LEDA
LEDA Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
LEDA is an asymmetric card game for two players, where each player embodies an animal clan with their own rules, objectives, and playstyle. Each player begins with a 4x4 grid of tiles, which they will modify during the game by upgrading them and playing clan cards onto them.
On each turn, the Action tile determines a zone of the grid to activate (row, column, square, etc.), triggering the effects located in that zone. Players must optimize their activations, manage their food (the main resource), and improve their engine in order to fulfill their clan's unique victory condition — all while racing for military victory!
Components
- 32 double-sided tiles (16 per player)
- 14 Cat cards (including 1 Victory Condition card)
- 12 Panda cards (including 1 Victory Condition card)
- 12 Shark cards (including 1 Victory Condition card)
- 12 Scorpion cards (including 1 Victory Condition card)
- 20 Food markers
- 9 Shark markers
- 18 Military Victory tokens
- 5 Action tiles
- 2 double sided player's aids (1 per player)
- 4 clan index sheets
- 1 rulebook
Setup
- Each player takes a set of 16 basic tiles (with the same symbol in the bottom right corner of their front side) and arranges them into a 4x4 grid in front of them, face up.
- Shuffle the 5 Action tiles face down and place them in a pile between the 2 players, in the center of the table.
- Shuffle the 18 Military Victory tokens face down and place them in a pile between the 2 players, in the center of the table.
- Place the Food tokens near the play area.
- The player who best imitates an animal sound becomes the first player for this game.
- In turn order, each player chooses a clan from the box and takes: their Victory Condition card (placed next to their action grid), their clan cards (shuffled into a face-down deck placed near the Victory Condition card) and any additional components related to that clan (such as Shark markers). Each player also takes a player aid and their clan's starting resources (3 cards and 1 Food for the 4 clans in this box), shown in the top left of their Victory Condition card: if a player is not satisfied with their starting hand, they may (once only) shuffle all their cards back into their deck and draw the same number again.
Tip: For a first game, we recommend choosing the Sharks and the Pandas.
How to Play
The game is played over a variable number of rounds, each proceeding as follows:
- Activation — 2) Military conflict — 3) Organization
1) Activation
The active player draws the top Action tile from the pile, reveals it, and chooses one activable zone of 4 squares on the grid from those indicated on the tile:
- Action tiles 1-4: a row, column, or square (2x2 zone) shown;
- Action tile 5: the 4 corner squares OR the 4 center squares.
The active player must then activate each square in the chosen zone, if possible, in any order they choose. Once they have resolved all effects, their opponent does the same.
Example: Pierrick draws and reveals Action tile #2. He can choose to activate the 2nd row, the 2nd column, or the top-right square. He decides to activate the latter and resolves the effects of each of his tiles and clan cards located there. Then, it is Renaud's turn to activate his effects in that same area.
Activate a Tile
There are 2 types of tiles (8 of each): permanent and temporary.
Permanent tiles are always activable and can be flipped to their reverse side through an Upgrade effect, making them more powerful in future activations.
- Front: When this tile is activated, gain 1 Food.
- Back: When this upgraded tile is activated, gain 2 Food.
Temporary tiles are flipped to their reverse side when activated and become Deserts. The flip effect allows you to turn Deserts back over, making the tile activable again.
- Front: When you activate this tile, gain one Military, then flip this tile to its Desert side.
- Back (Desert): This tile has no activable effect, but the effect from its front side is shown in the bottom right corner.
Activate a Clan Card
Clan cards have more powerful abilities, tailored to each clan's playstyle, and are described on their respective reference sheet.
IMPORTANT: Special activations (e.g., Awakening of the Pandas, Playing a Cats' Ring) are resolved after all other activations have been completed.
2) Military Conflict
Each player compares the number of military symbols they obtained during the activation phase: the player with the most military symbols draws the top Military Victory token from the pile, reveals it, and resolves its effect if there is one. If the players are tied in military symbols, nothing happens.
Example: The players compare their number of military symbols gained: Pierrick, who plays the Sharks, has obtained 2 because his clan's special activation provides him with 2 military symbols. Renaud has only obtained 1, from a temporary tile (which he then flipped to its Desert side). Pierrick wins the military conflict: he draws and reveals the 1st Military Victory token and resolves its effect: it provides 1 Military Victory symbol and immediately grants him 1 Food.
3) Organization
The active player then chooses one of two possible actions, followed by their opponent doing their choice.
Play a Clan Card
Choose a card from your hand and pay its cost (in Food for all clans, except sometimes for the Cats). Some cards, such as the Cats' Rings or certain Panda cards, cannot be played in this way.
Place this card in any space on your grid. You may place it on a Temporary tile (front side or Desert side), on a Permanent tile (upgraded or not) or on top of another clan card.
Example: Renaud spends 5 Food to play a Panda card. Then, he places it in a space of his choice in his grid: he chooses to place it on a Desert.
Swap the Position of 2 Cards and Gain 1 Food
Choose two of your cards (or tiles) and swap their positions: you may swap two clan cards, two tiles or one clan card and one tile. When swapping a clan card, move the tile beneath it along with the card. Then, gain 1 Food.
IMPORTANT: You are not required to swap to gain 1 Food.
Example: Pierrick may swap the position of 2 elements in his grid: he chooses to exchange his tile providing 1 Food with his Shark card that allows him to upgrade his tiles. Then he gains 1 Food.
End of Turn
The player who was not the active player becomes the new active player. If the 4th Action tile has been revealed (only one remains in the pile), shuffle all 5 Action tiles face down again and determine the new active player as follows: the player who controls the fewest symbols (on their Military Victory tokens) becomes the new active player.
In case of a tie, the player who was not the active player becomes the new active player.
Example: After 4 Action tiles have been revealed, they are shuffled face down together with the one remaining in the stack. Then, Pierrick will reveal the next tile, since Renaud has the most Military Victory symbols.
End of the Game
As soon as a player meets one of the victory conditions (clan victory or military victory), they immediately win the game!
Example: During the organization phase, Pierrick plays a Shark card and places a token on it: since he has just placed his 9th and final token, he immediately wins the game!
What's Next for Leda
Leda has not yet revealed all its secrets! Deep in the desert, shadows ripple across the burning sands. Amid the wildflowers, a thrumming of golden wings gathers around their Queen. In the depths of the abyss, creatures flap their tentacles and watch in silence. Near the rivers, the hammering of tireless builders can be heard. Soon, these forces will appear… and Leda's balance will waver once again.
Glossary
- Upgrade: Flip one of your permanent tiles to its upgraded side.
- Special activation: This effect depends on your clan and is shown on your Victory Condition card.
- Food: Food is used to play clan cards (with some exceptions).
- Flip: Turn this temporary tile on its Desert side.
- Desert: A Desert is a temporary tile flipped to its back side. It has no activation effect, but the front-side effect is reminded in the bottom right corner.
- Spy: Secretly look at the top element of a pile (your deck, the Action tile pile or the Military Victory token pile). Return it either to the top or the bottom of that pile.
- Draw: Add the top card of your deck to your hand.
- Awakening (Pandas only): This effect allows the Panda clan to play more powerful cards by replacing one of their Panda cards already in play. The Awakening effect must be triggered at least 5 times to win the game with a clan victory.
- Pack (Sharks only): Shark clan cards are more powerful when orthogonally adjacent to 2 Shark tokens.
- Portal (Scorpions only): The Scorpion clan must play its 4 Portals in the 4 corners of its action grid to win the game with a clan victory.
- Rotate (Cats only): When you activate a non-Ring Cat card, rotate it 180°: its second effect will then be available for a future activation. When this card is activated again, trigger its second effect, then rotate it 180° back to its original position.
Military Victory Token Effects
- x3: 1 Military victory symbol.
- x2: 2 Military victory symbols.
- x2: 1 Military victory symbol + Spy.
- x2: 1 Military victory symbol + Flip one of your Deserts to its front side so its effect can be activated again.
- x3: 1 Military victory symbol + upgrade one of your tiles.
- x2: 1 Military victory symbol + gain 1 Food.
- x2: 1 Military victory symbol + steal 1 Food to your opponent. If they have no Food, ignore this effect.
- x2: 1 Military victory symbol + draw 1 card.
Player Aid
On the front of the player aid, you will find a summary of the 3 phases of a turn: 1) Activation, 2) Military Conflict, 3) Organization.
On the back, you will find an indication of the maximum number of times a space in your grid can be activated during a cycle of 4 Action tiles. In addition, the spaces in the top-left (Action tile 1) and bottom-right (Action tile 4) are guaranteed to be activated when their corresponding Action tile is revealed, whether you are the active player or not.