Raid on Taihoku Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
  • Game Board
  • Character Boards
  • Entanglement Cards
  • Event Cards
  • Resource Cards
  • Air Raid Cards
  • Other Components
• Setup
  • Starting Setup
• Game Play
  • 1. Beginning Phase
  • 2. Survival Phase
  • 4. Actions That Do Not Cost Action Points
  • 5. The End of the Survival Phase
  • 3. Air Raid Phase
• Game Endings
  • 1. End of Game Conditions
• Character Introduction
• Building Introduction
• FAQ
  • Game Details
  • Entanglement Cards
  • Resource Cards
  • Event Cards

Components

• Game Board *1
• Character Boards *8
• Entanglement Cards *24
• Event Cards *20
• Resource Cards *70
• Air Raid Cards *21
• Character Figures *8
• Status Tokens *20
• Air Raid Tokens *5
• Damaged Building Tokens *4
• Player Reference Cards *4
• Starting Player Token *1

Game Board

The Game Board is a map of Taihoku. Each location shows:

• Location Name: the name of the location (in Chinese and English).
• Location Effects: the effect of the location, shown with icons.
• Routes: the yellow roads connecting the locations.
• Resource Cards Area: the place where the Resource Cards of that location are drawn from.

Character Boards

Each Character Board shows:

• Introduction: the character's background text.
• Character Name and birth year / age (for example, Older Sister, born in 1927, age 18).
• Weight Point: the upper limit of Resource Cards the character may own (for example, 4).
• Satiation (Value/Death), Health (Value/Death), Mood (Value/Death), Stamina (Value/Death), and Action Points (Value/Death), each shown as a status bar with numbered spaces.

Entanglement Cards

Each character has three Entanglement Cards matching that character (the card back shows the Corresponding Character). Each card shows a name, a description, and the corresponding character.

Event Cards

Each Event Card has a name and a description. Event Cards affect the entire round.

Resource Cards

Resource Cards have a back showing the Type (Food, Medicine, Item, or Entanglement by colour and icon) and a front showing the Type icon, Name, and Description.

• Medicine (green): to regain Health and/or Stamina. Band-Aids *6, Herbal Medical Liqueur *2, Disinfection Bandages *4, Medicine Kits *4, Ancestral Tablet *1.
• Food (orange): to regain Satiation. Red Bean Bread *4, Banana Candies *2, Rotten Food *5, Animal Carcasses *3, Big Chicken Legs *2, Peach *1, Blackie *1, Simple Fireplaces *6.
• Item (blue): to regain Mood or for special effects. Pogs *3, Cloth Puppets *3, Air Raid Flyers *2, Bicycles *2, Shovels *2, Combat Helmets *2, Carts *2, Top Secret Document *1.
• Entanglement (red): items related to Entanglement Cards. Baseball Equipment, Manuscript *3, Safe *2, Older Sister's Fiancé, Taiwanese Geisha, Blood of Christ, Old Monk Relics, Guanyin Statue, Enemy Soldier.

Resource Card keywords:

• Type–Food: can be used without spending an Action Point if for your own use.
• Consumables: spend 1 Action Point to use.
• Permanent: can be used as many times as you want without spending Action Points.
• Entanglement: cannot be removed at the end of the Survival Phase. Can only be removed when certain conditions are met.

Air Raid Cards

Each Air Raid Card has a back and a front. The front shows the Name, Map Marks (locations on the board that are affected), and Raid Effects (the effects applied to any players at these locations). Some cards are special: "End of the War," "Raid on Taihoku," and "Mazu Catches a Bomb."

Other Components

• Character Figures (*8): one figure per character, placed on the board.
• Status Tokens (*20): five colours (red = Satiation, green = Health, blue = Mood, brown = Stamina, black = Action Point).
• Air Raid Tokens (*5): placed on the board to mark air raid areas.
• Damaged Building Tokens (*4): mark damaged buildings on the board.
• Player Reference Cards (*4).
• Starting Player Token (*1).

Setup

Starting Setup

1-1. Choosing Characters:

Shuffle and place 8 Character Boards face down on the table. Each player randomly draws one and places it face up in front of themselves. Then everyone takes 5 different colours of Status Tokens (green, blue, red, brown, and black) and places them on top of the five Status bars on their Character Board, with each colour matching the corresponding bar (Red = Satiation, Green = Health, Blue = Mood, Brown = Stamina, Black = Action Point).

Then, each player shuffles and randomly draws one of the three Entanglement Cards corresponding to their characters. The drawn cards will be used for this game and will be public. Put the rest of the unused Entanglement Cards back into the game box.

Recommendations for character setup: If this is your first time playing this game, it is recommended that you choose one of the following combinations of the characters and the specific Entanglement Card: Grandma with "Hardworking and Thrift," Father with "Humanitarian Rescue," Older Brother with "Confidential Mission," and Younger Sister with "Peach is Missing."

1-2. For Resource Cards:

First, using the icons on the back, separate the Food, Medicine, and Item Resource Cards into separate decks (Orange = Food; Green = Medicine; Blue = Item). Then take out one of each of the following items from the Item deck: Bicycle, Shovel, Combat Helmet, and Cart. Shuffle these four cards face down and randomly draw one face up. All players discuss who receives that card. Shuffle the rest of the cards back into the Items deck.

Each location has a type that corresponds to one of the three Resource Card types. This type is represented by the coloured box next to the location: the icon in the upper-left hand corner of the box and the colour of the box correspond to the location's type.

Shuffle the Food, Medicine, and Item cards separately and then equally distribute them among locations of their type. Then, take out the Resource Cards of the Entanglement type according to the descriptions on the Entanglement Cards that were drawn for each character. Place these cards on the locations as stated in the card descriptions. (Note: Entanglement-typed Resource Cards are not the same as the Entanglement Cards drawn for each character at the beginning of setup. They can be distinguished from one another by the card back.)

Card descriptions for the four Item cards drawn in this step:

• Bicycle: When moving between non Air Raid Areas, you may move 1 additional road for each Action Point you spend.
• Shovel: When exploring a non-Air Raid Area, draw 1 additional Resource Card at that location.
• Combat Helmet: Lose 1 fewer Health when being affected by the Air Raid Cards.
• Cart: Ignore the additional cost of the road connecting to Taiwan Grand Shrine.

1-3. For Air Raid Cards and Others:

Take out the following Air Raid Cards: "End of the War," "Raid on Taihoku," and "Mazu Catches a Bomb." Randomly draw two normal Air Raid Cards from the Air Raid Card stack. Shuffle these two and "End of the War" face down and place them next to the board to form a deck. Then, randomly draw three normal Air Raid Cards from the Air Raid Card stack. Shuffle these three and "Raid on Taihoku" face down and place them on top of the previously formed deck. Randomly draw two cards from the Air Raid Card stack. Shuffle these two and "Mazu Catches a Bomb" face down and place them on top of the previously formed deck. Lastly, put the rest of the unused Air Raid Cards back to the game box.

Shuffle a stack of Event Cards and then place it next to the board. Each player takes out the Character Figure that matches the illustration on their Character Board and places it on the Blown Up Home location on the board.

Advanced: If the players would like to challenge themselves with a harder setting, it is recommended that they replace Mazu Catches a Bomb with a normal Air Raid Card.

1-4. Choosing the Starting Player:

The player whose birthday is the closest to 10 am, May 31st becomes the starting player and gets the Starting Player Token.

1-5. For the Starting Air Raid Areas:

Randomly draw a card from a stack of unused Air Raid Cards. Place Air Raid Tokens onto the corresponding locations on the board as specified on that card without performing any other effects.

Example: the setup illustration in the source shows the components used in play: a. Game Board, b. Player Reference Cards, c. Entanglement Cards, d. Character Boards, e. Starting Player Token, f. Status Tokens, g. Character Figures, h. Resource Cards, i. Air Raid Cards, j. Event Cards, k. Air Raid Tokens.

Game Play

1. Beginning Phase

1-1. Hunger:

All players lose 1 Satiation Point and move the corresponding Status Token downwards one space.

1-2. Events:

The Starting Player draws the top card of the Event Card deck, reads out the card description, and then places it on the board where everyone can see it clearly. This card will affect the entire round.

2. Survival Phase

2-1. Summary:

During the Survival Phase, starting with the Starting Player, each player performs their actions clockwise. There are two types of actions: the ones that cost Action Points and the ones that don't. Once a player cannot perform any more actions, their Survival Phase ends. Then, move on to the next player to perform their Survival Phase.

2-2. Stamina & Action Points:

At the beginning of the Survival Phase, players move the Status Token of the Action Point bar to the same value as their current Stamina. The Action Point bar on the Character Board is used to keep track of the amount of unused Action Points. Players will not die if that value reaches zero.

For example, at the beginning of Father's Survival Phase, since his Stamina is 4, he must place the Status Token on the "4" of the Action Point bar.

2-3. Actions That Cost Action Points:

A. Movement:

Players may spend 1 Action Point to move their Character Figure to an adjacent location that is connected via a road. They cannot move to the locations that have no yellow road connecting to the current location.

When moving between a normal location and an air-raid area (locations with an Air Raid Token), the player must spend 1 additional Action Point in order to do so. If they cannot afford the extra cost, they cannot perform this action. Players do not need to spend an additional Action Point when moving between two air-raid areas.

For example, Younger Brother wants to move from "Taihoku New Park" to the "Bank of Taiwan," which is an air-raid area. Therefore, he must spend 2 Action Points to move to the "Bank of Taiwan." On the contrary, if Younger Brother wants to move from the "Bank of Taiwan" back to "Taihoku New Park," he must also spend 2 Action Points.

Since the road in front of the "Taiwan Grand Shrine" is especially long, it costs 1 additional Action Point to use that road.

B. Exploration:

Players may spend 1 Action Point to explore their current location. If they do so, they draw a card from the Resource Card deck of that location.

C. Using Cards:

Players may spend 1 Action Point to play and then remove an item-typed Resource Card from their hand. If a player wants to use a card on another player, they must be on the same or adjacent locations. Moreover, the player must spend 1 Action Point in order to use a food-typed Resource Card on another player.

D. Sharing Food:

A player may spend 1 Action Point to share a food-typed Resource Card by distributing the Satiation Points mentioned on that card to players in the same location as they wish.

For example, if Mother wants to share "Red Bean Bread" to Younger Sister in the same location, she must spend 1 Action Point for both of them to regain 1 Satiation Point.

E. Transferring Cards:

Players may spend any number of Action Points to transfer the same number of Resource Cards to players who are in the same or adjacent locations.

For example, Older Brother who is in the Bank of Taiwan may transfer a Resource Card to Mother who is in the Governor-General's Office, but cannot transfer to Younger Sister who is in Taihoku First Girls' High School.

Note: Players must spend 1 additional Action Point when moving or transferring between Taiwan Grand Shrine and Taihoku Imperial University Hospital.

4. Actions That Do Not Cost Action Points

A. Over-Spend Stamina:

Players may reduce 1 Stamina Point to regain 1 Action Point. However, reducing Stamina to zero is not allowed.

B. Consumption:

Players may play food-typed Resource Cards to regain their own Satiation.

C. Entanglement Action:

Players may perform the actions mentioned on their Entanglement Card or entanglement-typed Resource Card in order to achieve the goal of their Entanglement Card.

5. The End of the Survival Phase

Once a player spends all of their Action Points or decides not to perform any more actions, they must end their Survival Phase. Then, if the number of Resource Cards they have is more than their current Weight Points, they must discard their cards until it is equal to the total value of their Weight Points.

For example, during the end of the Survival Phase, Younger Sister has 5 Resource Cards in her hand but she only has 3 Weight Points. Therefore, she must discard 2 Resource Cards from her hand.

If players end their Survival Phase in one of the following special locations, they will regain statuses according to the instructions of these locations:

• Penglai Town Catholic Church: Regain 1 Mood or 1 Health.
• LongShan Temple: Regain 1 Mood or 1 Stamina.
• Taihoku Imperial University Hospital: Regain 1 Health or 1 Stamina.
• Taiwan Grand Shrine: Regain Mood to its maximum.

3. Air Raid Phase

Once every player ends their Survival Phase, the Air Raid Phase starts. The Starting Player draws 1 card from the Air Raid deck. If an air raid occurs, move the Air Raid Tokens from the previous locations to the new locations as indicated on the Air Raid Card for this round. Any players at these locations lose 2 Health.

The effects of the special Air Raid Cards are as follows:

• Raid on Taihoku: On May 31st, 1945, Taipei suffered the most serious air raid. All players immediately lose 2 Health. Remove all Air Raid Tokens on the board and then place a Damaged Building Token on every special location. These locations will permanently lose their effects for the rest of the game. Also, every location on the board is considered as an Air Raid Area until the next Air Raid Card is played.
• Mazu Catches a Bomb: Due to the blessing of Mazu, there won't be any air raid this round. Remove all Air Raid Tokens on the board.
• End of the War: On August 15th, 1945, the Great Japanese Empire announced an unconditional surrender. The game immediately ends.

At the end of the Air Raid Phase, if none of the players reaches "Death" for any of their statuses, pass the Starting Player Token clockwise to the next player, and then begin a new round.

Game Endings

1. End of Game Conditions

1-1. A Player Dies:

At any time of the game, if one or more players' Stamina, Health, Satiation, or Mood reaches "Death," they will die and lose the game for everyone.

1-2. End of the War:

During the Air Raid Phase, if the special Air Raid Card "End of the War" is drawn, then players have survived through this cruel war. The game immediately ends and all players become winners.

1-3. Endings:

Once players achieve a victory, they will get a Survival Score, which is equal to the sum of each player's five statuses divided by the number of players. Players get different ending stories based on how high their Survival Score is.

Survival Score (Sum of all Statuses / Number of players)	Ending Story
18+	After the war, we buried our deceased family members and strove to rebuild our home. Our family business gradually got back on track, and the Nationalist government is about to send officials to Taiwan. The future seems full of hope!
15–17	On the day when Japan surrendered, the entire city was filled with an interesting atmosphere. On our way home, we could hear people shouting: "We are going to be Chinese! We don't want to be Japanese anymore!" Our whole family was laughing happily. We are also full of curiosity about our mother country which is about to come and rule Taiwan…
11–14	Finally, the miserable days were over. Our family couldn't help but embrace each other and cry for a long time. We hastily buried the remains of our loved ones. Thinking about the darkness of war makes us shed tears all over again. All we can hope for is a better life in the future…
7–10	Even though the war ended, I've still woken up from nightmares over the past few days. I thought the misery was over, but what I did not expect is that this is just the beginning of a different kind of nightmare…
4–6	I have heard that the war is over, but I can barely feel anything. I will never forget the expressions of my loved ones while they were dying. Perhaps I will continue to live with all these burdens for the rest of my life…

Character Introduction

• Grandpa: Having experienced Taiwanese regime change before, from the Qing dynasty to Japan after the First Sino-Japanese War, Grandpa has a relatively slight sense of nationalism. All he values is the continuity of his family.
• Grandma: Being 5 years older than Grandpa, Grandma was adopted as a child bride when she was young. She takes traditions seriously, and cares more about her family than herself.
• Father: Influenced by democratic trends in the 1920s, Father is a writer and a humanitarian who is concerned about society.
• Mother: Mother is an excellent cook and has a strong sense of responsibility for her family. When situations get desperate, her priority is always protecting her children.
• Older Brother: Japanized Older Brother was not able to become a soldier and fight for the country due to his poor health. However, he is a determined man who does not want to give up yet…
• Older Sister: Elegant Older Sister has a fiancé who is fighting in the war. For her, it seems like an endless wait until the end of the war…
• Younger Brother: (the source prints "Japanized Older Brother" here, a probable error for Younger Brother; reproduced as printed) Japanized Older Brother was not able to become a soldier and fight for the country due to his poor health. However, he is a determined man who does not want to give up yet…
• Younger Sister: Younger Sister does not pay attention to who the enemies are and what the soldiers are fighting for. She just wants to be with her favorite cat and dog.

Building Introduction

• Taiwan Governor-General's Office: The office was constructed March, 1919, as the tallest building in Taiwan under Japanese rule. During World War II, it was one of the main targets of U.S. air strikes, and parts of the structure were destroyed during the Raid on Taihoku (now Taipei). It now serves as the Presidential Office Building of the Republic of China.
• Bank of Taiwan: The Bank of Taiwan was first established in 1897. In 1903, its main branch was first built west of its present site. Due to termite damage, the Japanese government reconstructed the building at the current location in 1938. Nowadays, the building still serves as the Bank of Taiwan.
• Haihoku New Park: The park was built in 1908 as the first European-style urban park in Taiwan. It was once called New Park because it was built later than YuanShan Park. Its present name is the 2-2-8 Peace Memorial Park.
• Taihoku First Girls' High School: The school was founded in 1904 as one of the first girls' high schools in Taiwan. In 1921, the name was changed from "Girls' High School of the Governor-General's Office" to "Taihoku Prefectural Taihoku First Girls' High School." The present name is Taipei First Girls' High School.
• Taihoku First High School: The school was founded by the Governor-General's Office during the Japanese reign in 1898. Its baseball school team was created in 1906 and had entered the Koshien championship seven times. It is currently named the Taipei Municipal Jianguo High School.
• Taiwan Railway Hotel: The hotel was built in 1908 as an eminent and Western-style hotel. At that time, celebrities from various fields and the Japanese royal family often stayed here. However, it was blown up during the Raid on Taihoku in World War II and no longer exists. The Taipei Station branch of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store was constructed on its site.
• Taiwan Electric Power Company: The company was built in 1907, located behind the Governor-General's Office. It was one of the largest government buildings in Taihoku city during Japanese rule. Both the building and Taiwan's Governor's Library were blown up when U.S. bombers struck Taihoku. The BoAi Building of the Ministry of National Defense was built on its site and remains until the present day.

FAQ

Questions are grouped under the source's category labels. Several Resource Card and Event Card questions sit in unlabelled rows of the source; the headings given to those rows are the transcriber's grouping. The answer to the first Stamina / Action Points question ends mid-sentence in the source PDF ("...can only regain Action Points during"); it is reproduced as printed.

Game Details

Stamina / Action Points

Q: If I use a Resource Card to regain 1 Stamina, do I also immediately regain 1 Action Point? A: No. Players don't regain Action Points as soon as they regain their Stamina. Players can only play Resource Cards during the Survival Phase, but can only regain Action Points during

Discard / Weight Points

Q: Can I discard the Resource Cards in my hand even if the number of my cards does not exceed my Weight Points? A: Yes, and all the discarded Resource Cards will be removed from the game.

Q: How many Action Points does it cost to use a Simple Fireplace to cook and then share the food? A: 2 Action Points.

Q: How do you determine the resolution order of a special location's effect, an Entanglement Card, and an Event Card? A: The order of resolving the cards is as follows: Special location's effects > Entanglement Cards > Event Cards.

Entanglement Cards

Redeem a Vow to Gods

Q: This Entanglement Card of Grandma has the following effect: "All players are reduced 1 fewer Health when effected by the Air Raid Cards." Does this effect stack with a Combat Helmet's effect? A: Yes, it does.

Sacrifice for Others

Q: According to this card, can Mother use a Simple Fireplace to cook a Rotten Food and/or an Animal Carcass and then use the food on herself? A: Yes, she can.

Resource Cards

Air Raid Flyers

Q: When a player uses this card to draw an Air Raid Card, should they resolve the card's effect immediately? A: No, Air Raid Cards are resolved only during the Air Raid Phase. Even if that player draws "End of the War," they still need to wait until the Air Raid Phase to end the game.

Bicycles

Q: When using a Bicycle to move from a non-Air Raid area into an Air Raid Area, is that player still allowed to move 2 spaces? A: No.

Peach

Q: What does "additional punishment effect" refer to on the card "Peach?" A: It refers to effects such as the "If a player's Mood is 1, reduce 1 additional Stamina" on the Event Card called "Spread of Corpse Contamination."

Combat Helmets, Carts, Bicycles, and Shovels

Q: If a player owns more than one Combat Helmet (or Carts, Bicycles, and Shovels), can those cards' effects stack? A: No. For example, if a player owns 2 Combat Helmets, they can still only use one of them.

Shovel and Blackie

Q: If I have both a Shovel and Blackie, can I draw 2 Resource Cards from an adjacent location? A: No you can't. You can only choose between using either a Shovel or Blackie to explore. After all, Blackie has not learned how to use a shovel!

Event Cards

Clouded By Sorrow / Epidemic Disease; Temporary Shelter / Sexual Perpetrators / Cold Front Strike / Nighttime Bombing

Q: Does "lower Mood/Stamina" mean lower than other players? A: Yes. If player A's Mood is 3 and player B's is 4, even if the maximum Mood for A is 3, B's Mood will still be reduced down to 3.

Q: During a round effected by one of these four Event Cards, does the player who owns Peach count as not alone? A: Yes. Peach is an excellent cat. Even when building a temporary shelter she can still come in handy.