Neuroshima Hex! Babel13
Neuroshima Hex! Babel13 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
New Rules: Description of Tile Actions
The Babel 13 expansion adds many new units and rules to the game. They are described below.
Board Tiles - Description of New Icons
Venom
If a unit with a venom icon wounds an enemy unit (including Headquarters) then the wounded unit not only receives the wound as usual, but is also poisoned (shown by placing a venom marker on it). From now on the poisoned unit receives one wound from the poison at the beginning of each battle (before the initiative phases).
Venom Marker
Sharpshooter
A Sharpshooter can choose which enemy unit in the line of fire it shoots. (It does not need to be the first enemy unit.) The armor of the unit being shot at works normally against the shot.
Spy
A Spy can link itself to enemy Modules or Headquarters as if they were friendly Modules or Headquarters, automatically receiving their bonuses and benefits. (Note that the module can still aid allies that are connected to it.) If a Medic module is linked to several units (including a Spy) which all take damage simultaneously, then as usual the module's owner decides which linked unit will be cured.
Push Back
The unit with the Push Back can - once during each of his turns - push back one enemy unit freely.
The New Instant Tiles
Small bomb
It gives one wound to every unit (enemy and friendly) which stands on the three hexes under attack. The 3 hexes must be mutually adjacent (as shown on the tile for a Small bomb). All 3 hexes must be on the board. The small bomb does not wound Headquarters.
Castling
Two adjacent owned units (including Headquarters) can switch places, but they do not change their facing. Units caught in a net cannot castle.
Foundation Tiles (New Type of Tiles)
Foundation tiles are a new type of tile which some armies possess. A Foundation Tile can be placed only on an empty hex. Once it is placed, then any unit (friendly or enemy) can be placed or move onto (or be pushed onto, etc.) a Foundation Tile normally. Foundation Tiles are not considered units, and they cannot be moved, pushed, netted, taken over etc. They can be destroyed only by damaging Instant Action Tiles (Sniper, Grenade, Bomb, Small bomb). Foundation Tiles do not block lines of fire: it is possible to shoot over them. A hex with only a Foundation Tile is not considered occupied for purposes of a full board causing a battle.
Mine
If any unit (friendly or enemy) is placed or moved onto a Mine, both the unit and the Mine are automatically destroyed, and are removed from the board. If a Headquarters is placed or moved onto a mine, the Mine is destroyed, but the Headquarters remains unwounded.
Roots
Roots are part of the Motherland, a passive but hard to remove growth. Roots are not units, so modules cannot be linked to Roots.
The Armies of Babel 13
New York
New York didn't collapse. Destroyed by atomic bombs, transformed into a fortress among the ruins, it still fights in the defense of the ideals of Free America. So far it has become a capital of the small state of the same name and has started a crusade to restore the human world. At the same time it has usurped the role of guiding the nation, and removed their opponents wherever they can. Again and again the new troops set off on expeditions to the wilderness in search of new resources and prewar technologies, recruiting useful people along the way. The city itself has become a fortified police state, one of the few safe places in the ruined world, where you pay for peace with your obedience.
The Deck description: The army's advantage is the diversity of units, including a lot of shooting units. A great strength is the Headquarters, which gives additional endurance (Toughness) points, and the presence of spies, which can use enemy modules.
The army's disadvantage is a smaller possibility of creating strong offensive coalitions, and the fact that the HQ's special ability is rather defensive.
Tactical advice: The New York HQ should be surrounded by its own units as soon as possible to strengthen them and create a hard-to-break wall around the HQ. As the game proceeds, refill empty spaces around the HQ as quickly as possible. When the HQ is strongly defended, New York can better attack the enemy.
Tactical advice for the opponent: Even if it it means sacrificing your own units, the hexes around New York's HQ should be occupied - it's still preferable to sacrifice a friendly unit leaving an empty space by the HQ than to have a NY unit with additional endurance there.
New York HQ
HQ - Special feature: The HQ gives its own adjacent units one additional Toughness point. (If the unit receives one wound it doesn't die - instead a wound marker should be placed on it.) If such a unit becomes nonadjacent to the HQ, or when the HQ is caught in a net, the unit immediately loses the additional Toughness, and it could die immediately as a result (if it was still alive only thanks to the additional Toughness point from the HQ).
Instant tiles: Battle (x5), Move (x2), Push Back (x1), Sniper (x1)
New York Board Tiles - Soldiers
- Shooter (x1)
- Sharpshooter (x2)
- Shotgun (x1) - Like most shooters, the shotgun hits the first enemy unit in the line of fire. If the target was adjacent to the Shotgun it gets 3 wounds, 2 wounds if it is 2 hexes away, 1 wound if it is 3 hexes away, and no damage if it is farther away. No bonuses increasing firepower have an effect on the shotgun.
- Spy-Shooter (x2)
- Rocket Launcher (x1) - The Rocket enters the adjacent hex in the direction indicated on the tile, and then it can go two additional hexes, not necessarily in a straight line, chosen by the owner. The first enemy it hits (including HQ) receives 3 wounds. It moves through the owner's pieces without hitting them. No bonuses increasing firepower have effect on the rocket launcher.
- Cop (x2)
- Steel Boxer (x2)
- Hammer (x2)
- Pusher (x1)
- Spy-Cleaner (x1)
- Net Fighter (x1)
New York Board Tiles - Modules
- Sergeant (x1)
- Officer I (x2)
- Officer II (x2)
- Scout (x2)
New York Foundation Tiles
- Mine (x2)
Neojungle
When survivors of humanity started to stand up from their knees after the destructive war, when they were looking in fear to the North, at the terrain occupied by robots, in the South a new threatening force was born, as strong as Moloch, but not as dynamic. Slowly but surely an overwhelming mutated jungle started to grow. It was driven by an ungoverned survival instinct, and with each passing year it devours new kilometers of human earth. It assimilates everything it comes into contact with, changing animals and people into mutated beasts and symbiotic organisms, which enable it to go forward and destroy the next threat. This huge green and ferocious organism was called Neojungle.
The Deck description: The main advantage of the army is the ability to create a Motherland, which lets one Module simultaneously help all units which belong to the Motherland. Even units which are weak alone can become fast efficient killers.
The disadvantage of the army is its relatively low mobility, lack of shooters, and the fact that without a Motherland the units are rather weak and slow.
Tactical advice: Neojungle should extend the Motherland as soon as possible and at all costs, and try not to waste a single Module. What's more, we recommend protecting modules by hiding them behind other units. A risky but very often profitable move is placing units with the idea that in the future they will be faster and stronger thanks to the Motherland. The structure of the Motherland must be protected against being broken - for example if it is possible its connectivity shouldn't depend on a single tile. It is good to protect all occupied places around the HQ so the enemy cannot put a Net fighter there.
Tactical advice for the opponent: The opponent should concentrate on destroying the Motherland and on elimination of Neojungle Modules.
Neojungle HQ
HQ - Special feature: All Neojungle units that are adjacent to HQ belong to the Motherland, and all Neojungle units adjacent to Motherland also belong to it. Modules that belong to Neojungle which are linked to any unit in the Motherland (but not to the Roots, which are not a unit) give their bonus to each unit in the Motherland (including HQ).
Instant tiles: Battle (x4), Castling (x2), Move (x1), Small Bomb (x1)
Neojungle Board Tiles - Soldiers
- Monster (x1)
- Slicer (x4)
- Nightshade (x2)
- Crusher (x3)
- Wall of Trees (x1)
- Net Fighter (x3)
- Swarm (x2)
Neojungle Board Tiles - Modules
- Vines (x1)
- Medic (x3)
- Symbiont Alfa (x1)
- Symbiont Beta (x1)
- Symbiont Gamma (x2)
Neojungle Foundation Tiles
- Roots (x2)
Common Problems
Example of Rocket Launcher shot - illustration only (diagram of the Rocket's path).
Example of the Motherland - illustration on the printed page. The green outline shows units that belong to the Motherland; the red outline shows a unit which is not part of the Motherland. The red Xs show Modules that are not connected to any other unit, and therefore give no bonus to the Motherland. The green checks show Modules that are properly connected to the Motherland and provide a bonus to all Motherland units.
More on Mine
If during the game the board is filled up and no single space is left - except for one with a Mine tile, a Battle is not yet commenced. If a Unit tile is put on Mine tile it is destroyed and a Battle is not yet commenced.
More on Medic in New York
If Medic adjacent to NY's HQ takes wound, it is killed and removed from board immediately - bonus from NY's HQ will not help him in that situation.
Modules and the Motherland
A Module must be directly linked to some unit in the Motherland (not only adjacent to an unit in the Motherland) to affect the Motherland. Enemy tiles affecting Modules of the Motherland (for example which cancel the effect of a Module) must directly affect the Module - not just any unit in the Motherland - in order to affect the target Module.
A netted unit still belongs to the Motherland - being in the Motherland is a passive feature (based on occupation of adjacent board hexes), not an active action. But if an enemy army takes control over such a unit (for example a Module taken over by a Scoper of the Outpost army), then it is no longer in the Motherland.
Enemy Modules which weaken linked units affect only the unit, not the whole Motherland.
Vines are a Module which affect only enemy units not friendly units, so Vines do not affect the Motherland.
No non-Neojungle Unit can be a part of Motherland (even a Spy unit connected to Neojungle HQ).
Roots Issues
If there is a hex with Roots and a unit, and it's attacked by an instant tile (Grenade, Bomb, Sniper), then the attacker chooses whether the Roots or the Unit is hit by the attack.
If an enemy unit is standing on Roots, they still belong to the Motherland and count for connecting to adjacent friendly Neojungle units.
Venom Issues
There can be simultaneously only two Venom markers of Neojungle in play. If a Nightshade wounds another unit, and there is no spare venom marker, then the bitten unit is not poisoned. When a venom marker leaves the board (a poisoned unit dies), then Nightshades can again poison an enemy.
If one unit has two Venom markers, then at the beginning of each battle it gets two wounds from venom.
A Medic can take the venom damage at the start of a battle for a unit linked to it.
Venom affects HQ like any other unit.
The Multiplayer Mode
Playing With a Greater Number of Players
In a game with a greater number of players, you can enlarge the board with additional Wasteland Terrain elements:
- 4 players - you can enlarge the board to 23 fields
- 5 players - you can enlarge the board to 26 fields
- 6 players - you can enlarge the board to 29 fields
New York in Multiplayer Game
The HQ doesn't give a bonus to an ally's HQ.
Neojungle in Multiplayer Games
Allied units do not belong to the Motherland and they cannot use the Motherland's special ability.
The whole Motherland only takes bonuses from Neojungle modules.
Allied Modules affect linked friendly units as usual, but they do not give their effects to the whole Motherland.
Neojungle Modules connected to ally unit give him a bonus.
Terrains and Scenarios
Terrain Elements
In the box "Babel 13" there are nine additional board elements, such as Forest, Water, Wasteland, Warehouse, Hill, Base or Bunker, and four Turret tiles. They are used for creating new scenarios. Below you will find descriptions of the rules regarding Terrain, rules of scenario creation and one example of a campaign.
The General Principle of Creating Scenarios and Campaigns
A Neuroshima Hex scenario is a single game which applies additional conditions to the basic rules of the game. These can include Terrain, unequal distribution of forces, conditional events, etc. Campaigns for Neuroshima Hex consist of a series of interrelated scenarios. Success or failure in an individual scenario may affect the following parts of the campaign.
When designing a scenario, you should:
- Determine the exact layout of the board and Terrain.
- Choose from the propositions described below (or invent your own and accurately describe them), deciding the features for types of Terrain used in this scenario.
- Determine additional conditions (such as unequal forces, conditional events, the initial distribution of units on the board, tiles drawing rules, etc.). E.g. there can be a requirement that a particular army's HQ must be on a certain type of Terrain.
- Determine the victory conditions and the campaign effects of fulfilling the aims of the scenario for each of the parties.
- Determine the first player.
In every scenario (unless written otherwise) there is an alternate default victory condition - the total destruction of enemy Headquarters is automatically treated as meeting all the objectives of the scenario (a player receives the maximum award possible for the scenario).
The General Rules of Terrain
If all the hexes of the board except Closed Terrain and Fatal Terrain are occupied, the board is considered to be full and a Battle starts immediately. If, on a player's turn, the only empty hexes are in an enemy-occupied Tight Bunker, so that the player cannot enter those hexes, then the board is considered to be full and a Battle starts immediately.
Generally, each physical terrain element consists of several hexes of one type of terrain, e.g. Forest. In a given scenario, all the terrain of a given type will have the same characteristics, specified by the scenario. E.g. for a given scenario, all Forest hexes might be specified as Thick and Poisonous.
The specific possible characteristics for all terrain types are given below.
NOTE! All hexes of a Terrain element should cover hexes on the board, rather than extending off the board and covering the Wound Track, for instance. If one Terrain element is placed on another, place the smaller entirely upon the larger to prevent it from tipping or sloping.
Forest
- Thick - A Unit standing in Thick Forest can be attacked and wounded only from a hex directly adjacent to it (either ranged or melee.) Any attack from a greater distance (even a Sharpshooter or Gauss cannon), as well as any attack by an Instant Tile, is totally ineffective against it.
- High - High Forest blocks line of sight for ranged attacks, hiding units which are on the other side and protecting them against attacks by a shooter. High forest even protects against the Sharpshooter and Gauss cannon.
- Dismal - During their round a player may move one of their own units in the Dismal Forest to any other empty space in the same Forest element, or to other adjacent Forest elements. The Unit may change facing. Dismal forest has no effect on Headquarters.
- Poisonous - Each unit standing in Poisonous Forest automatically receives one wound in each Battle, in the Initiative 0 segment.
- Jungle - Units that have additional Toughness (Toughness icon marked on the tile itself, not provided by HQ etc, and even if they have been reduced by wounds to 1 endurance) are too large to be placed or moved into Jungle in any way. Jungle has no effect on Headquarters.
Hill
- High - as in Forest above.
- Rocky - If a unit on a rocky Hill receives any wound or is pushed, it is automatically killed (it falls into an abyss). This rule does not apply to Headquarters.
- Fortress - A unit in a Fortress has an extra Endurance point (when it receives one wound, it is not killed, and instead the wound marker should be placed on it). If the unit leaves the Fortress Terrain for any reason, it immediately loses that extra Endurance point (and dies if it was still alive only thanks to that bonus Endurance point). This rule does not apply to Headquarters.
- Watchtower - A shooting unit on a Watchtower with any ranged attack gains Sharpshooter ability - as long as it stays on the Hill.
Water
- Deep - If a unit in deep water receives any wound, it automatically dies (from drowning). This rule does not apply to HQ. A unit drowning in deep water can be saved by a Medic.
- Whirlpool - Each unit in a Whirlpool is automatically killed at the end of the Battle (from drowning), in the Initiative 0 segment. This rule does not apply to HQ. A unit drowning in a Whirlpool can be saved by a Medic.
- Swamp - Units which have an additional Toughness (Toughness icon marked on the tile itself, not provided by HQ etc, and even if they have been reduced by wounds to 1 endurance) are so heavy that if they are placed or moved onto Swamp for any reason, they immediately sink into the depths and are killed. They cannot be saved by a Medic. This rule does not apply to HQ.
Wasteland
- Plain - Plain hexes don't have any special features.
- Radioactive - Each unit in a Radioactive Wasteland hex automatically receives one wound in each Battle, in the Initiative 0 segment.
Base
- Closed - No units can be placed or moved onto a Closed Base hex.
- Defense Systems - In every Battle's Initiative 0 segment a Base Defense system hits all adjacent units (except Headquarters) with strength 1 attacks.
- Turrets - As described in a scenario, Turrets will be placed on Base/Bunker hexes. Turrets are not considered units (you cannot destroy them, net them, move them, rotate them, take control over them, etc.), but nevertheless in each Battle they automatically attack like units. Unless the scenario says otherwise, Turrets attack targets regardless of which army they belong to.
- The Control Panel - The Base hex with a manhole cover is treated as a Control Panel, rather than as a Bases hex. A unit which stands on it doesn't do any of its normal actions; instead, it controls the Control Panel. The player controlling the Control Panel may at any time during their round rotate Turrets. Turrets continue to fire at targets in their line of sight regardless of which army they belong to. Controlling the Control Panel does not protect one's units in the Turret's line of sight. A Unit controlling the Control Panel can still be wounded, killed, netted, etc. A unit standing on the Control Panel is not attacked by the Base's Defense Systems. A HQ cannot stand on the Control Panel. The Control Panel is neither Closed nor High.
- Fortress - as in Hill above.
- High - as in Forest above.
Bunker
- Turrets - as in Base above.
- Tight - If there is already a unit in a Tight Bunker, then only the player who controls it can place or move additional units there. (The enemy has no entrance to the bunker.) If the Bunker is empty, then any player is free to occupy it with their own units again, thus locking out other players.
- Fortress - as above.
Warehouse 1, 2 and 3
- Closed - as in Base above. In the case of Warehouses, they must be closed; it is not an optional feature.
- Prize - A Prize Marker (or several) is placed on each Warehouse hex at the start, according to the scenario. To get them, you must first overcome security - that is, give enough wounds to this hex of the Warehouse, as specified in the scenario. Each wound given to a particular Warehouse hex should be marked with a wound marker. The player who gives the final required wound, breaking open the Warehouse, gets the Prize Markers from the hex. If units from more than one army break open the Warehouse at the same time, then the Prize markers are destroyed, and nobody receives them.
- High - as above.
Rock
- High - as in Forest above.
- Closed - as in Base above.
Hole
- Fatal - Any Unit on a Fatal Hole for any reason falls fatally and is automatically removed from the board. It cannot be saved by a Medic. Headquarters cannot enter a Hole for any reason (by moving, pushing, etc.).
Prize Markers
Included with "Babel 13" are 15 Prize Markers, designed for use in scenarios.
If a Prize Marker is placed on a unit, it modifies the features of the unit.
Prize Markers can be gained while playing the scenario or granted by the scenario in advance. The exact conditions are specified by the scenario.
Markers which can be gained during the scenario should begin placed on the board.
If a player gains a Prize Marker during a scenario, he can place it on a unit of his choice in any of his later turns. Every friendly unit is eligible to receive a Prize Marker, even if it is far away, caught in a net, etc.
A Prize Marker held for bringing into play later must be visible to opponents. The owner can put it on one of their own units at any time during their round.
A unit cannot have more than 2 Prize Markers on it. Headquarters cannot have Prize Markers.
Types of Prize Markers
- First Aid Kit - The unit has an additional Toughness point.
- Enhanced Hit - The unit's melee strength is increased by 1.
- Enhanced Shot - The unit's ranged strength is increased by 1.
- The Accelerator - The unit's Initiative is increased by 1.
- Mobility - The unit has Mobility (ability to move one hex and change facing during the owner's turn).
- Explosives - During its battle segment, the unit can choose to explode instead of doing its normal attack. This gives 1 wound to all adjacent units (enemy and friendly alike). Then the exploding unit is removed from the board, and cannot be cured by a Medic. Explosive are not treated as a "Bomb" Instant Tile, so it may, for example, wound Headquarters.
- Additional Action - The unit gets another action in the next Initiative segment following its normal action. Additional actions are cumulative, e.g. if the unit itself already gets 2 actions, or is next to the Outpost HQ, or a Mother module. Thus it's possible that a unit will attack in several successive initiative segments. But note that no further actions can be performed after the Initiative 0 segment (so it's possible that some additional hits are unused).
- Universal Markers - There are 4 Universal Markers included in the set; their meaning is described by the particular scenario. They might be Unit enhancements, or physical objects connected with the scenario's story - for example, an atomic bomb or other special weapon, etc.
Example of Campaign
Campaign: The Babel 13 Mission
In response to an SOS signal a reconnaissance mission is sent to the base Babel 13. Their mission is to identify the problem and, if possible, solve it. The campaign consists of 5 scenarios with several armies: on one side are human armies (New York, the Outpost, the Hegemony), while the other side has armies hostile to humanity (Neojungle, Moloch, Borgo).
Special Campaign Rules
- The total destruction of the opponent's HQ in any scenario means the end of the campaign and victory for the player whose HQ remains on the board.
- Allied units (even Moloch) do not attack each other. The rest of the standard multiplayer rules for allies are in effect.
- At the beginning of each later scenario the HQ have whatever Hit Points they had at the end of the previous scenario.
- At the end of a scenario, the winning HQ (which has received fewer injuries) regains 3 Hit Points points before starting the next scenario. (Headquarters cannot have more than 20 Hit Points.) In the case of a tie, no one gains the 3 points, and the scenario winner (for purposes of the next scenario's starting conditions) is considered to be Neojungle.
- Prizes gained and not yet used are kept and usable in the next scenario.
NOTE! You need to keep track of the overall Hit Points of the Headquarters (for the entire campaign) on the wound track, and separately keep track of injuries received in a particular scenario (to decide the winner in this one scenario). To do this, use 2 markers for each side instead of the normal 1 marker. At the beginning of each scenario, both should be placed in accordance with the HQ Hit Points at the start of the scenario. During the scenario move only one of them. Then at the scenario end you can see the starting and ending Hit Points of the Headquarters, and thus the number of injuries received in this scenario.
Scenario 1: First Meeting
Terrain features: Forest - Thick, Jungle; Wasteland - Plain; Hole - Fatal.
Start: New York is the first player. The NY HQ must be placed on Wasteland Terrain, and the Neojungle HQ must be placed in Forest.
The winner gets an additional prize (see Scenario 2).
Scenario 2: Steel Convoy
System board: Before the game starts, the Neojungle player selects 5 Moloch units of their choice (except HQ) and puts them on the board (not on the Hill). The surviving Allied units will appear in Scenarios 4 and 5, but not 3! At the beginning of placing the Headquarters, the player puts the surviving Moloch units on any board hexes available to Neojungle.
Terrain features: Hill - Watchtower.
Start: The winner of the previous scenario starts. He places his HQ, and then takes as many free turns as the difference in injuries received by the two HQs in the previous scenario. (E.g. if the previous winner's HQ received 3 wounds and the opponent's HQ received 5, then the starting player takes 2 free turns. Then the second player places their HQ, and begins with drawing 3 tiles. Play continues normally.)
Scenario 3: Hit the Bunker!
System board: In addition, the Neojungle player chooses one Borgo unit (except HQ) and puts it on any Bunker hex. The Bunker is occupied by Borgo, and while this unit is in the Bunker, it is Tight against any other army's entry. The Borgo unit is not transferred to subsequent scenarios.
Terrain features: Bunker - Tight, Fortress. Warehouse - Closed, High, Strength (damage needed to break into a Warehouse hex): 3 wounds. Only New York can damage the Warehouse. In every Warehouse hex there are 3 Prize markers: 1 First Aid Kit, 1 Mobility, 1 Accelerator.
Start: Normally.
Scenario 4: Reckless Mission
System board: The New York player selects any 3 Outpost units of their choice (except HQ) and puts them in Bunker hexes. The Bunker is occupied by Outpost, and while any Outpost units remain in the Bunker, no other Army can enter it since the Bunker is Tight. The Outpost units will not continue to the next scenario.
Terrain features: Bunker - Tight, Fortress, Hidden (Bunker hexes are not affected by Instant Attacks). Warehouse - Closed, High, Strength: 6. Only New York can damage the Warehouse (Outpost units may not). Inside is a radio (see Additional Rules for this scenario below).
Start: At the beginning of the scenario Neojungle HQ recovers 4 Hit Points. Before placing their HQ, Neojungle may place Moloch units surviving from Scenario 2 onto the board.
Additional Rules: If New York captures the radio, they will get reinforcements in the next scenario. If they fail, Neojungle will get reinforcements. (Reinforcements are explained in the next scenario.) The Warehouse can be opened as long as at least one Outpost unit is still in the Bunker. If there is not an Outpost unit in the Bunker, the radio is destroyed, and nobody can get it.
Scenario 5: Battle of Babel 13
System board: The winner of the previous scenario selects 2 Turrets and puts them on any Base hexes (except Panel).
Terrain features: Base - Closed, High, Turrets, Control Panel. Forest - Thick.
Start: First any Moloch units surviving from previous scenarios are placed on the board. Then reinforcements from the previous scenario are placed. Then the Headquarters are placed as usual. The New York HQ cannot be placed in the Forest. If New York gets reinforcements (due to capturing the radio in Scenario 4), they may place any 3 Hegemony units (except HQ). If Neojungle gets reinforcements, they may place 6 Borgo units (except HQ).
Victory
The army whose Headquarters finishes with highest amount of Hit Points wins the campaign.