King's Bounty Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• About the Game
• Components
  • 48 Troop Cards
  • 36 Possession Cards, of which:
  • 21 Title Cards
  • 1 Last Player Card
• Setup
• Course of Play
  • A) Play a Card
  • B) Return Cards
• End of Game
• Titles
  • Emperor
  • Great Architect
  • Keeper of Secrets
  • Conqueror
  • Elf King, Gnome Thane, Orc Chieftain, Lord of the Dead
  • Commander, Elf Prince, Gnome Prince, Orc Prince, Undead Prince
  • Sharpshooter, Swordmaster, Grand Magister
  • Tower Builder, Fortress Builder, Citadel Builder
  • Vandal and Staff Rat

About the Game

King's Bounty is a card game based on the eponymous computer bestseller. With armies of five peoples (elves, gnomes, undead, orcs and humans), players will seize fortresses and obelisks, scoring victory points. However, the main struggle unfolds over titles, which are far more valuable for victory than possessions. At the end of the game, players who have met the conditions of titles receive them together with the victory points due, and then the winner is determined.

Components

48 Troop Cards

Each troop card shows its troop strength, its people, and its troop type. Troop strength is shown in the top left corner; heroes and monsters have a special strength.

• Peoples: humans, elves, gnomes, undead, orcs.
• Troop types: archer, warrior, wizard, hero, monster.

Each people except humans has 9 troop cards: 3 archers, 2 warriors, 2 wizards, 1 hero and 1 monster. Humans have 4 archers, 3 warriors, 3 wizards, 1 hero and 1 monster.

36 Possession Cards, of which:

• 24 castle cards. Each castle card shows its castle strength, its people, and its castle type: tower, fortress or citadel. Each people except humans has 6 castles: 2 towers, 2 fortresses and 2 citadels. Humans have no castles.
• 12 obelisk cards. Each obelisk card shows its victory points, its obelisk strength and its obelisk symbol. The game has 4 obelisks each of strength 1, 2 and 3. All obelisks are neutral (they do not belong to any people), and each one is worth 2 victory points.

21 Title Cards

Each title card shows its victory points and its condition. Some titles are marked with the large icon of a people.

1 Last Player Card

Setup

Shuffle the title cards and lay out 6 of them face up in the middle of the table. These are the titles you will compete for. Return the remaining title cards to the box; they do not take part in this game.

For experienced players: after laying out the 6 titles face up, deal each player one more title. Players hold these titles in hand without showing them to opponents. They are revealed and awarded only at the end of the game.

Shuffle the troop cards and possession cards together into one deck. Deal 6 cards from this deck to each player. Players keep their cards secret from opponents. Choose the first player at random. The player to the right of the first player receives the last player card. This card stays with that player until the end of the game.

If you are playing with two or three players, remove some cards before the start of the game:

• Two players: return to the box all troop and castle cards of any two peoples (except humans), the matching titles (with the large icons of those peoples), and 2 obelisks each of strength 1, 2 and 3.
• Three players: return to the box all troop and castle cards of any one people (except humans), the matching titles (with the large icon of that people), and 1 obelisk each of strength 1, 2 and 3.

Course of Play

Players take turns, passing the turn clockwise. On your turn you must perform one of two actions:

• A) play a card and draw a card from the deck, or
• B) return any number of cards from your hand to the bottom of the deck, and then draw the same number of cards from the deck.

You cannot decline the action on your turn, and you cannot perform both actions in one turn. After you, your left-hand neighbour takes a turn.

A) Play a Card

Play one card from your hand. Different cards are played in different ways.

Possession card (castle or obelisk). Place it in front of you. It is now your possession, until someone takes it!

Troop card. Play it on any possession on the table, either your own or another player's. To play a troop card of orcs, elves, gnomes or undead, you must own a castle of that people (a card of that people must lie in front of you). Humans have no castles of their own, so their troops can always be played.

Example: you cannot play an undead troop if you do not own at least one undead castle.

When you play an archer, warrior or wizard on your own possession, this troop becomes the garrison of that castle or obelisk. Place it on the possession card. Now, to capture your possession, opponents must exceed the strength of the garrison!

Example: you played a warrior (strength 3) on your tower (strength 1). Now this tower is defended against enemy attacks with strength 3.

Important: each possession can have only one garrison. If you want to play a troop on a possession of yours that already has a garrison, you must discard the old garrison.

You can capture another player's possession by playing an archer, warrior or wizard on it. The strength of the troop you play must be higher than the strength of the possession. If the possession has a garrison whose strength is higher than the possession's strength, you must exceed the strength of the garrison instead.

After capturing, discard the opponent's garrison (if there was one) and place the captured possession card in front of you. The troop you played to capture it becomes the garrison of your new possession.

Example: to capture an enemy tower (strength 1) that has archers (strength 2) in it, you must play a warrior (strength 3) or a wizard (strength 4).

A foreign possession can also be captured with a hero. A hero always wins, regardless of the strength of the possession or its garrison. However, the hero does not stay in the captured possession, but sets off in search of new adventures. Discard the opponent's garrison from that possession (if there was one) and the hero you played. Then place the captured possession card in front of you.

Example: with a hero you can capture a possession even if wizards are dug in there. Ordinary troops cannot knock out wizards, since nobody has strength 5.

A monster destroys any possession on the table together with the garrison there. When you play a monster, discard the possession card you chose, the garrison on it (if any), and the monster itself.

Example: by playing a monster you destroy an enemy citadel together with its garrison of archers.

Cards are discarded in these cases:

• on an ordinary capture of a possession, or when a garrison is replaced (the old garrison is discarded);
• on a capture by a hero (the hero and the garrison are discarded);
• on destruction by a monster (the possession, the garrison and the monster are discarded).

Discarded cards leave the game until its end. Set them aside so that they are not confused with the cards still in play.

If, as a result of your turn, someone gained or lost a title, that player takes or gives up the corresponding card.

You may distribute titles less often, for example at the end of each turn of the last player. Titles bring victory points only at the end of the game; their distribution during play is needed only so that all players can see how close each opponent is to victory.

At the end of the turn, take the top card of the deck into your hand. In this way you again have 6 cards in hand. Pass the turn to your left neighbour.

B) Return Cards

If you cannot or do not want to play any card, you may return to the bottom of the deck any number of cards from your hand (in any order, but at least one card), and then take the same number of cards from the top of the deck. In this way you again have 6 cards in hand. Immediately after this, pass the turn to your left neighbour.

End of Game

If the last card has been taken from the deck, the game is nearing its end. Continue taking turns as usual (of course, you no longer take cards from the deck) until the turn comes to the last player. He makes the final turn of the game, and after that the winner is determined.

Players award titles according to their conditions. After this, each player counts his victory points from titles and obelisks. The player with more points becomes the winner. If several players have equal points, the winner is the one among them who sits closest to the first player, counting clockwise from that player.

Titles

Titles are the main source of victory points. At the start of the game you choose at random which titles will take part in the game. During play you may distribute titles as often as you like. This is done only so that you can follow which titles each opponent is working toward. The final distribution of titles and the scoring of points for them take place only at the end of the game.

The title card states the condition under which a player receives it. Two players cannot hold the same title at the same time: if both of them have met the required condition, the title is not awarded.

Emperor

Awarded to the player who owns castles of the greatest number of different peoples. For example, if a player has castles of three different peoples, while his opponents have castles of only two different peoples or of just one, this player receives the title. Since only four peoples have castles in the game, a player can own castles of at most four peoples; if by the end of the game several players have castles of the same maximum number of peoples, the title is not awarded.

Great Architect

Awarded to the player who owns the greatest number of castles (with and without garrisons, of any peoples). Obelisks are not counted as castles.

Keeper of Secrets

Awarded to the player who owns the greatest number of obelisks (with and without garrisons). The obelisks themselves also bring their owner victory points. Castles are not counted as obelisks.

Conqueror

Awarded to the player who has the most possessions (castles and obelisks) with garrisons.

Elf King, Gnome Thane, Orc Chieftain, Lord of the Dead

Awarded to the player who owns the greatest number of castles of the corresponding peoples (elves, gnomes, orcs, undead). The strength of these castles, and the people to which their garrisons belong, have no significance.

Commander, Elf Prince, Gnome Prince, Orc Prince, Undead Prince

Awarded to the player who has the most possessions (castles and obelisks) with garrisons of the corresponding peoples (humans, elves, gnomes, orcs, undead). The strength of these garrisons, and the people to which the castles where they stand belong, have no significance.

Sharpshooter, Swordmaster, Grand Magister

Awarded to the player who has the most possessions (castles and obelisks) with garrisons of the corresponding troops (archers, warriors, wizards). It does not matter which people these garrisons belong to, or the castles in which they stand.

Tower Builder, Fortress Builder, Citadel Builder

Awarded to the player who owns the greatest number of the corresponding castles (towers, fortresses, citadels). It does not matter which people these castles belong to, or whether they have garrisons.

Vandal and Staff Rat

Awarded to the player who last played the corresponding card (monster or hero). Unlike the other titles, these are always awarded immediately after the required card is played. The title may later pass to another player if that player plays a card of this kind. Note that these titles take away victory points rather than give them.

If these titles have been dealt into players' hands (in the game for experienced players), they must be revealed and awarded as soon as the required card is played. From then on these titles change hands in the same way as if they had been open from the very start of the game.