Game of Thrones: Oathbreaker
Game of Thrones: Oathbreaker Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 2 double-sided Game Boards
- 6 double-sided Character Boards
- 6 House Sigils
- 33 Mission cards
- 36 Decree cards
- 7 player aid cards (6 for nobles, 1 for the King)
- 60 resource cubes (20 each of Coin, Honor, and Power)
- Hand of the King marker
- 75 Influence cards
- 7 Loyalty cards
- 7 Ambition cards
- Chaos, Order, and round markers
Overview
Game of Thrones: Oathbreaker is a game of hidden roles and agendas.
One player takes on the role of the King or Queen (hereafter referred to as "the King"). The King seeks Order in the realm, and attempts to ferret out who is loyal and who is not.
The other players are nobles representing the great houses of Westeros. Each has a secret Loyalty and a secret Ambition. Some are loyalists, who, like the King, seek Order. Others are conspirators who want to end the King's rule by fostering Chaos.
The game is played over a series of alternating Mission Rounds and Decree Rounds, as shown on the round track. In each Mission Round, nobles play influence cards to a group of missions. Success at a mission yields Order and resources, while failure brings Chaos.
In each Decree Round, the King plays decree cards to either bestow Favor or cast Suspicion upon the nobles. Favoring the true loyalists, while casting Suspicion on conspirators, is key to the King's success.
To win the game, each noble must satisfy the conditions of both their Loyalty and their Ambition. The King simply needs Order to be higher than Chaos—holding the throne is ambition enough. It is possible (even likely) for more than one player to win.
Game Setup
- A — Find the game board side that corresponds to the number of players you have, as indicated by the icon in the upper right corner. Place the board in the center of the table.
- B — Place the white Order and black Chaos markers on the 0 space of the numbered Order/Chaos Track.
- Place the red round marker on the leftmost space of the round track at the bottom of the board.
- C — Shuffle the Mission Deck and place it on the marked area of the board.
- D — Set the resource cubes off to the side, in easy reach of all players.
- E — Choose one player to serve as the King. That player takes the Decree Deck, shuffles it, and draws five cards. The King also takes the King's player aid card.
- F — Each noble (that is, each player who is not the King) chooses a Character Board and places it in front of them. They also take their character's House Sigil, and a noble's player aid card. Each board is double-sided; if this is your first game, we recommend you use the side with a single diamond in the upper right corner.
- G — Shuffle the Influence Deck. Deal three cards to each noble, then place the rest of the deck to the left of the board.
- H — Distribute Loyalty and Ambition cards to each noble as described below in Noble Roles and Goals.
- I — The King chooses one noble to be the first Hand of the King. Give that noble the Hand of the King marker.
Noble Roles and Goals
Each noble has two secret cards making up their identity: a Loyalty card and an Ambition card. Your Loyalty indicates whether you're on the King's side or not, while your Ambition is a private goal unique to you.
You may never show your Loyalty card or Ambition card to anyone. However, you can say anything you want about them, lying or telling the truth as you choose.
Loyalty
There are two possible Loyalties: loyalist and conspirator. At the end of the game, loyalists need Order to be higher than Chaos to win, while conspirators need Chaos to be higher to win.
This being Westeros, odds are that more people are against the King than with them. Still, it's important for the King to think you're a loyalist, whether you are or not.
To determine how many conspirator and loyalist cards to use in your game, find the number of players you have (including the King) on the table below. Shuffle the indicated cards together and deal one to each player except the King.
Unless you have exactly six players, you'll have one extra Loyalty card. This card is the Agent. Place it face down on the board in the marked Agent space next to the Mission Deck. It remains hidden until the end of the game.
| Number of Players | Number of Conspirator Cards | Number of Loyalist Cards | Agent? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 2 | Yes |
| 6 | 3 | 2 | No |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | Yes |
| 8* | 4 | 3 | Yes |
* 8-player games use additional rules detailed on page 8, in the "8-Player Rules: King and Queen" section.
Ambition
An Ambition is a secret goal a noble must complete to win the game, in addition to helping their side (loyalists or conspirators) come out on top.
Each Ambition lists a combination of resource cubes the noble must collect. For example: a noble with the Prestigious Ambition must earn at least 2 blue Honor cubes and 2 silver Power cubes, while the Visionary noble must earn at least 1 cube of each type (Coin, Power, and Honor).
Shuffle all seven Ambition cards, regardless of how many players you have. Deal one to each player except the King, then return any unused Ambitions to the box without looking at them.
Mission Rounds
A Mission Round occurs when the round marker is on a space marked by banners. (This includes the first round of every game.) Each Mission Round, follow these steps:
- Deal Mission Cards
- Play Cards & House Sigils
- Resolve Missions
- End the Round
1) Deal Mission Cards
For each banner on the current space of the round track (either two or three), reveal a mission from the top of the Mission Deck. Place the missions face up in a row along the bottom of the game board.
Anatomy of a Mission Card
Each mission is associated with one of the three influence types: Crowns, Ravens, or Swords. The type shown on the left of its text box indicates which cards are needed to help it succeed.
The area next to the influence icon shows what will happen if the mission succeeds. All successful missions generate Order, while most grant resources to the nobles who put their House Sigil there: Coin, Honor, and/or Power.
Cards will help a mission succeed if they have symbols matching its influence type. Black sabotage icons, on the other hand, will drive a mission toward failure.
The right side of the text box shows what will happen if the mission fails. All failed missions generate Chaos. In some rare cases, they may provide resources as well.
Be on the lookout for some missions with additional game text above the success and failure information. Many of these are explained in more detail on page 11.
Influence icons that don't match the mission don't help or hurt it—they're neutral. However, some cards are conditional. They will help a mission with a particular type of influence, but hurt other missions.
2) Play Cards & House Sigils
Starting with the Hand of the King and continuing clockwise, each noble takes a turn playing influence cards to the missions, then placing their House Sigil.
Each noble must play at least two cards, but may play more. Nobles may play multiple cards to the same mission. They may play cards to more than one mission.
All cards are played face down.
After a noble plays cards, they place their House Sigil on the mission where they played the most cards (their choice if tied). This marks the mission from which they can earn resources in the next step.
Lastly, they "refill" their hand, drawing cards until they have three (or, in rare cases where they already have three or more cards, simply keeping them and drawing nothing).
If you run out of cards in the Influence Deck, shuffle the discard pile and form a new deck.
Explaining Your Actions
When playing cards, nobles should feel free to explain what they're doing to the other players (especially the King). Speak truthfully to claim credit when you're helping a mission's success. Use deception to avoid blame when you're not. These rules must be followed: players cannot name or imply specific influence cards, or specific numbers on them.
Examples of Things You Can Say:
- "I can help Feed Flea Bottom, but I can't help Hire the Faceless Men."
- "Ugh, my hand is terrible. I can't help anywhere. Should I spread my cards out, or put them all on one mission?"
- "I'm helping at this mission. Everyone else can stay away. I've got this."
- "I can't help here, but at least I'm not hurting."
- "I'll help, but Cersei is trying to make this mission fail."
Examples of Things You Can't Say:
- "I'm going to play a double Crown here." (You can't name a specific influence card, or say that the card is worth two.)
- "I'm helping at this mission, but only by one." (You can't name a specific number.)
- "I can play this card to help anywhere." (This implies you have a "wild" card.)
- "Don't worry. I put the best card you can play at that mission." (This implies a card worth two successes.)
3) Resolve Missions
Once all nobles have played their influence cards, resolve the missions one by one, in the order of the King's choice. For each mission, shuffle all the cards played there, then reveal them.
A mission succeeds if more matching icons were played there than sabotage icons. If there is a tie, or if no cards were played there, the mission fails. Icons that don't match the mission neither help nor hurt.
If the mission succeeded, increase Order by as much as the mission shows: move the white Order marker along on the Order/Chaos Track. Also, each noble whose House Sigil is at that mission takes the resource cubes shown: Coin, Honor, and/or Power. Resources are not meant to be limited; if you run out of cubes, substitute in any acceptable way.
If the mission failed, increase Chaos by as much as the mission shows: move the black Chaos marker along on the Order/Chaos Track. Also watch for sabotage cards that increase Chaos when a mission fails! Usually, no resource cubes are awarded for failure, but if there are, nobles with their House Sigil on the mission claim them.
Resolution example: +2 (Matches), -1 (Sabotage Icon), +0 (Doesn't Match) = Success!
As you'd expect, credit and blame often follow in the aftermath of a mission. As when playing your cards, you should feel free to explain what you've done. Remember, you can't talk about specific cards.
Examples of things you can say:
- "Arya's a traitor. I know what I played at that mission, and she had to have sabotaged it."
- "I only said I was confident that mission would succeed so I could scare off the conspirators."
Examples of things you can't say:
- "I played that double Sword card."
- "I played the Crown and one of the Swords."
4) End the Round
Set the missions from this round aside. Discard all influence cards that were played, in a discard pile to the right of the board. Keep all discarded influence cards face down at all times.
Pass the Hand of the King marker clockwise to the next noble (skipping the King when necessary). Finally, advance the round marker to the next space of the round track.
Decree Rounds
A Decree Round occurs when the round marker is on a space marked by scrolls. If you are the King, for each scroll symbol, you must play one decree card from your hand.
Once you have played decrees, refill your hand up to five cards, then advance the round marker to the next space of the round track.
Favors and Suspicions
Most decrees are either Favor cards or Suspicion cards. Favor cards have a white title banner and text box, while Suspicion cards have black ones. The King's goal is to play Favor cards on loyalists, and Suspicion cards on conspirators.
Each of these cards has a number in the upper left corner. At the end of the game, these numbers are scored as follows:
- A Favor provides that much Order if correctly played on a loyalist.
- A Suspicion provides that much Order if correctly played on a conspirator.
- Any card played on the wrong type of noble generates that much Chaos instead!
To play a Favor or Suspicion, choose a noble and play the card face-up in front of them. The King may not play a second decree on a noble until they have played at least one decree on all of them, and may not play a third decree on a noble until they've played at least two on all of them.
Many decrees say "this noble." This always refers to the noble the King is playing the card on.
Each decree explains when it takes effect. Many decrees have a temporary effect; for example, The Black Cells will only affect the next Mission Round. When a decree's text stops mattering, you may place it underneath your Character Board to cover its text. You must always keep a decree's title and value visible, however, so that everyone can see who is and isn't in the King's good graces.
Proclamations
Proclamation cards have a tan banner title and text box, and are not played on a specific player. When a Proclamation is played, simply do as it says, then discard it to the bottom of the Decree Deck when its effect is over.
Final Judgment and Ending the Game
The last space of the round track (after the last Mission Round) marks the end of the game. It is time for the King to pass Final Judgment, announcing a final guess about every noble's Loyalty.
Once the guesses have been made, starting with the Hand of the King and proceeding clockwise, each noble reveals their Loyalty and Ambition cards, then scores all their decrees.
- If a noble was a loyalist, increase Order by the value of the Favors played on them. Increase Chaos by the value of the Suspicions played on them.
- If the noble was a conspirator, do the reverse: increase Order by the value of the Suspicions played on them. Increase Chaos by the value of the Favors played on them.
Then, if the King got every noble's Loyalty correct in their Final Judgment, increase Order by 3. Otherwise, increase Chaos by 3.
Scoring reference: Loyalist + Favor (Correct) = +4 Order. Loyalist + Suspicion (Incorrect) = +2 Chaos.
Finally, if there was an Agent in the game (face down on the board), reveal it. If the Agent was a loyalist, increase Order by the amount shown on the board. If it was a conspirator, increase Chaos instead.
Victory and Defeat
With all Loyalties revealed and scored, you can now compare the positions of the Order and Chaos markers.
If Order is higher than Chaos, the realm has been preserved! The King has won the game, and all conspirators lose. Loyalists compare their resource cubes to their Ambition cards. Each loyalist who has fulfilled the requirements of their Ambition also wins the game.
If Chaos is equal to or higher than Order, the realm has descended into turmoil, ending the King's reign! The King and all loyalists lose. Conspirators compare their resource cubes to their Ambition cards. Each conspirator who has fulfilled the requirements of their Ambition wins the game.
If you immediately proceed to play the game again, you may choose to let the winners determine the line of royal succession. If Order prevailed, the King may choose a willing player to take the throne for the next game. If Chaos prevailed, the victorious conspirators may choose one of their own to usurp the throne.
Character Abilities
Each noble has a unique Character Ability, as shown on their Character Board.
Each ability costs a number of resource cubes to use. You may use your ability once per round, by spending the number of cubes shown. You may spend any combination of Coin, Honor, and Power. (Return them to the general supply; they no longer count toward fulfilling your Ambition.)
Abilities specify the time when they can be used. If two nobles want to use their ability at the same time, whoever is closer to the Hand of the King in turn order gets to use theirs first.
Each Character Board shows an Ability Cost and House Sigil. One side of each Character Board is marked with a single diamond. This is the side recommended for your first game. After that, feel free to use whichever side you wish.
8-Player Rules: King and Queen
When you have 8 players in the game, you add a second monarch.
During Game Setup, choose two players to be the King and Queen. They must sit next to each other. (They decide who is the King and who is the Queen. If they wish, they can both be referred to as King or both be referred to as Queen.)
The Decree Deck is placed between the King and Queen, and each of them draws their own hand of five cards. In every Decree Round, the King and Queen EACH play one decree, but each is restricted to playing only on their half of the table. That is, the monarch on the left can only play decrees on the three nobles to their left, while the monarch on the right can only play decrees on the three nobles to their right. Each monarch must divide decrees evenly among nobles on their side of the table, without considering the other side of the table. (For example: when the three nobles on one side of the table each have a decree, the King on that side may play his next decree on any of them. It does not matter if a noble on the other side of the table has no decrees.)
The King and Queen are full partners in unraveling the conspiracy. They may discuss matters openly (or privately) with one another. They may freely look at one another's hands. Once per game, they may trade cards, each exchanging exactly one card with the other.
When it is time for Final Judgment, the monarchs are each responsible for guessing the identities of three nobles (those to their left or right, who received their decrees throughout the game). They may freely discuss their guesses. They score 3 Order only if they get all six guesses correct.
Otherwise, the 8-player game uses all normal rules.
Maester's Corner: Clarifications and Such
General Rules and Reminders
- Nobles must play two influence cards each Mission Round, but may play more. (For example: if you draw two cards from a Character Ability and now have five cards in your hand, you may play them all if you wish.)
- All cards are played and discarded face down, unless otherwise instructed.
- You may never reveal a card to anyone unless explicitly told to do so.
- If you ever wind up with fewer than two influence cards in hand when it's time for you to play cards, simply play whatever you have remaining. If you have no cards to play, do not place your House Sigil.
Optional Rules
As you gain experience, you may wish to adjust the balance of power in the game. Kings may become too tyrannical, or nobles too shrewd in exposing each others' identities.
You should adjust the rules only if it's agreed upon before a game begins. Some variants are suggested below.
The Aloof King — The King cannot tell nobles how they should play their cards or use their Character Abilities (and nobles may not ask the King). This rule prevents the King from exerting too much control over the other players.
The Cagey Court — While nobles are playing cards, they may only claim whether their overall contribution to a mission is "helping" or "not helping." So, for example, they may NOT:
- Specify whether they are playing neutral or hurting a mission. (Both are considered "not helping.")
- Speak of cards individually when playing more than one to the same mission. (You can't say "I played one helpful card and one not helpful card here." You may only refer to the overall effect of your cards.)
- Describe the degree to which they're helping or not helping, even in vague terms. (You can't say "I am helping a lot.")
These restrictions continue once cards have been revealed; players can only claim they "helped" or "did not help." This rule helps if you feel nobles are sharing too much information about their card plays.
Order in the Court — During a Mission Round, nobles may speak only on their own turn, or when announcing the use of a Character Ability. This rule curtails discussion among experienced players who may spend too much time coordinating actions and exerting unwanted pressure on one another.
The Night Is Dark and Full of Terrors — After dealing missions each Mission Round, deal one random card from the Influence Deck to each mission, face down. This rule helps if you'd like to make the game more unpredictable, or if you find it too easy to interpret the nobles' card plays.
Character Abilities
Arya Stark — You play one card face up to any mission. If it helps that mission, you take a single resource cube of your choice from the general supply. If the card is harmful to the mission, draw two cards. If it is neutral, you discard two cards face down (which may leave you no other cards to play this round).
Daenerys Targaryen — Reveal cards from the top of the Decree Deck until you reach a Favor or Suspicion. (Put any Proclamations on the bottom of the deck.) Play the Favor or Suspicion on a noble and follow the text as though you were the King.
You do NOT have to play Favors and Suspicions evenly among nobles as the King must; you may play them on any other noble (but not yourself). Decrees you play are turned sideways, and do not affect the King's ability to play decrees. (For example, if all nobles but one have a decree, and Daenerys plays one on that noble, the King must still play their next Favor or Suspicion on that noble.)
If you play a card that tells you to play another decree (such as "Broken Trust"), play another decree as though you are using your ability again for free.
If you play "A Fair Trial" or "Hero of the People," you act as noble AND King—you vote (though not for yourself) and you break ties.
Melisandre — You may discard any card, not just the one you took from the mission. You cannot tell anyone details about the cards you look at, but you may say if you expect a mission to succeed or fail, and say how much you trust other nobles as a result of what you've seen.
Decrees
The Black Cells — This overrides the normal requirement to play at least two cards. If Stannis Baratheon activates his ability while in the Black Cells, he will discard his hand and draw six cards as normal, but will only be able to play one of them. The remaining cards stay in his hand, to be played normally on a future round.
Confess! — Each noble should keep their discard in front of them until the King decides which card to look at. After that, place all the cards in the discard pile.
Execution — The noble flips over their Character Board, losing their old ability and gaining the one on the other side. The player keeps all resources they had before the execution. (Ned Stark may die, for example, but House Stark retains its Honor.)
A Fair Trial & Hero of the People — These decrees go to the noble who receives the most votes, regardless of how many decrees they already have. In this way, a noble can wind up with a second decree on them before everyone has one, or a third before everyone has two. (Once the card is assigned, however, it limits the King's plays just like a regular decree.)
Players can discuss who to vote for as much as they like, but must vote in order, starting with the Hand of the King. If there is a tie, the King chooses which of the tied players gets the card.
In an 8-player game, all nobles vote, and may vote for any other noble, regardless of which side of the table they are on and which monarch played this decree.
Well-Placed Spy — After the King has seen a noble's cards, the noble still plays normally, face down, in the next round. (They may not show cards to prove to the King that they have done the "right thing.")
Missions
Battle of the Bay — When resolving this mission, before revealing any cards, shuffle them and discard one card face down without revealing it.
Consult the Maesters, Invoke R'hllor, Rumors Across the Narrow Sea — Once all missions have been dealt this round, deal cards from the top of the Influence Deck, face down, as required by these missions. These random cards are shuffled along with any that the nobles play that round, and are revealed as part of resolving the missions.
Mission to Braavos, Summit of Queens, Trial By Combat — When counting sabotage icons played to one of these missions, add one to the total. (Extra effort will be needed to bring about success at these missions.)
Pincer Maneuver — When Pincer Maneuver is dealt, immediately deal an additional mission. (In other words, you'll have three missions in a two-mission round, and four missions in a three-mission round.)
Infiltrate Dorne — If a noble is restricted from playing a card here (for example: by "Cornered"), that overrides the requirement that they play a card here.
Credits
Game Concept and Design: Kevin Spak
Design Director: Paul Dennen
Executive Producer: Scott Martins
Art and Graphic Design: Clay Brooks, Jon Schindehette, Nate Storm
Production: Evan Lorentz
Game Development: Andy Clautice, Paul Dennen, Evan Lorentz, Tim McKnight, Yuri Tolpin
Special thanks to all of the awesome Dire Wolf Digital team members, and their friends and families, who helped to playtest this game.
Our friends at Renegade Games Studios. www.renegadegamestudios.com
Manufacturer: Renegade Game Studios. ©2019 Dire Wolf Digital, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Official HBO Licensed Product ©2019 Home Box Office, Inc. All Rights Reserved.