Hellenica: Story of Greece
Hellenica: Story of Greece Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Object of the Game
- Game Components
- Setup
- The Turn Sequence
- Game Rules
- World Events
- Combat
- Raids
- Invocations
- Area Reduction
- Wonders of the World
- Revolts
- Mythological Creatures
- Games with Less than 7 Players
- Advanced Rules
- Games with AI Players and Solitaire Play
- Buildable Map
- Explorable Map
- Mythological Creatures Special Abilities Quick Reference
- City Upgrades Quick Reference
- Units Quick Reference
- Credits and Acknowledgements
Object of the Game
To win the game a Player must complete a combination of public and private goals shown on Objective Cards that represent the Ethos (beliefs and ideals) and Pathos (passion and emotions) of the Greek people. The first Player to satisfy any three objectives at the end of a game turn wins the game and is remembered throughout history as the ideal representation of Greek culture.
Game Components
- 1 Game Board (double-sided: a pre-printed map on one side, a buildable map on the other)
- 156 City Upgrades: 24 Academies, 35 Temples, 14 Docks, 7 Wonders of the World, 20 Barracks, 28 Markets, 14 Stables, 14 City Walls
- 32 Government Markers
- 1 Favorite of the Gods token
- 90 Temple Underlays
- 105 Ownership Tokens
- 245 Military Counters (Hoplites, Cavalry, Triremes)
- 14 Brilliant Leader Tokens (Brilliant General and Brilliant Admiral)
- 8 Specialty Dice (Blue, Green, Red, and Yellow hero dice)
- 224 Action Cubes
- 32 AI Cards
- 7 Player Boards
- 190 Commodity Tokens (Favor, Philosophers, Commerce)
- 1 AI Board
- 52 World Event Cards
- 44 Objective Cards
- 70 Deity Cards
- 7 Mythological Creatures
- 58 Map Tiles
Hellenica: Story of Greece includes 62 Elite Markers that are only used with the Mythic Expansion to mark elite unit miniatures. Set these tokens aside if you do not own the Mythic Expansion.
The Mythic Expansion adds 245 Hoplite, Cavalry, Trireme, and Hero minis, 7 Mythological Creature minis, and 245 colored faction rings.
The Themed AI Decks Expansion adds 224 AI Cards that give each of the City-States a unique personality when playing with AI Players.
These expansions are sold separately and are not required to play Hellenica: Story of Greece.
Setup
General Setup
- Place the Game Board with the side showing an angry Zeus in the center of the table.
- Place any Action Cube you wish on the Chaos Track space corresponding to the number of Players in the game +1. Example: In a 7 Player game, place the marker on the 8 space. Place another Action Cube on the 1st space of the turn marker. The color of the Action Cubes you use does not matter.
- Remove the Olympus Awakens card from the World Events deck and split the remaining cards into two approximately equal piles. Shuffle the Olympus Awakens card into the first pile. Shuffle the second pile and place it on top of the first pile to form a single deck. Then place the entire deck face down next to the Game Board.
- Find the Destruction, Empire, and Sea Power Pathos Objective cards and place them face-up near the Game Board. These will be the public objectives shared by all Players. Return the remaining Pathos cards to the box as they will not be used in this game session. (Pathos cards have Black marble at the bottom on the front face of the card).
- Shuffle the Ethos Objective cards. Place this deck face-down near the Game Board. (Ethos cards have White marble at the bottom on the front face of the card).
- Place all dice, City Upgrades, Government Markers, Temple Underlays, Favor, Philosophers, Commerce tokens, and Mythological Creatures near the Board in a common pool so that all Players can reach them.
Player-specific Setup
- Each Player randomly selects a Player Board and takes the matching Ownership Markers, units, tokens, and Action Cubes for their city-state. Players should sit near their Home City location as shown in the setup diagram.
- Each Player places one of their colored Action Cubes on the first Train, Research, Worship, and Supply spaces on their Player Board and one natural wood Action Cube on the first Build space. Place the remaining Action Cubes near the Player Board.
- Each Player takes 3 Favor tokens from the pool and places them on the Stockpile in the lower right corner of their Player Board.
- Randomly determine the starting Favorite of the Gods Player using whatever is your preferred technique. Place the Favorite of the Gods token, Zeus side up, in front of that Player.
- Shuffle the Deity Cards and randomly deal each Player 3 Deities, replacing all duplicates. Each Player selects one deity to be the patron of their first temple. Place the chosen Deity Card next to the Player Board invocation side up (Deity image facing down). Place all Deity Cards not selected by Players back into the common deck and place it near the Game Board. This deck does not need to be shuffled.
- Each Player places an Academy, Market, and Temple (with a Temple Underlay that matches their patron deity) on any Settlements on their Home City Area. All Settlements within an Area are identical for game play purposes.
- Each Player places one Hoplite and one Trireme on their Home City Area (do not place on a settlement).
- Each Player places a Tyranny Government Marker anywhere on their Home City Area (do not place on a settlement). Place a Barracks mini on top of the Government Marker.
You are now ready to begin the game!
The Turn Sequence
A game turn of Hellenica follows this sequence:
- Ethos Phase
- Favorite of the Gods Phase
- Action Phase
- Upkeep Phase
- Completed Turn
Ethos Phase
On the first turn of the game, all Players have the opportunity to select their private Ethos Objectives for the game. On subsequent turns, only Players that have not selected their Ethos Objectives will perform the Ethos Phase:
- Shuffle the Ethos Objective Deck and deal 4 Ethos cards to each Player that has not already selected their Ethos Objectives. On the first turn of the game, this will be everyone.
- Each Player secretly reviews their cards (duplicates are not replaced) and selects two different cards. These cards will be their hidden objectives for the game. Place the 2 cards underneath the Player Board without revealing them to the other players.
- The other 3 cards are returned to the Ethos Objective Deck without being revealed.
If the Player does not like the cards they were dealt, or simply wants to postpone making this important decision, the Player may pay an amount of Favor to the pool equal to the game turn to discard all 5 cards back to the Ethos Objective Deck. They will be dealt 5 more cards next turn to again attempt to set their personal objectives.
Each Ethos card has either 1 mark or 3 marks in the lower right hand corner of the card. This signifies how many of that exact card are in the Ethos Objective deck. Players should keep this information in mind while choosing their Ethos Objectives as some of them are competitive with other Players.
Ethos Example: On the first turn of the game, Sean is dealt 5 Ethos Objective cards but has not decided on an overall strategy for the game. He chooses to pay 1 favor from his stockpile and discards all 5 cards back to the Ethos Objective Deck. The following turn, Sean is dealt 5 cards that are not to his liking. This turn, he pays 2 favor and again discards all 5 cards. On turn 3, Sean receives cards that he likes and selects 2. The other 3 are discarded and Sean will not participate further in the Ethos Phase this game.
Favorite of the Gods Phase
During the Favorite of the Gods phase, the following actions occur:
- All Players count and publicly announce the amount of Favor on their Stockpile.
- The Player with the most Favor places the Favorite of the Gods token in front of them and chooses whether it will be Zeus or Hera side up.
During the Action phase, the Favorite of the Gods Player takes the first Action each round, with play proceeding in the direction indicated by the face-up side of the Favorite of the Gods token. The seating order of the City-States is printed on the Game Board as an aid for players in determining turn order.
Should there be any ties during the Favorite of the Gods determination, the current Favorite of the Gods selects the winner from any of the tied Players.
The Favorite of the Gods phase occurs every Turn, including the first Turn of the game. If the Player who is Favorite of the Gods spent Favor to discard their Ethos Objective cards there may be a new Favorite of the Gods and Turn order, even on Turn 1.
Action Phase
During the Action phase, players will take Actions in turn order as determined by the face-up Favorite of the Gods token. There are typically many Rounds in each Action phase. Each Round is made up of all players taking a single Action. Players continue taking a single Action, Round after Round, until all players have passed.
Possible Actions a player may take are as follows:
- Build
- Train units
- Research an advancement
- Worship the gods
- Supply an Area for movement or to create commerce
- Exchange commerce to take bonus actions
- Pass
Taking an Action is a central theme of Hellenica: Story of Greece. The Build, Train, Research, Worship, and Supply Actions all require a player to remove an Action Cube from their Player Board and place it on a City Upgrade to power the Action. If the player does not have an Action Cube on the proper section of their Player Board, or does not have the matching City Upgrade available, that Action may not be taken.
The Exchange Action spends Commerce tokens from the Stockpile instead of an Action cube, but still requires a matching City Upgrade in order to take the action.
The Pass Action occurs when a player chooses to take no more Actions or has no other options for Actions to take.
The rest of this section will look at each of the Actions above in more detail.
Build
City Upgrades are improvements made to a Settlement that allow a player to perform various actions in that Area.
To take a Build Action, the player must remove one Action Cube from the Build area on their Player Board. If the player does not have an Action Cube in their Build area, they may not take a Build Action.
The player selects a city they own to activate and a type of City Upgrade to Build. City Upgrades must be placed on a Settlement in the activated city or on a Mine immediately adjacent to the activated city. Players may only place City Upgrades on Mine locations if they have researched the Mining Advancement. City Walls may never be placed on Mine locations.
A City Upgrade is always in one of three states:
- Active if it has no Action Cube on it.
- Under Construction if it has a natural wood Action Cube on it.
- Exhausted if it has a colored Action Cube on it.
City Upgrades may replace an existing Active or Under Construction City Upgrade, but not an Exhausted one. Return the replaced City Upgrade back to the pool.
When Building a Temple, the player must choose a patron Deity for the temple. Place the appropriate Temple Underlay beneath the under-construction Temple.
A player may use a Build Action to change their Government, instead of placing a City Upgrade. The player returns their Active Government Marker to the pool and places a new Government of their choice on any city they own. Government Markers are not placed on Settlements or Mine locations. Whenever a player changes their Government, place the City Upgrade shown on the new Government marker on top of it.
Place the natural wood Action Cube from the Build area of the Player Board on the just placed City Upgrade/Government Marker to show that it is under construction.
City Upgrades are not limited by the number of pieces supplied with the game. In the unlikely event that you run out during a game, use any suitable proxy.
City Upgrade types are explained in detail in the following sections of these rules and on the back cover of this manual.
Train Units
To train military units in a city, the player must remove one Action Cube from the Train area on their Player Board. If the player does not have an Action Cube in their Train area, they may not take a Train action.
The player selects a city they own to Activate and what type of unit they are training: Triremes, Hoplites, Cavalry, or Hero. The player counts the number of Active matching City Upgrades on the city (Which units match City Upgrades is shown on the back page of these rules, and on the Player Boards). For each matching City Upgrade, the player places 1 unit of that type from their pool on the city (Exception: If the player is training a Hero, the player only receives a single Hero regardless of the number of Academies in the city). Exhaust 1 Active matching City Upgrade on the city by placing the Action Cube from the Train area on top of it regardless of how many units were placed.
If the player does not have an Active City Upgrade of the matching type on the city, then the player may not Train that type of unit in that city.
The back side of Triremes, Hoplites, and Cavalry show a medal to signify elite units. Certain advancements allow a player to train elite units rather than regular units.
Players may not have more than 10 of each unit type or more than 5 heroes at any time. Units are explained in detail later in these rules.
Train Example: Travis decides to Train Hoplites in Thebes. He has 2 Barracks on the city and places 2 Hoplites on the Area. He then places the Train Action Cube from his player board on top of one of the Barracks on Thebes, ending his action for the round. If Travis was to do another Train Action in Thebes on a later round, he would only place 1 Hoplite on the City as there is now only 1 active Barracks remaining there.
Worship the Gods
To Worship in a city, the player must remove one Action Cube from the Worship area on their Player Board. If the player does not have an Action Cube in their Worship area, they may not take a Worship action.
The player decides which city to Activate and counts the number of Active Temples on it (regardless of patron Deity). For each Active Temple the player receives 1 Favor from the pool to add to their Stockpile. Exhaust 1 Active Temple on the city by placing the Action Cube from the Worship area on top of the Temple regardless of how much Favor was produced.
If a player does not have an Active Temple on the city, the player may not take a Worship action in that city.
Favor Tokens represent appreciation from the gods. The more Favor a player possesses, the more they may call upon the gods to intervene on their behalf.
Worship Example: Jason performs a Worship action in Athens. He has 2 Temples on the city and places 2 Favor on the Stockpile of his Player Board. He then exhausts 1 Temple by placing the Worship Action Cube from his Player Board on top of 1 of his Temples. Note that Jason receives 2 Favor even though the Temples have different patron deities. It also does not matter which Temple Jason exhausts since the Worship action activates all Active Temples on the city, regardless of patron deity. If Jason were to do another Worship Action in Athens on a later round, he would only receive 1 Favor to place on his Stockpile as there is now only 1 active Temple remaining on the city.
Research an Advancement
To Research in a city, the player must remove one Action Cube from the Research area on their Player Board. If the player does not have an Action Cube in their Research area, they may not take a Research action.
The player selects a city they own to activate and counts the number of Active Academies on the city. For each Active Academy the player receives 1 Philosopher from the pool and adds it to their Stockpile. Exhaust 1 Active Academy on the city by placing the Action Cube from the Research area on the Academy regardless of how many Philosophers the city produced.
If a player does not have an Active Academy on the city, the player may not take a Research action in that city.
After placing the Philosophers on their Stockpile, the player may choose to spend Philosophers to receive exactly 1 Advancement. A player may only spend Philosophers to receive an Advancement during a Research action.
Advancements are shown on the Player Board and are separated into categories representing various fields of discovery; Construction, Government, Trades, Naval, and Military. Each category is further separated into levels shown as separated columns on the Player Boards. Advancements in the left column are level 1 Advancements. Advancements in the right column are level 2 Advancements.
To Research a level 1 Advancement, a player must pay 1 Philosopher from their Stockpile back to the pool. Level 2 Advancements cost 3 Philosophers from a player's Stockpile. This cost is shown by the hash marks in the Philosopher box next to the name of each Advancement on the Player Board.
A player may research any level 1 Advancement during a Research Action. In order to research a level 2 Advancement in a category, a player must already possess any level 1 Advancement in the same category. In order to research a second level 2 Advancement in the same category, the player must possess a second level 1 Advancement in the same category.
A player marks Advancements they own by placing an Action Cube from their pool on their Player Board covering the Philosopher box next to the Advancement.
Philosopher Tokens represent the accumulated knowledge and wisdom possessed by a city-state.
Convert Commerce to Philosophers
During a Research action, the Active Player may convert Commerce from their Stockpile into Philosophers. The player may spend none, some, or all of their stockpiled Commerce. For every 3 Commerce spent the player receives 1 Philosopher. Converting Commerce into Philosophers is a free part of the Research Action and may not be done at any other time.
Research Example: Chance performs a Research action and it produces 2 Philosophers. He had 1 Philosopher in his Stockpile already for a total of 3 Philosophers. After receiving the Philosophers and placing them on his Stockpile, Chance may optionally research an Advancement as the second part of the Research Action. He decides he wants to research a Military Advancement.
Given his Player Board, Chance knows he can research Logistics or Tactics. He decides to research Logistics for a cost of 1 Philosopher. He could also have received Tactics for the same cost.
Note that Chance could not have researched Leadership. Although he has enough Philosophers to research the Advancement, he cannot do so now because he needs a second level 1 Military Advancement to allow for a second level 2 Military Advancement. After researching Logistics, Leadership is now available on a future Research action.
Supply
To Supply using a market, the player must remove one Action Cube from a Supply space on their player board. If the player does not have an Action Cube in their Supply area, they may not take a Supply action.
The player selects a city they own and Exhausts 1 Active Market on the city by placing the Action Cube on top of it.
Activating the Market allows the player to either Supply Commerce or Movement, but not both.
Supply Commerce
If the Player decides to Supply Commerce, they take 1 Commerce Token from the pool and places it on their Stockpile on their Player Board.
Commerce Tokens represent the wealth of a city-state accumulated via trade routes and mercantilism which can be exchanged for Philosophers or additional Actions.
Movement
If the Player decides on Movement, they select a single Land or Sea Area on the map to activate. The player may move any and all units on the Area to other locations in any order they wish.
Units may move from the supplied Area to any adjacent Areas (exception: Sea Transport - see below). The units do not have to move to the same Area, but all units moving to the same Area must move as one group.
A player may not move units across a mountain side. Land units may not move into a Sea Area (exception: Sea Transport - see below).
If a player moves all units out of a City that they own, they retain ownership of it (See Conquering Cities under the Upkeep phase).
Supply Limits
Most units have a Supply Limit. Supply Limit is the maximum number of times a unit may be Supplied to move in a single Turn of the game.
- Hoplites have a Supply Limit of 1
- Cavalry and Heroes have a Supply Limit of 2
- Triremes have no Supply Limit
When a stack of units reaches its Supply Limit, place an Action Cube on top of the stack to signify that it has no movement left for the rest of this Turn.
Supply Limit Example: Michelle has a Hoplite and 2 Cavalry on Megara that she Supplies for Movement. She moves all of the units one space to Panactum (A). On the next round of this turn, she uses another Market to Supply Panactum to move the units again. The Hoplite may not move since its Supply Limit is 1 and it was already moved once this turn. She moves the 2 Cavalry a second time matching their Supply Limit for the turn (B). Even if she had another Market available, Michelle could not move any of these units again this turn.
Moving Triremes
Triremes may enter Sea Areas. Triremes may not move directly from one Land Area to another Land Area. Triremes may not cross mountain sides. Triremes may not enter a Land tile containing enemy units.
Triremes may leave a Land Area from any Clearing (non-Mountain side) of that Area, even if on a different side of the Area from where the Trireme entered and may even move onto an entirely different body of water.
Sea Transport
Land units Supplied for Movement may use Triremes as transports to cross Sea Areas. It is easiest to think of Triremes at sea as "bridges" across which the land units march.
To Sea Transport land units, the player first Supplies the Area containing the land units. The land units may then move through any number of adjacent Sea Areas containing the player's Triremes, but must end their Movement on a Land Area adjacent to the final Sea Area (Exception: Heroes may remain at sea and move with Triremes).
Triremes must be at sea to Sea Transport units and do not need to be Supplied in order to do so. Triremes may Sea Transport in the same round that they move and/or fight in combat.
Each Trireme may Transport up to 2 Hoplites and/or Cavalry across the Sea Area they occupy per Supply action. Heroes do not count against a Trireme's carrying capacity. A player may not use Triremes owned by other players for Sea Transport.
Sea Transport Example: Brian wants to move against Troy. Brian exhausts a Market and Supplies the units on Athens for movement. Using Sea Transport, the 2 Cavalry and the Hoplite can move to Chios (A) because he has 2 Triremes on the Cyclades. If Brian felt particularly bold, he could move units onto Troy by Sea Transport using the Triremes on the Cyclades and the Dodecanese (B). However, he could only bring 2 units to Troy as he only has 1 Trireme on the Dodecanese.
Exchange Commerce
As an Action, a player may spend 3 Commerce from their Stockpile back to the pool to take a Train, Build, Research, Worship, or Supply Action. If the player does not have 3 Commerce on their Stockpile, they may not take this Action.
The player decides which city to Activate and which Action to take as well as any other decisions related to that Action (e.g. type of unit to Train, City Upgrade to Build, etc.). The player processes through the Action using the normal rules for that Action with one exception: The player does not spend an Action Cube nor do they Exhaust any City Upgrade to take the Action.
Building City Upgrades using the Exchange Commerce action still places that City Upgrade Under Construction until the end of the turn. Mark the City Upgrade with an unused natural-wood Action Cube.
Pass
A player must Pass if they have no available Actions to take this turn. Sometimes, a player may choose to Pass even though they have available Actions.
When a player passes, all remaining Action Cubes in the action area are discarded from their Player Board. If the player discarded 1 Action Cube, they receive 1 Commerce token and place it on their Stockpile. If the player discarded 2 or more Action Cubes, the player receives 2 Commerce tokens on their Stockpile.
A player who passes may take no further Actions this turn. The player may continue to cast Invocations, bid on World Events, place the Brilliant General and/or Admiral Tokens (if they have the appropriate Advancements), and participate in combat initiated by other players.
Interdiction and Combat
When units move into an Area containing another player's units, they are interdicted (their Movement ends). Combat immediately occurs before the Active Player moves any other units (see Combat in the Game Rules section). After Combat in an Area is resolved, the active player may continue moving other supplied units that have not yet moved, but may not move additional units into the Combat Area. Cities without units do not Interdict movement.
Triggering World Events
Moving units introduces chaos into the world that may awaken the gods. After all Movement and Combat for the Supply action is completed, reveal the top World Events card to check if a World Event occurs (See World Events in the Game Rules section for more information).
Upkeep Phase
During the Upkeep Phase, the following things occur in order:
Mythological Creatures
If there are Mythological Creatures on the map, their special abilities trigger at the beginning of the Upkeep Phase. Refer to the Mythological Creatures Special Abilities Quick Reference for specific information on each Creature's special ability.
Conquer Cities
Players who solely occupy neutral City Areas, or City Areas owned by other players, conquer those cities. Place an Ownership Marker belonging to the new owner on the city, replacing any Ownership Marker already there.
Any City Upgrades Under Construction and/or Government Markers on the conquered city are destroyed. Half of the Active and Exhausted City Upgrades, rounded down, are destroyed, selected at random. City Upgrades on Mine locations are unaffected.
If the conquered city was the location of a player's Government Marker, that player immediately selects and places a new Government Marker and activates it (See Government Markers in the Game Rules section for more information).
Victory
If a player satisfies the card requirements for 3 Objective Cards in any combination of revealed Pathos cards and Ethos cards in their hand, that player reveals their cards and wins the game. If multiple players meet the victory conditions simultaneously, the tie is broken as follows: most Objectives completed, most City Upgrades, most Advancements, most Favor, most Philosophers, and most Commerce. If still tied, we suggest a real-life fight to the death (or share the victory, your choice).
Retrieve Tokens and Action Cubes
Players retrieve their Brilliant General and Brilliant Admirals tokens (These are unlocked by certain Advancements).
Players remove their Action Cubes from units that reached their Supply Limit during the Turn. They may again move freely next Turn.
Players remove their Action Cubes from City Upgrades, unless the Area contains a Mythological Creature. City Upgrades are considered Active for next Turn.
When a player builds their first Temple with a new patron Deity, they take the matching Deity Card and place it face up near their Player Board. The Deity Cards show the Invocations that are now available to cast by that Player.
Players remove all Action Cubes from Deity Cards they have in front of them. All Invocations are available to be cast again next Turn.
Replenish Player Boards
For each Active Market a player has on cities they own, place one Action Cube on a Supply space on their Player Board.
Place one Action Cube on each action space for Train, Build, Research, and Worship on your player board (be sure to place natural wood-colored Action Cubes on the Build spaces and colored Action Cubes on the other spaces).
If you have researched any Advancements allowing you to take additional Actions place an Action Cube on the locked Action space for the appropriate type. Advancements allowing for an extra Action Cube have an unlock icon next to them on the Player Board.
Next Turn
Move the Turn Marker forward 1 space and begin the Ethos phase of the next Turn.
Game Rules
Commodities
All Favor, Philosophers, and Commerce are called Commodities and are stored in each player's Stockpile in the lower right corner of their Player Board. All Commodities are public knowledge and may be inspected by other players at any time. Commodities are not counter limited. In the unlikely event you run out during a game, use any suitable proxy. Philosophers and Commerce may be freely traded between players at any time. Favor may not be traded.
Areas
Areas refer to both the Land and Sea spaces surrounded by pale borders and mountains on the Map. There are various types of Areas in the game.
- Home City Areas - Home City Areas are the starting location for each player. The name of the Home City, along with a permanent Ownership Marker, are printed on the Area.
- City Areas - City Areas are all the Settlements in one Area plus any Mines in adjacent Areas that share a border with the city. During the game, players may place one City Upgrade on each Settlement and Mine (once they have Researched the Mining Advancement).
- Non-City Areas - Non-City Areas are any Areas that contain no Settlements on them. City Upgrades placed in Mine locations on Non-City Areas are Activated when the city with which they share a border is Activated.
- Islands - Islands surrounded by a pale border are considered Land Areas. All other islands are decorative and serve no game purpose.
- Sea Areas - Sea Areas are pre-printed on the map and are considered Areas for all game purposes.
Government Cities
Government Cities are the Areas owned by each player containing their Government Marker. At the beginning of the game, that will be the player's Home City. During the course of the game, the location of a player's Government City may change.
Volcanoes
Thera and Halicarnasus are Volcano Areas. The Eruption World Event may cause a Volcano to damage cities and units on and adjacent to the Volcano.
Mountains
Mountains are impassible. Units may not move across a mountain side (exception: Leadership Advancement).
Forests
Forests are decorative and have no impact on game play.
Shallows
Shallows are impassible. Thus, the shallows around Troy and Corcyra are considered part of those land areas. The Thermaic Gulf is not connected to Panactum.
Free Temple
Delphi contains a Free Temple location. When a player takes possession of Delphi during Upkeep, they may immediately place an Active Temple of their choice for free on the Free Temple location, replacing any Temple that is already located there. Once placed, this Temple may only be replaced by conquest or a future Build action. This location may not hold any other type of City Upgrade.
Government Markers
Government Markers represent the center of government for each player - the leaders, infrastructure, and decision-making for the city-state. Because each style of government operates differently, each one gives a different benefit.
Each Government Marker type counts as the City Upgrade shown on it. (e.g. a Tyranny Government Marker is also a Barracks). Place the matching miniature on top of the Government Marker.
An area containing a player's Government Marker is called a Government City. Government Cities are immune to revolts and some of the other World Events in the game.
Players may move their Government Marker to a new city using the Build Action (see Build Action in the Action Section for more information).
If a player has no Government Marker on the map during Upkeep, they immediately place a Government Marker of their choice on any city they still own. Additionally, they activate the Government Marker for free immediately. This does not count as an Action, but only activates the Government Marker and not other City Upgrades on the Area. (e.g. A Tyranny provides a free Hoplite or elite Hoplite regardless of how many Barracks are on the city, a Republic provides a Commerce Token, a Democracy provides a Philosopher and the player may research an Advancement). A Player placing a Republic Government Marker may only receive Supply for Commerce and not Movement. Note that this free activation does not occur when a player uses a Build action to move and/or change their Government.
World Events
After a player moves units during a Movement Action and resolves all Combat, the following occurs:
- Reveal the top card of the World Events Deck and place it in the World Events discard pile, face up.
- Move the Chaos Marker down a number of spaces on the Chaos Track as indicated by the Chaos Number in the explosion in the upper left hand corner of the card.
- If the Chaos Marker does not enter the final space on the Chaos Track (the tip of the lightning bolt) then no World Event is triggered and play continues with the next player's Action.
- If the Chaos Marker enters the final space the revealed World Event card occurs. Place the Chaos Marker on the space corresponding to the number of players in the game (not players +1) and continue moving the marker down any number of uncounted spaces remaining from the World Events card's Chaos Number.
- The card is read aloud to all players. Each card consists of some flavor text to immerse the players in the event, what the winning bidder receives as their reward, and the event that occurs in game terms.
- Players publicly announce the amount of Favor they have on their Stockpile.
- Players secretly place the amount of Favor they wish to bid on the World Event in one fist and stretch it out over the table.
- Once all players have their bid ready, all players simultaneously open their hands to reveal their bid.
- The player with the highest bid wins the World Event and places it face up next to their Player Board. In case of a tie, the Favorite of the Gods chooses between the tied bidders. The number of World Events a player has won is public knowledge.
- The winning bidder discards their spent Favor to the pool. All other players return their Favor to their Stockpile.
- The winning bidder follows any instructions on the World Event card and implements its effects immediately, starting with the winning bidder.
- The Chaos Marker is moved down a number of spaces equal to the amount of Favor spent by the winning player. This may trigger another World Event. If so, draw a new World Event card immediately, ignore the Chaos Number, and trigger the newly drawn World Event regardless of the Chaos Marker's position on the Chaos Track.
World Events Example: Samuel moves some units and must flip over a World Events card. The card flip reveals the Strategic Shift World Event, which has a Chaos Number of 3. The players move the Chaos Marker down 3 spaces, but only 2 remain before the bottom of the Chaos Track. The players move the marker 2 spaces, then reset the cube to the location showing the number of players in the game (7 in this case), and continue moving the marker down a 3rd and final time. Next the players will bid on the Strategic Shift world event. After the winning bid is determined and the World Event occurs, the Chaos Marker will move further down the Chaos Track a number of spaces equal to the winning bid.
Olympus Awakens
The Olympus Awakens card is a special World Event that represents the gods unexpectedly getting involved in human affairs. If the Olympus Awakens card is revealed flip another World Event card. That World Event occurs (including nothing happening if it is a Silence card). Ignore the Chaos Number on the flipped World Events card. Do not move the Chaos Marker from its current location on the Chaos Track except for the amount of Favor bid by the winning Player.
After the Olympus Awakens card triggers a World Event all World Events cards in the discard pile and any remaining in the World Events deck are reshuffled to reform the World Events deck.
Olympus Awakens Example: What if Samuel had instead flipped the Olympus Awakens card after his move? In this case, he would have flipped over another card and ignored its Chaos Number. Samuel reveals the Egyptian Support card. The players ignore the card's Chaos Number of 4. The Chaos Marker stays exactly where it is. Next the players bid on the Egyptian Support World Event. After the winning bid is determined and the World Event occurs, the Chaos Marker will move further down the Chaos Track a number of spaces equal to the winning bid, possibly triggering another World Event.
World Event Choices
If a player is impacted by a World Event and has multiple selections that match the criteria of the card (e.g. the player has more than one Area adjacent to an erupting volcano), the affected player may choose between the matching selections.
Play Resumes
Play then resumes with the next player's action in the round.
Combat
Combat consists of one or more Combat Rounds during which both players will roll dice to determine a winner. The Active Player is always the attacker.
For each Combat Round both players will roll dice as follows:
Sea Combat
- If the player has one or more Triremes in the battle, take 1 Blue die. If at least one of the Triremes is elite, take a second Blue die.
Land Combat
- a. If the player has one or more Hoplites in the battle, take 1 Green die from the pool. If at least one of the Hoplites is elite, take a second Green die. b. If the player has one or more Cavalry take a Red die from the pool. If at least one of the Cavalry units is elite, take a second Red die. c. If the player has both Hoplites and Cavalry in the battle, take one additional Green die for having Combined Arms.
Then, for both Sea and Land Combat:
- If the player has one or more Heroes in the battle, they take one Yellow hero die.
- Both players roll all of the dice they took from the pool.
- Only the highest number each player rolled on Blue, Green, or Red dice counts. That number is their Combat Strength for that combat round. All other Blue, Green, and Red dice are ignored.
- Players apply any effects of the Yellow die they rolled to themselves: a result of ++ adds 2 to the player's Combat Strength; a result of + adds 1 to the player's Combat Strength; a blank result has no impact; a result of - means their Hero is killed and returned to the pool.
- The player with the higher Combat Strength chooses one enemy unit to destroy and returns it to the other player's pool.
- In the case of a tie, both players remove one enemy unit simultaneously. Steps 1-7 are repeated until one side is eliminated or Withdraws.
Heroes on Land that are alone fight by rolling a Yellow die only and adding the results to a base Combat Strength of 0. Heroes at Sea without Triremes are eliminated.
Triremes on Land that are alone with enemy Land units are automatically eliminated.
Sea Combat Example: John (Red) moves 2 Triremes and a Hero onto a Sea Area occupied by Bill (White). John has a Trireme and takes 1 Blue die. He also has a Hero and takes the Yellow die. Bill has a Trireme and takes 1 Blue die. Because the Trireme is elite, Bill also takes a second Blue die. John rolls his dice and gets a 3 and a + on the Yellow die. Bill rolls his 2 dice and gets a 3 and a 2. John's Combat Strength is 4 (3 + 1) which is higher than Bill's Combat Strength of 3. John wins and destroys the elite Trireme.
Land Combat Example: Roxanna (Orange) attacks a city owned by Hendrix (Black) with a Hoplite, an elite Hoplite, and a Cavalry. Hendrix is defending with 2 Hoplites. Roxanna has a Hoplite present and takes a Green die from the pool. Because one of the Hoplites is elite, she also takes a second Green die. She has a Cavalry present and takes 1 Red die. It is not elite, so she does not take a second Red die. Since she has both Hoplites and Cavalry in the battle, Roxanna takes another Green die. Hendrix has 2 Hoplites present and takes a Green die. She does not receive the second Green die as neither hoplite is elite.
Roxanna rolls a 3, 3, 4, and 5 on her 4 dice. Hendrix rolls a 5 on her die. The Combat Strength for each side is 5. Hendrix chooses to kill Roxanna's Cavalry and Roxanna kills one of Hendrix's Hoplites.
Neither player Withdraws and a second round of Combat occurs. Roxanna will roll 2 Green dice for having an elite Hoplite. Note that she will no longer receive the Red Cavalry die or the extra Green die for having Combined Arms. Hendrix will roll the same single die as last round.
Withdrawals
After each round of Combat, players may Withdraw, starting with the attacker.
If the attacker withdraws, units return to the location from which they attacked, including using Sea Transport.
If the defender Withdraws, the units must retreat to an adjacent Area containing either a city or units owned by the defender. The defender may use Sea Transport to Withdraw land units. If no friendly Area is available, they may retreat to a neutral Area. If there are no friendly or neutral Areas available, then the units may not Withdraw.
If neither player Withdraws and both players have units remaining on the Area, then Combat continues with a new Combat Round.
City Walls
If City Walls are present during a land combat, they provide some advantages:
- The defender rolls 1 extra Green combat die
- The defender receives a +1 to their final Combat Strength
- Neither side receives a bonus Green die for Combined Arms
City Walls Combat Example: What if in the exact same Land Combat had occurred with Hendrix owning City Walls? The dice Roxanna rolls in Combat would not contain the Combined Arms Green die. Hendrix would take a second Green die (bonus for the city walls) in addition to the Green die for the Hoplite. Roxanna rolls her 3 dice and gets 3, 3, and 5. Hendrix rolls her 2 dice and gets a 5, 3. The combat strength for Hendrix is 6 (5+1 for the City Walls) and for Roxanna it is 5. Hendrix decides to kill the Cavalry. Either player may now choose to continue to fight or Withdraw.
Brilliant General and Brilliant Admiral
The Brilliant General Advancement allows a player to place the Brilliant General Token on a Land Area where they are involved in Combat. The player may do so during any Combat Round before dice are rolled. Once placed, the player receives a +1 to the final Combat Strength each Combat Round for the rest of this Combat.
Once Combat is complete, the Brilliant General Token is turned over to show that it is no longer Active for the rest of this turn. During Upkeep, the Brilliant General Token is returned to the player's Stockpile to be used again next turn.
Brilliant Admiral works identically to Brilliant General, except that the Brilliant Admiral may only be placed on a Sea Area and only impacts Sea Combat.
Raids
If the Active Player's units solely occupy an Area with enemy City Upgrades on Mines during a Movement action, they may raid them. The Active Player removes any City Upgrades they wish from the Area and returns them to the pool.
Invocations
As a player earns Favor with the gods by building Temples and worshipping at them, that player can call upon the Deities to assist in their endeavors.
Each Deity has three different Invocations that players may call upon - a level 1 Invocation, a level 2 Invocation, and a level 3 Invocation shown on the Deity Cards.
A player must own a number of Temples dedicated to that Deity equal to or greater than the level of the Invocation in order to use it. Both Active and Exhausted Temples count towards determining the level of Invocations available. Temples on cities owned by one player, but occupied by an enemy, are not counted.
To cast the Invocation, the player must spend Favor equal to the Invocation level. The player places an Action Cube next to the Invocation on the Deity Card to indicate that it was used this turn. Each Invocation may only be used once per turn.
A player may cast Invocations at any time, on anyone's turn, as long as it is during the phase specified before the colon next to the Invocation name. In order to cast a Combat Invocation, the player must have units in the Combat. The casting player selects a target matching what is listed after the colon.
Once an Invocation is cast, it cannot be rescinded and the Favor cost is spent. When an Invocation is cast, all players should be given a reasonable amount of time to cast their own Invocations before the first Invocation is resolved.
Invocations are fully resolved in the order cast before the next Invocation is resolved. The Invocations named Interference and Intervention are notable exceptions. Interference or Intervention are resolved in reverse order cast so as to allow for the cancellation of other Invocations. Should there be near-simultaneous Invocations cast, the Favorite of the Gods determines the order of resolution.
Invocation Example: Delilah casts Storms at Sea to block Scott from invading one of her islands spending 2 Favor to do so. Scott casts Intervention to cancel the Storms at Sea and spends 3 Favor. However, Samuel casts an Interference for 1 Favor on Scott's Intervention increasing the cost by 1. Scott does not have more Favor that he can spend on the Intervention. The Invocations are resolved as follows: Samuel casts the Interference and places an Action Cube on his Deity Card to show that it is used for the turn. Scott cancels the fizzled Intervention, which does not take effect, and uses an Action Cube to mark Intervention as used. He does not receive his 3 Favor back. Delilah marks Storms at Sea as used and selects an Area for the Storms at Sea to take effect.
Area Reduction
From time to time, World Events will cause Area Reduction. Players on the Area must remove a total of 2 units and/or City Upgrades of theirs from the Area. If all units and City Upgrades on a city are destroyed then the city becomes neutral immediately. If the city is a player's starting Home City then it reverts to that owner's control instead of becoming neutral.
Wonders of the World
A Wonder of the World is a City Upgrade that acts as a wildcard to match all other City Upgrades on the same City. Wonders make Actions in a city with a Wonder more productive, enable next level Invocations, and allow for Actions when matching City Upgrades on the same City have already been Exhausted.
Each player may only build one Wonder of the World per game. Players may own an unlimited number of Wonders by capturing Wonders built by other players.
Wonder of the World Example: Dan has certain City Upgrades on Athens. He could Worship and receive 2 Favor, Research and receive 2 Philosophers, or Train and receive 2 Hoplites. Dan chooses to Worship and receive 2 Favor. He then Exhausts the Temple. On a subsequent action, Dan could Worship and receive 1 Favor by Exhausting the Wonder, Research and receive 2 Philosophers, or Train to receive 2 Hoplites. When casting Invocations, the Wonder also counts as a Temple to Athena (the Green temple) because it matches the existing Temple.
Revolts
Revolts occur via World Events and represent the rising up of the people to throw off oppressive or unpopular leadership (i.e. you). A Revolt may not occur in a Government City.
The player undergoing the Revolt rolls the Yellow Die and adds the number of plus signs rolled (or subtracts a minus sign) to the number of units on the city and subtracts the number of City Upgrades on the city. If the result is 0 or higher, the Revolt fails. If the result is negative then the Revolt succeeds. The owning player must remove a number of units from the city equal to the negative number.
If the Revolt succeeds and there are no units in the city after the Revolt then the city reverts to neutral (or its original owner if a starting Home City), but retains its City Upgrades for a future conqueror.
Revolt Example: Nate faces a revolt in one of his cities. The city has 3 City Upgrades and 2 units. Nate rolls the Yellow Die and rolls a -. The result is -1 (Yellow die) + 2 (units) -3 (City Upgrades) = -2. The city revolts and Nate must remove 2 units back to his pool. Since that removes all of the units he has on the city, the city becomes neutral. If Nate had instead rolled + or ++, he would have successfully put down the revolt and suffered no losses. If he had rolled a blank, he would have lost 1 unit on the city, but retained ownership of Megara.
Mythological Creatures
Mythological Creatures represent the beasts of Greek legends and add unique elements to Hellenica: Story of Greece. They can change the game situation quickly.
Placement
Mythological Creatures are placed on the map when triggered by the drawing of a World Events Card. The winner of the World Events bid places the Creature on an Area using the rules shown on the World Events Card. Only one Creature may occupy an Area at any given time.
Creature Interdiction
Mythological Creatures interdict movement. Interdiction occurs for all units on the Area when the Creature is placed there, for all units constructed on the Area, and for new units that enter the Area. Creature Interdiction lasts the entire Turn so units may not move out of an Area on the same turn that they or the Creature entered the Area. If the Creature is destroyed these restrictions are immediately removed.
Duels
Mythological Creatures cannot be harmed by any units other than Heroes. If the Active Player has not Passed at the end of their Action and has a Hero on an Area containing a Creature, the Hero must Duel the Creature. When dueling a Creature, the player rolls the Yellow die once for each Hero on the Area.
If the player rolls + or ++ then the Creature is destroyed. The player takes the Creature Marker and places it in front of their Player Board to signify that they have slain the Creature.
If the player rolls a blank, then neither side is victorious this round and both the Hero and the Creature remain on the Area.
If the player rolls a -, then the Hero is killed and returned to the player's pool.
Combat in Areas with Creatures
Since Duels occur at the end of the Active Player's Action, Combat between players in an Area containing a Creature occurs prior to any Duels. Units may never retreat from an Area containing a Creature.
Upkeep in Areas with Creatures
Mythological Creatures' possess special abilities that activate during the Upkeep Phase (See Mythological Creatures Special Abilities Quick Reference). When a Mythological Creature eliminates a unit due to a special ability, select the unit randomly. Do not include Heroes in this random determination as Heroes are only eliminated by Mythological Creatures via Duels.
Players may Build and activate City Upgrades in Areas occupied by Creatures. However, players may not remove Action Cubes from City Upgrades during Upkeep as long as the Creature is present. During Upkeep, the player still replenishes their Player Board as normal even if some Action Cubes were not removed from the map due to the presence of a Creature. Exhausted Markets on Areas with Creatures do not produce a Supply cube during Upkeep.
Games with Less than 7 Players
If there are fewer than 7 players in the game, each player should select a Home City that is within 3 or 4 Areas of as many other players' Home Cities as possible.
Once all Home Cities are selected, any Land or Sea Areas more than 2 Areas away from any player's Home City are impassible. They may not be entered by any player at any time. The players should then play the game as normal, being sure to set the Chaos Track appropriately for the number of players in the game (See Setup).
STOP: Play your first game with these rules.
Advanced Rules
All Deities
For experienced players who know the Deities well, allow players to select their first Temple from all of the Deities in the game.
Rival Deities
The Deities of ancient Greece developed bitter rivalries between them. During set-up, prior to each player selecting the patron Deity of their first Temple, shuffle 1 Temple Underlay for each Deity together and randomly deal 1 to each of the locations on the Rival Deities track in the lower left corner of the board. Each Deity is a rival of the Deity immediately above or below them on the Rival Deities track.
A player may never own a Temple belonging to a Deity and that Deity's rival at the same time. If, at any time, a player owns Temples to 2 Deities that are rivals, that player must immediately remove all Temples they own dedicated to one of the Rival Deities and return them to the pool.
Random Pathos Objectives
If the players want unique public objectives with each play of Hellenica then instead of using the 3 Pathos objectives listed in the setup instructions, shuffle all of the Pathos Objective cards together and randomly deal 3 of them, face-up, next to the map board. Place the remaining Pathos Cards back in the box as they will not be used in this game session.
Note that the different combinations of Pathos objectives may impact playing time, give advantages to certain city-states, and make the game more militaristic.
Epic Game
For experienced players looking for a longer, more epic feel to their game, play until a player has completed 4 Objectives, instead of 3, to win the game. This forces players to complete at least 2 of the Pathos Objectives.
This rule increases playing time. Do not use this rule for your first game.
Games with AI Players and Solitaire Play
For a richer experience with fewer players, including solitaire play, Hellenica uses a system by which less than 7 players can still enjoy the full grandeur of the game. The game includes an AI deck of cards to play the City-States not played by people.
The player(s) decide which City-State(s) they wish to play. Any number of the unselected City-States can be played by the game system using these AI rules.
Setup
Follow all set up rules as normal except as noted here. AI Players start with an AI Government Marker (the AI Government Marker is a special counter used only for AI Players and represents a permanent elite Hoplite and an elite Cavalry on the Area), 1 Trireme, 2 Hoplites, and no City Upgrades on their Home City.
AI Players do not use a player board. One player is designated as the bookkeeper and places the AI Board and shuffled AI Cards near their Player Board. They will track the AI Players' Commodities, Advancements, and Supply on the AI Board. The AI board is used to track all of the AI Players, regardless of how many AI Players are in the game. Information tracked on the AI Board is public knowledge.
Place a cube of each AI Player's color on the 1 space of the Advancements and Supply rows and on the 4 space of the Favor row. One additional Action Cube of each color should be placed on the 0 space of the other 2 rows.
The AI Board includes a Grudge Space for each City-State. Whenever another player (human or AI) attempts to harm an AI Player, place an Action Cube of that player's color on the Grudge Space of the AI Player, replacing any Action Cube that may already be there. Harm is defined as moving onto an Area containing units or cities owned by the AI Player, using a harmful World Event directly on the AI Player, or casting a harmful Invocation on the AI Player.
An AI Player is considered a player for purposes of setting up and resetting the Chaos Track (e.g. if there are 2 human players and 5 AI Players, the Chaos Track begins on the 8 space and is reset to the 7 space each time a World Event occurs).
Ethos Phase
During the first Ethos phase deal 3 Ethos cards face down near the Pathos Objective cards without revealing them. Once all players have selected their Ethos cards during the game, turn these Ethos cards face up for all to see. If there is a duplicate, replace the card with a random card from the remaining Ethos Deck until there are no duplicates. These are the Ethos Objective cards shared by all AI players and are not available for the Human players to complete.
Favorite of the Gods Phase
AI Players can be Favorite of the Gods. When this occurs, flip the Favorite of the Gods token in the air randomly to determine the order of play.
When breaking World Event bid ties as the Favorite of the Gods, AI Players will always select themselves if possible. If not, they will select a winner randomly but never their current Grudge.
Action Phase - Round 1: Production
During the first Round of each Turn, reveal the top AI Card for the AI Player. The AI Player immediately produces all of the benefits listed in the Production section of the card (middle of the card). The AI Card applies to only that AI Player. Reveal a card for each AI Player individually to determine what benefits each will receive.
The Production section of AI Cards are split into two columns labeled "2-3" and "4+". If the current Game Turn is Turn 2 or 3, then AI players receive the benefits listed in the leftmost column; Otherwise, they receive the benefits listed in the rightmost column.
Special: All AI Players begin the game with their Turn 1 benefits. No card is revealed on the first Round of Turn 1 to determine AI Players' Production.
The AI deck is shuffled each time it is depleted. The benefits that the AI Player may receive are as follows:
- +X Advance(s) - Add X Advancements to that AI Player by moving the appropriate Action Cube in the Advancements row on the AI Board.
- +X Favor - Add X Favor to that AI Player by moving the appropriate Action Cube in the Favor row on the AI Board.
- +X Philosopher(s) - Add X Philosophers to that AI Player by moving the appropriate Action Cube in the Philosopher row on the AI Board.
- +X Commerce - Add X Commerce to that AI Player by moving the appropriate Action Cube in the Commerce row on the AI Board.
- Wonder - If the AI Player does not have a Wonder of the World on their Government City, place a Wonder of the World under construction on the AI Player's Government City. Otherwise, ignore.
- City Walls - Place City Walls under construction on the AI Player's City with the most Settlements that does not have City Walls. Ties are broken randomly.
- +X Hoplites/Cavalry/Triremes/Hero - Place X units of the indicated type(s) on the AI Player's Government City.
- Supply: X - Place the Action cube for the AI Player on the Supply Number shown on the card. This is how many times the AI Player may move this turn.
There are a few special situations that cause an AI Player to receive bonus Production. These are covered on the AI Quick Reference Sheet.
Action Phase - Rounds 2+: Movement
On Rounds 2 and beyond of each Turn, the AI Player will attempt to move units on the map. Follow the steps below to move AI Players' units.
A. Will the AI Player Supply?
If the Supply on the AI Board for the Active AI Player is greater than 0 then reduce the Supply by 1 and proceed to step B. Otherwise, the AI Player passes.
B. Which Area will the AI Player Supply?
Count the number of the Active AI Player's movement eligible units on each Area. The Area with the highest count greater than 0 is Supplied for Movement. Movement eligible units are Hoplites, Cavalry, and Triremes that have not reached their Supply Limit this Turn. In addition, 1 Trireme must remain on each Sea Area and 1 Land Unit or AI Government Marker must remain on each City. Ties are broken randomly. If no Area has a count higher than 0, then no movement occurs and the AI Player receives 1 Commerce on the AI Board.
C. Triremes move first
Determine the destination for any Triremes on the selected Area (see Determining Destination below). If Triremes are moving from a Land Area, move all the Triremes to the Destination. If moving from a Sea Area, move all but 1 Trireme. Leave behind a regular Trireme before an elite Trireme. All moving Triremes will move to the same Destination. Move 1 Hero with the Triremes, if possible. Resolve any Combat caused by this sea movement using normal Combat rules.
D. Land units move second
Determine where any units on the selected Area will move. If the units are moving from a City Area move all but 1 unit to the same Destination. Otherwise, move all units. Move 1 Hero with the units, if possible.
Always move the combination of units that will result in the maximum number of Combat dice to be rolled, even if no Combat will occur. If different combinations of units would result in the same number of Combat dice, then leave behind a Government Marker, Hoplite, Cavalry, elite Hoplite, or elite Cavalry in that order. Resolve any Combat caused by this movement using normal Combat rules.
Special: The AI Player will not move its last Hero and unit out of Delphi if the Commune Pathos Objective Card is in play. The AI Player will not move its last Hero and unit out of Mt. Olympus if the Ascendancy Pathos Objective Card is in play.
Determining Destination
Reveal a single AI Card for all movement by the AI Player this Round. Ignore everything on the card other than the Movement Section at the bottom of the card. Triremes will only move to Sea Areas and Land Units will only move to Land Areas.
Determine all adjacent Areas to which the units could move. Areas reachable using Sea Transport by the AI Player are considered adjacent for moving Land units. AI Players always Sea Transport as if they had the Copper Banding Advancement.
Starting with the top-most text in the Movement Section of the Card and proceeding downward, exclude Areas that do not match the text until only 1 Area remains; that Area will be the Destination. If, at any time, the text would remove all remaining Areas, then ignore that text. If, after applying all text on the card, more than 1 Area remains, determine the Destination randomly between those remaining Areas.
- Grudge - Areas containing units, Ownership Markers, or City Upgrades belonging to the player in the Active AI Player's Grudge Space.
- Least Friendly Units - Areas containing the least friendly units, ignoring Heroes.
- Most Settlements - City Areas with the most Settlements (with by City Upgrades or not). Ignore Mines.
- Map Objective - Areas listed as an Objective on a revealed Pathos card (e.g. Enemy Home City, Mt. Olympus or its adjacent Areas, etc.).
- Enemy Units/City Upgrades - Areas containing one or more units or City Upgrades belonging to other players.
AI Movement Example: Troy is being played by the AI and it is their turn to take an Action. This is the 2nd Round of the Turn as Troy received the units shown on Troy during the 1st Round. Troy has 2 Supply available on the AI Board.
A. Since Troy has Supply available, the cube on the Supply track is moved down by 1 on the AI Board and Troy takes a Supply Action.
B. Troy has 2 units in Phocaea. Troy has 5 movement eligible units in Troy (the Government Marker is not movement eligible and Heroes do not count for determining where the AI Player will Supply). Troy will Supply their Home City for Movement this Round as there are the most movement eligible units on that Area.
C. The AI Card revealed is the Basic Temple Card shown on a previous page. This card will determine movement rules for all of Troy's movement this Round. First the Triremes will move and they can reach either the Eastern Aegean Sea or the Dodecanese (Triremes move to Sea Areas only). The top-most text says "Least Friendly Units". Since the Dodecanese already has a Trojan Trireme, the Destination will be the Eastern Aegean Sea. Because Troy is moving from a Land Area, all of the Triremes will move to the Destination.
D. Next the Land Units will move using the same AI Card. "Least Friendly Units" eliminates Phocaea as other Areas have less friendly units (Phocaea can be reached by Sea Transport using the newly moved Triremes). Next, "Enemy units/City Upgrades" eliminates all Areas except for Abydos and Mytilene as there are enemy units in both Areas. Finally, "Most Settlements" eliminates Mytilene as Abydos has 2 Settlements and Mytilene has 1 Settlement. The Destination for the units will be Abydos using Sea Transport via the Triremes that just moved to the Eastern Aegean Sea.
A Yellow Action Cube is placed in the Byzantium Grudge Space because of the attack. Next, Troy and Byzantium will resolve Combat over Abydos and finally, a World Events card will be revealed per normal rules.
World Events
If the AI Player moved any units this round, reveal and process a World Events card per normal rules.
When a World Event triggers, all human players bid normally. After all human bids are revealed, roll the Yellow die once for each AI Player. On a roll of ++, the AI Player bids all of their Favor. On a +, they bid half of their Favor, rounded down. On a -, they bid 1 Favor. On a Blank, they bid 0. AI Players will never bid more than needed to beat the highest Favor another player possesses.
For World Events that impact, use, or count City Upgrades treat all AI Player's Settlements on an Area as if they had City Upgrades on them (Exception: AI Players' Settlements can be blocked by Mythological Creatures. Ignore blocked Settlements during World Events).
World Events won by an AI Player should be marked with that player's colored Action Cube for possible victory conditions.
If a World Event calls for Area reduction of an AI Player's Area, take all losses from units on the Area. If there are no units on the Area, then ignore the reduction.
The AI World Events Reference Sheet contains more detailed information about how AI Players interact with various World Events.
Combat
AI Players never Withdraw from Combat.
AI Players will destroy the enemy unit that would result in the least number of dice being rolled in the next Combat Round. If there is no difference in the number of dice to be rolled, then destroy a random elite unit before a regular unit. At Sea, always destroy an elite Trireme before a regular Trireme. AI Players conquer cities using normal rules. After conquest, leave any surviving City Upgrades in place.
An AI Player's Government Marker represents a garrison of 1 Elite Hoplite and 1 Elite Cavalry that may never move from the Government Area. If an AI Player's Government Marker is ever destroyed, it regenerates during the Upkeep Phase on the City they own with the most Settlements. Ties are broken randomly. The 2 units represented by the AI Government Markers may be destroyed individually during Combat, but unless destroyed entirely, the marker automatically regenerates to full health at the end of each Combat.
Invocations
Invocations may be cast upon AI Players. AI Players do not cast Invocations.
Upkeep Phase
AI Players win the game by completing 3 Objective Cards per normal rules. At most, AI Players can complete any 2 of the 3 face-up Ethos Cards shared by all AI Players.
Specific Advancements are not tracked for AI Players. Thus, when determining victory conditions, always assume the AI player has the exact Advancements it needs to meet objectives. For example: If the Enlightenment and Knowledge Objective Cards are in play and the AI Player has 8 Advancements on the AI board, assume that 4 Advancements are Government Advancements and the other 4 come from the other categories, thus meeting both objectives for its victory conditions.
If the Loyalty, Piety, Prosperity, or Scholarship Ethos Objectives are revealed for the AI Players, assume that any 1 Objective is met when an AI Player controls 10 Settlements and 2 Objectives are met when an AI Player controls 14 Settlements.
If the Production Ethos Objective is revealed, then assume that all AI Players have the Mining Advancement and that all Mine locations not occupied by enemy Land Units have City Upgrades on them.
Buildable Map
Hellenica includes a double-sided game board that allows players to build their own map of Greece. We do not recommend this for your first play, but once players are comfortable with the rules of the game, this advanced rule allows for a near infinite number of variations, ensuring a unique experience every time the game is played.
The setup of the game remains the same except during step 1 place the game board with the side showing a calm Zeus in the lower left corner in the center of the table.
During step 11, after players have received their 3 Deity Cards, but before they have selected their first Deity, the players will build the map themselves.
A. Give each player their matching Home City Tile.
B. Remove the Ambracian Sea and Icarian Sea tiles and set them aside. Starting with the Favorite of the Gods and proceeding clockwise, randomly deal all of the remaining Tiles, face-down, to the players in the game.
C. Starting with the Favorite of the Gods and proceeding clock-wise, each player places their Home City. A Home City must be placed on its corresponding start location, but may be oriented in any direction.
D. The player with the Mt. Olympos Tile places it anywhere on the map and with any orientation that they wish (subject to Rule G below).
E. The player with the Delphi Tile places it anywhere on the map and with any orientation that they wish (subject to Rule G below).
F. Starting with the Favorite of the Gods and proceeding clockwise, the players take turns placing a single Tile on the map. For even numbered Tile placement turns (the 2nd, 4th, 6th rounds) the turn order of placement goes in counter-clockwise placement order. In this way, turn order "serpentines" through the players when building the map (4-player example: P1, P2, P3, P4, P4, P3, P2, P1, P1, P2, P3...).
G. If a Tile is placed adjacent to another Tile, it must be placed such that any mountain sides match up against mountain sides and clearing sides match up against clearing sides. Both mountain and clearing sides may be placed facing into a Sea Area or off the Map edge.
H. A Tile may not be placed or oriented in a way which makes itself or any other Land or Sea Area inaccessible. At the end of map building, every Tile must have at least one clearing facing another Tile or Sea Area.
I. A player may not place a City Tile if that player placed a City Tile on their last placement unless the player has no other legal play.
J. Volcano Tiles may not be placed adjacent to each other.
K. Only City Tiles and the Mt. Olympus Tile may be placed on islands.
L. If a player does not have a legal play, then that player's turn is skipped and Tile placement continues with the next player. If no players have a legal play then the map building ends.
M. At the end of map building, any open hexes are considered unique Sea Areas, even if they are completely surrounded by land. Place one of the Sea Tiles that was set aside earlier on the space.
N. All unplaced Tiles are returned to the game box and will not be used in this game session.
In games with AI Players, the AI places their Home City Tile at the normal time in the turn order for Home City placement during map building. The orientation of the Tile is determined at random. Place the Tile on the Home City location in any orientation and roll one of the Blue dice. Rotate the Tile as many times clockwise as indicated by the die roll. AI Players may not place their City-States such that they do not have access to at least one Sea Area. If this occurs, reroll the Blue die.
AI Players do not participate in map building after placing their Home Tile.
Solitaire/Random Buildable Map
When playing solitaire build the map randomly. Players may also agree that they want to play on a random map instead of a player-built one.
Place the Home City Tiles as described above. Once all of the Home City Tiles are in place, shuffle the remaining Non-Home City Tiles together face down. Start in the upper left-most empty location (next to Corcyra), reveal a Tile and place it with the name of the Tile at the top. If the Tile in that orientation is a legal placement, place the Tile. Otherwise, rotate it clock-wise until it is legal to play. If it cannot be legally played, place it at the bottom of the Tile stack.
If any of the Pathos Objectives include Ascendancy and/or Commune, make sure the Mt. Olympos and/or Delphi Tiles are in play by randomly mixing them into the top 2/3rds of the Tile stack.
If no Tiles in the entire stack can be legally played on a location, then continue to the next location. As with regular player-built maps, all empty locations are considered Sea Areas and should be marked with one of the provided Sea Tiles.
Rules G, H, J, and K from the Buildable Map rules still apply.
Continue across the map revealing and placing Tiles, and then return to the left most empty land location in the next row down. Once the map is completed, continue with the game normally.
Explorable Map
Hellenica can also be played with an unknown map that players explore and reveal during the game. We do not recommend this for your first play, but once players are comfortable with the rules of the game, this can be an exciting way to play. Note that the Explorable Map adds some additional time to game play.
Setup
The setup of the game remains the same as the basic game except for these changes.
For step 1 place the game board with the side showing a calm Zeus in the lower left corner in the center of the table.
Each player takes their home city tile. Starting with the Favorite of the Gods and proceeding clock-wise, each player places their Home City. A Home City must be placed on its corresponding start location, but may be oriented in any direction.
Shuffle the remaining tiles and place them in a face down pile near the game board.
In games with AI Players, the AI places the Home City Tile at the normal time in the turn order for Home City placement during map building. The orientation of the Tile is determined at random. Place the Tile on the Home City location in any orientation and roll a Blue die. Rotate the Tile as many times clockwise as indicated by the die roll.
AI players may not place their City-States such that they do not have access to at least one Sea Area. If this occurs, reroll the Blue die.
Action Phase Adjustments
Empty Areas on the map are considered land Areas for all purposes. They exist as both City and Non-City Areas simultaneously until a Tile is placed on them. The edges of all Empty Areas are clearings. Empty island Areas are still considered islands.
Triremes are not allowed to explore Empty Areas. Players may move land units onto Empty Areas. Empty Areas are only enterable via a clearing or via Sea Transport (Exception: Leadership Advancement).
Once a player has moved all of their units, Empty Areas containing land units are explored. The player may choose the order in which to explore Empty Areas if more than one Empty Area was entered during movement.
For each explored Area, the player selects 2 Tiles from the top of the stack and secretly looks at them. The player places one of the Tiles on the Empty Area and places the other face down on the bottom of the Tile stack without revealing it. Players may rotate the placed Tile to any orientation they wish, but the side through which unit(s) entered must be a clearing.
Rules G, H, J, and K from the Buildable Map rules still apply.
The player may place either Tile, but must place one of them, if legal. If neither Tile is legal to place, discard them both face down next to the Tile stack and select 2 more Tiles. Repeat the process discarding Tiles to the bottom of the discard stack until the player finds a legal play. Once a Tile is placed, place the Tile stack on top of the discard stack to form a single new Tile stack.
If the player goes through the entire stack of Tiles without finding a legal placement, then the Empty Area is considered a unique Sea Area for the rest of the game and may not be explored again. Place the Ambracian Sea or Icarian Sea Tile on the new Sea Area. Return the occupying Land Units to their original pre-movement Area and use the discard stack as the new Tile stack.
World Events Adjustments
If the Eruption event card is triggered and no Volcanoes have been revealed, then ignore the card completely and draw another.
Mythological Creatures may be placed on Empty Areas. If a player explores an empty area containing a Mythological Creature, the placed Tile must match the type of area that the Mythological Creature inhabits. For example, the Sphinx must be placed on a City. A player could choose to place the Sphinx on an Empty Area. If that Area is explored by a player while the Sphinx is there, only a City Tile may be placed on the Empty Area.
Invocation Adjustments
Invocations that target Land Areas may be cast on Empty Areas. Invocations that target Sea Areas may not be cast on Empty Areas. Hermes invocation, Alliance, may be cast on an Empty Area. In effect, this generates a free exploration where the only legal placement is a City. If neither of the 2 Tiles the player selected for exploration are a City, they discard them and select 2 more tiles until a City is picked. If the player casting Alliance draws at least 1 City Tile, but it does not have a legal placement on the area, then the Alliance is a failure and the Invocation and Favor is lost without placing a Tile.
Exploration in Games with AI Players
When determining a Destination for Movement by an AI Player, treat all Empty Areas as if it is a City Area with 3 settlements on it. This is important for when the AI Card says to move to a Destination with the "Most Settlements".
When selecting a Tile to place, the AI follows the same rules as exploration for human players. The AI will always place a Tile that is listed on a Pathos objective card (Delphi or Mt. Olympos, if the Tile is one of the revealed victory conditions). The AI will always place the Tile with the most Settlements/Free Temples on it that can be legally placed. In a tie, select a Tile randomly.
Place the Tile with the name of the Tile at the top. If the Tile in that orientation is a legal placement, place it. Otherwise, rotate it clock-wise until it is legal to play.
STOP: You now have all the rules for Hellenica: Story of Greece.
Mythological Creatures Special Abilities Quick Reference
Mythological Creatures' special abilities trigger at the beginning of the Upkeep phase. Each Creature is unique in its special ability. Combat triggered by a special ability only occurs during the Upkeep phase and is between the Creature and the player with units on the Area. Players may not withdraw during Combat from an Area with a Creature. If more than one creature is on the map, the Favorite of the gods determines the order in which they attack.
Cetus - Place the Cetus on a Sea Area. The Cetus attacks units on the Area with a Combat Strength of 3. The Cetus cannot be eliminated by this Combat. If the Cetus wins or ties, it eliminates 1 random Trireme. If the Cetus wins, perform another round of Combat to a maximum of 2 rounds. No Sea Transport may occur through this Area.
Cyclops - Place the Cyclops on an Island Area. Roll the Yellow die once for each Trireme on adjacent Sea Areas and for each unit and City Upgrade on the island. On a - result, remove that unit or City Upgrade.
Hydra - Place the Hydra on a non-City Land Area. The Hydra attacks units on the Area with a Combat Strength of 4. The Hydra is not eliminated by this Combat. If the Hydra wins or ties, it eliminates 1 random non-hero unit. Additionally, if the Hydra wins, perform another round of Combat to a maximum of 2 rounds.
Medusa - Place Medusa on a non-City Land Area. Roll the Yellow die once. On a + or ++ result, the Medusa does nothing. Otherwise, remove 1 random non-Hero unit from the Area. In addition, each attempt to Supply the Area requires a roll of the Yellow die. On a minus or blank result, the Supply is cancelled. On a + or ++ result, the Supply Action succeeds. The Market is exhausted regardless of result.
Minotaur - Place the Minotaur on a non-Government City Area. Roll the Yellow die once. On a roll of ++, the Minotaur does nothing. Otherwise, the Player must remove 1 City Upgrade. If there are no City Upgrades, remove 1 random non-Hero unit.
Scylla - Place Scylla on a Sea Area. Roll the Yellow die once. On a + or ++ result, Scylla does nothing. Otherwise, remove 1 random non-Hero unit from the Area. In addition, each attempt to Supply the Area requires a roll of the Yellow die. On a minus or blank result, the Supply is cancelled. On a + or ++ result, the Supply Action succeeds. The Market is exhausted regardless of result.
Sphinx - Place the Sphinx on a non-Government City Area. Roll the Yellow die once. On a roll of ++, the Sphinx does nothing. Otherwise, remove 1 random non-Hero unit. If there are no units, the Player must remove 1 City Upgrade.
Cities that lose all units and City Upgrades due to a Mythological Creature become neutral (Home Cities revert to their original owners).
For AI Players only: If a Creature destroys a City Upgrade on an AI Player's City, block 1 Settlement on the city with an Action Cube. That Settlement no longer counts as a City Upgrade for the AI Player. If the last Settlement on a City is blocked and there are no AI units remaining on the City, the City becomes neutral. Remove all Action Cubes blocking Settlements on an Area if the Creature is ever destroyed, if the city becomes neutral, or if the city changes ownership.
City Upgrades Quick Reference
Barracks - Barracks produce Hoplites during a Train Action.
Docks - Docks produce Triremes during a Train Action. Docks may only be placed on a Settlement or Mine where the City has a clearing facing an adjacent Sea Area.
Stables - Stables produce Cavalry during a Train action.
City Walls - City Walls improve the defensive capability of a city. A city may not have more than one City Walls. City Walls may not be placed on Mines.
Markets - Markets produce Commerce and/or movement during a Supply Action. Without Markets, a player may not move their units.
Temples - Temples produce Favor during a Worship Action. Favor is used to invoke the gods, win World Events, and determine player order.
Academies - Academies produce Philosophers that pay for Advancements during a Research Action. Academies also produce Heroes during a Train Action.
Wonder of the World - A Wonder of the World acts as a wildcard to match other City Upgrades on the same City. A player must research the Wonder of the World Advancement before building one.
Units Quick Reference
Hoplites - Supply Limit: 1. Trained using Barracks. In Combat on a Land Area, if you have a Hoplite present, roll 1 Green die. If at least 1 Hoplite is elite, roll another Green die.
Cavalry - Supply Limit: 2. Trained using Stables. In Combat on a Land Area, if you have a Cavalry present, roll 1 Red die. If at least 1 Cavalry is elite, roll another Red die.
Triremes - Supply Limit: Unlimited. Trained using Docks. May Sea Transport 2 units. In Combat on a Sea Area, if you have a Trireme present, roll 1 Blue die. If at least 1 Trireme is elite, roll another Blue die.
Heroes - Supply Limit: 2. Trained using Academies. In Combat on any Area, if you have at least 1 Hero present roll 1 Yellow Die.
Combined Arms - In Combat on a Land Tile, if you have both Hoplites and Cavalry present, roll 1 additional Green die.
Credits and Acknowledgements
Game Design and Development: Scott DeMers. Producer: Sean Brown. Art: Marco Primo. Graphic Design: Michael Smyjewski, Scott DeMers. Original Building Miniatures Design: Leonel Domingos Da Costa. Unit and Creature Miniatures Design: David Soderquist. Game Board: Scott DeMers. Logo: Marco Primo. Rules: Scott DeMers.