High Heavens Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
  • Ringchips
• High Heavens Board
  • The Heavens
  • The Sideboards
• Pantheon Cards
  • God Cards
  • Divine Power Cards
• Object of the Game
• Game Setup
• Turn Sequence
  • Phase 1: Actions
  • Phase 2: Clean Up
  • Phase 3: Draw
• Additional Rules
• Alternate Rules
• Tips
• Quick Reference

Game Components

• 12 Norse god plastic minis
• 12 Greek god plastic minis
• Norse Pantheon and Greek Pantheon decks containing 24 cards in each.
• Asgard and Mount Olympus home base tiles and 2 markers used to track the home base health on the game board.
• 3 Action Point tokens used as currency for performing actions.

Ringchips

High Heavens utilizes Ringchips to show information directly on the battlefield, referred to as the Heavens. With the exception of architecture chips, Ringchips are always placed beneath their corresponding god figures or on Empty hexes in "stacks". The color of each Ringchip represents a different attribute or status, and has an accompanying icon found on game cards. There are 100 Ringchips in this box. It is recommended that the Ringchips beneath a god are stacked in the order shown in the manual (Disable, Trap, Poison, Armor Bonus, Attack Bonus, Health, Architecture as listed below).

• Disable/Trap (6) – Place a single black chip at the top of a god's stack to show that they are Disabled. This effect typically lasts a single round. Place black chips equal to the strength of the Trap at the bottom of a god's stack or on an Empty hex, but never on an Invoking hex. Traps can be attacked by any god not in the Trap or by a Divine Power. Disabled and Trapped gods may not perform actions.
• Poison (6) – Reduces a god's health by 1 point per attached Ringchip at the start of the turn for the player that controls the affected god. There is no limit to the number of Poison Ringchips that can be attached to a god.
• Armor Bonus (8) – Absorbs 1 point of damage per attached Ringchip present under a god. Armor Bonus does not disappear after absorbing an attack. A god may never possess more than 2 Armor Bonus Ringchips. Armor Bonus defends against any form of damage, except Poison, unless the source of the attack states otherwise.
• Attack Bonus (8) – Increases both Melee and Range damage by 1 for each Ringchip attached. A god may never possess more than 2 Attack Bonus Ringchips.
• Health (60) – 1 point of health for a god. Gods are invoked with a number of Health Ringchips beneath them equivalent to the Health shown on their Pantheon card. Remove or add Ringchips as gods are damaged or healed. A god may never increase their Health above their invoked amount.
• Architecture (12) – Used to represent structures (i.e. Hestia's Columns) that can be built in the Heavens by abilities or Divine Powers. Each Ringchip represents 1 point of health for that structure and can be attacked by any god or by a Divine Power. Architecture may never be deployed on an Invoking hex or an occupied hex unless specifically indicated.

NOTE: The total number of available Ringchips in High Heavens is shared between both players. If there are not enough Ringchips available to invoke a god, use a god's ability, or use a Divine Power card, then that action cannot be taken.

Ex: The Greek player is holding the Poseidon card in their hand. Poseidon has a starting Health of 10, yet there are only 8 Health Ringchips available at this time. The player may not invoke Poseidon, even if they were willing to have him enter the Heavens with only 8 Health Ringchips attached.

High Heavens Board

The High Heavens game board is made up of two areas, the Heavens and the Sideboards.

The Heavens

This is the main area of the game board represented by the hex grid. There are 4 types of hexes on this grid.

1. Empty Hex – Most of the hexes in the Heavens are considered Empty. However, when a standing god, Architecture, dropped Armor Bonus and/or Attack Bonus, or a Trap is present, the hex is considered Occupied and blocks movement and line of sight.
2. Invoking Hex – The three hexes behind each player's home base are the only locations where that player may invoke a god, unless otherwise specified by an ability or by a Divine Power. If there are no unoccupied Invoking Hexes then you may not bring a god into the game. Invoking Hexes are legal movement spaces, so it is important to move your gods off these spaces and to prevent opposing gods from occupying them.
3. Home Base Hex – Each Pantheon comes with a home base token which is placed on this hex at the start of the game. This is not a legal movement space and blocks line of sight. The home base can be targeted by attacks from gods and by Divine Powers.
4. Central Hex – The four hexes at the center of the Heavens are Empty Hexes that are occasionally referenced by abilities or by Divine Powers.

NOTE: High Heavens strictly obeys the "Empty Hex" rule. Unless specified by an ability, gods do not need "line of sight" to a target hex using a straight line. If a line of Empty Hexes can be connected between the god and the target hex then that is a legal path for a Move or Range Attack action. For details on actions, see Turn Sequence.

Empty Hex Rule example – Ares has a RANGE of 3 and can reach Thor even though Zeus stands between them. Movement works in the same way.

The Sideboards

5. Action Lane – Used to track the spending of Action Point tokens. Most actions in High Heavens require spending one Action Point. When performing an action, simply move an Action Point token from your side of the Action Lane to the opponent's to demonstrate that you have "paid" for your action.
6. Home Base Health – Using the tokens provided, use these numbers to denote the health of your home base.
7. Draw – Place your unused Pantheon cards face down in this location. Players never look at their Draw pile unless otherwise stated on a card or ability.
8. Discard – Place your used Pantheon cards face up in this location. The Discard pile is considered public information. Any player may look through this pile of cards. However, the order of cards in this pile must not be rearranged unless a card or power requires it.

Pantheon Cards

There are two types of cards in a Pantheon deck in High Heavens, God Cards and Divine Power Cards. Cards may only be played during the cardholder's turn. Please note that if the text on a Pantheon Card conflicts with anything printed in this manual, the text on the card should be followed.

God Cards

1. Name, Pantheon, and Title – While many gods in true mythology are the patron gods of multiple things, for the sake of simplicity they have been reduced to a single title in this game.
2. Health – When using an Invoke action, this is the starting health of the god as it enters play. Stack this number of Health Ringchips beneath the god when placing it in the Heavens. A god's health may never exceed this number.
3. Movement – A god may travel this number of Empty Hexes per Move action.
4. Range – The distance a god can reach with a ranged Attack action. A god may only perform a ranged attack if this number is 2 or higher.
5. Melee Power – The power of a god's Attack action when targeting an adjacent god.
6. Range Power – The power of a god's Attack action when targeting a god within Range distance.
7. Special Ability – Each god possesses a unique ability drawn from that god's mythology.
8. Mythos – The god's mythology and its relation to the special ability they possess.

Divine Power Cards

1. Title – The name of this Divine Power.
2. Pantheon / Type – The affiliated Pantheon and designated type. Action cards typically cost 1 Action Point to play.
3. Power – Explanation of rules for this Divine Power.

Object of the Game

High Heavens is a two player game and is won by performing ONE of the following feats.

• Eliminate your opponent's ENTIRE Pantheon of Gods
• Reduce the health of the opposing home base (Asgard or Mt. Olympus) to ZERO

Game Setup

1. Each player takes one Pantheon deck, the corresponding home base tile, the home base health token, and all of the god figures for that Pantheon.
2. Shuffle your Pantheon deck and place it in a Draw pile on your side of the Heavens.
3. Place your home base token (Asgard or Mount Olympus) on the Home Base Hex on your side of the Heavens.
4. Using a home base health marker, set your starting home base health to 30 points.
5. Choose any random event (ringchip flip, die roll, etc.) to determine who is the first player.
6. Place 2 Action Point tokens on the first player's side of the Action Lane. Place the third token on the second player's side. The first player always starts the game with only two actions.
7. Each player draws 5 cards from their Draw deck and into their hand. If your hand contains no God Cards, reveal it to your opponent, shuffle your entire deck, and draw 5 new cards. Do this as many times as necessary to guarantee a starting hand with at least one God Card present.

Turn Sequence

Each player's turn consists of three, simple phases. Consecutive turns from both players constitute a "round". Turns are taken until a player has completed one of the objectives detailed in the Object of the Game section above.

Phase 1: Actions

Almost everything you can do in High Heavens requires the spending of an Action Point. To spend an Action Point, simply move a token from your side of the Action Lane to your opponent's side. Always declare to your opponent what action you are performing, pay for that action before initiating it and finally resolve that action completely before moving to the next action.

On each turn, you have 3 Action Points to spend (with the only exception being the first player's first turn). Each of the actions below cost 1 Action Point and you may perform these in any order or combination, including the same action multiple times as long as you have Action Points to spend.

• Invoke – Take a god card from your hand and summon it to the Heavens, placing that god's mini figure and the appropriate number of Health Ringchips onto an unoccupied Invoking Hex on your side of the Heavens.
• Attack – Conduct a Melee attack on an adjacent target or a Range attack on a target within Range. Valid targets are gods, home bases, traps, and architecture. Do not forget to factor in Attack Bonus Ringchips and defending Armor Bonus Ringchips when calculating damage. See the "Empty Hex" example to better understand if a target is within Range.
• Move – Move a god and its stack of Ringchips any amount of hexes up to the number on its Movement attribute (plus any modifiers). A god may not move through Occupied Hexes. See the "Empty Hex" example to better understand valid movement. Stopping movement for any reason, such as performing another action, ends the Move action immediately.
• Acquire – When a god perishes while stacked with Armor Bonus and/or Attack Bonus, the bonus Ringchips are left on the Heavens. If a god is adjacent to a hex containing 1 or more bonus Ringchips, you may spend an Action Point to add some or all of those ringchips to that god's stack. Extra Ringchips are left on their hex and may be acquired by other gods.
• Use Special Ability – Every god has a Special Ability and many of those require spending an Action Point to use them. Follow the directions on the card for their specific use.
• Use a Divine Power Card – These typically require spending an Action Point to use them. Follow the directions on the card for their specific use.

Phase 2: Clean Up

After all Action Points have been spent, any fallen gods controlled by you are removed from the Heavens. You may discard any number of cards from your hand to the Discard pile to allow for more cards to be drawn during the next phase.

Phase 3: Draw

Draw cards from your Pantheon deck until you have 5 in your hand. Your hand may never contain more than 5 cards.

Additional Rules

• Standing, Fallen and Smiting – If a god loses all of its Health Ringchips it goes from "standing" to "fallen". Turn the god on its side and place it on its hex on top of any dropped Armor Bonus or Attack Bonus Ringchips. Fallen gods no longer act as an occupied hex and therefore do not block movement or attacks. If a fallen god is on an empty hex, then any other god may move through that hex, "smiting" the fallen god in the process. The fallen god is removed from the game board, ahead of the Clean Up phase for the controlling player. The term "perish" is used in game to describe the moment that a fallen god leaves the heavens due to clean-up or smiting. If a fallen god is lying on dropped bonus Ringchips, then the hex is considered occupied and as such blocks movement and line of sight.
• At the start of the game, no gods are allowed to leave the Invoking hexes until at least two of that player's gods have entered the Heavens.
• If there are no cards remaining in the draw pile, the game continues. There is no reshuffling of the draw pile.

Alternate Rules

• Omnipotence – To play High Heavens with no random elements, both players begin the game holding their entire deck of cards in their hand, ignoring the Draw phase of the Turn Sequence, but otherwise playing the game as normal.
• Rollin' Runes – If players want additional randomness or simply enjoy rolling dice, they may use any six-sided die to determine whether an attack is successful. 1-2 is a miss. 3-6 is a hit. This will extend the length of the game, but rolling dice is fun!
• Home is Where the Hearth Is – Feel free to experiment with different starting home base locations. The current locations were chosen to balance the defensive and aggressive strategies, but any location can be valid so long as both players agree to them.
• Four Players – High Heavens can be easily adapted to incorporate four players:
  • Team Norse consists of Player 1 and Player 2. Team Greek consists of Player 3 and Player 4.
  • Team Norse shares their Pantheon deck and gods and Team Greek shares their Pantheon deck and gods.
  • Player hands are now 3 cards instead of 5 cards.
  • Players only have 2 actions, instead of 3, and the first player only has 1 action on first turn.
  • Rounds are played as follows: Player 1, Player 3, Player 2, Player 4.
  • Teams may speak freely and share information about their hands and plans.
  • The columns of the hex grid are now divided into 3 sections.
  • Zone 1 and Zone 2 are the two outer groups of columns (shown in green and orange on the board diagram). The longest, center column is Zone 3.
  • The following restrictions are for movement only. Gods perform melee, range and special attacks across the zone boundaries:
    • Players 1 and 3 may only move in the Zone 1 and Zone 3.

Tips

• Keep an eye out for Special Abilities and Divine Powers that work well in combination. High Heavens was designed to encourage the use of combos, so take advantage of them.
• Be aggressive! Attack the opponent's home base whenever you can. It puts them on the defensive. It can be the fastest way to win a game of High Heavens!
• If your plastic figures are bent, they can be re-posed by placing them in hot water for a moment and posed before they cool. Please USE CAUTION!

Quick Reference

• Game Objective – Eliminate all of the gods in your opponents Pantheon OR reduce your opponent's home base health to zero.
• Turn Sequence – Phase 1: Actions – Perform any of the following repeatable actions for 1 Action Point each (Invoke, Attack, Move, Acquire, Special Ability, Divine Power Card). Phase 2: Clean Up – Remove any of your fallen gods from the board and discard cards from your hand if desired. Phase 3: Draw – Draw cards until you have no more than 5 in your hand.
• The Quick Reference page also repeats the Game Setup steps and the Ringchip descriptions given above.