Sellswords: Olympus Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Components
• Tile Layout
• Ability Types
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • 1. Play a Tile
  • 2. Apply Relevant Abilities
  • 3. Battle
• Other Notes
  • Flipping Tiles
  • Tile Effects / Terminology
  • Playing Field Size
  • Additional Rules
• Scoring
• Onward to Round 2!
• Terrain Tiles and Abilities
  • Mt Olympus (End of Round)
  • Parthenon (Continuous)
  • River Styx (Continuous)
  • Tartarus (Continuous)
• Character Tiles and Abilities
  • 1. Achilles (Mandatory)
  • 2. Actor (Optional)
  • 3. Alexander (Optional)
  • 4. Aphrodite (Continuous)
  • 5. Apollo (Continuous)
  • 6. Architect (Optional)
  • 7. Ares (Mandatory)
  • 8. Aristotle (Mandatory)
  • 9. Artemis (Mandatory)
  • 10. Athena (Mandatory)
  • 11. Athlete (Continuous)
  • 12. Basilisk (Optional)

Overview

Sellswords is a tile placement game for two players where heroes gather for the battle of a lifetime! Each of the 50 heroes has their own ability to help turn the tiles of battle in your favor! Over a series of two rounds, players will draft a set of 6 Heroes each round and take turns playing them to gain ground for their color. Each tile can use its ability, then battle by comparing numbers to flip opposing adjacent tiles to their color. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins!

Components

• 50 double-sided Hero tiles (red/blue)
• 4 double-sided Terrain tiles (gray)
• 1 Rules Sheet

Tile Layout

1. Combat Number (on each side)
2. Red Sun Symbol/Blue Moon Symbol (to assist color-blind players)
3. Tile Name
4. Ability Name
5. Ability Text
6. Ability Type Icon

Ability Types

• Optional
• Mandatory
• Continuous
• End of Round

Setup

You will need a two-foot square area in order to play.

1. Remove the gray terrain tiles from the deck. Shuffle the remaining hero tiles and place them in a pile off to the side.
2. Decide who goes first randomly and which color they will play (red or blue).
3. Deal 7 hero tiles to the center of the table. Players take turns choosing one of the 7 tiles to add to their hand, starting with the first player. Repeat this until only one tile remains unselected. Discard the last tile that wasn't selected. Each player should now have 6 tiles.
4. Repeat step 3 again. Each player should now have 6 tiles, with 2 tiles in the discard.
5. Place your Terrain Tile of choice in the middle of the table. The first tile played must be adjacent to this tile. The Terrain Tile tile is not the center of the board and just acts as a starting point. We recommend using Mount Olympus in your first game.
6. Begin Round One, with the first player placing a tile.

Gameplay

1. Play a Tile

Place 1 tile from your hand onto the table adjacent to an existing tile. The new tile should be placed on your color's side. You may rotate the tile any way you like but you cannot place a tile diagonally from another tile.

2. Apply Relevant Abilities

Some tiles have Optional, Mandatory, Continuous, or End of Round abilities. If Optional, you choose whether or not to use the ability when you place the tile. If the ability is Mandatory, you must use the ability when you place the tile. If Continuous, the ability works during placement as well as while the tile is on the field. If End of Round, then the ability is used at the end of each round.

To use an ability, perform the effect as stated on the tile. This rules sheet has clarifications for each ability, if any questions arise.

3. Battle

For each opponent's tile adjacent to the tile you have just placed, check the two numbers that are touching each other. If your number is higher than the opponent's, flip the opponent's tile to your color (see the example below). If your number is lower or both are equal, nothing happens. When you flip a tile, do not compare the numbers of the newly flipped tile--there are no chain reactions.

The sequence of a turn is Place, Battle, Result.

The next player follows the above three steps to play a tile on their turn. Play continues as players play tiles back and forth until all tiles in hands are played. Players then score points as seen in the Scoring section.

Other Notes

Flipping Tiles

When flipping a tile, flip horizontally relative to the character artwork (look at the character right-side up and flip it horizontally). When you flip the tile correctly, the positions of its numbers will not change.

The Combat Numbers and Orientation of the artwork will be the same after any flip, regardless of orientation before flipping!

Tile Effects / Terminology

The many special abilities in the game will use these terms to explain how they work.

• Orientation - The rotation of a tile (0°, 90°, 180°, or 270°)
• Rotate - Change the orientation of the tile any way to you wish.
• Adjacent - Next to another tile (left, right, top, or bottom). This never includes diagonals.
• Move - Change the position of a tile by picking it up and placing it down again. This does not cause the moved tile to battle or activate its Optional or Mandatory abilities again. Legal placement rules apply when choosing a tile to move and where to move it.
• Ally Tile - A tile of your color.
• Enemy Tile - A tile of your opponent's color.
• Terrain Tile - Terrain tiles are neither ally nor enemy tiles.
• Flip - Flipping causes a tile to change colors, turning an allied tile into an enemy tile and vice versa. Flip has no effect on Terrain Tiles.
• Swap - The positions of the two tiles are exchanged. Orientation and color of the tiles remain the same.
• Combat Number - The numbers on each side of a tile. Each tile has four in total.

Playing Field Size

Eventually, a row or column will reach 5 tiles. Once this happens no tiles can be placed beyond that margin. This means that the final playing field will be a grid of 5x5 tiles.

Additional Rules

• Every tile must be connected by adjacent edges to every other tile. Any ability that causes one or more tiles to become disconnected from the rest of the board when resolved cannot be used and is ignored instead.
• Tiles in hand are open information and are always visible to other players.
• Tiles can never be stacked or moved on top of other tiles.

Scoring

Once all 12 tiles have been placed, score each row and each column. Going across the rows, each row gives a player points based on the number of tiles of their color in the row. After scoring each row like this, score each column the same way:

Tiles	Points
0	0
1	0
2	1
3	2
4	4
5	7

Example: It's the end of round 1. Red scores 8 points and Blue scores 6, based on their control of rows and columns as shown. Mount Olympus's End of Round effect also awards 1 point to Red and 2 points to Blue, for a total score of 9 (Red) to 8 (Blue).

Onward to Round 2!

After scoring the first round, begin round 2. The first player in this round is the player with fewer points (randomly decide if points are tied). Repeat steps 3 and 4 of setup, with each player gaining 6 new tiles and keeping the same color they had in round 1.

Continue play as normal, with the board staying the same from the previous round. At the end of the second round, the board should be a full 5x5 square. Score points again like at the end of Round 1.

Once both Rounds are over and points are scored, the player with the highest total points from both Rounds wins! If there is a tie, the player who went first in the second round is declared the winner!

Terrain Tiles and Abilities

Each of the four Terrain Tiles alters your game and allows you to play Sellswords: Olympus in new ways. Terrain tiles have no numbers and can't flip other tiles or be flipped. They don't have player colors and do not belong to either player for scoring purposes. They can't be affected by abilities or be moved unless an ability specifically mentions the Terrain Tile.

Mt Olympus (End of Round)

Adjacent tiles give +1 point to their controller at the end of the round.

Parthenon (Continuous)

If there is an empty space next to Parthenon, you must place next to it.

River Styx (Continuous)

At the end of your turn, you may move a tile. Skip this effect on the last turn of a round.

Tartarus (Continuous)

During each phase of drafting, the first tile drafted by each player is given to the opponent and put in their hand.

Character Tiles and Abilities

This section lists tiles in alphabetical order and describes their abilities in more detail. A tile's name is preceded by a reference number and followed by its ability type. Below this, there is a description of that tile's effect, with some additional clarifications.

Ability Types: Optional, Mandatory, Continuous, End of Round.

1. Achilles (Mandatory)

When this tile is played, the controller's opponent chooses its orientation.

2. Actor (Optional)

You may copy one Mandatory or Optional ability on any tile in play.

3. Alexander (Optional)

Instead of battling, you may flip any enemy tile in play.

4. Aphrodite (Continuous)

When a tile is placed next to this one, Aphrodite's Controller controls all Mandatory and Optional abilities of that tile. They may choose not to use the Optional abilities.

5. Apollo (Continuous)

This tile has +1 to all its Combat Numbers during Round 1, and -1 to all its Combat Numbers during Round 2.

6. Architect (Optional)

You may move an adjacent tile (including the Terrain Tile).

7. Ares (Mandatory)

After this tile battles, its controller loses 1 Point for each enemy tile flipped. This can cause a player's score to go below zero.

8. Aristotle (Mandatory)

Both players must choose and give one tile from their hand to the opponent. If either player has no tiles in hand, this ability does nothing.

9. Artemis (Mandatory)

This tile battles with the farthest tiles in its row and column, rather than adjacent tiles. The farthest tile may be adjacent in some setups.

10. Athena (Mandatory)

Ignore the Mandatory and Optional abilities of the next two tiles placed.

11. Athlete (Continuous)

When tiles battle with Athlete, only printed numbers are considered (any bonuses or penalties from other sources are ignored).

12. Basilisk (Optional)

If the opponent has at least 2 tiles in hand, you may choose one. The chosen tile cannot be placed during that player's next turn.

13. Centaur (Optional)

You may take another turn after this one.

14. Cerberus (Mandatory)

If there are exactly 3 tiles adjacent to this one, flip all enemy tiles among them instead of battling.

15. Chimera (Optional)

You may discard a tile from your hand and draw a new one from the deck.

16. Colossus (Mandatory)

This tile does not battle when placed.

17. Cyclops (Optional)

When battling, you may choose to battle to only one adjacent enemy tile. If you do, this tile has +3 for that battle.

18. Elder (Optional)

Copy one Mandatory or Optional ability on a discarded tile (one not chosen during draft, or discarded via other effects).

19. Gryphon (Mandatory)

This tile does not battle when placed. Flip any enemy tile in play.

20. Hades (Mandatory)

This tile does not battle when placed. Flip all tiles adjacent to this tile, then flip this tile.

21. Harpy (Mandatory)

When battling, compare numbers with the far side of enemy tiles instead of the near side when battling.

22. Hera (Continuous)

Adjacent enemy tiles have -1 to all of their Combat Numbers.

23. Hercules

Hercules needs no Special Abilities, weakling!

24. Hermes (Mandatory)

This tile does not battle when placed. Flip all tiles in either the row and column of this tile. This effect will also flip this tile.

25. Hydra (Continuous)

Whenever this tile is flipped, its new controller flips any adjacent tile.

26. Icarus (Continuous)

While this tile is adjacent to the terrain tile, all of its numbers become 0.

27. Jason (Optional)

You may swap this tile and an adjacent tile. Repeat this up to 2 more times.

28. King Midas (Continuous)

Tiles adjacent to this cannot be flipped by any means.

29. Kraken (Mandatory)

This tile battles with the first enemy tile in each direction in its row and column.

30. Lamia (Mandatory)

When this tile battles, it can only flip enemy tiles with no printed Combat Number greater than 4 (this considers all four numbers, not just the one adjacent to it).

31. Manticore (Optional)

You may flip one adjacent tile instead of battling.

32. Medusa (Continuous)

Adjacent tiles cannot be moved or swapped.

33. Minotaur (Continuous)

After a tile is placed adjacent to this one and battle ends, flip that tile.

34. Muse (Continuous)

This tile has +2 to all its Combat Numbers for each tile adjacent to it.

35. Nymph (Optional)

You may swap any 2 adjacent tiles. (The tiles do not need to be adjacent to Nymph, just to one another).

36. Odysseus (Optional)

You may swap this tile and any other tile in play.

37. Oracle (End of Round)

If this tile is the center tile in play at the end of Round 2, its controller gains +5 Points.

38. Pandora (Continuous)

Whenever this tile is flipped, its new controller loses 1 point. This can cause a player's score to go below zero.

39. Pegasus (Continuous)

At the start of each of their turns, the controller of this tile may move it.

40. Perseus (Continuous)

When any number of adjacent ally tiles would be flipped, flip this tile instead.

41. Poseidon (Optional)

You may move an ally or enemy tile.

42. Priestess (Mandatory)

Ignore the Mandatory and Optional abilities of the next tile the opponent places.

43. Satyr (Optional)

You may rotate an adjacent tile.

44. Sculptor (Optional)

You may move the Terrain Tile to a space adjacent to this tile.

45. Socrates (Mandatory)

When this tile battles, enemy tiles with higher numbers are flipped, and those with lower numbers are unaffected.

46. Spartan (Continuous)

This tile has +1 to its Combat Numbers for each adjacent enemy tile.

47. Teacher (Optional)

Instead of comparing numbers, you may choose another ally tile. That tile battles instead.

48. Theseus (Continuous)

At the start of each of their turns, the controller of this tile must choose and discard a tile from their hand, then gain the top tile from the deck.

49. Three Fates (Optional)

Instead of battling, you may flip one ally tile and one enemy tile in play.

50. Zeus (End of Round)

This tile's controller gains 1 Point for each allied tile adjacent to the Terrain Tile.