SiegeStones
SiegeStones Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Contents: Board, 80 stones, 9 towers
- Players: 2-4
- Ages: 7+
- How to Win: Control 4 towers!
Setting up the game
Divide the stones between the players (one color per player). Place the board between the players and the towers next to it. If there are only 2 players, only use 8 towers (put the ninth back in the box).
How to Play
Play progresses clockwise around the board. On your turn, place either a tower or one of your stones on the board. After each turn, examine the towers to see who owns them. Make sure the stone on top of each tower indicates the proper owner of the tower. If anyone controls four towers, that person is the winner.
It's all about the board
The board has 37 empty circles. On your turn, place one piece (either a tower or one of your stones) in an unoccupied circle on the board.
It's all about the stones
Each stone on the board starts with a threat rating of 6 points. This rating is reduced by the number of towers next to the stone. For example, a stone sitting on the board by itself has a rating of 6. If there's a tower next to it, it's only worth 5 points. If there are 2 towers next to it, its threat drops to 4.
It's all about the towers
The object of the game is to control the towers.
- A tower is controlled by whichever color has the highest threat rating next to it.
- You can only control a tower if you threaten it with at least 5 points worth of stones.
Once you control a tower, place one of your stones on it to indicate ownership.
Winning
Once a player controls four towers, that person wins and the game is over. If you run out of empty spaces on the board before this happens, the person controlling the most towers wins. If there is still a tie (two or more people have the same number of towers), then whichever of these players has the most stones on the board wins. A draw only happens if multiple people control the same number of towers and the same number of stones (very rare).
If two or more players have four towers and there are still spaces available to place stones, continue playing. As soon as only one person has four towers (or if one person gets more than four), that person wins.
An Advanced Option: Balanced Forces
If you often play with more than two players, here's an optional rule that can be fun to try: whenever two or more players present an equal threat to a tower, treat their threat to that tower as being zero. For example, imagine that two players each have ten points threatening a single tower. A third player could control it with a single 5-point stone.
Series Play
Instead of playing "best out of three", try this approach. After each game, total the number of towers each person controls. The winner gets an additional 1/2 tower for controlling the board. Play until one or more players collects that many towers (and there's no tie): Village (10 towers), Castle (15), City (20), or Fortress (30).
Examples
Who Controls Each Tower?
- Tower A: The three blue stones are presenting a total threat of 15 (5 per stone). Since yellow only threatens with 10, blue controls it.
- Tower B is not controlled by anyone. The yellow stone next to tower B is also adjacent to tower C, making its threat rating 4 (6 minus 2 equals 4). A threat rating of five is required to control a tower.
- Tower C is controlled by blue, which is threatening with 15. Yellow only threatens with 14 because one of its stones is also adjacent to tower B.
- Tower D is not controlled by anyone, because both yellow and blue are threatening equally (5 per stone).
Tip: When scoring the board, focus on the towers. Do one tower at a time, indicate its ownership, and then continue to the next tower. Stones not next to towers do not need to be counted.