Mutant Year Zero: Zone Wars
Mutant Year Zero: Zone Wars Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Using This Book
- How to Begin
- Factions
- Components
- Tokens
- Dice
- Measurements
- Characters
- Weapons
- The Game Turn
- Zone Tokens
- End of Turn
- End of the Game
- Actions
- Description of Actions
- Attacks
- Taking Hits
- Damage
- Terrain
- Mutations & Modules
- Artifacts
- Zone Tokens and Zone Cards
- Campaign Play
- Custom Characters
- Character Conversion
- The Scenarios
- Scenario 2: Turf War
- Scenario 3: Street Fight
- Scenario 4: The Chase
- Scenario 5: Defense of the Ark
- Solo Games
- Cardboard Terrain
Using This Book
This core set contains all the rules needed to play Zone Wars, including five scenarios.
How to Begin
It is best to start by reading the following section — the basic game mechanics — to understand the rules of the game. Once you have done so, you will know enough to play. For your first game, we suggest playing the Showdown scenario on page 16.
Factions
Four factions can be played in Zone Wars:
- The Ark mutants: a tight-knit group of human mutants, searching for their origins in the mythical Eden somewhere in the Zone.
- The Genlab tribe: a tribe of intelligent animal mutants, who recently won their freedom by surviving the horrors of the Genlab Alpha lab.
- The Nova cult: a secret cult of human mutants possessing powerful psionic mutations and unknown ambitions.
- The Mechatron hive: a collective of robots recently awakened to consciousness, seeking their place in this post-apocalyptic world.
This Zone Wars core box includes five characters for the Ark mutants and five more for the Genlab tribe, while the Robots & Psionics expansion includes five characters for the Nova cult and five more for the Mechatron hive.
Components
- This rulebook
- 5 Ark mutant miniatures
- 5 Genlab tribe miniatures
- 10 character cards
- 24 mutation/module cards
- 15 zone cards
- 22 artifact cards
- 12 starting equipment cards
- 10 action tokens
- 2 zone tokens
- 30 damage tokens
- 10 artifact tokens
- 20 victory point tokens
- 20 M tokens
- 10 experience tokens
- 1 direction token
- 1 Ravenous Devourer token
- 1 Razorback token
- 6 yellow base dice
- 4 black equipment dice
- 1 90×90 cm game mat
- 3 sheets of cardboard terrain (see the back of this booklet)
- 1 measuring ruler
Additional cards and tokens are included in the Robots & Psionics expansion. This core box includes everything you need to play with two players.
Tokens
Tokens are used in the game to track the state of miniatures and avoid flipping back and forth through the rulebook. You will find them included in the Zone Wars core box. These tokens are:
- Action: they indicate when a faction is going to act. A number of action tokens equal to the number of miniatures in play is placed in a container or bag at the start of each turn and drawn one at a time to determine the order in which factions act. The player decides which miniature to activate, but each one can only act once per turn. One side of the action token bears a symbol representing the Overwatch state (page 4).
- Zone: these tokens are added to the container or bag with the action tokens. Drawing one means an random event is triggered, chosen among the many dangers hidden in the Zone.
- Damage: these tokens are placed on character cards and artifact cards to signify that they are wounded or damaged.
- Artifact: these tokens show the location of potentially valuable artifacts on the battlefield.
- M: these tokens indicate the current number of M points each player has. They are used to activate mutations or modules for all miniatures of the faction.
- Victory point: they determine who wins the game. How players obtain them is determined by the scenarios.
- Direction: this token is thrown onto the battlefield to indicate a random direction.
- Monster: these tokens represent the Zone monsters present on the battlefield, such as the Ravenous Devourer and the Razorback.
- Experience: these tokens are only used as part of a campaign.
Dice
Base Dice
Zone Wars uses special six-sided dice to resolve combat and attribute tests. The base (yellow) dice have the following faces: a biohazard symbol, 2, 3, 4, 5, and a radiation symbol. The radiation symbol is a hit.
Equipment Dice
The black equipment dice are obtained through equipment such as weapons and armor. They are added to the base dice during attacks. The equipment dice have the following faces: a flame symbol, 2, 3, 4, 5, and a radiation symbol. The radiation symbol is a hit.
Dice Modifiers
In Zone Wars, modifiers can cause you to roll more or fewer dice depending on the circumstances. These modifiers never affect equipment dice, only base dice. If a negative modifier reduces the number of base dice to zero, at least one base die (and any equipment die) is still rolled.
Measurements
In Zone Wars, the measurement of distances for movement and shooting is done using a miniature's base. During movement, no part of a miniature's base may exceed the allotted distance. When shooting, measure from the closest point of the firing miniature's base to the closest point of the targeted miniature's base.
Rotation and Firing Arcs
Most miniatures in Zone Wars can pivot freely during their movement, but they can only fire on targets located within their front arc. Rotation and firing arcs are explained in detail further on, but the same terms are used throughout the rules. Regarding miniatures, the classic orientations and firing arcs are 180° to the front and rear.
Measurement Increment
Zone Wars uses the archaic measurement increment known as the inch, now known only to the oldest wargamers, carpenters, and inhabitants of the North American continent. As is traditional, distances in inches are indicated with a number followed by a double prime symbol. So ten inches = 10". However, to simplify things, only three distances are used in this game:
- Short = 2.5"
- Medium = 5"
- Long = 10"
The Zone Wars core box includes a ruler for these three distances.
The ideal play area for Zone Wars is three feet by three feet (90×90 cm).
Characters
Zone Wars is played with unique miniatures, each representing a fighter. Each miniature is represented on a character card included in this box. A character card indicates a miniature's base attributes, its starting equipment, and its mutations/modules. One side of the character card is marked "bloodied" — flip the card to that side after a miniature has been staggered from damage (page 10).
Attributes
All characters have attribute scores indicating how accomplished they are in various areas of skill. The base attributes are:
- Ranged
- Melee
- Survival
- Health
Ranged: indicates how skilled a miniature is at making a ranged attack, such as firing a pistol or throwing a spear.
Melee: indicates how effective a miniature is at making melee attacks.
Survival: indicates a miniature's ability to avoid the many dangers of the Zone and use them to its advantage.
Health: indicates how many points of damage a miniature can take before being staggered and unable to keep fighting, until it recovers.
Attribute Roll
The rules will sometimes ask you to make a Ranged, Melee, or Survival roll. This means you roll one base die for each point of the relevant attribute. To succeed, you must get at least one hit. If you wish, you may reroll a Ranged or Melee roll (but not a Survival roll). However, you take the risk of damaging your weapon, but in exchange, you have a chance to gain M points. Learn more about rerolling on page 9.
Mutations and Modules
In addition to their base attributes, miniatures have mutations (for mutants) or modules (for robots). Mutations and modules have unique and powerful effects. You will find a variety of mutations and modules among the cards in this core box.
M points: Mutations and modules are powered by M points. Each player has a certain amount of M points to use for all their miniatures as they see fit. Generally, each player starts the game with a single M point and gains more by rerolling dice during combat or via zone cards. When activating a mutation or module, you can never use more than three (3) M points.
Weapons
Weapons used by miniatures have their own attributes that help improve attacks. Weapons used in Zone Wars are generally pre-apocalyptic relics, called artifacts, but they can also be makeshift equipment. You will find ranged and melee weapons on the artifact cards and starting equipment cards in this core box.
Ranged Weapons
When a miniature makes a ranged attack, it uses as many base dice as its Ranged attribute, combined with the equipment dice of the weapon it is using. The attributes of ranged weapons are:
- Range
- Bonus
- Special
Range: a weapon's range indicates how far it can fire. The distances are Short (2.5"), Medium (5"), Long (10"), and Unlimited (can target any point on the battlefield within line of sight).
Bonus: a ranged weapon's bonus indicates how accurate and powerful it is. The bonus corresponds to the number of equipment dice added to the Ranged attribute of the miniature using the weapon to make a ranged attack.
Special: if weapons have special rules, such as a burn effect, these are noted in the Special attribute. You will find more details on weapon special rules on page 9. Weapons with the Aimed Shot attribute can only be used for the Aimed Shot action (page 6), not for the Move & Attack action. A Silent weapon cannot trigger the Reflex mutation (page 12) when used.
Melee Weapons
Melee weapons work the same way as ranged weapons, adding equipment dice to the user's Melee attribute when making a melee attack. However, they have no Range attribute, since they can only be used in attacks against enemies in base-to-base contact.
Bonus: a melee weapon adds a certain number of bonus equipment dice when the bearer uses it to make a melee attack.
Special: melee weapons can have special rules for additional effects, just like ranged weapons.
The Game Turn
Zone Wars is played using a system of drawing action tokens to determine when each player may activate their miniatures. Once all action tokens have been drawn, the turn ends. At the start of each turn, place one action token per miniature participating in the game into a cup, bag, or opaque container. Also add zone tokens equal to the number of players (unless a scenario states otherwise). All these tokens are then drawn one at a time.
EXAMPLE: Lisa and Marco are playing a game. Lisa has three Ark mutants — Franton, Krin, and Hugust. Marco uses three Genlab mutants — Dux, Bormin, and Farrow. Six action tokens are placed in the cup — three for the Ark mutants and three for the Genlab tribe.
Drawing Action Tokens
Draw the action tokens from the container one at a time. The player of the faction drawn then chooses which miniature to activate. Each one can only be activated once per turn (unless specific rules state otherwise). Normally, all actions generated by the draw are resolved before the next token is drawn, although special conditions (such as scenario-specific rules, zone cards, or overwatch fire) can sometimes change this.
EXAMPLE: Lisa draws the first action token from the container. It is for the Genlab tribe, so it is handed to Marco. He chooses to activate Dux and performs an action with the miniature before the next action token is drawn.
Activating a Miniature
When a player activates a miniature, they may:
-
Perform an action.
or
-
Go on Overwatch to make a ranged attack later in the turn.
Performing an Action
A miniature can only perform a single action per turn (unless otherwise specified) among the following:
- Move & Attack
- Aimed Shot
- Charge
- Sprint
- Activate a mutation/module
- Recover
- Assist Recovery
- Simple Operation
- Complex Operation
Activation complete: Once a miniature has performed an action, place the action token next to it text-side up (reticle side hidden) and draw the next action token.
Overwatch
A miniature is not required to immediately perform an action when activated. Instead, a player may choose to put it in Overwatch mode. Move the miniature up to medium distance at most, then rotate it in the desired direction. Then, place the action token reticle-side up next to it to indicate its status before drawing the next action token.
Using an Overwatch token: An Overwatch token can be used to make a snap attack against an enemy currently being activated, as described in Attacks further on (page 8).
Losing Overwatch: Once a miniature with an Overwatch token has fired, the token is removed. Otherwise, it remains in place until it is used for an overwatch attack or lost due to damage taken.
This means the action token of a miniature on Overwatch will not return to the container at the end of the current turn, since it maintains its status for the next turn. A player may nonetheless always choose to remove the Overwatch status from their miniatures in order to return their tokens to the container for the next turn.
If a miniature with an Overwatch token is attacked in melee, or if it takes damage before being able to use it, its status is immediately lost. Flip the token back to its text side.
Zone Tokens
Zone tokens are placed in the container to represent the dangers and special events of the Zone — dangerous mutated flora and fauna, strange energies, corrosive rains, and even potential discoveries of valuable artifacts. When a zone token is drawn, draw a zone card and resolve its effects. Then set the zone token aside until the end of the turn. The effects of a zone card affect the next miniature to be activated, unless stated otherwise. Some zone cards instead affect an area of the battlefield, or even the whole battlefield. There are also trigger cards, with effects specific to certain scenarios. See page 13 to learn more about zone tokens.
End of Turn
A game turn ends when all miniatures have been activated, even if zone tokens remain in the container. At the end of the turn:
- Check the scenario's victory conditions.
- Return all zone tokens and the action tokens of all surviving miniatures to the container.
You are now ready to begin the next turn.
Losses: when a miniature has been staggered from damage, still place an action token for it in the container. When the miniature is activated, there is a chance it recovers and can act again (see Recover on page 7). However, when a miniature is eliminated (page 11), an action token of its faction is permanently removed from the game.
End of the Game
A game ends when:
-
Only one player still has miniatures that are neither eliminated nor off the board.
or
-
The scenario's conditions state that the game ends.
See the scenarios starting on page 16 for more details on ending the game.
Actions
When a miniature activates, it is allowed to perform an action. The available actions are described in detail below.
Action Summary
- Move & Attack: move the miniature up to medium distance, then attack.
- Aimed Shot: make a ranged attack with the miniature after moving up to one step (one base width). Some weapons, such as rifles, require an aimed shot.
- Charge: make a straight-line move of up to long distance, then make a melee attack.
- Sprint: move the miniature up to long distance.
- Activate a mutation/module: spend 1 to 3 M points to perform a mutation/module action.
- Recover: check whether a staggered miniature recovers.
- Assist Recovery: attempt to help a nearby staggered allied miniature.
- Simple Operation: this is a category grouping actions that take a little time but not too much attention, such as picking up an artifact, opening or closing a door, casting off a boat, or opening a crate. A Simple Operation can be performed after moving up to medium distance.
- Complex Operation: this is a category grouping actions that require both time and attention, such as forcing open a safe, disarming a mine, locating a data file, or picking a lock. A Complex Operation can be performed after moving up to one step (one base width).
Description of Actions
Move & Attack
The Attack: at the end of the miniature's move, choose the direction it faces and select an enemy to attack at range or in melee. See the Attacks section on page 8 for the complete rules.
Aimed Shot
Aimed Shot is a special ranged attack that can only be performed with weapons having the Aimed Shot attribute. These weapons can only be used for Aimed Shot. When performing an Aimed Shot, the miniature is only allowed to move up to one step (one base width), and it may rotate in any direction before firing. No other movement is possible.
Effects of Terrain on Movement
Obstacles and damaged ground can slow a miniature or force it to take another path. See the Terrain section on page 11 for more details on how terrain elements can affect movement.
Leaving the Board
A miniature can leave the battlefield if it moves off of it. Discard the miniature's action token immediately and do not reuse it for subsequent turns. Once a miniature has left the board, it can no longer return. Some scenarios may have restrictions on whether a miniature can leave the board or not. No miniature can be forced to leave the board due to involuntary movement — instead, it stops at the edge of the board.
Move & Attack
A practical and effective action in most circumstances. Move the miniature, then make a ranged or melee attack against an enemy. Note that weapons with the Aimed Shot attribute cannot be used with the Move & Attack action — they can only be used with the Aimed Shot action.
The Move: a miniature performing a move action moves up to medium distance. A miniature can pivot as many times as it likes during its move, but it must follow a path defined in advance to reach its destination. Movement can pass through friendly miniatures, but not enemy ones.
The miniature can end its move action facing any direction. Movement can be horizontal or vertical, including inside a building with multiple floors. Movement can be split between horizontal and vertical movement. Movement cannot end with the miniature's base completely covering an artifact token.
Sprint
When a miniature performs a sprint action, it moves up to long distance. The same rules apply as for Move & Attack, except that a sprinting miniature can only move within its front arc and cannot pivot after moving. A sprint can be horizontal or vertical against a building, or even a combination of both, just like Move & Attack.
Activate a Mutation / a Module
To use an action-type mutation or module (marked with an arrow), an action is required. You must spend at least one mutation point, but you cannot spend more than three. Read the mutation/module card for specific effects. The Upgrade and Reflex mutations do not require an action to be activated. For more information, see page 12.
Recover
A Recover action can only be performed by a miniature that is staggered after taking damage equal to or exceeding its Health attribute. It is the only action that can be undertaken by a wounded miniature.
When using the Recover action, the miniature makes a Survival roll. On a success, it gets up, removes all its damage tokens, and immediately performs another action. However, the miniature is now bloodied (page 11) and now risks being eliminated. Flip the character card to its bloodied side to indicate this status. If the Survival roll fails, the miniature remains down this round but will automatically succeed at the Recover action on its next activation (with the effects mentioned above) — no further roll is needed.
To indicate whether a miniature has already made a Survival roll for the Recover action or not, you can lay it down on the battlefield when it is staggered, then stand it back up after the Survival roll (even a failed one). Remember that Survival rolls cannot be rerolled.
EXAMPLE: Franton (Health 4) has taken four points of damage and is therefore staggered. When Franton is activated, all he can do is try to recover by rolling three base dice for his Survival attribute. Franton gets a hit, which means he immediately gets up, removes all his damage tokens, and can choose to perform another action. However, he is now bloodied, and will be eliminated if reduced to zero Health again.
Assist Recovery
The Assist Recovery action allows a miniature to help a staggered ally recover. The assisting miniature first moves up to its base move distance to enter base-to-base contact with the miniature being assisted.
To perform an assist, roll one base die for each point of Survival of the assisting miniature, plus one base die for each point of Survival of the assisted miniature. If at least one hit is obtained, the staggered miniature gets up and removes all its damage tokens. It can be activated normally during this turn but is now bloodied (page 11) and now risks being eliminated.
Simple Operation
A Simple Operation is an action that allows a miniature to interact with the environment via equipment, or even with another miniature, in a way not covered by other actions. Below are some examples of simple operations:
- Picking up an artifact from the ground or from a staggered miniature.
- Giving an artifact or another object to a character in base-to-base contact.
- Dropping an artifact on the ground, opening a door, or searching a container.
When a miniature performs a Simple Operation, it moves up to medium distance to make contact with the object it wishes to interact with. It then undertakes the operation, which must take place at the end of the move.
Complex Operation
A Complex Operation action allows a miniature to interact with the environment or an object by devoting its full attention to it. Below are some examples of complex operations:
- Picking up several artifacts at once, from the ground or from a staggered miniature.
- Repairing a damaged weapon or piece of armor.
- Restarting an old machine.
When a miniature performs a Complex Operation action, it can only move up to one step (one base width) to make contact with its target before performing the action, which must take place at the end of the move.
Attacks
To make an attack, the miniature must have its target:
- Within range of the weapon or mutation it is using (base-to-base contact for melee).
- Within its field of view (unless the weapon or mutation states otherwise).
- Within its 180-degree front arc (unless the weapon or mutation states otherwise).
Note that the attacking miniature is allowed to pivot before its attack, except for miniatures in Overwatch mode.
Melee Attacks
Melee attacks can only be made against miniatures in base-to-base contact with the attacker. A ranged weapon can be used in a melee attack, except for rifles and any weapon with the Aimed Shot attribute. These weapons cannot be used when in base-to-base contact with a target.
Counter-attack: if a miniature is attacked in melee within its front arc and it survives (it is not staggered or taken out of the fight), it may make an immediate and free counter-attack against the attacker, outside its turn. The counter-attack roll cannot be rerolled, but mutations that improve the attack are allowed.
Disengaging: if a miniature voluntarily moves (even just one step) away from an enemy whose front arc is in base-to-base contact with it, this triggers an immediate and free melee attack from that enemy. The dice roll for this free attack cannot be rerolled, but mutations that improve the attack are allowed. Only voluntary movements trigger free attacks — not movements forced by zone cards or mutations.
Ranged Attacks
For ranged attacks, check the distance between the firing miniature and the targeted miniature by tracing a straight line over the shortest distance between the shooter's base and the target's base.
Line of sight: get down to the shooter's level and look at the targeted miniature. If no part of it is visible (the base does not count), line of sight is blocked and another target must be chosen — unless the attacking weapon or mutation states otherwise. If the targeted miniature is partially obscured by terrain, the shot can still be made, but the target benefits from the advantages of cover (page 10), unless the shooter itself is in direct contact with the obscuring terrain. If the targeted miniature is partially obscured by another miniature, line of sight is blocked and a different target must be chosen (unless the attacking weapon or mutation specifies otherwise). Note that prone miniatures do not obstruct line of sight in any way.
Attack Summary
- Designate the target miniature and the attacking miniature, specifying which weapon or mutation will be used.
- Check range and line of sight to the target miniature from the attacking miniature if it is making a ranged attack.
- Take a number of base (yellow) dice equal to the attacker's Ranged attribute if at range, or Melee attribute if in base-to-base contact.
- Add equipment (black) dice according to the weapon used.
- Roll the base dice and equipment dice together. If hits are obtained, the attack has struck.
- Count the total number of hits obtained. This is the amount of potential damage inflicted.
- Decide whether or not to reroll. If so, reroll all dice not showing a hit or a hit/special result, and potentially damage the weapon and/or recover M points.
- Roll a number of equipment (black) dice for the target's armor and cover, if applicable. If hits are obtained, the attack's damage is reduced by each hit obtained.
- Place damage tokens on the targeted miniature's character card, if applicable. If the total damage equals or exceeds its Health value, lay the miniature down to signify it is staggered.
Performing the Attack
Take a number of base (yellow) dice equal to the attacker's Ranged or Melee attribute, as applicable. Add a number of equipment (black) dice equal to their weapon's Bonus attribute. Only one weapon can be used at a time in an attack. The following bonuses apply to the number of base dice rolled:
- +1 if the attacking miniature used a Charge action (melee only).
- +1 if the targeted miniature is in direct contact with two or more enemies, including the attacker (melee only).
- +1 if the attacker is in an elevated position relative to the target.
- +1 if the attack is made within the target miniature's 180° rear arc.
Roll all base and equipment dice together. If hits are obtained, the target has been struck. The number of hits obtained represents the attack's potential damage.
EXAMPLE: Krin has a Ranged attribute of 4 and fires on a target at long range using a scavenged pistol. The pistol gives a +1 bonus and no other bonus applies. Krin therefore rolls a total of five dice (four base dice plus one equipment die) to determine if she hits.
Rerolls
If you want to improve an attack roll you just made, you can decide to reroll it. Take back all base dice and equipment dice that do not show a hit or a hit/special result, and reroll them. Any new hits obtained count normally, as do the hits from the initial roll. However:
- If you obtain a biohazard result on an equipment die after the reroll, and/or if you already obtained one during the initial roll, your weapon takes damage to its Bonus score, which is reduced by 1 for each biohazard result obtained. If the Bonus is reduced to zero, the weapon is damaged and can no longer be used. Place a damage token on the card for each point of damage received. The victory point value of a damaged weapon is reduced to 1. A damaged weapon can, however, be repaired via a Survival roll (Complex Operation) — each hit removes one point of damage.
- For each biohazard result on a base die, obtained during the initial roll and/or during a reroll, you gain 1 M point.
Note that the effects above only trigger when you make a reroll, never on the initial roll.
Special Attacks
The basic weapons used by most scavengers are simple enough in their design and execution to require no special rules. However, some of the more advanced weapons sometimes found in the Zone can have exceptional qualities.
Improvised Attacks
Zone Ghouls will not always have the luck of having a functioning rifle, pistol, or melee weapon to attack with, and will have to rely on their fists in addition to whatever they can scavenge around them to fight. Improvised attacks simply use a miniature's Ranged or Melee attribute without adding equipment dice. Improvised ranged attacks are limited to medium distance. Note that there is no downside to rerolling for improvised attacks, so make sure to do so every time!
Burn
Attacks with the burn effect have a greater chance of inflicting additional damage because they set their target on fire. So, for each hit obtained during an attack, roll an additional equipment die and add the result. Note that if you wish to reroll the attack roll, you must do so before rolling the equipment die for the burn effect. Any biohazard result obtained on the additional equipment die will damage the weapon as usual.
Area of Effect
Area attacks are those that use explosives, spread flames, toxins, or other harmful effects over an area. Area attacks affect all other miniatures within Short distance of the struck miniature. Apply the same damage results to all miniatures fully or partially in the affected area, but each miniature tests its armor individually. Cover has no effect against area weapons.
Push
An attack with push can throw miniatures backward from the point of attack. If the attack hits, it pushes the target in a straight line to Short distance away from the attacking miniature. Note that damage does not need to be inflicted for the push effect to take place — even if armor mitigates some or all of the damage, the push still occurs. Miniatures pushed against impassable terrain or other miniatures take one additional point of damage.
Overwatch Fire
A miniature that has an Overwatch-side action token visible next to it can declare overwatch fire against an enemy miniature that activates within its front arc and is within its field of view.
Overwatch fire is a ranged attack, up to the weapon's maximum range, including Aimed Shot. No movement is possible, and the attack roll cannot be rerolled. The active miniature's action is paused until the miniature on Overwatch has finished its attack. If the target miniature also makes an attack, it is resolved after the overwatch fire.
Note that some mutations and equipment may prohibit the use of overwatch fire.
Taking Hits
When a target is hit, each hit equals one point of damage inflicted on it. A target's position on the board, protective equipment, and a bit of luck can mitigate the amount of damage suffered from an attack.
Armor
Armor grants a number of equipment dice to miniatures to resist damage taken during an attack. Each hit equals one point of damage blocked. Armor rolls cannot be rerolled. For each biohazard result (on the initial roll), the armor's value is reduced by one step.
Unlike weapons, several armor cards can be used at the same time. So to block damage, one card of each type of armor can be used: body, head, and shield. A miniature can therefore stack a maximum of three different armor cards.
Cover
A miniature attempting to avoid a ranged attack can benefit from additional protection if it is behind cover. The general rules on this are simple — if the target miniature is partially obscured by terrain the attacker is not in contact with, the defender benefits from the advantages of cover. Armor and cover protection can be stacked.
A miniature behind any type of terrain gains two (2) equipment dice to protect itself against any ranged attack. As with armor, each hit obtained equals one point of damage blocked. If the targeted miniature is in direct contact with a terrain element that the ranged attack must cross to hit it, the terrain's protection dice are doubled to four (4) instead of two (2).
Note that cover is only effective against ranged attacks, not against melee attacks. Furthermore, cover has no effect against area attacks (page 9).
Damage
Place a damage token on the targeted miniature's character card for each point of damage not blocked by armor or terrain. Damage tokens are cumulative and remain on a character card until they are removed by a card or action effect, or until the miniature is staggered.
As soon as a miniature has taken a total number of damage points at least equal to its Health attribute, it is staggered.
EXAMPLE: the mutant animal Dux, with a Health attribute of 4, will be staggered once it has accumulated at least four points of damage.
Staggered
A staggered miniature can only choose the Recover action when it is activated. It can, however, still use the Upgrade and Reflex mutations and modules, but not action-type mutations and modules (to learn more about mutations and modules, see page 12).
Artifacts: other miniatures in base-to-base contact with a staggered miniature can take one artifact card from it via a Simple Operation, and all of its artifact cards via a Complex Operation. Furthermore, if a miniature is staggered as a result of another miniature's action while in base-to-base contact, the attacker can take one artifact card from its target for free as part of its attack action.
Recovery: a staggered miniature that remains in play can only perform the Recover action when it is activated. A staggered miniature can also be stabilized and brought back into the fight by other miniatures. Various cards and actions can be used to attempt to stabilize staggered miniatures. When a staggered miniature recovers, remove all its damage tokens. It can now act normally, but it is nonetheless bloodied — flip its character card to indicate this status.
Attacking a staggered miniature: enemy miniatures can still target a staggered miniature with other attacks. Likewise, a staggered miniature can take additional damage from zone card effects. However, such damage has no effect unless a single attack inflicts damage at least equal to the target's total Health attribute. If this happens, the miniature in question is immediately taken out of the game.
Bloodied
A staggered miniature that has been revived removes all its damage tokens and can act normally. However, the miniature is now bloodied, which means it will be taken out of the game if it is staggered again. Flip the character card to its bloodied side to indicate its new status.
Eliminated
If a bloodied miniature is staggered again — that is, it takes at least as much damage again as its Health attribute — it is eliminated and removed from the battlefield. Immediately remove that miniature's action token from the container if it is still there. It will not be reused in subsequent turns. All artifact cards carried by the miniature are arranged in a pile where it was before being removed from the game. These artifacts can be picked up via a Simple or Complex Operation.
If you are playing as part of a campaign (page 14), miniatures eliminated during a game can come back for the next one.
Terrain
In Zone Wars, terrain refers to everything placed on the board other than miniatures, such as ruined buildings, rusted wrecks, dead trees, bushes, piles of rubble, and broken walls, among which our protagonists must fight. Terrain helps define the game arena by presenting challenges and opportunities for all players. It is therefore essential to any good game. An assortment of cardboard terrain is included in the Zone Wars core box, and more still in the Robots & Psionics expansion. To make the game easier, all terrain is classified into two categories: low and blocking.
- Low terrain can be ignored during movement.
- Blocking terrain prevents any movement through it, except by flying.
Low Terrain
A terrain element is considered low if it is shorter than a miniature. Low terrain does not hinder movement except for the Charge action (page 6), but it provides cover against ranged attacks.
Blocking Terrain
Blocking terrain is anything taller than the miniatures that cannot be crossed, except through openings such as doors or windows. Such openings count as low terrain.
Buildings
A building is any terrain element with one or more floors on which miniatures can stand. Buildings are generally blocking terrain, but many have doors and windows.
Climbing: a miniature can reach the upper floors of a building using the Move & Attack or Sprint actions, moving vertically inside the building or climbing the outer wall to reach the desired floor. It is possible to combine horizontal and vertical movement in a single action, but diagonal movement is not allowed unless the miniature can fly.
Flying: mutations or modules that allow a miniature to fly can be used to move in a straight line, including diagonally, directly between two points of different heights.
Falling: if a miniature falls from an elevated position (for example, due to involuntary movement, or if a building it is standing on collapses for some reason), it takes one point of damage for each medium height of the fall — that is, one point if the fall is medium height or less, two points if it is higher than medium but not higher than long, and so on. Armor does not protect against fall damage.
Mutations & Modules
Mutation and module cards are highly unstable special powers possessed by certain miniatures. Triggering mutations and modules requires a certain number of M points as indicated on their cards.
Spending mutation points: some mutations are used in combination with an attack that requires an attribute roll. In these cases, the player must declare how many mutation points are being spent before the dice are rolled (exception: the Flesh Eater). If a failed roll cancels the effects of a mutation, the M points are still spent and lost.
Important note: it is not possible to spend more than three M points to activate a mutation or module.
There are four types of mutation and module cards:
- Physical mutations — used by the Ark mutants.
- Psionic mutations — used by the Nova cult mutants.
- Feral mutations — used by the Genlab tribe mutants.
- Modules — used by the Mechatron robots.
Mutation and Module Cards
A mutation or module card contains the following information:
Name: for easy identification.
Type: a mutation or module can function in three different ways. It is only possible to trigger one mutation or module per activation, unless stated otherwise.
- Action: these cards can be triggered by the active miniature as an action.
- Upgrade: these cards can be triggered by the active miniature in addition to an action, in order to increase its effectiveness in some way. It is permitted to activate several Upgrade mutations or modules during the same action, provided you can spend as many M points as necessary. These must be paid separately for each upgrade.
- Reflex: these cards can be triggered instantly and outside of a turn, usually in response to a threat targeting a miniature. Reflex cards can be used at any time — including by staggered miniatures — as long as the miniature has the necessary M points. However, each Reflex card can only influence an event once. Note that some equipment and mutations/modules prohibit the use of Reflex abilities.
Effects: this section details what the card does. Ranged attacks follow the normal rules such as range and the need to have line of sight to the target or not. It also indicates whether targets can make armor and cover saving rolls or not.
Artifacts
Artifact cards represent treasures for zone trackers — objects and materials from the old world that can be used immediately or dismantled to recover base parts. Each artifact card has a victory point value noted on it. In scenarios and campaigns, the scavengers who accumulate the most victory points are usually the winners.
Using artifacts: in addition to their victory point value, most artifact cards can be used immediately by scavengers as weapons or armor. The downside is that if a card is damaged as a result of its use, it will only be worth a single miserable victory point.
Single use: an artifact marked as single-use can only be used once. It is then removed from the game.
Starting equipment: most characters will start the game with personal weapon cards. These are generally improvised weapons made from scavenged materials and have no value in victory points. In some scenarios and as part of a campaign, characters may start a game with valuable artifacts. However, these will not yield victory points at the end, even if they are captured by another player. Starting equipment can be lost or taken during combat like any other equipment, but it has no value in victory points. As part of a campaign, such lost or captured starting equipment is automatically returned to its owner for the next scenario.
Finding Artifacts
Artifact tokens are often placed on the battlefield, according to the chosen scenario's setup. A miniature in contact with an artifact token can pick it up by performing a Simple Operation. If a miniature is in contact with several artifact tokens at the same time, it can pick them all up at once via a Complex Operation. When an artifact token is picked up, immediately draw a random artifact card to replace it. Place the artifact card next to the character card with the token on top of it — this is important to distinguish newly found artifacts from those brought onto the battlefield by the characters themselves. Only newly discovered artifacts yield the victory points needed to win the game.
Once a miniature has picked up an artifact token, the artifact card thus created stays with that miniature until it loses it.
Losing Artifacts
Staggered: when a miniature carrying one or more artifact cards becomes staggered, it keeps them nonetheless, but they can be stolen by another miniature that moves into base-to-base contact with the staggered miniature and performs a Simple Operation. Picking up several cards at the same time requires a Complex Operation.
Eliminated: when a miniature is eliminated (page 11) while carrying one or more artifact cards found during that battle (i.e., with a token on them), the artifacts are abandoned at the miniature's location. Place the cards directly on the battlefield with the artifact tokens on top. However, artifacts the miniature possessed from the start of the game are removed along with it.
Melee: as mentioned on page 11, an attacker who staggers or eliminates a miniature while in base-to-base contact with it can immediately take one artifact card from it for free, without performing an additional action.
Leaving the Board
Miniatures carrying artifacts recovered during the game can leave the Zone if they move along an edge of the play area by any means. Immediately remove an action token of the relevant faction from the container and do not reuse it for subsequent turns. Once a miniature has left the board, it cannot return to the game.
Zone Tokens and Zone Cards
Zone tokens and zone cards represent the dangers and opportunities of the Zone itself — dangerous mutated flora and fauna, strange energies, corrosive decay, and even potential discoveries of valuable artifacts.
Setup
Shuffle the zone cards at the start of the game and set them aside face down. Scenarios often affect the zone card deck's configuration at the start of the game. However, if nothing is specifically stated, all zone cards are included.
In scenarios using trigger cards (see below), a new draw deck is created each turn. Place a number of zone tokens equal to the number of players in the container at the start of each turn. Draw a zone card each time a zone token is drawn during the initiative draw and resolve its effects. Then leave the drawn zone token outside the container until the end of the turn.
Effects
The effects of a zone card always affect the miniature that was just activated, unless stated otherwise. When a zone token is drawn first in a turn, put it back in the container and draw again until a faction's action token is drawn instead. When a miniature affected by a zone card has just left the battlefield, the miniature that was activated before it is affected instead.
Some zone cards instead affect an area of the battlefield, or even the entire play area. If a second zone token is drawn right after the first, put it back in the container and draw again. Never resolve two zone cards in a row (unless the scenario states otherwise).
Zone Card Indications
A zone card carries the following indications:
- Name: because even toxic devouring monsters deserve to have one.
- Attribute: indicates the attribute with which the affected miniature must make a dice roll, usually Survival. If no attribute is indicated, no dice roll is made.
- Effect: the effect is what happens depending on the success or failure of the attribute roll. Some effects are ongoing, as described on the card.
Trigger Cards
Some scenarios use trigger cards. Each turn, a specific draw deck is created that generally includes one trigger card plus a number of random zone cards equal to the number of players. When a zone token is drawn, flip the top card of this deck. The effects of trigger cards are specified by the scenario being played.
Monsters
Some zone cards trigger the deployment of mutant monsters onto the battlefield. Monsters follow the rules on their card, but they nonetheless share some common behaviors:
- After their initial attack, monsters remaining on the battlefield activate again at the start of each turn, in the order in which they appeared (randomize if you've forgotten), unless the zone card states otherwise.
- Monsters have no front facing (except the Razorback), and miniatures never receive a bonus when attacking them from behind (including the Razorback).
- A miniature that moves away from a monster it is in base-to-base contact with triggers an immediate and free attack from it (unless stated otherwise in the monster's description).
- Monsters are eliminated and removed from the game when the damage they have taken equals or exceeds their Health attribute (place damage tokens on top of the monster token).
- In rare cases, monsters may attack each other. Resolve this as attacks against miniatures.
Campaign Play
Zone Wars can be played as a campaign during which players control the same faction across a series of games. The Robots & Psionics expansion includes five scenarios designed to be played in a campaign, but all Zone Wars battles can be linked to one another to form a campaign.
During a campaign, some but not all results of a game carry over to the next. You will therefore need to keep note of these lasting effects.
Damage
Miniatures that were staggered or even eliminated during a campaign battle are fully healed before the start of the next one. All damage tokens received are discarded.
M Points
Each player's M point pool is restored to its starting value, i.e. one point, before the start of the next battle.
Victory Points
Victory points are always reset to zero after a battle and never carry over to the next.
Starting Equipment
When a miniature loses its starting equipment during a campaign battle, it is returned before the start of the next one. A miniature that stole another miniature's starting equipment loses it at the end of the current battle.
Artifacts
After each campaign battle, miniatures that obtained one or more artifacts may choose one and keep it for the next battle. These artifacts will not yield any victory points during the next battle. A miniature is allowed to collect several artifacts over the course of a campaign.
Experience
After each campaign battle, the winning player (or players, in the event of a shared victory) may give an experience token to a miniature of their choice to increase one of its attributes (Ranged, Melee, Survival, or Health) by one point. At the next battle, place the experience token on the affected miniature's character card next to the improved attribute. A miniature can receive several experience tokens over the course of a campaign, but never more than one for the same attribute.
Custom Characters
The ten characters in this core game and the ten more in the Robots & Psionics expansion will entertain you for a long time, but you can also easily create your own characters for Zone Wars. You will, however, need to find your own miniatures to represent them!
Faction
You must first choose a faction for your character — Ark mutants or Genlab tribe if you only have the core box; Mechatron robots and Nova cult as additional options if you have access to the Robots & Psionics expansion.
Attributes
Distribute 15 points among the four attributes: Ranged, Melee, Survival, and Health. No attribute can exceed 5 except Health, which has no upper limit. Furthermore, no attribute can be lower than 2.
Starting Equipment
Give the character a starting equipment item, choosing between a makeshift pistol, makeshift rifle, club, hatchet, and diving helmet.
Mutations and Modules
Choose a mutation or module appropriate to the character's faction, and draw a second card at random.
Character Conversion
Zone Wars takes place in the same universe as the Mutant: Year Zero roleplaying game, and if you wish, you can let your roleplaying game characters join the fray on the battlefield. The following rules let you quickly convert a Mutant: Year Zero character so it can be played in Zone Wars.
Attributes
To convert attributes and skills from Mutant: Year Zero to Zone Wars, use the following guidelines:
- Ranged: use the Agility attribute or the Shooting skill level, whichever is higher.
- Melee: use the Strength attribute or the Fighting skill level, whichever is higher.
- Survival: use the Wits attribute or the Know the Zone skill level, whichever is higher.
- Health: use the Strength attribute plus one.
Starting Equipment
Most Zone Wars equipment also exists in Mutant: Year Zero. Simply choose starting equipment cards, or even artifact cards, that match the Mutant: Year Zero character's equipment. However, some roleplaying game equipment will not be useful on the battlefield and can be ignored for Zone Wars games.
Mutations and Modules
Most Zone Wars mutations and modules also exist in Mutant: Year Zero and its range of expansions. So simply choose two Zone Wars abilities that best match the roleplaying game character's abilities. Where there is no obvious match, choose abilities as similar as possible.
The Scenarios
Scenario 1: Showdown
Rival stalkers come to blows within the Zone after spotting a particularly tempting vein of debris and metal that likely contains artifacts. But ominous clouds are gathering in the sky, and the stalkers have little time to grab the artifacts and leave before the acid rain begins to fall...
This scenario can be played with 2 to 4 players. Each participant freely chooses the faction they wish to play. In case of conflict over the same faction, resolve it with a dice roll.
Setup
Choice of miniatures: Showdown is best suited to three miniatures per player, but can be played with up to five miniatures per player. Each player freely chooses which characters they wish to use.
Zone cards: remove the trigger cards from the zone card deck. Shuffle the rest. At the start of each turn, draw a random number of zone cards equal to the number of players. Add one trigger card to this pile, then shuffle. These cards will serve as the draw deck for the turn. Draw a zone card from this deck each time a zone token is drawn from the bag.
Terrain: Showdown should ideally be played on a 90×90 cm (3×3 foot) battlefield. However, a slightly smaller or larger size remains acceptable. Randomly select a first player, then place terrain elements on the board in turn order.
Artifact tokens: once the terrain is set up, a player takes ten artifact tokens in hand and drops them in the center of the battlefield from a height of about 1.5 meters (5 feet). Pick up and drop again any token that lands within medium distance or less of another.
Miniature deployment: place action tokens for all participating factions (one per miniature) in a container. Draw a first token and let the player of that faction choose which corner they wish to deploy in. They then place a miniature anywhere up to long distance maximum from that corner. Then draw a second action token, and repeat the operation until all players have chosen a corner and deployed all their miniatures.
After a player has chosen a corner, all their miniatures of the same faction must be deployed up to long distance maximum from that corner, and no other player may deploy in the same location.
The Battle
Leaving the board: miniatures carrying artifacts recovered on the battlefield can leave the board if they cross an edge of it by any means. Once a miniature has left the battlefield, it cannot return to it.
- First card: clouds gather. No effect.
- Second card: acid rain begins to fall. The miniature that was activated last makes a Survival roll. Success: a designated miniature and all miniatures up to Long distance from it take 1 damage. Failure: the active miniature and all miniatures up to Long distance from it take 1 damage.
- Third card: the acid rain begins to intensify. All miniatures on the battlefield take one point of damage.
- Fourth card: the acid rain pours down intensely, destroying everything in its path. All miniatures still present on the battlefield are immediately eliminated. End of game.
Spoils
The objective of this scenario is to obtain the most victory points. Players can earn them in two ways:
Artifacts: any artifact card with an artifact token on it that is carried off the board before the end of the game yields its printed value in victory points. A staggered artifact yields only one victory point.
Staggered enemies: when a miniature is staggered as a result of another player's attack (not because of a zone card), the attacking player gains 1 victory point. Note that this only happens when the miniature is staggered, not when it is eliminated.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately when the fourth trigger card is drawn, or when miniatures of only one faction are still present on the battlefield, whichever happens first. Then tally each player's victory points to determine the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the most artifact cards wins (only cards with tokens count). In case of a further tie, share the victory!
Scenario 2: Turf War
Zone Ghouls head into the Zone to claim their territory — and defend their ground against rival factions. Who will claim the most land for their Ark before the sun sets over the Zone?
Turf War can be played with 2 to 4 players. Each participant freely chooses the faction they wish to play. In case of conflict over the same faction, resolve it with a dice roll.
Setup
Choice of Miniatures: Turf War can be played with 3 to 5 miniatures per player. Each player freely chooses which characters they wish to use.
Zone Cards: remove the trigger cards from the zone card deck. Shuffle the rest. Trigger cards are not used in this scenario. Draw a random zone card each time a zone token is drawn from the container and apply its effects.
Terrain: Turf War should ideally be played on a 90×90 cm (3×3 foot) battlefield. However, a slightly smaller or larger size remains acceptable. Randomly select a first player, then place terrain elements on the board in turn order. A number of building-type terrain pieces equal to the number of players plus one are the objectives. These must be single-story buildings, and they must be placed first. No part of an objective may be placed within less than Long distance of an edge of the board. Once the objectives are placed, continue placing the rest of the terrain.
Artifact tokens: once the terrain is set up, a player takes in hand a number of artifact tokens equal to the number of players plus one and drops them in the center of the battlefield from a height of about 1.5 meters (5 feet). Pick up and drop again any token that lands within medium distance or less of another.
Miniature Deployment: the game begins with no miniatures on the battlefield. When a faction's action token is drawn for the first time, the player must move a miniature onto the battlefield from an edge of the board. This move is part of a normal action (even if it is simply a one-step move), but no miniature can charge during this initial move. Once a miniature has entered the battlefield, all other miniatures of the same faction must enter from the same edge, and no other faction may enter from that edge of the board.
Spoils
The goal of the game is to obtain the most victory points. Players can earn them in three ways:
Objectives: at the end of each turn, players gain 2 victory points for each objective they hold. Holding an objective means a standing miniature is placed on it, while no miniature of another faction is also present on it. Staggered miniatures do not count. If an objective collapses for any reason and is removed from the game, it no longer yields victory points.
Staggered enemies: when a miniature is staggered as a result of another player's attack (not because of a zone card), the attacking player gains 1 victory point. Note that this only happens when the miniature is staggered, not when it is eliminated.
Artifacts: at the end of the game, any artifact card with a token on it held by a miniature still on the battlefield yields its printed value in victory points. A damaged artifact yields only one victory point.
End of the Game
The game ends after five full turns, or when miniatures of only one faction remain on the battlefield, whichever happens first. Then tally victory points to determine the winner. In case of a tie, the player holding the most objectives at the end of the game wins. In case of a further tie, share the victory!
Scenario 3: Street Fight
Zone Ghouls come to blows within the Zone after spotting a vein of precious metal that likely contains artifacts. The problem is that the loot is in the middle of the street, with little cover against enemy fire.
Street Fight can be played with 2 to 4 players. Each participant freely chooses the faction they wish to play. In case of conflict over the same faction, resolve it with a dice roll.
Setup
Choice of Miniatures: Street Fight can be played with 3 to 5 miniatures per player. Each player freely chooses which characters to use.
Zone Cards: remove the trigger cards from the zone card deck. Shuffle the rest. Trigger cards are not used in this scenario. Draw a random zone card each time a zone token is drawn from the container and apply its effects.
Terrain: Street Fight should ideally be played on a 90×90 cm (3×3 foot) battlefield. However, a slightly smaller or larger size remains acceptable. Divide the battlefield into three bands of equal size as shown in the diagram below. The middle band is the street, and the other two are the ruins. Randomly select a first player, then place terrain elements on the board in turn order. No blocking terrain may be placed in the street.
Artifact tokens: once the terrain is placed, arrange three artifact tokens in the street, one at the center of the board and the other two on each side, at long distance from the edges.
Miniature Deployment: place the action tokens for all participating factions (one per miniature) in the container. Draw a first token and let the player of that faction choose which corner they wish to deploy in. They then place a miniature anywhere up to long distance from that corner. Then draw a second action token, and repeat the operation until all players have chosen a corner and deployed all their miniatures.
After a player has chosen a corner, all their miniatures of the same faction must be deployed up to long distance maximum from that corner, and no other player may deploy in the same location.
The Battle
Best pick: the artifacts in this zone are particularly interesting. When you draw an artifact card for one of the artifacts placed on the sides, draw two cards and choose one to keep. Then place the other card either below or above the artifact deck. Do the same for the central artifact, except that you draw three cards.
Leaving the board: miniatures carrying artifacts recovered on the battlefield can leave the board if they move beyond an edge by any means.
Spoils
The goal of the game is to obtain the most victory points. Players can earn them in two ways:
Eliminated enemies: when a miniature is staggered or eliminated as a result of another player's attack (not because of a zone card), the attacking player gains one victory point.
Artifacts: at the end of the game, any artifact card with a token on it held by a miniature still on the battlefield yields its printed value in victory points. A damaged artifact yields only one victory point.
End of the Game
The game ends after five full turns, or when miniatures of only one faction remain alone on the battlefield, whichever happens first. Tally victory points to determine the winner. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest eliminated miniatures wins. In case of a further tie, share the victory!
Scenario 4: The Chase
A group of trackers has gotten their hands on valuable artifacts in the Zone and is heading back to their Ark. Just as they think they are in the clear, the war cries of rival trackers echo across the Zone. Will they manage to reach safety, or will their precious finds fall into the hands of their enemies?
This scenario works best with three players, but can be played with two. It is not, however, suited to four players. Each participant freely chooses the faction they wish to play. In case of conflict over the same faction, resolve it with a dice roll.
Setup
Choice of Miniatures: first, randomly determine which player will be the Runner. The others will be the Hunters. The number of players decides the number of miniatures per team — see the table below. Each participating player freely chooses the characters they wish to use. The Runner player receives three M points at the start of the game instead of just one.
| Players | Hunters | Runners |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 per player | 3 |
Mutations: in this scenario, each faction may only possess one each of the following mutations and modules: Frog Legs, Insect Wings, Telekinesis, Burrower, Sprinter, Jet Pack. If a faction has more than one of these abilities, all but one must be randomly replaced with another of the same type. If a faction has none of these abilities, the player may choose one of the appropriate type for their faction (physical/psionic/feral/module), which will replace an ability of their choice on one of their miniatures. In a campaign game, these changes are temporary and disappear after the scenario.
Zone cards: remove the trigger cards and the Killer Tree card from the zone card deck, as they are not used in this scenario. Shuffle the rest. Draw a random zone card each time a zone token is drawn from the container and apply its effects.
Zone tokens: place one zone token per player in the container.
Terrain: Turf War should ideally be played on a 90×90 cm (3×3 foot) battlefield. However, a slightly smaller or larger size remains acceptable. Divide the battlefield into three bands of equal size as shown in the diagram below. Randomly select a first player, then place terrain elements on the board in turn order. At least one terrain element must be placed in each band by each player, and no blocking terrain may be placed in the central band. The side bands are the Ruins.
Artifact tokens: no artifact token is placed on the board in this scenario.
Miniature deployment: the Runner player decides which edge of the battlefield will be their starting edge (see diagram). The opposite edge will be their escape edge. The Runner player then draws six artifact cards, without showing them to the others, and places one face down next to each of their character cards. The three unused cards are discarded. The three face-down artifact cards held by the Runners are called "reserve cards." Place an artifact token on each reserve card.
Then, the Runner player deploys all their miniatures in their band up to long distance maximum from their starting edge.
The Hunter miniatures start off the battlefield. When an action token for a Hunter faction is drawn for the first time, the player it belongs to must bring a miniature onto the battlefield from one of the Ruins' edges. This move is part of a normal action (even if it is simply a one-step move), but no miniature can charge during this initial move.
With three players, once a Hunter miniature has entered the battlefield, all other miniatures of the same faction must enter from the same board edge, and the other Hunter faction must enter from the other Ruins board edge.
The Battle
Reserve: reserve cards work like normal artifact cards in all respects, except that they cannot be seen by the other players or used before being flipped. Flipping a reserve card is a Simple Operation, after which the artifact can be used normally.
Leaving the board: Runner miniatures cannot leave the battlefield via their escape edge. Hunter miniatures can leave the battlefield via any edge (but will have little reason to do so). Once a miniature leaves the battlefield, it can no longer return.
Spoils
The goal of the game is to earn the most victory points. Players can earn them in two ways:
- Runners' escape: each Runner miniature that leaves the battlefield via the escape edge earns one victory point for the Runner player.
- Staggered enemies: when a miniature is staggered as a result of another player's attack (not because of a zone card), the attacking player gains one victory point. This only happens when the miniature is initially staggered, not when it is eliminated.
- Artifacts: when a Runner miniature carries an artifact card with an artifact token on it off the board via its escape edge, it earns its value in victory points. At the end of the game, the Hunter players earn the indicated victory points for each artifact card with an artifact token held by a miniature on the battlefield. A damaged artifact yields only one victory point.
End of the Game
The game ends immediately when all Runners are eliminated or when they have all left the battlefield. Then tally victory points to determine the winner. In case of a tie, the Runner player wins.
Scenario 5: Defense of the Ark
This group of Zone Ghouls discovers that their own home is under attack by rivals. The Ark is the only safe haven in the Zone, and defending it is worth risking their lives for. A fierce battle ensues.
This scenario can be played with 2 to 4 players. Each participant freely chooses the faction they wish to play. In case of conflict over the same faction, resolve it with a dice roll.
Setup
Choice of miniatures: first, randomly determine which player will be the Defender. The others will be the Attackers. The number of players decides the number of miniatures per team — see the table below. Each participating player freely chooses the characters they wish to use.
| Players | Attackers | Defenders |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 | 4 |
| 3 | 4 per player | 5 |
| 4 | 3 per player | 5 |
Zone cards: remove the trigger cards from the zone card deck. Shuffle the rest. Trigger cards are not used in this scenario. Draw a random zone card each time a zone token is drawn from the container and apply its effects.
Terrain: Defense of the Ark should ideally be played on a 90×90 cm (3×3 foot) battlefield. However, a slightly smaller or larger size remains acceptable. First, the Defender player builds their Ark using three or four building-type terrain pieces (with floors) of their choice. Each piece of Ark terrain must be placed at least long distance from any board edge and no more than medium distance from at least one other piece of Ark terrain. Then, the rest of the terrain is placed. Randomly select the first Attacker player, then place terrain elements on the board in turn order (including the Defender). Attacker players cannot place terrain pieces within medium distance of an Ark terrain piece. The Defender can place terrain anywhere, including inside the Ark.
Artifact tokens: once the terrain setup is complete, the Defender draws ten artifact cards at random, chooses five, and discards the rest. The Defender then places these five artifact cards face down anywhere on the battlefield, with an artifact token on each.
Miniature deployment: first, the Defender deploys their miniatures anywhere on the battlefield. The Attacker miniatures start off the battlefield. When an action token for an Attacker faction is drawn for the first time, that player must move a miniature onto the battlefield from a chosen board edge. This move is part of a normal action (even if it is simply a one-step move), but no miniature can charge during this initial move. Once an Attacker miniature has entered the battlefield, all other miniatures of the same faction must enter from the same board edge, and no other Attacker faction may enter from that board edge.
Spoils
The goal of the game is to obtain the most victory points. Players can earn them in three different ways:
- The Ark: at the end of each turn, each player earns 1 victory point for each piece of Ark terrain they hold. Holding a terrain piece means a miniature is placed on it in an elevated position, while no miniature of another faction is present on it. Staggered miniatures do not count.
- Staggered enemies: when a miniature is staggered as a result of another player's attack (not because of a zone card), the attacking player gains 1 victory point. This only happens when the miniature is initially staggered, not when it is eliminated.
- Artifacts: at the end of the game, any artifact card with an artifact token on it held by a miniature on the battlefield yields its printed value in victory points. A damaged artifact yields only 1 victory point.
End of the Game
The game ends after five full turns, or when miniatures of only one faction are still present on the battlefield, whichever happens first. Tally victory points to determine the winner. In case of a tie, the Defender wins.
Solo Games
These rules let you play a game of Zone Wars solo, meaning you play against the system, which controls one side using the game's rules. These rules can also be used when players wish to play together cooperatively, which is an excellent way to introduce miniature gaming to a beginner. In this section, the term "AI" (Artificial Intelligence) refers to the faction not controlled by a player. In the case of Mechatron robots, that's rather literal!
Scenarios
The solo rules work best with fairly simple scenarios such as Showdown, Turf War, and Street Fight. The more complex scenarios are not recommended.
Random
Some solo rules require a random selection among several options, such as board corners. Number each available option and roll a die to choose, rerolling as many times as necessary.
Interpretation
A miniature game can be relatively complex, and you will undoubtedly encounter situations that are not entirely covered by these guidelines. In these cases, you will need to make a decision — what is the most reasonable option to choose for the AI? When in doubt, a random dice roll can be made to decide between two options.
Choice of Miniatures
Choose a faction and miniatures for the AI as you would for a human player, as dictated by the scenario. If you prefer, you can randomly choose which faction the AI will control. In the solo rules, miniatures are divided into four types:
- Fighter: this type of miniature is best suited for close combat. Examples: Hugust, Bormin, Moose, Ruben, Bender.
- Sharpshooter: this type of miniature is best suited for long-range combat. Examples: Franton, Naphtha, Farrow, M.A.R.K. 14, Tula, Psycho.
- Controller: this type of miniature has abilities that affect or damage enemies indirectly. Examples: Danko, Plutonia, Maxim, Scrappy.
- Support: this type of miniature is best suited for supporting and helping allies. Examples: Dux, Krin, Mecha King, Wrecker, Psion.
Deployment of Miniatures
When the AI must choose a board edge or corner to deploy from, choose it randomly. AI miniatures will deploy differently depending on their type:
- Fighters and Controllers deploy as far as possible toward the interior of the board, up to Long distance from enemies if possible and within line of sight if they can; otherwise out of line of sight.
- Sharpshooters deploy behind cover and on elevated terrain if possible, with line of sight to as many enemies as possible.
- Support miniatures deploy up to Long distance maximum from as many allied miniatures as possible, out of enemy line of sight if possible.
Performing Actions
When an AI miniature is active, it will act according to its priorities. AI miniatures never go into Overwatch mode.
Fighters will prioritize targeting the nearest non-staggered enemy and will try to get as close as possible to their target while still offering themselves some protection against gunfire. If they are close enough to charge (or attack in melee without charging), they will do so. Otherwise, they will fire with any ranged weapons they carry.
Sharpshooters will target the nearest visible non-staggered enemy. If they see no enemy, they will move to establish line of sight to their target (just one step if they can) and will then fire while remaining as much as possible behind cover.
Controllers will target the nearest non-staggered enemy and will try to get as close as possible to their target while still offering themselves some protection against gunfire. When within range to use their mutations or modules, they will use them at maximum effect. If they have no M points available, they will attack the nearest non-staggered enemy, using a ranged weapon if possible.
Support miniatures will stay up to Long distance maximum from allied miniatures and out of enemy line of sight, exposing themselves only if necessary to use their abilities (such as Warning Call). A Support miniature will try to use its mutation or module to help its allies if possible. If it has no M points available, it will attack the nearest non-staggered enemy, using a ranged weapon if it has one.
Rerolls
AI miniatures will reroll every Ranged and Melee roll, unless all the equipment dice of the initial roll show a biohazard result.
Mutations & Modules
An AI miniature can use its mutations or modules when eligible. It all depends on the type of mutation/module.
- Action: if the ability benefits the AI miniature, it will use the card on a dice roll of 4+.
- Upgrade: if the AI miniature performs an action to which the Upgrade card applies, it will use the card on a dice roll of 4+.
- Reflex: if activating the ability helps the AI miniature, it will use it on a dice roll of 3+.
Artifacts & Spoils
If finding artifacts grants victory points in the scenario, AI miniatures will always try to pick up any artifact within medium distance of their position (Simple Operation). This takes priority over the normal priorities of the miniature type.
Cardboard Terrain
The cardboard terrain included in this box is shown assembled below. The finished pieces are designated by the letters A through J, and each detachable part is marked with the corresponding letter and a number. Terrain pieces must be assembled by gently slotting the different parts together. No glue is needed.