Neuroshima Hex
Neuroshima Hex Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Preface
And yet, to me, Neuroshima Hex is all about sunshine, sea breeze, and the laughter of children. A long time ago, I used to spend summer holidays by the Baltic Sea with a big group of friends and their kids. Besides beach lounging, feasting, and reading, one of the highlights of those vacations was playing board games. A bunch of kids, aged five to fifteen, kept themselves busy while we grown-ups set up tables outdoors and laid out our games. That's where Ignacy Trzewiczek brought the freshly published Neuroshima Hex by Michał Oracz.
And it was there—beneath the pine trees, under a blue sky and warm sun, with the sound of the sea, the chirping of birds, and the joyful noise of children playing—that I first encountered one of the most brutal board games I've ever had the chance to play. It was the very first edition of Hex, with simple artwork, unevenly cut tiles, and rules that weren't always crystal clear. But it was more than enough to win us over. We'd talk for hours after the games about the balance between the different armies or how tricky it was to deal with netted net fighters. And of course, about bad luck: "You know, if I'd just drawn a Battle at the right time, I totally would've wiped you out!"
The second image I carry in my mind of Neuroshima Hex is of Ignacy at the Essen trade fair—leaning against a pile of boxes filled with the freshly printed English edition of the game at the tiny Portal Games booth. Those were the pioneering days of board gaming in Poland. There were only a handful of publishers in the market. Very few people even went to Essen, and mainly just to figure out how the board game industry worked and maybe buy licenses for European hits.
But someone—specifically that madman Ignacy—decided that instead of importing games, he would expand. It was a total gamble—he had no idea how many copies to print, how many he'd sell, or how many he'd be hauling back to Poland. The cost of the booth—even a tiny one, barely furnished—was steep for a small Polish publisher. Hours and hours driving, lugging boxes, and then long days at the fair explaining the rules of the game in English (for the first time ever). Would it succeed, or would the whole endeavor financially sink the company? It was pioneering work—by Ignacy, by Michał, by Portal, and by the whole Polish board game scene. A key step that helped a small local company from a distant country become a global publisher with multiple hits, and turned the game's designer and publisher into respected, well-known figures in the industry.
Another memory from Essen, this one many years later: the huge Portal Games booth in the main hall, swarmed by customers, and I can't get more than a few words in with either Ignacy or Michał because someone keeps coming up asking for a photo or an autograph. Neuroshima Hex no longer lies in stacks on the floor—it now sits proudly on shelves with a new cover, surrounded by expansions and promo content. The game has grown up—just like the kids from those seaside holidays.
What made Neuroshima Hex so captivating for me—and for players around the world? Of course, hundreds of reviews and thousands of online posts have already covered that, so I probably won't be saying anything new. But the heart of Hex is its lack of time, space, and relaxation. It's the ideal competitive game. You don't waste time managing resources to feed your army. You don't need to slowly upgrade your units. You're not constructing long supply chains or building combo engines over seven turns. You don't need three hours to play—in fact, usually not even one. You just fight. You place a hexagonal unit on a board where there's never enough space. You wait for an attack that could come at any moment—from any direction. Once a unit is destroyed, it's gone for good.
Of course, Michał Oracz invented a unique combat system—so original that no one ever really copied it, because it would've been immediately obvious. And sure, every new expansion gave fans new armies to analyze like the best logic puzzles. Each new edition became more refined: better artwork, neatly cut tiles. But at its core, the essence of the game remains the same—no time, no space, no rest. Not even a breath for a tired runner. No safe hex to recover for a worn-out supermutant. No workshop to repair a bullet-ridden clown. No time, no space, no rest—not even for the player. Even when you're sitting under a blue Polish sky, soothed by the sound of the sea, with a glass of fine drink in hand.
Even then. Because Neuroshima Hex is a ruthless and brutal game.
— Tomasz Kołodziejczak, board game enthusiast, sci-fi writer, comic book publisher, columnist. Winner of the Janusz A. Zajdel Award.
Game Components
- 35 Borgo Army Tiles
- 35 Hegemony Army Tiles
- 35 Moloch Army Tiles
- 35 Outpost Army Tiles
- 4 Replacement Tiles (1 for each army)
- 8 HQ Markers (2 for each army)
- 24 Wound Markers
- 36 Initiative Markers
- 6 Net Markers
- 1 Double-Layered Board
- 4 Army Reference Sheets (1 for each army)
- 1 Battle Atlas
- 8 Structure Tiles (2 for each army)
- 8 Leader Cards
- 1 Rulebook
The base game includes four armies: Borgo, Hegemony, Moloch, and Outpost. The backs of the army tiles show which army they belong to.
Game Rules
Note: If you already knew the rules of Neuroshima Hex and you just want to catch up with the rules of the new edition, you just have to read the rules marked in yellow and with a warning icon. The following rules refer to the basic two player game. All adjustments necessary for a three or four player game and in gameplay variants are presented in the Additional Game Modes section.
Goal of the Game
The goal of each player is to destroy their opponent's Headquarters (HQ). At the beginning of the game each HQ has 20 Health. If, at any time during the game, a player's HQ loses its last Health, the HQ is destroyed and the player has lost.
If at the end of the game (see more under Victory), neither HQ has been destroyed, players compare their current Health. The player with higher Health value wins the game.
Setup
Place the board in the center of the play area. Each player chooses an army and takes its 35 tiles. The remaining tiles are returned to the box, they won't be needed in this game.
Each player places their HQ tile aside from their deck (HQ has an illustration on both sides of the tile) and shuffles the remaining tiles thoroughly.
The Wound, Net, and Initiative markers are placed near the board.
Note: It is absolutely essential to shuffle the tiles before each game session. During the game, tiles are discarded to a discard pile in groups. If the tiles are not shuffled, it can lead to a series of similar tiles being drawn each turn, and thus making it difficult to perform a reasonable action on the board.
Once the tiles have been shuffled, players place them in a face down stack nearby. Each player takes one of their Army HQ marker and place it on the 20 value of the track surrounding the board. Position of the marker tracks the current Toughness of the HQ. Players' second HQ markers are returned to the box.
Game Sequence
Starting the Game
The players in any way determine which one of them will start the game.
The first player places their HQ on any empty space on the board. Then the second player does the same. HQ's may be placed adjacent to each other.
Next, the First player draws 1 tile from their deck and places it face up in front of them (not yet on the board). Tiles are always drawn from the top of the deck. The First player may now choose to use the tile (see Using Tiles), save it for later, or discard it.
The Second player then draws 2 tiles from their deck and places the tiles in front of them. Each of these tiles may be used, saved for later, or discarded.
Next, the First player draws up to 3 tiles, which means that if they saved 1 tile from their previous turn they would only draw 2 tiles to have a total of 3 tiles. If, however, they used or discarded their tile, they would now draw 3 tiles.
Now that the First player has 3 tiles in front of them, they must choose 1 of those to discard. The remaining 2 tiles may then be used, saved for later, or discarded as normal.
The Second player follows the same procedure, and then the rest of the game continues as described below.
Drawing Tiles
Players draw up to 3 tiles on their turn and place them face up in front of themselves—a player may never have more than 3 tiles in front of them on their turn.
After the tiles have been drawn, the player must choose 1 of the 3 tiles to discard into the discard pile. Then they decide to use, discard, or save the other 2 tiles.
A player may discard any number of the tiles they have drawn. All drawn tiles must always be face up and visible to all players.
If, nearing the end of the game, any player draws their last tile but still has fewer than 3 tiles in front of them, they do not have to discard a tile.
Once a player completes their turn: draws, uses, saves, or discards tiles, and completes all of their chosen actions, the player announces the end of their turn and it is then the next player's turn.
Unlucky Draw
After drawing, if all the tiles that a player has in front of them are Instant Action tiles (even if it is only 1 or 2 tiles at the beginning of the game) they may discard all of them and draw new tiles. The player may use this rule multiple times during the game and even in a single turn (see Instant Action Tiles).
Using Tiles
After drawing the tiles, placing them face up, and discarding 1 (ideally the least useful), the remaining 2 may be put into play.
There are two kinds of tiles in the game: Instant Action tiles and Unit tiles. Each tile is clearly marked so it's easy to identify its function. Instant Action tiles only show a single dark icon, while Unit tiles contain much more information.
Both types of tiles may only be used during players' own turns. Under no circumstances may tiles be played during the other player's turn.
The Instant Action tiles represent specific actions. They are not placed on the game board to take effect, but only shown to the opponent and their effects are resolved (see Instant Action Tiles). After they are resolved, the tile is discarded.
Unit tiles represent your Army's units. Each Army consists of 3 types of units: an HQ, Warriors, and Modules.
Unit tiles cannot be placed on top of other tiles on the board (each space may only contain a single unit). After a tile has been placed, it may not be moved or rotated in any way except for special actions that allow some tiles to be moved around the board (see Mobility and Instant Action Tiles). Once placed, a tile remains in its position until the end of the game or until it is killed and removed from the board.
If, at any time during the game, the board is filled and no single space is left to place a tile on, a Battle begins (described below).
Battle
In each player's deck of tiles (among the 35 tiles that make up a player's army) players have several Battle Instant Action tiles.
When this token is played, the player's turn immediately ends, and the Battle begins.
A Battle Instant Action tile cannot be used if any of the players have drawn the last tile from their deck.
During a Battle, players resolve the effects of each tile on the board. Battles are divided into Initiative phases according to the Initiative values of the units. First all units with the highest value (usually this is 3) activate, then units with the next highest value activate and so on, until Initiative phase 0 ends. If on the board there is no unit with a certain Initiative value, this Initiative phase is skipped.
It is possible to resolve even 5 or more phases during a single Battle.
In each Initiative phase of the Battle, players' units of the same Initiative act simultaneously. For example: 2 units with an Initiative value of 3 attack each other, causing each other Wounds, and both are destroyed. Or, 2 units of value 3 attack a single unit, the target unit takes all Wounds and is destroyed—it does not take 1 Wound and allow the next attack to pass through it.
Destroyed units remain on the board until the end of the Initiative phase in which they were destroyed (to help keep track, you may turn them face down). After all the actions in an Initiative phase have been resolved, destroyed units are removed and placed into their player's discard pile.
Note: Destroyed units' effects remain active until these units are removed from the board at the end of the Initiative phase in which they are destroyed.
When a unit is wounded but not destroyed (because it has additional Toughness points), place a Wound marker on it to indicate that it has been hit. When the HQ is attacked and wounded, move the HQ marker on the Health track at the end of an Initiative phase.
When a Battle starts—by playing a Battle tile or filling up the board—the player's turn is over (Battle is not a part of the Player's turn). As soon as a Battle starts, no other tiles may be used or even discarded.
If the board is still full after the Battle is completely finished, resolve the next Battles until the board is not full or until the game is over.
Ending the Game
If any player draws their last tile from the deck, they finish their turn. Then the opposing player takes their turn and the Final Battle begins.
Note: From the moment a player has drawn their last tile, a Battle can only be triggered by filling the board.
If a Battle is triggered by filling the board after one of the players has drawn their last tile, the game continues as explained above once the Battle is completed and then the Final Battle begins. It is possible that the Final Battle begins immediately after resolving a Battle triggered by filling the board.
Victory
The game ends after the Final Battle or when an HQ's Health is reduced to zero.
If one of the HQs is destroyed, the game ends and the player whose HQ survived wins.
Note: If either of the HQs are destroyed during a Battle, the Battle goes on as usual. If the other HQ is destroyed as well, the game ends in a draw.
If neither HQ is destroyed and the Final Battle has been fought, the player whose HQ has more Health left is the winner.
If both HQs have the same amount of Health remaining, each player takes one more turn as if the game were to continue as normal (if a player has no more tiles left to draw, they may only use the abilities of the tiles they have on the board such as a unit's Mobility, etc.). Then, an additional Battle begins. If both HQs still have the same amount of Health remaining after this additional Battle, the game ends in a draw.
Board Description
The main battlefield consists of 19 hexes set in the middle of the board. Around it you can find a circle of 18 additional hexes used in certain additional game modes and by some armies from expansions.
The board also features a Health track, where players move their HQ markers to indicate their Health.
Tips for the Beginners
If the game initially feels a bit chaotic, we recommend playing a few more games with the same Army to get to know it better. Thanks to the unit list found on the reference cards, it's easy to track which units are still in the draw pile, allowing for more tactical gameplay.
Don't be discouraged if it initially seems like some armies are weaker while others are stronger. The armies have been tested in thousands of games and are well-balanced. Some armies are simply easier to master (Borgo, Moloch), while others are more challenging (Outpost, Hegemony).
Don't worry if you only draw Instant Action tiles—remember the Unlucky Draw rule. Also, if you only draw Modules, it's always worth it to place them around the HQ or a single Warrior to boost them.
Expanded Battlefield
In a 4-player game players can agree to use the expanded battlefield composed of 37 hexes.
When playing on the expanded battlefield, the Battle still commences as soon as the main battlefield is filled up.
Tile Descriptions
The base game includes four armies. Each army is represented by a double-sided headquarters and 34 other tiles. The reverse side of each tile displays the icon of the army it belongs to.
Initiative
Most Unit tiles are marked with an icon indicating its Initiative in the game. The higher the Initiative, the earlier the unit attacks during Battle. The Initiative values range from 0 to 4. The value indicates the phase in which a unit performs an attack.
Some tiles have multiple Initiative icons, meaning the unit attacks multiple times during the Battle, performing all its attacks in each of the indicated Battle phases.
At no point in the game can a unit's Initiative drop below 0.
There are also tiles with no Initiative icons. These units' actions are not restricted to one phase during the Battle. A tile with no Initiative icon acts as soon as it is placed on the board and until it is removed.
Examples: a unit with initiative 1; a unit with initiative 2 and 1; a unit with no initiative.
Note: Many game effects cause changes in a unit's Initiative. Initially, tracking these changes might be difficult, so we recommend covering the Initiative icons with Initiative markers of the appropriate values. This is an optional rule, especially recommended for beginner players. If you run out of Initiative markers, use a substitute.
Unit Tiles
Unit tiles, as opposed to Instant Action tiles, are ones that may be placed on the board. There are 3 types of Unit tiles: HQs, Warriors, and Modules.
The HQs
The HQ is the most important tile in the deck.
Each HQ has 20 Health, which is reduced by successful enemy hits. If the Health is reduced to 0, the HQ is destroyed.
Each Army's HQ has a different special ability that is described on the reference sheet of each Army.
Moreover, each HQ can hit all adjacent enemy units with a Melee Attack of Strength 1. However, an HQ never harms the other HQ, regardless of the Modules connected to it.
The special ability of the HQ does not affect itself.
Warriors
The face of each Warrior shows, apart from their pictures, additional symbols representing types of actions the Warriors can undertake. There are four main symbols in the game: Melee attack, Ranged attack, Armor, and Net.
The icons are depicted on one or more (or even all) edges of the tile. A specific icon indicates an action that may only be performed in the direction defined by the edge of the tile with that icon.
A couple of examples: Melee attacks in four directions; Ranged attacks in two directions; Armor protecting two sides of a unit; Net thrown in two directions.
Other symbols that indicate units' special abilities are: Mobility and Toughness. For example, a warrior with Mobility, or a Module with Toughness.
Detailed Descriptions
Melee Attack
During Battle, a Melee attack deals Wounds to an enemy unit directly adjacent to the attacking unit. The placement of the Melee attack icon determines the direction in which the Wound is dealt.
If a tile has more than one attack icon, all attacks are performed simultaneously during the Battle.
The icon also shows how powerful the attack is.
Attacks are automatic and the players may not decide not to attack.
Examples: a Strength 2 Melee Attack in 1 direction; a Strength 1 Melee Attack in 6 directions.
Ranged Attack
A Ranged attack inflicts 1 Wound to the first enemy unit in its line of fire, regardless of the distance from the attacking unit.
The icon on the tile indicates the direction of the attack (in a straight line from the tile edge). If a tile has more than one attack icon, all attacks are performed simultaneously during the Battle.
The icon also shows how powerful the attack is.
Attacks are automatic and players may not choose to not attack.
Warriors shoot over friendly units. Friendly units do not obscure line of sight toward enemy units in the same line (attacks go past or over them!).
Examples: a Strength 2 Ranged Attack in 1 direction; a Strength 1 Ranged Attack in 2 directions; a Strength 1 Ranged Attack in 3 directions.
Ranged attack example: One of the Outpost Warriors fires his weapon at Moloch's units (with blue outline). The shot does not harm the friendly unit in the line of sight (with a green outline), but goes straight through and hits the nearest Moloch unit. The bullet does not reach the Moloch HQ which is further away.
Armor
Armor decreases the Strength of all kinds of enemy Ranged attacks by 1 (and protects from all Strength 1 Ranged attacks). It does not, however, protect from Melee attacks. The Net does not disable Armor.
Note that a Ranged attack from an adjacent unit is still a Ranged attack and not a Melee attack.
The Armor icon on the tile indicates which side is protected. If an Armored unit is attacked from a different direction than the protected side indicates, the Armor has no effect, and the attack is successful.
Armor does not protect against Wounds dealt in other ways, such as by Instant Action tiles (Sniper, Air Strike, Grenade…) or as a result of special unit abilities (e.g., the Clown).
Armor protects the unit from the Gauss cannon attacks normally, but the attack still affects all the other units in the line of fire (details are described on Moloch Player aid).
Net
The Net completely "disables" the unit it is directed at: it cannot attack, move, push, add bonuses, or perform any actions.
Armor and Toughness still function even if the unit with them is netted.
Nets disable the opponents as soon as they are placed on the board, not only during a Battle. Nets also affect enemy HQs.
Nets are always active and players may not choose to not activate them while on the board.
To easily remember which unit is disabled by a Net, you can place a Net marker on it. Remove the marker when the unit is no longer affected by the Net (if it happens during the Battle, remove the marker at the end of the Initiative phase during which the unit was freed).
Examples: Net thrown in 1 direction; Net thrown in 2 directions; a Net marker.
Toughness
If a unit (except for the HQs) does not have a Toughness icon, it is removed after receiving a single Wound.
Each Toughness icon represents an additional Wound the unit can sustain before being destroyed. Thus, a unit with a Toughness icon must receive 2 Wounds before being removed from the board, and a unit with two Toughness icons must receive 3 Wounds.
Each Wound inflicted on a unit is marked with a Wound marker placed on its tile.
The Net does not disable Toughness: a Netted unit with this ability still requires an additional Wound in order to destroy it.
Example: a unit with two points of Toughness, shown with a Wound marker.
Mobility
A unit may Move 1 space and/or Rotate freely during its own turn (even after both tiles have been played). The unit may only Move to an empty hex.
A player may Move a Mobile unit before or after placing their new tiles on the board. Battle is not part of a player's turn, so once it begins no tiles may use Mobility.
Modules
Module tiles are placed on the board like other units. They remain on the board until the end of the game or until they are destroyed. They cannot Move or Rotate unless a Move tile is played on them or an opposing unit Pushes them, etc.
Modules affect adjacent (connected to the Module) units immediately—not just during the Battle. Modules resolve automatically, and at no point can the player choose not to resolve them.
Module icons printed along their edges show the direction they may be connected to another unit. If a Module has several such icons, it works in all given directions at all times.
Modules can be destroyed like any other units, and some of them also have additional Toughness or Armor.
If several modules are connected to one unit, their effects are cumulative, except for the Transport modules, whose effects are not cumulative and each of them works independently.
Modules also affect HQs.
The effect of a Module is not an action and cannot be multiplied using a token that grants an additional action (e.g., Outpost Headquarters, Mother from Moloch deck).
Modules do not affect enemy tiles (unless explicitly stated otherwise in their description).
Note: Any Module must be directly connected to a unit in order to affect it. Modules cannot affect units through other units or modules.
Officer
Officer Modules increase the strength of friendly units' attacks (melee or ranged). Example: a Module increases the Strength of melee attacks by 1 and works in 3 directions; a Module increases the Strength of ranged attacks by 1 and works in 3 directions.
Scout
Scouts increase Initiative values of the units they are connected to. Example: a Module increases Initiative by 1 and works in 3 directions.
Example of using Modules: The Outpost Warrior is enhanced by a Module that increases Initiative (with a yellow border). An adjacent Module also increases Initiative (marked with a white border), but it has no effect on this Warrior.
Medic
If a unit with the Medic Module connected suffers one or more Wounds from an attack of 1 enemy unit (or Sniper, Grenade or any other Instant Action tile) the Wounds are ignored and the Medic tile is discarded. The Wound-taking module works in 3 directions.
Instant Action Tiles
Apart from tiles representing units, each player also has a number of special Instant Action tiles described below.
These tiles cannot be used when a Battle starts, but only in phases where players place their units on the board. Instant Action tiles are not placed on the board, but are discarded after use.
Battle
If a player uses this tile a Battle begins. This tile may not be used if any of the players has drawn their last tile from the deck. After the Battle tile is used, the player's turn ends and they may not perform any more actions.
Push Back
This tile allows a friendly unit to Push Back an adjacent enemy unit, creating a distance of one hex between them.
The enemy unit may only be Pushed Back onto an unoccupied hex and only a single space away. If there is more than one unoccupied hex available, the player controlling the enemy unit decides which one to place their unit on.
The Pushed Back unit may not be Rotated during the Push Back.
If it is not possible to create a 1 hex space between the units, the Push Back tile cannot be used.
Netted units cannot Push or be Pushed Back.
Pushing Back example: One of Moloch's units (tile with the white outline) is surrounded by two Outpost Warriors (with green and blue outline). The commander of Moloch decides to use their Push Back tile. It is impossible to push the warrior with green outline away, because both hexes behind him are occupied and the only free hex is adjacent to the unit that performs the push. It is, however, possible to push the Warrior with blue outline away. Additionally, the player who commands the Outpost may choose which hex to move their unit to.
Move
This tile allows its user to Move a friendly unit to an adjacent, unoccupied hex and/or Rotate it freely in any direction.
Grenade
This tile destroys one chosen enemy unit completely. A Grenade can only be thrown onto a hex adjacent to your HQ. It does not affect enemy HQs.
A Grenade cannot be thrown from a netted HQ.
Sniper
The Sniper inflicts one Wound on a single chosen enemy unit on the board. The Sniper may not hit enemy HQs.
Air Strike
After playing this token, the player deals one Wound to the target and all tiles adjacent to it (both friendly and enemy, except for Headquarters). The Air Strike affects a total area of 7 spaces.
The Air Strike can be played on any space (including empty ones), as long as its blast radius does not extend beyond the board.
Common Problems
Using Nets
If a Net Fighter is destroyed, its Net affects other units until the end of its Initiative phase, up until the tile is removed from the board. During the Initiative phase in which the Net Fighter is destroyed, the affected tile(s) cannot perform their actions. These tiles are only able to resolve in the following phases (if applicable).
A disabled unit cannot move, thus it cannot be pushed away.
A Net Fighter can be pushed away but by a third party (not by the unit that is being disabled by him).
A Net Fighter may disable another Net Fighter, which means the latter would be disabled and unable to affect any units.
If two opposing Net Fighters throw Nets in each other's direction, they do not disable each other. In other words, two Nets aimed at each other nullify each other's function, while both Net Fighters are treated as non-netted (e.g. they may be Moved normally with a Move tile).
If three or more Net fighters net each other (the first the second, the second the third and the third the first) the Net fighters are treated as non-netted as well – their nets in other directions work normally, they can be moved, pushed, etc.
Using Medics
Medics are always active and you cannot choose not to resolve them.
The Medic absorbs all Wounds inflicted by the attack of 1 enemy unit only (an attack from one edge in one Initiative phase); if several opponents wound the target with the Medic Module, its owner decides which attack is absorbed.
If both a Medic and the connected unit are hit simultaneously, the Medic is destroyed and cannot save the unit.
If the Medic is connected to more than one unit, and all the units are wounded, the player chooses one of them to be saved by the Module.
If a unit is connected to a Medic Module, which has another Medic connected (but the Modules are not interconnected), when the unit is attacked, the Wound is absorbed by the latter (Medic).
If a single unit is connected to 2 or more Medic Modules, the controlling player chooses which Medic absorbs the Wound when attacked.
If 2 Medics are interconnected (each has the connection icon turned in the other's direction) the owner decides which of them absorbs Wounds.
More on Initiative
A unit may perform an attack only in the phase corresponding to its current Initiative. For instance, a Warrior with Initiative value of 3 is disabled by a net in Initiative phase 3, but in that phase, the net is destroyed. In phase 2 the Warrior is free, however, it cannot act since its Initiative value is 3 and that phase is over.
A unit cannot perform multiple attacks during a single Battle due to changes in its Initiative.
No unit can have its Initiative reduced below a value of 0. If any unit's action is slowed down to below 0, it is still treated as having an Initiative value of 0.
There is no upper limit to increasing Initiative.
If a unit has multiple Initiative icons, a Module that modifies Initiative adjusts the value of each of them.
If a unit attacks in more than one direction (no matter if the attacks are the same type or a different type) and it may perform its attacks in more than one Initiative phase, it performs all its attacks in each Initiative.
Example: A shooter (with blue outline) with Initiative 2 received a +1 Initiative bonus from an adjacent Module (so now it has Initiative 3), allowing it to shoot in the Initiative 3 segment. If, in the same segment, the Module providing the bonus is destroyed, the shooter now has Initiative 2 but will not attack again.
Example: A shooter (with a blue outline) with Initiative 3 is slowed by a Saboteur (a special Outpost Module) by 1 (so now it has Initiative 2), meaning it cannot shoot in the Initiative 3 segment. The Initiative 3 segment passes, and in that very segment, the Saboteur is destroyed. The unit now recovers its Initiative 3 but the Initiative 2 segment begins. This unit will not make any attack during this Battle.
Example: A shooter with Initiative 2 receives a +1 Initiative bonus from an adjacent Module, but this Module gets netted and temporarily ceases to function (the shooter now has Initiative 2 again). The Initiative 3 segment passes, and during that segment, the Netter is destroyed, causing the shooter to regain the Initiative bonus (now with Initiative 3). This unit will not perform any attack during this Battle.
Additional Game Modes
On the following pages, additional game modes are presented. After familiarizing yourself with the standard mode, we encourage you to try your hand at one of the additional modes. They introduce entirely new challenges and allow you to look at the game from a fresh perspective.
The Multiplayer Mode
Game for 3 Players
1. Deathmatch
In games for more players most of the rules are not changed, except for those described below.
STARTING THE GAME: Player 1 draws one tile, Player 2 draws two tiles, Player 3 draws three tiles and then each player draws tiles in the standard way (up to three).
THE FINAL BATTLE: If any of the players draws their last tile from the pile, the others complete their own turns as usual, and only then does the Final Battle start.
HQ DESTROYED: If any player loses their HQ, its tile is removed from the board together with all its Unit tiles at the end of the Battle. The player is out and the game continues without them.
TIE: In case of a tie in the multiplayer game the losing players remove the HQ markers from the track but their army tiles remain on the board, act and attack during the Battle in the normal way. Then each of the tied players takes an extra turn - starting with the next player after the player who ended the game and continuing in turn order. After each player has taken their turn an additional Battle commences. If the players are still tied, then the game ends in a draw and the tied players share the victory.
Note: This variant makes the game more about negotiations than tactics. We encourage you to try the second and third modes described below.
2. Deathmatch with an Optional Score Rule
In this mode, the rule for dealing Wounds to HQs is changed, and the gameplay becomes even more satisfying:
STARTING THE GAME: HQ markers are placed on space 0 before the game starts. Player 1 draws one tile, Player 2 draws two tiles, Player 3 draws three tiles and then each player draws tiles in the standard way (up to three).
ATTACKING HQ: HQs have unlimited Toughness, and every time a player's unit hits an opponent's HQ, the Wounds inflicted count as points and are marked by moving that player's HQ marker.
The first player to get 20 points wins the game. Players may never score more than 20 points. If during the same Battle more than 1 player scores 20 points, all these players share the victory.
If none of the players score the required number of points and the Final Battle ends, the player with the highest score wins.
THE FINAL BATTLE: If any of the players draws their last tile from the pile, the others complete their own turns as usual, and only then does the Final Battle start.
3. 1 Player vs a Team
Player 1 (called The Loner) plays on their own, while Players 2 and 3 form a team. Before the game starts, the Loner places their HQ marker on space 20 and each team player on 13.
The Team players' units are called friendly – the rules for friendly units are described below in the 4-player team match variant.
PLAYING ORDER: Players in the team do not take consecutive turns, they play alternately with the Loner. The turn sequence should be: Player 1, Player 2, Player 1, Player 3…
STARTING THE GAME: Player 1 draws one tile, Player 2 draws two tiles, Player 1 draws three tiles and then each player draws tiles in the standard way (up to three).
The first of the opposing sides (Loner player or the team) to destroy an enemy HQ wins the game. If none of the HQs is completely destroyed, the side with the highest total of remaining Toughness (the side whose HQs sustained less Wounds) wins.
If two opposing HQs are destroyed in one battle, the team wins.
4 Players
1. Deathmatch
The rules are the same as in the 3-player Deathmatch mode.
2. Team Match
This is a game of two teams of two players each. Here are all the changes and additional adjustments:
At the beginning of the game each HQ has 20 Health points.
STARTING THE GAME: First Player draws one tile, Second Player draws two tiles, Third Player draws three tiles and then each player draws tiles in the standard way (up to three).
PLAYER ORDER: Alternate sequence is introduced for players taking their turns, which means that players in the same team may not take consecutive turns. If Players A1 and A2 are on the same team and Players B1 and B2 on the other, the turn sequence should be A1-B1-A2-B2.
THE FINAL BATTLE: If any of the players draws their last tile from the pile, the others complete their own turns as usual, and only then does the Final Battle start.
For better understanding, in the following section units on the same team are called friendly units.
Module and HQ bonuses also affect friendly units. Similarly Modules affecting enemy units (i.e. Scoper) affect all the enemies, and don't affect friendly units.
This applies also to the modules that affect the whole board i.e. Recon Center.
Instant Action tiles cannot be used on friendly units.
Friendly units cannot be hit by a teammate's attacks. Shots go through them.
Net Fighters do not disable friendly units.
The first team to destroy any enemy HQ wins the game. If none of the HQs are completely destroyed, the team with the highest total of remaining Toughness (the team whose HQs sustained less Wounds) wins.
If two opposing HQs are destroyed in one battle, the remaining two HQs are taken into consideration and the one with more Health points remaining wins.
Moloch in a Team Match:
Moloch is a unique army in the game. Its units hit and wound friendly units as usual (of course HQ does not wound another HQ), but Modules and the HQ give them bonuses. Moloch's army can also use Modules and HQ bonuses from the allied army. Additionally, Moloch's allies can push back its units, be pushed back by them, and always disable each other's units with a Net.
The above rule is optional and can be ignored (with prior agreement). It primarily stems from the connection between the mechanics and the world of Neuroshima, where Moloch did not form permanent alliances with any of the other factions.
3. Deathmatch with an Optional Score Rule
The rules are the same as in the 3-player Deathmatch mode with an optional score rule.
Game Variants
Alternative Beginning
At the beginning of the game: Player 1 draws three tiles from their pile. Then he has to discard one and from the remaining two he chooses one tile to be used. He can also save it or discard it if he wants to. The other tile can only be saved for later or discarded.
Next, starting with Player 2, players draw up to three tiles, choose one to discard and then can use, save for the next turn or discard the remaining two tiles.
Reinforcement
If you think there is too much randomness in the game and you want to reduce it, you can play with the following rule: during your turn, draw up to 6 tiles instead of 3, discard one and play a maximum of two tiles, any other tile you have to save for later.
Note that in this mode, several rules are additionally changed. The Unlucky Draw can only be considered if, after drawing tiles, the player has 6 Instant tiles.
The game ends in the usual way, by drawing the last tile, which means that after the Final Battle, the player may have up to 3 unused tiles in their hand.
Structures
COMPONENTS: 8 double-sided tiles (2 for each army).
The game follows standard rules with the following changes:
- Before the game begins, each player receives 2 Structure tiles of their army.
- During the game, after drawing tiles, a player may discard three tiles from their hand and then deploy a Structure onto the board (Structure tiles may be played with either side facing up).
- A Structure cannot be deployed after any player has drawn their final tile.
Structures are special warriors composed of two tiles that can never be separated. For the purposes of all effects, they are treated as a standard single-hex unit — the abilities shown on one tile apply to the entire unit; netting one tile nets the entire Structure; modules connected to one tile enhance the entire Structure, etc. If either tile is destroyed, the entire Structure is removed from the board.
MOVING A STRUCTURE: If a Structure is moved (by its own ability, adjacent module or due to the play of an Instant Action tile), only one of its tiles may be moved. If an opponent attempts to push a Structure, only one of its tiles is pushed. The same applies to any effect that would move a Structure.
A tile that is part of a Structure may only be moved if the move result does not split the Structure.
NEW ABILITIES: Some Structure tiles depict icons that do not appear in the base game:
Rotate - Once per turn, either tile of the Structure may be freely rotated.
Boarding - When a Structure with this ability is deployed, the player may immediately initiate a Battle. Triggering a Battle ends the player's turn.
Note: A Structure is placed on the board before resolving any abilities of the units already there. On your turn, if you play a Structure with the Boarding ability, you can't do anything else.
Heavy - A unit with this ability cannot be moved to another space by any means (movement, push, etc.), by any player.
Sharpshooter - A warrior with this ability may choose which enemy unit on the line of fire it hits (it does not have to be the first enemy unit on the line). A unit hit by a Sharpshooter is protected by Armor as usual.
Structures and other game modes: Structures can be used in 2-, 3-, and 4-player games. They are not recommended for use with Leaders or Battle Atlas.
Leaders
COMPONENTS: 8 double-sided Leader cards.
The game follows standard rules with the following changes:
- Before placing HQs on the board, each player receives 3 random Leader cards. Each player secretly selects 1 Leader card for the current game and places it face up in front of them simultaneously. The remaining Leader cards are returned to the box and will not be used in this game.
- Each Leader card features a special ability. The player may use it at the moment specified on the card. After the first use, flip the card to its used side. After the second use, return it to the box.
- Each Leader card may be activated once per player turn.
Examples of Leader cards:
SABOTEUR: After the Opponent draws up to 3 tiles: The Opponent shuffles all their revealed tiles back into their stack. Then they draw up to 3 tiles and continue their turn.
MEDIC: After discarding a tile at the start of your turn: Choose any 1 of your own warriors from your discard pile and shuffle it back into your draw pile.
TACTICIAN: After discarding a tile at the start of your turn: Take any tile of your own non-netted units (excluding the HQ) from the board back to your hand.
Leaders and other game modes: Leaders can be used in 2-player games and in 4-player team games (allies share a single Leader). They are not recommended for use with Structures or Battle Atlas.
Battle Atlas
COMPONENTS: 1 Battle Atlas with 8 Scenarios.
The game follows standard rules with the following changes:
- Instead of a regular board, open the Battle Atlas to the selected page and use it as the game board.
- Each scenario has special rules, which are described next to its board.
- If a Battle occurs due to the board being filled, and as a result no unit is removed from the board, the game always ends in an immediate draw.
Please note that each scenario specifies the number of players required to play, as well as the armies. Scenarios cannot be played with a different number of players or with armies other than those specified.
Credits
AUTHOR OF THE GAME: Michał Oracz
RULES: Michał Oracz, Ignacy Trzewiczek
EDITING: Tomasz Kołodziejczak, Jan Maurycy, Tyler Brown
COVER ART: Michał Sztuka
ILLUSTRATIONS ON TILES: Maciej Janik, Yerbol Bulentayev
WOUND MARKER DESIGN: Jakub Jabłoński
TILES DESIGN: Michał Oracz, Maciej Mutwil
ADDITIONAL GAME MODES: Jan Maurycy, Ignacy Trzewiczek
ADDITIONAL IMAGES AND GRAPHIC DESIGN: Mateusz Kopacz, Rafał Szyma
BATTLE ATLAS AND ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS: Hanna Kuik, Maciej Simiński
PRODUCTION: Damian Mazur, Grzegorz Polewka
Portal Games, ul. Sienkiewicza 13, 44-190 Knurów, Poland. www.portalgames.pl, [email protected]
Neuroshima Hex & Portal Games. All rights reserved. No part of the game Neuroshima Hex! may be copied or reproduced in any mechanical, chemical, or electronic way without the publisher's permission. ©2025 Portal Games sp. z o.o.