Iron Man 2: Game of War Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Object
• Game of War Card Game (Beginner)
  • Setup
  • Play
  • Beginning a Round
  • Beginning a Battle
  • Standoffs
  • Ending a Battle
  • Ending a Round
  • Starting a New Round
  • Winning the Game
• Advanced Game of War Card Game
  • Setup
  • About the Special Cards
  • Play
  • Beginning a Round
  • Beginning a Battle
  • Battle Rules
  • Standoffs
  • Ending a Battle
  • Ending a Round
  • Starting a New Round
  • Winning the Game

Contents

• 55 Iron Man Battle Cards
• 5 Iron Man Victory Cards
• 55 War Machine Battle Cards
• 5 War Machine Victory Cards
• 2 Pawns

Object

Battle head-to-head in rounds. Win a round and move your pawn to the next Victory Card. The first player to reach the 5th Victory Card wins.

Game of War Card Game (Beginner)

For Younger Players. This simple War card game is designed to give younger players an easy introduction to the Iron Man Game of War Card Game. Older players may want to skip right to the rules for the Advanced Game of War Card Game.

Setup

Figure 1 shows a game set up and ready to play. Refer to it as you set up your game.

Figure 1. Introductory Game Setup. Diagram labels: War Machine Pawn, War Machine Battle Deck, War Machine's discard pile, Iron Man Battle Deck, Iron Man's discard pile, Iron Man Pawn.

1. Decide which card deck you'll use. The Iron Man player uses the red deck, and the War Machine player uses the black deck.
2. Remove the 5 Victory Cards and line them up point-side-up on your left, from 1-5. Place your pawn on top of Victory Card 1.
3. Remove all of the Special Cards (cards with special rules on the bottom), including the Final Attack card. Use only the Power Cards (cards with numbers only) in the beginner game. Place the other cards back in the box.
4. Shuffle your Power Cards and place the deck facedown next to your Victory Cards. This is your Battle deck.

Play

A round consists of three battles. The player who wins two of the three battles earns a victory point. Once you earn a victory point, move your pawn ahead to the next Victory Card. The first player to reach the 5th Victory Card is the overall winner.

Beginning a Round

To begin a round, deal yourself a seven-card hand from your Battle deck. Your opponent does the same. Take a look at your cards, but don't let your opponent see them.

Now choose three cards from your hand (one card for each battle) and place each card facedown in front of you, as shown in Figure 2. Your opponent does the same.

Figure 2. Placing Your Battle Cards. Choose and place three Battle Cards so they are facing your opponent's cards. Diagram labels: War Machine Battle Deck, Iron Man's discard pile, War Machine Pawn, Iron Man Battle Deck, Iron Man Pawn, War Machine's discard pile.

Beginning a Battle

After you have chosen and placed your three Battle Cards, the first battle begins.

1. You and your opponent flip over the first card (the card on the Iron Man player's left, and on War Machine's right) at the same time.
2. Compare the cards to see which Attack Value is higher.
   • If your card has the higher Attack Value, you win the battle.
   • If your card has the lower Attack Value, you lose the battle.
   • If the Attack Value of both cards is equal, then you and your opponent are in a standoff.

Standoffs

If both cards have the same attack value, it's a standoff. To resolve the standoff, you and your opponent each play one additional card from your hands at the same time. (Put the card facedown in front of you. Then you each flip your card over at the same time.) Do this as many times as needed until there is a clear winner.

If you both run out of cards it's a draw, and no one wins the battle.

Ending a Battle

If you lost the battle, take your cards played during that battle and put them in your discard pile. If you won the battle, leave your cards on the table to record the fact that you won that battle.

A draw occurs when there is a standoff and neither player has cards left in his hand. At this point, both you and your opponent put the Battle Cards played in that battle into your discard piles. This battle was a draw and neither side won.

Ending a Round

After resolving the first battle, play the second and third battles the same way. You must win at least two out of the three battles to win the round. If neither player won at least two battles (because of a draw), then no one wins the round.

You and your opponent place all played cards in your discard piles.

If you win the round, move your pawn onto the next Victory Card.

If a round ends in a draw, no one moves a pawn.

Starting a New Round

Make sure you have already discarded any cards leftover in your hand from the last round. Draw seven new cards from your Battle Card deck. (If your Battle Card deck runs out, just shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.) Then choose and place your three battle cards to begin the new round.

Winning the Game

Keep playing until one player moves their pawn onto their fifth Victory Card. That player wins the game!

Advanced Game of War Card Game

For Older Players.

Setup

In this game, you use all of the cards included in the game.

Set up your cards as described in the Beginner Game, but skip Step 3.

About the Special Cards

Each deck contains 20 Cards that allow you to do something . . . well, special during a battle. Whenever you play a Special Card, follow the instructions at the bottom of the card. Use them strategically to give yourself the edge!

Note: Special Cards have an attack value of zero when played alone, except for the powerful Final Attack card, which has an Attack Value of 6.

Play

A round consists of three battles.

Beginning a Round

To begin the first round, deal yourself a seven-card hand from your Battle Card deck. Your opponent does the same. Take a look at your cards, but don't let your opponent see them.

Now choose three cards from your hand (one card for each battle) and place each card facedown in front of you. Your opponent does the same.

Beginning a Battle

After you and your opponent have placed your three Battle Cards, the first battle begins.

1. Flip your first Battle Cards faceup (the card on the Iron Man player's left, and on War Machine's right) at the same time.
2. Compare the two cards. Unlike the Beginner game, you and your opponent will have the choice to place more than one card during each battle. (See the boxed Gameplay Example, Figure 3.) The battle is now engaged. Continue according to the Battle Rules below.

Figure 3. Gameplay Example. In this example, War Machine placed a 5 attack card and Iron Man placed a 3 attack card. Because Iron Man is losing the battle, he must place another card or concede. Iron Man places a 3 attack card, placing him ahead one point. War Machine then places a 3 attack card, so he is ahead 2 points (8-6). Iron Man then places the Energy Shield special card, allowing him to discard one of War Machine's cards. He chooses War Machine's 5 Attack Card. War Machine will have to discard this card leaving him with only 3 points. Play continues until one player is losing and decides to concede.

Battle Rules

• If the total Attack Value of your played cards is higher than the Attack Value of your opponent's cards, you are winning the battle. If the Attack Values are equal, then the player with more played cards is winning. If the Attack Values and the number of played cards are equal, then you and your opponent are in a standoff (see Standoffs).
• If you are losing the battle, you have two options: You can try to take the lead (or cause a standoff) or you can concede the battle (see Ending a Battle). If you do not want to concede, play a card from your hand. If you are still losing the battle, you have the choice to play another card or concede. Continue to play one card at a time until you take the lead, cause a standoff, have no more cards, or decide to concede.
• If you are losing the battle and have no more cards in your hand, you must concede the battle.
• When playing additional Battle Cards, place them so that the tops of all previously played cards can be seen and totaled.
• When you draw the last card from your Battle Card deck, shuffle your discard pile and use it as your new draw pile.
• You may play more than one UPGRADE card in a battle, but only the first one doubles the value of your played cards. Additional UPGRADE cards played have a value of zero and do not affect your total Attack Value. They will count towards your number of cards played.

Standoffs

To resolve a standoff, both you and your opponent play one card from your hand at the same time, then total the Attack Values. Do this as many times as needed until one of you takes the lead. (If you both run out of cards it's a draw, and no one wins the battle.)

If there is a standoff and you run out of cards, your opponent must play a card. If your opponent runs out of cards, then you must play a card.

If you and your opponent both play Special Cards during a standoff or at the beginning of a battle, these cards cancel each other: Ignore their directions and discard both of them. Continue the battle with new cards from your hands.

Ending a Battle

A battle ends when one player concedes the battle or when the battle ends in a draw. You may concede at any point that you are losing the battle. You must concede when you are losing and have no more cards in your hand. You cannot concede a battle during a standoff or when you are winning the battle.

When you concede a battle, take your cards played during that battle and put them in your discard pile.

When you win a battle, leave your cards on the table to record the fact that you won. A draw occurs when there is a standoff and neither player has cards left in his hand. At this point, you and your opponent put the Battle Cards you played in that battle into your discard piles. This battle was a draw and neither side won.

Ending a Round

After resolving the first battle, play the second and third battles the same way. The round ends after the third battle is finished.

You and your opponent place all played cards in your discard piles. Keep any unplayed cards in your hand.

If you win more battles than your opponent, you win the round! Move your pawn up one Victory Card. If you win all three battles in a round, move your pawn up two Victory Cards!

If no one wins a majority (or at least 2) of the battles (because of one or more draws), then no one moves their pawn.

Starting a New Round

Draw seven new cards from your Battle Card deck, and add them to any cards you have leftover from the previous round. (If your Battle Card deck runs out, just shuffle the discard pile to create a new deck.) Then choose and place your three battle cards to begin the new round.

Winning the Game

Keep playing until one player moves their pawn onto their 5th Victory Card. That player wins the game!