nuanced opening theory; Dominion™ has randomized set up. Both games are brilliant in many ways, yet not at all alike.

For the Crown is in constant tension between these dual natures, and it's reflected in everything from grand strategies to the basic cards, each of which has two possible effects (do you want the money, or the piece?). I've been challenged to keep them in balance, but I'm also amazed at how well they complement one another. In some ways, I think each of the games saves the other from itself.

To some extent, Dominion™ is multi-player solitaire; there are cards that affect other players, but the core gameplay is just about feeding your deck back on itself. It feeds on itself so intensely that it's rarely worth buying Victory Points until the game is nearly over, when everyone switches gears at once and the game ends in a sudden crash. It's not even remarkable to cycle through your entire deck in a single turn; the only reason any strategy can compete with runaway action-chains is that they barely have time to build up steam before the game is decided.

By shackling the Dominion™ card engine to a Chess board, For the Crown forces players to react to each other and divert resources from their snowballing economies. Since cards alone never win the game, your economy only helps you to the extent that it lets you manipulate the board; moreover, you can use the board to win an economic advantage by forcing your opponent to spend more resources defending than you spend attacking him. Players are constantly forced to trade off between deck development and board control.

And Chess is humbling in its depth and endurance, but it has, perhaps, been played too much. Study and memorization have become important, and small advantages are often decisive. It is enjoyed by an enormous number of people, but there is something academic about it; it is played primarily by people that primarily play Chess, and not so much by people who play it as one game among many.

For the Crown adds variation in pieces, an air of urgency, and a dash of chance. The randomness limits "look-ahead," forcing players to play more intuitively and flexibly. The economy devalues small advantages over time, so players are encouraged to be aggressive and take risks. The extra pieces and board-affecting cards provide many new possible permutations, constantly forcing players to evaluate new positions rather than falling back on familiar ones. However, it is still possible to plan and anticipate, since only a subset of cards are available each game.

The result is a startling mixture of synergies and hard choices. I hope you find For the Crown as amazing as I have. Happy gaming!

— Jeremy Lennert

CREDITS

Game Design: Jeremy Lennert

Development: Victory Point Games

Map Art & Graphics: Barry Pike III, Daniel Taylor

Proofreading: Bill Barrett, Jeremy Lennert, Rick Partin, Ian Wakeham

Playtesting: Bay Chang, Devon Chenoweth, Nick Cuneo, Nathan Hansen, Wes Hitchens, Richard Hutnik, Chris Magoun, Jack McHugh, Elliott Miller, Benjamin Reiniger, Leigh Toms

Proudly developed, manufactured and assembled in the USA.