Meeple War Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
  • For Each Player
  • For All the Players
• Territories & Buildings Description
  • Territories
  • Buildings
• Setup
• Quickstart Game
• Object of the Game
• Game Turn
  • Phases in a Turn
  • 1. Territory Bonus
  • 2. Workers Movement
  • 3. Buildings Actions
  • 4. Meeple Movement on the Battlefield
    • Exceptions
  • 5. Resolution
    • Exploration
    • Battles
      • Exceptions
    • Destroying Building
• Bravery
• Territory Upgrades
• End of the Game
• Buildings Actions List
• Structure Territory Bonus List
• Special Territories
• Credits

Game Components

For Each Player

• 13 wooden Meeples of your color
• 10 double-sided Buildings in your color (Construction on one side, the Building on the other)
• 4 Workers
• 1 Village Enclosure surrounded by a river
• 1 Village Gate
• 1 Reputation Mountain: Meeples placed here will show the victory points you've scored during the game.
• 1 Tree Hiding the Forest
• 1 Depot

For All the Players

• 36 double-sided Territories (a plain on one side, a Territory on the other)

  Note: the 11 Territories used for setup have a different illustration on the back.

• 5 Territory Upgrade Tokens

• 1 Bravery Point Ladder

• 1 Hammer Token: indicates the Active Player

Territories & Buildings Description

Territories

Territories are double-sided. The back has an empty field.

Note: To sort them quickly, the 11 Territories that are used during setup have a different illustration on the back.

There are 3 types of Territories:

• Blank Territories: they are empty Territories. Some of them are partly surrounded by forest.

• Structures: these Territories can give you a bonus. To get the bonus, you must have at least 2 Meeples on a structure at the beginning of your turn.

  Note: Bonuses from Territories are temporary. To benefit from it, you must take possession of the Territory by having at least two Meeples on it at the beginning of your turn. The bonus effects are listed under Structure Territory Bonus List below, with a Quick Reference located on the back cover.

  The Structure tiles are: Shields Forge (1), Weapons Forge (1), Wooden Tower (5), Stone Tower (1), Workshop (4), Village (3), Druid Hut (2). (The number in parentheses is how many tiles of that structure are in the game.)

• Special Territories: there are 3 types:

  • The 2 Ancient God Altars will allow you to bring down one of your opponent's Meeples by making a sacrifice!
  • The 3 Mine Tunnels will allow Meeples to move quickly from one tunnel to another.
  • The 2 Caverns will allow your Meeples to move through the underground passages.

  Note: Rules for the Special Territories are explained under Meeple Movement on the Battlefield and Special Territories below.

Buildings

A Building tile has an "Under Construction" side, showing the defenses of the building during construction, the Worker starting position, the construction path, and the "Construction's end" space (flip the Territory to the Building side there). Once flipped to its Building side, it shows the building defenses, the starting space, the action path, and the action spaces.

Note: All Building actions are explained under Buildings Actions List below. There's also a Quick Reference on the back cover.

The Building tiles are: Village Square, Looters Guild, Military Academy, Airship Company, Pilot School, Entrepreneurs Guild, University, Abbey, Factory, Catapult.

Setup

Sort out the 11 Setup Territories. Then, place the Tower tiles, the Plains tiles, and the Mine tiles in the center of the table, using a layout determined by the number of players (see the diagrams for 2, 3, and 4 players).

Each player chooses a color and takes the matching pieces:

• 13 Meeples
• 10 Buildings
• 4 Workers
• 1 Village Enclosure
• 1 Village Gate
• 1 Reputation Mountain
• 1 Depot
• 1 Tree Hiding the Forest

Shuffle the Territories and place them in a face-down pile next to the board.

Note: Shuffle any unused Setup Territories into this pile, along with the other Territories.

Place the 5 Territory Upgrade Tokens and the Bravery Points Ladder next to the board.

Place 1 Meeple of each color on the 0 space of the Bravery Points Ladder.

Around the Setup Territories, each player places their Village Enclosure with their Village Square and their Gate on top, as shown in the 4-players setup example.

Each player places their Depot, Reputation Mountain, Meeples, Workers, their Tree Hiding the Forest, and their 9 remaining Buildings close to their village.

Each player places 2 of their Meeples on their Depot, and 1 of their Workers on the starting space of the action path of their Village Square.

Note: The Village Square Territory has a unique reverse side so it can be easily found. It is also the only Building with 6 defense points.

To determine the first player, each player proclaims their greatest insult to their opponents. The one whose insult is best is given the Hammer Token, showing them as the Active Player. They will take the first turn in the game.

Note: For a quickstart game setup, see the Quickstart Game section below.

Quickstart Game

For a quickstart game, each player starts with 3 of their Buildings already built.

Note: the rest of the set up remains the same.

The players start with the following Buildings:

• 1st player: the Village Square, Pilot School, and Factory.
• 2nd player: the Village Square, Catapult, and Entrepreneurs Guild.
• 3rd player (if needed): the Village Square, Military Academy, and Abbey.
• 4th player (if needed): the Village Square, Looters Guild, and University.

Object of the Game

The game ends as soon as a player gets at least 6 Victory Points during their turn. The player with the most Victory Points wins.

There are 3 ways to collect Victory Points:

• By collecting Bravery Points for destroying an opponent's Meeple (7 Bravery Points equals 1 Victory Point);
• By destroying enemy Buildings (1 Victory Point for each Defense Point);
• By controlling Tower Territories (1 or 2 Victory Points, depending on the Tower).

Game Turn

Each player completes all of the turn Phases, in order, during their turn. Then, they give the Hammer Token to the next player, moving clockwise. That player then becomes the Active Player.

Phases in a Turn

1. Territory Bonus
2. Workers Movement
3. Complete Actions on Buildings
4. Meeple Movement on the Battlefield
5. Resolution

1. Territory Bonus

At the beginning of your turn, if you have 2 or more Meeples on a Structure, you receive the structure bonus.

Note: Some Structure Bonuses remain in effect for the full round. You only need to check once to see if 2 Meeples are on the Structure to gain the bonus. If the Meeples move off of the Structure during the turn, the bonus is still active until the end of the Round.

Note: Structure Bonuses are explained under Structure Territory Bonus List below and a Quick Reference is on the back cover.

2. Workers Movement

In this Phase, each Worker on a Construction or Action Path is moved forward one space.

Aside from the Village Square, Buildings will enter the game with their Construction Site face up and with a Worker on the starting space of the Construction Path (see Buildings Actions List below).

There can only be one Worker on each Building.

When a Worker reaches the Construction's End space of a Building's Construction Path, flip the Building over and place the Worker on the Action Path in the starting position.

Most Action Paths offer branching options at different points. When a Worker reaches one of these points, the player must choose one of the paths for the Worker to follow. When a Worker is on the last space of an Action Path, their next move will place them back at the starting space of the Action Path.

Each Worker has to be moved each turn. They cannot stay in the same place or move backward.

Note: You need to move your Workers before doing the Building Actions. Otherwise, it is easy to forget which Workers have already moved or not.

3. Buildings Actions

For each Worker reaching the Building Action at the end of a Building's Action Path, the player performs the Action matching the Icon.

If a player needs to perform multiple Building Actions on the same turn, they can do them in any order they wish.

Note: All Building Actions are listed under Buildings Actions List below and there is a Quick Reference on the last page.

4. Meeple Movement on the Battlefield

Each Meeple standing on a Territory may move:

• To an adjacent Territory (adjacent with a side and not a corner). Meeples cannot move through forests at the edge of a Territory.
• To an empty adjacent space (from a side), to Explore (see Exploration below).
• To an adjacent opponent Building (from the side). The Meeple is placed in one of the empty Defense spaces of the Building being attacked.

A player can never move their own Meeples to their own Buildings (except if a Conversion occurs, see Buildings Actions List below).

A Meeple placed on a Defense space cannot be destroyed or moved. They remain in that space until the Building is destroyed or until a Conversion occurs (see Destroying Building below and Conversion in the Buildings Actions List).

A player may have multiple Meeples in the same Territory, on the same empty space, or Attacking the same enemy Building.

If a player moves their Meeples to a Territory occupied by an opponent's Meeples, a Battle will occur (see Battles below).

Note: Meeples are not allowed to move to an empty space inside a village.

Exceptions

• Caverns: instead of their usual 1 movement, Meeples leaving a Cavern Territory can move into any other Territory within 2 spaces with no limitations. Forests do not affect Cavern movement. However, a Meeple cannot move to a Building space or an empty space when moving from a Cavern.
• Ancient God Altars: after moving, if a player places 1 or more Meeples onto an Ancient God Altar, they must sacrifice 1 of those Meeples to an ancient god. After sacrificing a Meeple, the player can destroy an opponent's Meeple in a Territory up to 2 spaces away from the Altar. If they destroy an enemy Meeple, they win a Bravery Point (move their Meeple one step up the Bravery Point Ladder). The sacrificed Meeple and the destroyed Meeple both go back to their owner's stock. This can only happen once a turn for each Ancient God Altar. If there are no enemy Meeples within 2 spaces, no enemies are destroyed, but a Meeple must still be sacrificed.
• The Mine Tunnel: when a Meeple enters a Mine Tunnel Territory, if there are no enemy Meeples present, they can immediately be placed on another exit to the Tunnel. Meeples already in a Mine Tunnel Territory can be placed on another exit of the tunnel, instead of their normal movement.

Note: If a Meeple moves onto an Altar or a Mine Tunnel Territory occupied by an opponent's Meeple, a Battle (see below) will be done first before the Tunnel or Altar effect happens.

5. Resolution

Explorations, Battles, and Building Destruction are resolved in the following order:

Exploration

After moving, if a player placed 1 or more Meeples into an empty space, they will Explore that location. The player draws the Territory from the top of the pile and places it in the space they explored, face up, under their Meeple(s). If the new Territory has forests on some of its sides, the player must place it such that it is accessible from the adjacent Territory from where the exploring Meeples came from.

If a player Explored more than one location, resolve each one individually, in an order chosen by the player.

If the drawn Territory is an Ancient God Altar, the player must apply the effect immediately (see the Ancient God Altars exception above).

Battles

After moving, if there are Meeples from different players in the same Territory, there is a Battle. To resolve a Battle, both players simultaneously remove their own Meeples, 1 at a time, from the Territory until only one player has any Meeples left.

Removed Meeples are destroyed and go back to their owner's stock.

The Active Player gains 1 Bravery Point for each opponent Meeple destroyed.

The defending player gains 1 Bravery Point for every 2 of their opponent's Meeples destroyed. They do not gain any points if they only destroyed 1 Meeple. They only gain points for each full count of 2 Meeples destroyed.

For each Bravery Point earned, move the player's Meeple up 1 step on the Bravery Ladder.

Exceptions

• If the defending player controls the Shields Forge Structure Territory, before the Battle starts, destroy 1 of the opponent's Meeples.
• If the attacking player controls the Weapons Forge Structure Territory, before the Battle starts, destroy 1 of the opponent's Meeples.

If a player has a Worker on the Recycling Action space, that player's destroyed Meeples don't go back to their stock, but instead go directly to their Depot.

Destroying Building

At any point, if the last Defense Space on a Building is filled, the Building is destroyed. Players whose Meeples were on those spaces will place those Meeples onto their Reputation Mountain. Each Meeple placed there counts as a Victory Point. Those Meeples stay out of play for the rest of the game.

The destroyed Building is permanently removed from the game and placed back in the box.

The Worker that was on the destroyed Building goes back into the player's stock.

Bravery

During their turn, a player gains 1 Bravery Point for each of their opponent's Meeples that they destroy.

Players can earn Bravery when defending in battle, gaining 1 Bravery Point for every 2 of their opponent's Meeples they destroy.

For each Bravery Point gained, the player moves their Meeple up 1 step on the Bravery Points Ladder.

When a player reaches the top of the Ladder (by gaining 7 Bravery Points), they gain 1 Victory Point, taking a Meeple from their Stock (or from their Depot or the game board if they have no more in their Stock). Then, they move their Meeple back down to the 0 space on the Bravery Points Ladder.

If there are still some Bravery points left, the Meeple starts again from the 0 space of the ladder.

Territory Upgrades

At any time during the game (during their turn or an opponent's turn), a player can use 1 of their tokens to modify a Territory tile.

The Territory Upgrade Tokens (which you may have previously earned with one of the University Building actions) can only be placed on a Blank Territory (neither a Structure nor a special Territory) that has not already been upgraded.

After the upgrade, the Territory is considered a Structure Territory, giving, to any player controlling it, the matching bonus.

The Tree Hiding the Forest token can be placed on the side of any Territory. After the token is placed, the territory is considered as if it does not have forest on that side anymore. Those tokens cannot be moved or removed after their first use.

End of the Game

The game ends as soon as a player reaches at least 6 Victory Points during their turn.

A player has:

• 1 Victory Point for each Meeple standing on their Reputation Mountain.
• 1 Victory point for each Tower symbol on a Tower Territory they control (2 of their Meeples are on the Territory at the beginning of their turn).

Note: These points are not lost for the turn if the Meeples move.

The player with the most Victory Points wins the Meeple War!

In case of a tie, the player with the most Bravery Points wins. In case of a second tie, the player with the most Meeples standing on the battlefield or a Building wins. If there is a tie again, the tied players need to play a new game of Meeple War to decide who wins!

Buildings Actions List

Building Construction (X) Choose a Building from the ones you have left. Place it with its Under Construction side up on 1 of the 4 possible spaces within your village. Place a Worker from your stock on the starting position of the building path. If the chosen space is occupied, the new Building takes the place of the old one. The old Building goes back on the available buildings pile, and it will be possible to rebuild it later on. If the old Building had Defense spaces occupied by opponents' Meeples, those are immediately transformed into Victory Points by being placed on the matching players' Reputation Mountain.

End of Construction As soon as a Worker reaches the End of Construction space, this Building is flipped to its Finished Building side. Then, the Worker is placed on the starting space of the Action Path. If there were any opposing Meeples on the Defense spaces on the building when it is finished being constructed, they go back to the player's stock. Those Meeples are not turned into Victory Points.

Meeples Assembly (X) Place X Meeples from your stock onto your Depot.

Deploy Troops (X) Place up to X Meeples from your Depot onto the Territory in front of your Village Gate.

Reinforcement (X) Place up to X Meeples from your Depot onto 1 Territory where you already have at least 1 Meeple, or onto the Territory in front of your Village Gate.

Flying Troops (+/−) Place 1 Meeple from your Depot onto each Territory occupied by at least 1 of your Meeples.

Note: If you do not have enough Meeples to carry out a Deploy Troops, Reinforcement, or Flying Troops Action, place all of the available troops from your Depot that you can. You do not gain extra Meeples to finish the action.

Stealth Flying Troops Place 1 Meeple from your Depot onto a Territory adjacent to a Territory occupied by at least 1 opponent Meeple.

Frightened Opponent Troops (X) Move X opponent Meeples from 1 or more Territories to adjacent Territories. This action can lead to a sacrifice on an Altar or a battle, which is resolved immediately. The Bravery Points created by that sacrifice or that battle are gained by the players that own the frightened Meeples.

Burn an Opponent's Army Destroy all the opponent's Meeples standing in 1 single Territory and gain the same amount of Bravery Points. The destroyed Meeples go back to the matching player's stock.

Bomb a Building Place a Meeple from your stock (or, if your stock is empty, from your Depot or from a Territory) on an empty Defense space of an opponent's Building.

Recycling As long as 1 of your Workers is placed on the Recycling Action Space (whether on your turn or an opponent's turn), all your destroyed Meeples go directly back to your Depot, instead of your stock like usual. This happens no matter which way the Meeples are destroyed (Battles, Ancient God Altar, Burn, etc.)

Conversion Switch 1 of the Meeples standing in a Defense space of a Building with 1 of your Meeples from your stock or, if your stock is empty, from your Depot or a Territory. This can happen on 1 of your Buildings or on an opponent's Building.

Productivity Move 1 of your Workers 1 extra step forward this turn.

Territory Upgrade Choose a Territory Upgrade token from those available and place it in your stock. You can use this token at any point in the game (during your turn or an opponent's turn) to upgrade a Blank Territory (see Territory Upgrades above).

Note: It is only possible to send assembled Meeples to the Territories. So, for each action that places Meeples on a Territory, if there are not enough Meeples in the player Depot, the rest of the action effect is lost. If Meeples are deployed in a Territory occupied by opponents, their movement stops there for this turn and a Battle will occur at the end of the Meeple movement phase.

Structure Territory Bonus List

Reminder: To get the Structure Territory Bonus, a player needs to have, at the beginning of their turn, at least 2 of their Meeples on the Structure or Blank Territory with a Territory Upgrade token on it. If, during that turn, the player moves those Meeples, they do not lose the Bonus benefit for the turn.

Meeple Assembly (Druid Hut) Place 1 Meeple from your stock onto your Depot.

Deploy One Meeple (Village) Place 1 Meeple from your Depot onto the Territory in front of your Village Gate or on the Village Territory (the one giving you that Bonus).

Note: If you do not have enough Meeples for this deployment, place all the available ones (but the rest of the bonus is lost).

Nature Control (Workshop) For this turn, all your Meeples can move through forests.

Weapon Forge For this turn, in each battle, destroy 1 opponent's Meeple before the Battle.

Shields Forge As the defender player, destroy 1 opponent's Meeple before each Battle.

Towers You gain 1 Victory Point for each symbol on the Tower Territory you control at the beginning of your turn.

Note: These points are temporary. They are NOT marked on the Reputation Mountain. These points are not lost FOR THIS TURN if you lose control of the Tower.

Special Territories

Cavern Instead of their normal movement, Meeples starting on a Cavern Territory can move to another Territory within 2 spaces. Forests do not block Cavern Movement. However, Cavern Movement cannot be used to reach an empty space or an opponent's Building.

Mine When a Meeple enters a Mine Tunnel Territory that has no opposing Meeples on it, it may immediately be placed onto another exit of the tunnel. Meeples already standing on a Mine Tunnel Territory can, instead of their normal movement, be placed on another exit of the tunnel. If Meeples land on a Mine Tunnel Territory after using a Cavern, they can immediately be placed on another end of the Tunnel.

Ancient God Altar After movement, if a player has 1 or more Meeples on an Ancient God Altar, they must sacrifice 1 Meeple to an ancient god. They can then destroy 1 opponent's Meeple on a Territory within 2 Territories around the Ancient God Altar. The sacrificed Meeple and the destroyed Meeple both go back to their owner's stock. The active player gains a Bravery Point for destroying the opponent's Meeple.

Each Ancient God Altar can only be used once a turn, allowing 1 sacrifice and 1 opponent Meeple destruction. A Meeple must always be sacrificed as soon as Meeples enter that Territory, even if there are no opposing Meeples within range to be destroyed. A player can choose not to destroy an opponent's Meeple.

It is not possible to destroy a Meeple on a Building Defense space. Tunnels and Caverns do not affect the range between the Ancient God Altar and the destroyed Meeple.

Credits

• Game Designer: Max Valembois
• Illustrator: Anne Heidsieck
• Rules Writing: Dominique Bodin
• 3D Film: Max Valembois
• Development: Blue Cocker Team
• Graphic Design: Anne Heidsieck
• Translation: Max Valembois

Playtesters: the BuenaPartistes, the player-visitors of the Toulouse game festival "l'Alchimie du jeu", Jesper and, of course, "les toiletteurs": Guillaume, Cédric, Renaud, Lola, Simon & Romaric.

The Blue Dog wants to thank Andrée Francès, Bruno Desch, Christophe Hermier, Richard Allin, Jean-Emmanuel Gilbert, Matthieu Halfen, Renaud Challat, Nathalie Geoffrin, Frédéric Maupomé, and Yannick Mescam. Without their support, this game would not exist.

The Game Designer would like to thank Jesper and Guillaume for the gameplay, Carl and Neik for the rules, and Lorraine for the daily support.

Meeple War is a Blue Cocker Games. © Blue Cocker Games 2017. All rights reserved. Published in partnership with CMON Global Limited.