Of Knights and Ninjas Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Set Up
• Gameplay
  • Attack
  • Fortify
  • Special Action
• Winning
• Card Specific Rules
  • CASTLE
  • ARCHER
  • MINSTREL
  • LADDER
  • CATAPULT
  • DRAGON
  • NINJA
  • PEASANT, SOLDIER, KNIGHT, KING, QUEEN
  • HIGHWAYMAN
  • PRINCESS
  • EXECUTIONER
  • TRAITOR
  • HERALD
• Other Rules
• Two Player Rules
  • Setup
  • Phase 1: Drafting
  • Phase 2: Dueling

Set Up

1. Place five gems (of the same color) in front of each player.

2. Deal four cards to each player.

3. Place the remaining cards face down in the center of the table forming the draw pile. When discarding cards, place them face up beside the draw pile.

Gameplay

Play goes clockwise, taking turns... The player who most recently won a game goes first.

On your turn, draw two cards. Choose to either: ATTACK a rival kingdom, FORTIFY your own, or play a SPECIAL ACTION. If you cannot play a card, or choose not to, you must discard a card of your choice from your hand. Once a card is played and the action is taken, it is placed in the discard pile.

When a rival attacks you, you may play a RESPOND card to reduce the number of gems they take from you.

Attack

You may play as many attack cards (one at a time*) as you choose against ONE other player (until gems have moved). Some attack cards have a gem symbol to represent how many gems they can take in an attack.

Other attack cards (like the LADDER, CATAPULT, and ARCHER) are used at the beginning of an attack to remove fortifications.

Fortify

Fortified kingdoms are harder for others to attack. On your turn, you may play as many FORTIFY cards as you choose face-up in front of your gems to "fortify" your kingdom. Only one CASTLE and/or ARCHER may be face-up fortifying your gems at any time.

Face-up CASTLES and ARCHERS remain in front of a player's kingdom until they are destroyed.

Special Action

You may play one SPECIAL ACTION card on your turn instead of attacking or fortifying. SPECIAL ACTIONS are unstoppable. See specific instructions for each card.

Note 2: Your gems must be visible to the other players at all times.

Note: Once gems have moved (regardless of their final destination), your turn ends.

Winning

The first player to own 10 gems wins the game, becoming supreme ruler of all rival kingdoms- at least until the next game...

Card Specific Rules

CASTLE

FORTIFY: Play a CASTLE face-up to fortify your kingdom.

A Kingdom fortified by a CASTLE is impossible to ATTACK without a LADDER, CATAPULT, DRAGON, or NINJA.

ARCHER

FORTIFY: Play an ARCHER face-up to fortify your kingdom.

PRE-ATTACK: Play an ARCHER at the beginning of an attack to remove a rival fortifying ARCHER so you can continue attacking. You can send your fortifying ARCHER to ATTACK a rival fortifying ARCHER at the beginning of a turn. Both ARCHERS are discarded.

A Kingdom fortified by an ARCHER is impossible to ATTACK without a NINJA or another ARCHER.

Note: ARCHERS have no attack value except to remove a fortifying ARCHER from another kingdom.

MINSTREL

FORTIFY: Play a MINSTREL face-up to fortify your kingdom. Kingdoms fortified by a MINSTREL are impossible to attack. At the beginning of your next turn, you must discard the MINSTREL.

RESPOND: When someone attacks you, you may play a MINSTREL face-up in front of you (as a fortification) to end the attackers turn, and keep your kingdom safe until the MINSTREL is discarded at the beginning of your next turn.

LADDER

PRE-ATTACK: Use a LADDER at the beginning of an attack to scale a rival's fortifying CASTLE. This allows ATTACK cards (one at a time) to climb the CASTLE walls to attack. It is discarded at the end of your turn. A LADDER cannot be used on CASTLES with fortifying ARCHERS.

CATAPULT

PRE-ATTACK: Play a CATAPULT at the beginning of an attack to completely destroy and discard a fortifying CASTLE, plus any ARCHER that is paired with the CASTLE (aka standing on the castle walls). You may now attack the unfortified kingdom as normal.

A CATAPULT cannot destroy a fortifying ARCHER that isn't paired with a CASTLE.

DRAGON

ATTACK: A DRAGON steals two gems and burns (discards) any fortifying CASTLE (if there is one). A DRAGON cannot approach a kingdom fortified by an ARCHER.

NINJA

ATTACK: A NINJA steals two gems. He can scale a fortifying CASTLE (if there is one), sneak up behind a fortifying ARCHER (if there is one), and kill (discard) him, without ever being seen.

Note: NINJAS and DRAGONS may attack unfortified kingdoms, although they are most useful against ARCHERS or CASTLES.

Note 2: NINJAS and DRAGONS cannot RESPOND to an ATTACK.

PEASANT, SOLDIER, KNIGHT, KING, QUEEN

ATTACK, RESPOND: PEASANTS (1), SOLDIERS (2), KNIGHTS (3), KINGS (4) and QUEENS (5) can either attack a rival kingdom or respond to an attack. Their STRENGTH is displayed in the upper right corner of the card (numbered 1-5). This number indicates either 1. how many gems they can take from another kingdom when attacking, or 2. how many gems they protect when responding.

Note: You can ATTACK or RESPOND with only one card at a time (see Playing a Revolt for exception).

Note 2: If someone attacks you with a KNIGHT (3) but you only have 1 gem left, they only get your 1 gem. The KNIGHT'S excess STRENGTH is "wasted".

Playing a Revolt: You may play as many PEASANTS as you want at the same time (either as ATTACK or RESPOND). Seven PEASANTS played together would attack for seven gems. RESPOND cards still work... Example: A TRAITOR could make the seven PEASANTS suddenly attack you back.

Example: It's your turn. You attack a rival with your SOLDIER (2). They respond with their own SOLDIER (2), and both SOLDIERS are discarded. Because no gems moved, you may choose to end your turn or continue attacking.

Next, you attack with your KNIGHT (3). Your opponent decides to respond with his KING (4). Even though the KING is more powerful than the KNIGHT, his extra strength is wasted (because he was used to RESPOND) and both the KNIGHT and KING are discarded.

You decide to attack again, this time with a KNIGHT (3). Your opponent plays his last respond card- a PEASANT (1). Because your KNIGHT was stronger (3 minus 1), they must give you 2 gems. Gems have moved and your turn is over.

The player to your left noticed you are close to winning. To your horror, she attacks you with her KING (4). Having no RESPOND cards left, you must surrender 4 of your precious gems.

HIGHWAYMAN

RESPOND: Play a HIGHWAYMAN to steal all the gems from a rival's successful attack, (even if they were just stolen from you). A HIGHWAYMAN can only steal gems that were captured by a COMMON card (or an entire REVOLT) or from another HIGHWAYMAN, but not from a UNIQUE attack.

Note: The HIGHWAYMAN can be played ANYTIME (even when the battle doesn't involve you).

PRINCESS

RESPOND: When a rival attacks you with a DRAGON or KNIGHT, you may RESPOND with your PRINCESS (before the attack occurs) to take the DRAGON or KNIGHT into your own hand to use later. Discard the PRINCESS. Because no gems have moved, your rival may continue attacking you.

EXECUTIONER

RESPOND: Play an EXECUTIONER to 1) discard any ATTACK card played against you (except for a LADDER or CATAPULT), and 2) end the attacker's turn immediately (even though no gems have moved).

Example: A rival destroys your CASTLE with a CATAPULT, and then plays a KING (4) to take 4 gems. You play your EXECUTIONER to kill their KING and end their turn, but your CASTLE is already destroyed.

Example 2: A rival's DRAGON attacks you. Your EXECUTIONER kills him before your CASTLE and gems are affected.

TRAITOR

RESPOND: Play a TRAITOR to turn an ATTACK card back against its own kingdom, bypassing any fortifications.

Example: A rival attacks you with a KNIGHT, and you respond with a TRAITOR. This makes the KNIGHT (3) immediately attack your rival back, even though they have a fortifying ARCHER. They respond to the traitorous KNIGHT's attack with their SOLDIER (2), and they must give you one gem. Because gems moved, their turn is over and they may not continue to attack you.

Note 1: You can play another traitor on an already traitored card. Think of them as double agents.

Note 2: You can't traitor a NINJA or DRAGON.

HERALD

SPECIAL ACTION: When you play a HERALD, all of your rivals must place one card (their choice) from their hand face up in front of them. You must choose one of the cards to put in you own hand for later use. The cards that were not chosen are returned to their owner's hands.

MERCHANT

SPECIAL ACTION: Playing a MERCHANT allows you to trade one of your own gems for half (rounded down) of any other player's cards. A MERCHANT's request to trade cannot be refused.

Example: A player has 9 cards in their hand. You pay them a gem, they shuffle their cards, and hold them face down while you blindly pick half of their cards to add to your own hand. Because 9 is an uneven number, you must round it down to 8 and select 4 cards.

MONK

SPECIAL ACTION: Play a MONK to tax all kingdoms that are fortified by a CASTLE (except your own of course). Taxed kingdoms must give you either 1) two of the cards in their hand (they choose them), or 2) one of their gems, whichever they prefer.

JESTER

JESTERS are wildcards that can represent any card you choose. You must announce what card he is representing when you play him. Your strategizing makes the JESTER the most valuable card in the deck.

Example: Let's say you have eight gems and only need two more to win the game. One of your rivals uses a KNIGHT to capture 3 gems from another rival. You throw down your JESTER, announcing that he is a HIGHWAYMAN, stealing the 3 gems and claiming the victory. Only another HIGHWAYMAN played at this time could prevent you from winning the game...

Note: If you play a JESTER as a DRAGON or KNIGHT and it is stolen by a rival's PRINCESS, they may use it to represent any card they choose later...

Note 2: The JESTER is not found in the "Enemies" section of any card, but he can be played against any card, representing one of their specific enemies.

Other Rules

If the draw pile runs out before anyone wins the game, reshuffle the deck and continue.

If you run out of gems, you are not eliminated. Being poor will decrease attacks against you allowing you to rebuild an army and try to make a come back.

If you run out of cards, you must wait till your next turn to draw two more. Be careful because having few or no cards leaves you vulnerable to attacks.

Two Player Rules

Setup

Place 6 gems in front of each player. Remove all the expansions from the deck and put them back in the box. Shuffle the cards. Two player gameplay has two phases: drafting and dueling. These phases are repeated until one player has all 12 gems, winning the game.

Phase 1: Drafting

Deal 15 cards face down between you and your rival and set the other cards aside.

Who goes first? The player with the fewest gems always begins PHASE 1. If both players have the same number of gems, the player with the least number of cards picks first. If both have the same number of gems and cards, the youngest player starts.

Draw a card. If you decide to keep it, place it in your hand. If you would rather pick again, give the card to your rival and draw another. You may continue giving one card at a time to your rival until you find a card that you decide to keep. Once you keep a card, your rival may begin picking, giving you cards they don't want, and stopping after they draw a card they decide to keep. The person who takes the last card (from the pile of 15) always takes the first turn in the PHASE 2.

Note: Players may have a significantly different number of cards in their hand when PHASE 2 begins.

Phase 2: Dueling

On your turn, you may FORTIFY your kingdom (play a CASTLE, ARCHER, and/or MINSTREL face-up), ATTACK a rival (with one or more attack cards until gems move), or play a SPECIAL ACTION card. When you are attacked, you may play a RESPOND card to minimize losses.

When a player cannot or does not want to play a card at the start of their turn, they must: 1) discard a card if they have four or more cards in their hand or 2) call for a re-deal and restart PHASE 1 if they have three or less cards in their hand. When restarting PHASE 1, all face-up fortifications must be discarded, but players keep any unused cards in their hand to use in a future PHASE 2.

All cards are played with the same abilities as is written in the rule book EXCEPT:

HERALD- Play a HERALD to force your rival to place two cards in front of them (as opposed to one card in 3-6 player rules). You must pick one of the cards to put in your own hand to use later.

MERCHANT- You must pay two gems (as opposed to one gem in 3-6 player rules) to blindly pick half of your rival's hand (rounded down).

MONK- Play your MONK to tax a rival's fortifying CASTLE. Your rival must pay you either two gems or three cards (as opposed to one gem or two cards in 3-6 player rules).

MINSTREL- Whenever you play a MINSTREL, regardless of whether it is used on your turn to FORTIFY, or whether you play it as a RESPOND card to end a rival's attack, your rival must immediately discard two of their cards (as opposed to the MINSTREL keeping you safe until your next turn in 3-6 player rules). The MINSTREL is then discarded.