Hidden Conflict Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Tile Description
  • The Fighters
  • Events
  • Items
• Set-Up
• Game Play
  • Turn Sequence
• Winning the Game
• Glossary
• Combat Example

Game Components

• 6 player cards
• 240 tiles
  • 40 Vampire tiles (red border)
  • 40 Zombie tiles (blue border)
  • 40 Werewolf tiles (yellow border)
  • 40 Demon tiles (black border)
  • 40 Ghoul tiles (green border)
  • 40 Human tiles (white border)

Tile Description

The Fighters

Each group has 6 levels of fighters including one, level-1 Leader and six each of all other levels. When building your army, you must include the leader in your starting tiles. (For purposes of army building, the Leader is counted as one of your allotted number of tiles. Army building is explained in detail in the "Set-Up" section.)

Each tile has both an attack and defense number. These numbers are compared to your opponent's tile during combat.

Each fighter also has a special ability or restriction. These are:

Resist: Fighter must be defeated by a lower level opponent or two opponents at the same time (two with the special ability "Aid"). These fighters may attack any level opponent. This ability is in effect whether the fighter is active or not.

Scout: If this fighter is chosen to fight, but does not engage in combat during the combat phase, they may look at the top tile of any adjacent stack to the combat location. Only orthogonal tiles are adjacent, diagonal tiles are not. Scouting occurs before the movement phase. This ability can only be used with the active player's army.

Fast: Generally, attacks are considered to be concurrent. However, a fighter (whether active or not) with the "Fast" skill applies their attack first. If this causes an opponent to be defeated, the opponent is discarded without attacking.

Aid: This fighter may add their attack value to another "Aid" fighter who is adjacent in the battle lineup. This is decided when a battle is declared and all involved tiles are flipped and arranged in battle lines. The fighter chosen to aid an adjacent fighter must still fight their appointed combat, either before or after the aided combat depending on the order of combat and if they survive. The attack value from the opponent still will be applied but only to one of the "Aid" fighters, active player's choice. This ability can only be used with the active player's tiles - only the ones chosen for combat. If the active player flips one of their "Aid" fighters, it may not participate in combat. "Aid" fighters may assist each other in combat if they both survive the first battle.

No Event: If an opposing tile during a battle is an event tile, it has no effect on this fighter. This ability will not save fighters targeted by the "Bomb".

No Start: These fighters may not be one of your starting 5 tiles.

Hide: Use this optional ability to place this tile face down on an adjacent face-down stack before combat is resolved. If there is no adjacent, face-down stack, the ability cannot be used. Only the active player may use this ability for their own army.

Leader: The leader has the special abilities of "No Event" and "Aid" (see above descriptions).

Events

Events are a separate group of tiles. Some events occur instantaneously and others may be saved for use later. When an event comes up, if it is an instant (marked with an asterisk), it automatically happens once all tiles are revealed but before combat. These events only affect the tiles currently chosen and flipped for combat. If it is not an instant, the tile is given to the appropriate player (according to the border) to be used at any time they wish.

Lost: Discard this tile to immediately cancel the special ability of an opposing fighter. This can be used on any other player's fighters, whether you are involved in combat or not.

Miss: Discard this tile to cancel an attack from one fighter (that fighter will still defend though). The remainder of the combat continues as usual.

Extraction: Discard this event to remove one of your fighters from combat and place it on top of a previously revealed stack you own. This cannot be the stack currently engaged in combat. If there are no other face-up stacks, the event cannot be used. Stacking restrictions still apply.

Hypnosis: When opposing tiles are revealed in combat, discard this tile to gain the use of an opposing fighter for the rest of the combat round. That fighter can then be used to fight any of the other opposing combatants in this round of combat who are after them in the combat lineup. The combat occurs before all others.

Bomb: Discard this tile to remove from play one face-down stack. This may not be used on a stack that has just been chosen for combat.

Scatter (instant): All day creatures (zombies, humans and demons), excluding the ones with matching border color, must be turned back over and distributed evenly, by the active player, to adjacent face-down stacks. If there is no face-down stack, they are removed from play. There can be more than 4 tiles in a face-down stack.

Daybreak (instant): All night creatures (vampires, werewolves and ghouls), excluding the ones with matching border color, are removed from play.

Flashfire (instant): +1 damage (-1 defense) to all fighters this combat round except those of matching border color. This includes the active player's fighters as well as any opponent's.

Trap (instant): Immediately remove opposing tile from play, except those of matching border color.

Items

These tiles are attached to the appropriate group's fighters as indicated by the borders. These can be attached at any time and do not have to be attached immediately after being revealed. I.e. you can wait several turns before attaching if you like. Items are placed beneath the fighter to which it is attached and only one of each item can be attached to the same fighter.

Gun (human): +1 attack. Must be attached to a fighter before the combat round.

Body Armor (human): +1 defense. Must be attached to a fighter before the combat round. The Leader may not wear body armor.

Knife (ghoul or demon): +1 attack. Of note, a ghoul knife cannot be used by a demon and vice versa. Must be attached to a fighter before the combat round.

Crystal (ghoul): Discard to resurrect a chosen ghoul from the graveyard. May only be attached to the Leader. Resurrected fighter is placed at the bottom of the Leader's stack. Stacking restrictions apply.

Amulet (demon): Discard to return to play a chosen demon from the graveyard. May only be attached to the Leader. Resurrected fighter is placed at the bottom of the Leader's stack. Stacking restrictions apply.

Set-Up

Each player picks a group (vampire, werewolf, zombie, human, ghoul or demon).

When designing your "army", the number of troops from each level should be within one of all other levels, excluding the Leader. That is, you can't take out 3 tiles from one level and 1 from another. You can take out 2 tiles from 4 of the levels and 3 from the last. As long as each level is within 1 (number of tiles in that level) from all levels, it is legal.

Example of set-up for a two player game: One player chooses the humans and takes out one Gun, one Body Armor, one Daybreak, one Extraction, two level 6 fighters, two level 5 fighters, one level 4 fighter, one level 3 fighter and one level 2 fighter. They choose to start with their Leader, one level 2 fighter, one level 3 fighter, one level 4 fighter and one level 5 fighter.

In a 2 player game, each player will need a 29 tile army. Five of the 29 are chosen as the starting tiles. The remaining tiles from all players are mixed, put in stacks of three and placed to form a 4 X 4 tile "board".

In a 3 player game, each player will need a 25 tile army. Five of the 25 are chosen as the starting tiles. The remaining tiles from all players are mixed, put in stacks of three and placed to form a 4 X 5 tile "board".

In a 4 player game, each player will need a 20 tile army. Five of the 20 are chosen as the starting tiles. The remaining tiles from all players are mixed, put in stacks of three and placed to form a 4 X 5 tile "board".

In a 5 player game, each player will need a 20 tile army. Five of the 20 are chosen as the starting tiles. The remaining tiles from all players are mixed, put in stacks of three and placed to form a 5 X 5 tile "board".

In a 6 player game, each player will need a 20 tile army. Five of the 20 are chosen as the starting tiles. The remaining tiles from all players are mixed, put in stacks of three and placed to form a 5 X 6 tile "board".

Note: The starting tiles must be fighters and one must be the Leader. No events or items may be chosen as a starting tile. Fighters with the "No Start" trait may not be used. Fighters must all be different levels as well. I.e. you can't choose to start your leader and four level 3 fighters.

Once armies are chosen and each player has picked their 5 starting tiles, place the remaining tiles in the middle of the table and mix thoroughly. Each player should have their 5 starting tiles in a stack in front of them. Stack the mixed tiles face down in sets of 3 to form a "board" configuration according to the number of players.

Example: For a 3 player game, the tiles will be in stacks of three in a 4 x 5 configuration - four stacks of 3 across x five stacks of 3 down. There should not be any left over tiles. (See Illustration on next page.)

The humans get to decide where they will start first, any edge of the board. They will place their five tiles at that location. Going clockwise, the remaining players will decide where they want to start. They may not be adjacent to any other player's starting tiles. If no one chose to play the humans, the starting player is chosen randomly.

[Diagram: sample three player starting setup (not reproduced).]

Game Play

Turn Sequence

1. Choose fighters.

2. Choose location where combat will take place.

3. Flip face down tiles to match up with face-up tiles.

4. Resolve instant events.

5. Give remaining events/items to appropriate owners.

6. Compare attack/defense numbers.

7. Discard killed fighters.

8. Dispense surviving tiles appropriately.

9. Move and stack fighters as desired.

10. End of turn, play passes to the left.

11. Choose the number of face-up fighters you wish to use in combat. It has to be at least 1 and no more than 3. Spread the chosen ones out in order from top to bottom. You may not rearrange the order of the tiles! You may choose fighters from different locations but all must be adjacent to the combat location. You may only use a number of fighters equal to the number of tiles you are going to flip. You may never have more fighters than the number of flipped tiles.

12. Choose the location for combat. Combat must occur at only one orthogonal (not diagonal) location, adjacent to your chosen fighters. You must engage in combat each turn unless somehow all of your stacks are no longer adjacent to a face-down stack or an opponent's face-up stack.

If a player starts their turn disengaged from combat (none of their stacks are adjacent to an opponent or face-down stack), they must use their turn moving their stacks so at least one is adjacent to either a face-down stack or an opponent's face-up stack.

3. Flip up the face-down tiles you are attacking in order, with the first one matching up to the first of your chosen fighters. Of note, if it makes it easier, all chosen fighters may be removed from their appropriate stacks and matched up at the same time. I.e. taking the top of your stack and flipping over a face-down tile at the same time, putting them next to each other. If you are attacking a face-up stack, they should be matched up the same way. (See page 8.)

Note: A player may NEVER look at an opponent's face-up stack (the tiles underneath the top one) after the turn has passed.

4. Resolve all instant events. The active player chooses the order if there is more than one event.

5. Give the remaining events and item tiles to their appropriate owners, according to the border of the tiles. These colors are also noted on the player cards.

6. Compare attack and defense numbers. Unless one of the fighters has the "Fast" attribute, the attack numbers are compared simultaneously starting with the first tile flipped. If they meet or beat their opponent's defense number, the opponent is defeated.

Of note, if one or more of the flipped tiles are members of the active player's "army", they do not participate in combat but remain in order for match-up purposes.

If any of the flipped tiles are members of a group who's leader has already been killed, they are automatically removed from play without participating in combat.

7. Remove from play the killed fighters. They should be placed to the side of the board in the "graveyard" with any attached items. If your Leader is killed, you are out of the game and must remove all of your face-up stacks from the board. If all Leaders are killed simultaneously, the player with the most remaining fighters wins.

8. Dispense surviving tiles appropriately. All opponents' surviving fighters should be given to the appropriate owners. These tiles are placed at the bottom of their face-up stack furthest from combat that can legally accept them. Stacks may NEVER have more than 4 tiles in them at one time after a player's first turn. If there is no legal stack to place the fighter, they are removed from play.

Place your surviving fighters, including the ones that were flipped, into one stack in the location of the combat if there are no more tiles present at that location. If there are tiles present, your surviving fighters will go back to the starting location (location of your fighters before combat).

If you had attacked a face-up stack, all of the opponent's surviving tiles should be restacked in the same order in which they started at their original location. Your surviving fighters will go back to their original location as well, unless the combat location was cleared of tiles.

9. Move and stack fighters. After the combat round, any of your face-up fighters (whether they participated in combat or not) may be moved a number of spaces equal to or less than their level. Example: A level 3 fighter can move up to 3 spaces. They can be moved to any open area of the board without jumping over any face-down stacks. Movement may not be diagonal. The stacks may not be placed so that they are no longer adjacent to at least one other face-down stack or another face-up stack. At least one of your stacks must be adjacent to a face-down stack or an opponent's face-up stack at the end of your movement phase. The "board" area is not limited to the starting configuration. You may move to any available space as long as it is adjacent to another stack.

As part of the movement phase, you may also change the order in which the tiles are stacked. This has to be done on the table so the other players may see. There can never be any more than 4 fighters in one face-up stack after your first turn (there may be more than four tiles if there are items attached).

Once movement is over, if there are any face-down stacks that are no longer adjacent to other stacks (face-up or face-down), they are removed from play.

10. The turn is over and the active player is the next player to the left.

Winning the Game

The game is over when there is one Leader remaining or all Leaders have been defeated. The player with the last Leader standing, wins. If all Leaders are defeated, the player with the most fighters left wins the game. If there is a tie, add the level numbers of the remaining fighters together. The player with the smallest total number, wins.

Glossary

Active: Part of the active player's army.

Active Player (you/your): The player who is taking their turn (going through the turn sequence).

Adjacent (orthoganol): To the left, right, top or bottom. Not diagonally.

Army: All the tiles chosen by a player for use in the game.

Attack Number: 4/5 - the top number on the fighter tiles.

Combat Location: This is the location where the active player has chosen to attack.

Combat Matchup (Lineup): Flipping and/or matching the targeted tiles with the active player's tiles.

Combat Round: A complete set of combat actions taken by one player.

Day Creatures: Humans, zombies and demons.

Defense Number: 4/5 - the bottom number on the tiles.

Face-Down Stack: A stack where 1 or more tiles are face down.

Face-Up Stack: A stack that has all of the tiles face up. Other players may not look at the tiles under the first one in the face up stacks.

Instant: An event that goes off immediately (after combat matchup is complete).

Night Creatures: Vampires, werewolves and ghouls.

Opposing Flipped Tile: The tile that was flipped and opposite the active player's tile.

Opposing Tile: The tile opposite another specified tile. Example: The tile matched up with the trap tile would be considered the opposing tile.

Special Ability/Restriction: Each fighter will have a special ability/restriction which will be written on the tile. They are the only word(s) on the tile.

Stack Restriction: No more than 4 fighters in any face-up stack.

Starting Tiles: The five tiles out of each "army" chosen to start the game.

Combat Example

The ghouls (active) are fighting the zombies. The combat was flipped from left to right. The first fighters compare numbers. The zombie will be killed because their defense number (2) is smaller than the opponent's attack number (4). The ghoul will survive as his defense number (5) is higher than the zombie's attack number (4). The zombie is then placed in the graveyard.

The second set of fighters compare numbers. The ghoul's attack number (3) is not high enough to defeat the zombie opposite it. He has an adjacent "Aid" fighter that can assist (who is currently matched up against the Leader). This will raise their attack value to 6 which will defeat the opposing zombie (4). The opposing zombie has enough attack (6) to defeat both of the "Aid" fighters. Therefore, the zombie as well as one of the "Aid" fighters are put into the graveyard. The active player chooses which "Aid" fighter, and they choose the one lined up opposite the zombie Leader. Since that fighter is in the graveyard, the zombie Leader will not participate in combat.

The surviving ghouls (2) and zombie are restacked and placed at their locations prior to combat.

[Diagram: sample combat matchup (not reproduced).]