Sniper Elite: The Board Game
Sniper Elite: The Board Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
Map Pieces
- 1 Main Board (double-sided)
- 18 Objective Cards: 2 sets of 9 cards
- 1 Countdown Track/Solo Board (double-sided)
- 1 Wound Token
- 1 Solo Die
- 21 Solo Cards
- 1 Main Rulebook (this one)
- 1 Solo Rulebook
Defender Pieces
- 9 Defender Miniatures: 6 Soldiers and 3 Officers (with an Iron Cross base)
- 9 Miniature Bases: 3 each in 3 colours
- 12 Action Cubes: 4 each in 3 colours
- 10 Tracking Cubes (transparent)
- 1 Defender Player Aid
- 6 Specialist Officer cards
- 2 Dog Tokens
Sniper Pieces
- 1 Sniper Miniature
- 30 Shot Tokens: 11 Aim (grey), 7 Recoil (yellow), 9 Noise (red), 3 Suppression (blue)
- 10 Loadout Cards
- 2 Hidden Boards: one for each side of the main board
- 1 Shot Bag (cloth)
- 1 Dry-Erase Marker
- 1 Sniper Player Aid
The dog tokens are only used by the Kennel Master specialist. If you are not using that card, return the dog tokens to the box.
What are the key points from the maps section? Each space on the board can only contain 1 defender. Defenders can move through each other's spaces, but the sniper must move around them or shoot them to get through. The numbered spaces are the sniper's possible objectives. The defenders start on the coloured circles and the sniper will enter the map from one of the coloured arrows. Enclosed and elevated spaces like buildings and walkways affect line of sight, and can only be entered or exited via doorways and ladders.
Set Up
These rules are split into two sections: setup and play, then components and line of sight. If you prefer to learn the icons on the board before learning the options on your turn, read pages 10–13 then return here.
Decide which map you want to play on, and lay that side of the main board face-up. If anyone at the table is playing for the first time, we suggest using the Launch Facility map.
Give the matching hidden board and objective cards to the sniper, as well as the marker, sniper miniature, shot bag, loadout cards, and aim, noise, and recoil tokens.
Give the tracking cubes, action cubes, suppression tokens, dog tokens, wound token, defender miniatures, and countdown track to the defenders.
Return the other components to the box.
Sniper Setup
It is crucial that the sniper's cards and choices during setup are kept secret from the other players.
Shuffle the objective cards and draw 2. If they are the same suit, return 1 (of your choice) to the bottom of the deck then draw another (repeat until you have different suits). These are your objectives for this game. Return the other objective cards to the box.
Load (place) 6 aim, 2 noise, and 3 recoil tokens into your shot bag, then mix/shake it thoroughly. Place the remaining aim and noise tokens to one side and return the remaining recoil tokens to the box.
Examine all loadout cards and choose any 3 of them to use this game (if there are 2 copies of a card, you may take both copies). Shuffle the rest to form a face-down deck.
Can I see my objectives before choosing loadout cards? Yes, but you must choose your loadout cards before the specialist officers are chosen.
It's my first game, what should I choose? The map descriptions offer suggestions of useful abilities for each location. For your first game you may want to assign loadout cards and specialists at random, until you learn what cards suit your play style.
Defender Setup
Place the defender miniatures (collectively referred to as units) on the starting spaces matching their coloured bases. Officers go on the spaces marked with an Iron Cross.
Choose any 3 specialist cards to use this game. Place them face-up where everyone (sniper included) can see them, and place 1 suppression token on each.
Assign each of the specialist cards you have chosen to a squad by placing 2 action cubes of the same colour on the card. That squad's officer has access to that card's ability for this game.
Take the 6 remaining action cubes and put them on the "10" space on the countdown track. This is how many rounds you have to keep the sniper from completing each of their objectives. Put the 'full' side of the wound token on the circular space on the countdown track.
The sniper takes the first turn, after which the defenders collectively take their turn in any order, and so on, until the game ends.
Playing as the Sniper
Goal
You must complete both of your objectives (see page 7) before you are wounded twice, and before you end your turn with the defenders' action cubes on the last space of the countdown track.
If either of these occur, the sniper immediately loses, and the defenders collectively win.
Your Turn
At the beginning of your first turn, choose and secretly mark your starting position on your hidden board. You cannot choose a starting position in a sector that contains either of your numbered objectives. Then take your turn as normal.
Where is my starting position? The Sniper accesses the map via one of the four arrows on the edge of the board (see page 11).
If the sniper miniature is on the board at the start of your turn, remove it. During your turn you can move, use 1 loadout card, and take 1 additional action, in any order you choose. The additional actions are:
- Shoot – take a shot at an enemy target using your shot bag.
- Loot – gain an additional loadout card from the deck.
- Complete an objective – progress towards your goal.
You can choose not to move, or not to use any other action, and even choose to not do anything on your turn. Skipping 1 action does not allow you to take another more than once per turn.
Should I announce what I'm doing? No. Certain elements of your turn, like drawing from the shot bag, playing a loadout card, or moving noisily past defenders, require that you tell the defender players something immediately. Everything else should be kept secret. The other players might deduce the order in which you took actions (for example if a soldier hears movement after a shot has been taken), but you do not have to tell them.
Movement
You can choose to move 0, 1, 2, or 3 spaces. If you move 0 or 1 spaces, your movement is kept secret from the defenders.
If you move 2 or 3 spaces, you may have to give away information to the defenders. After moving, any defending units that were adjacent to a space you moved through (including the spaces you started and ended in) are alerted. Point to those units on the board and inform the defenders that they heard a noise. Defender players may wish to mark them with tracking cubes.
Those nearby defenders are alerted after the movement. Do not tell the defenders how many adjacent spaces you moved through, or the order in which those units are alerted. Enclosed and elevated spaces (described on page 10) have no effect on a unit's ability to hear movement.
These rules also apply to your movement:
- You cannot enter a space that contains a defending unit. If a defender moves into your space on their turn, you do not have to disclose this to the defenders, and you can move out of that space on your turn as normal, with no additional penalty.
- You cannot move into a space you have already occupied this turn.
- You can only enter or exit enclosed or elevated spaces (buildings, rooms, and walkways) through the indicated access points.
When your turn is over, write the current number on the countdown track in your space on the hidden board, so you can discuss your movement at the end of the game.
Can I split my movement? No. You cannot interrupt your movement with other actions; once you stop moving, you end your movement for the entire turn.
Why does the distance I move make a difference? When you move 1 space per turn you are carefully sneaking – the defenders do not hear any noise or gain any information about your location. When you move 2 or 3 spaces you are running, and somebody nearby can hear you. It's best to run only when you're far away from the enemy, running out of time, or if your cover is already blown.
Can defenders hear noise through walls or other obstructions? Yes. Only adjacency matters; no features on the map affect noise in any way. You do not need line of sight to make or hear noise.
Example: The sniper moves 2 spaces, indicated by the arrows. Both units circled in white hear a noise, because the sniper moved through an adjacent space. They may be able to deduce some of the spaces the sniper moved through, but they do not know which direction the sniper is moving in. The unit circled in red does not hear a noise, letting the defenders know that the sniper is either in the black sector, or at the entrance to the building containing objective 4.
Shooting
The shot bag – the bag full of tokens – represents your accuracy when shooting. It can contain four types of token:
- Grey aim tokens are needed to hit your target.
- Yellow recoil tokens can cause misfires.
- Red noise tokens will give away your position if you draw 2 or more.
- Blue suppression tokens cancel out noise – the sniper may ignore 1 drawn noise token for each drawn suppression token.
You begin the game with 6 aim, 2 noise, and 3 recoil tokens in your bag.
Do I have to declare who my target is? No, not unless you hit them! You do have to tell the other players in advance that you are shooting and how many tokens you are going to draw. You must also reveal which tokens were drawn.
Can I target someone in my own space? Yes, but you must still draw at least 1 aim token to succeed.
Can I shoot from the starting position? No, your first action of the game must always be a move to enter the board. After that, you can take your actions in any order (and shoot, if you choose, on your first turn). It usually makes sense to move at the end of your turn, in case your other actions give away your position, but this doesn't apply for your first turn.
Are units I've shot out of the game? Units you hit are removed from the board. On the defenders' turn they can use a deploy action to bring a soldier back into play.
Hitting Your Target
To shoot, secretly pick a target in line of sight (see page 12), count the shortest number of spaces to the target's space in a straight line, declare how many tokens you are going to risk drawing, then draw that many from the shot bag. Regardless of the outcome, you must always show the defenders which tokens you drew.
You need to draw at least 1 aim token for each space between you and your target, plus 1 for the target's space. If there are multiple lines of sight to your target, always count the line that moves through the fewest spaces. Do not include your own space, unless you are in the same space as your target (you must always draw at least 1 aim token to hit). A successful shot removes the target from the board: hand the miniature to the defenders. You will also add tokens to your shot bag depending on who you were targeting (see Affecting the Shot Bag below).
Revealing Your Position
Drawing 2 (or more) noise tokens reveals your position: after you've finished drawing tokens you must put the sniper miniature on your current space on the main board. Suppression helps with noise: every suppression token drawn increases the number of noise tokens it takes to reveal your position by 1. This means if you draw 1 suppression token, it would take 3 noise tokens to reveal your position. It is possible to hit your target and reveal your position with the same shot.
Misfire
If you draw 5 (or more) combined recoil and noise tokens, you misfire. This means you miss your shot no matter how many aim tokens you drew. Suppression tokens have no effect on noise tokens for the purposes of misfires. If you drew 2 (or more) noise tokens you still place your miniature on the main board, even though you misfired.
Reload
Regardless of the outcome, return all drawn tokens to the bag after your shot. Leave the sniper miniature on the board (if present); if you move after shooting, do not move the miniature on the board (but mark it on your hidden board as normal). The sniper miniature indicates your last known position.
Affecting the Shot Bag
Extra tokens will be added to your bag over the course of the game as the course of battle shifts:
- After killing a soldier, add an aim token. Panicked soldiers are easier targets.
- After killing an officer, take the suppression token from the specialist card assigned to them and add it. If you have already added their suppression token, add an aim token. You are harder to track down as the chain of command is broken.
- After completing an objective, add a noise token. The enemy is on high alert.
- If you are located with a spot action (see page 9), add a noise token. Your position is easier to triangulate after being spotted.
You cannot add more tokens of any type than are included with the game. This means a maximum of 11 aim tokens, 3 suppression, and 9 noise. If you run out of any type of token you can still take actions that would add that token, just skip adding it to the bag.
Looting
To loot you must be in a numbered objective space that does not match your objective cards.
Draw 3 cards from the loadout deck and choose 1 to keep, returning the others and shuffling the deck.
Mark the looted space on your hidden board. You may not loot that space again this game. By looting you are revealing that you are in a numbered space, but not which one.
Looting seems risky? It is. Only loot if you're very confident you're not going to get caught, or if you badly need a specific piece of equipment.
Completing Objectives
You have ten rounds to complete each objective. To complete an objective, simply reveal 1 of your objective cards while on the matching space. Put the sniper miniature on that space, add a noise token to your bag, and reset the defender's action cubes on the countdown track to 10.
Using Your Loadout
Each loadout card grants a special one-time ability. You start the game with 3, and gain 1 every time you loot.
To use a loadout card, declare that you are using it, then place the card face-down on the table and reveal it when specified on the card. Some cards are revealed immediately (e.g., silenced ammo), some when they are triggered (e.g., mines), and some are revealed at the end of the game (e.g., sound masking).
Loadout cards cannot be played midway through an action or movement. If a loadout card affects your other actions this turn, you must play it before taking those actions.
Can I move 1 space, plant a mine, then keep moving? No, loadout cards must be played before or after an action. If you need to stop moving, you cannot move again this turn.
Can I have multiple copies of the same loadout card? Yes. There are 2 copies of most cards, and you are allowed to choose both during setup. If a card has a single copy, that is the maximum you are allowed.
Examples:
The sniper is targeting the defender 2 spaces away, needing 2 aim tokens. They decide to draw 3, pulling 1 aim, 1 noise and 1 recoil, and missing their shot. A single noise token has no effect, however the defenders now know that the sniper must be more than 1 space away from their target, but not more than 3 spaces. They do not know who the target is.
The next turn the sniper tries the same shot, this time drawing 6 tokens. They draw 2 aim tokens, hitting their target, but also 2 noise revealing their position. If they had drawn 1 additional noise or recoil token they would have misfired, missing their shot regardless of aim tokens.
Playing as the Defenders
How are the squads split between players? No matter how many people are playing there are always three squads of defenders — black, red, and yellow, each matching a sector on the board:
- A single player will control all three squads.
- Two players will each control one squad and decide jointly on the actions of the third.
- Three players will each control a single squad.
What are the tracking cubes for? As a group you have 10 tracking cubes. Use these however you see fit to keep track of the sniper's potential position on the board.
Goal
As the defenders you must work together to wound the sniper twice with successful attacks, or slow them down enough that they run out of time. The sniper may never enter a space with one of your units, so using your officers and soldiers to control their movement is the key to victory.
Your Turn
Each squad has 3 units — 2 soldiers and 1 officer. Units can move anywhere on the board, but gathering intel and deploying soldiers both require the officer to be in their own sector.
During the defenders' turn, each squad can either gather intel or take 2 of the following unit actions:
- Move up to 2 spaces.
- Attack the current space, dealing a wound.
- Spot 1 adjacent space, adding noise to the sniper's bag if found.
- Sweep the current space plus 2 matching-adjacent spaces.
- Deploy an officer to the matching starting space.
- Deploy a soldier adjacent to their officer (if in the matching sector).
- Dismiss a unit from the board.
In addition, before or after any action or intel gathering, each officer may use their specialist ability once per turn.
These can happen in any order between all units – one squad does not need to finish both of their actions before another squad takes any of theirs. The action markers on the countdown track will show which squad has actions remaining.
Gathering Intel
To gather intel with a squad, the officer for that squad must be in their own sector. Move both of the squad's action cubes to the next space on the countdown track and declare an intel action in that sector. The sniper must declare if they are in the sector matching that squad's colour.
What combination of unit actions is not allowed? In a single turn, 2 soldiers in the same squad could both move, or 1 soldier could move and do something else, but the same soldier could not move twice. The same applies to any action (attacks, sweeps, etc.).
Can I move into the sniper's space? Yes, that is your main means of attacking them. Don't forget that the sniper's miniature on the board shows the last position you know they occupied, not necessarily their current space. It is likely that you will be in the same space as the sniper at some point during the game without even realizing it.
Unit Actions
If not gathering intel, each squad may assign 2 actions per turn between its units. It is possible to take the same action twice within a squad, or to take 2 actions with a single unit, but no individual unit can take the same action twice in one turn.
Each time a unit takes an action, move 1 of that squad's action cubes to the next space on the countdown track. This helps keep track of each squad's actions. You do not have to use all of your unit actions – just move the action cube to the next space to indicate that you want to pass.
Actions represent three general activities – moving, hunting the sniper, or adding units to the board.
Move up to 2 spaces
Units may move through other units, but cannot end their movement in the same space as another defender.
Attack
Choose a unit. If the sniper is in the same space, they must place their miniature there (if not there already), and receive a wound. Flip the wound token on the countdown track to mark the damage. If this is their second wound the sniper is killed and all defenders win the game.
Spot
Choose a space adjacent to a unit. If the sniper is in that space, they must place their miniature there and add 1 noise token to their bag. Units may spot into or out of enclosed or elevated spaces.
What does matching-adjacent mean? Matching-adjacent (see page 10) means adjacent spaces that are the same type (e.g., they are both enclosed spaces, etc.). To sweep, all 3 spaces can be either open, enclosed, or elevated, as long as they're all the same.
Sweep
Choose 2 matching-adjacent spaces to a unit. If the sniper is in either of those spaces, or in the unit's space itself, they must say so — but they don't have to say which of the 3 spaces they are in.
Deploy Officer
If the squad's officer is off the board, return them to the officer starting space for that colour.
What if the officer's starting space is occupied? If the space is occupied by another defending unit, you'll have to use an action to move that unit before you can deploy the officer. If the sniper is in the space, you may deploy as usual.
Deploy Soldier
If the squad's officer is in their own sector, place a soldier from that squad who is off the board in a matching-adjacent space to the officer. The soldier may be placed in a matching-adjacent space in a different sector as long as the officer is in their proper sector.
Does deploying a soldier count as an action for the officer or the soldier? It counts for the soldier, meaning 2 soldiers can be deployed beside the same officer in a single turn. The deployed soldier can immediately take another action, if his squad has unit actions remaining.
Dismiss
Remove 1 of this squad's units (soldier or officer) from anywhere on the board. They cannot be deployed this turn.
Specialist Abilities
Each officer is assigned a specialist card with unique abilities, which they can use twice per game. Officers do not have to be in their own sector to use their specialist abilities. When you use an ability, remove 1 of the action cubes from the specialist card and return it to the box. You cannot use a specialist ability if the matching officer is off the board.
The defenders may use the abilities of multiple specialists in a single turn, but cannot use the same specialist twice in a single turn.
Some abilities, like the Jager, modify a unit action this turn. You must declare you are using the ability before taking the action. Those abilities do not grant an extra action this turn.
When any ability refers to a soldier, it means only soldiers, not officers. Abilities which prevent a specific unit from taking a unit action do not prevent that squad from gathering intel.
How does the medic ability interact with the trench gun? The medic ability is used during the sniper's turn, but it is still limited to 1 use per turn. If the medic is among those hit by the trench gun, he cannot use his ability to defend against it. If not, he may use his ability to save one of the soldiers in his squad from the shot, but not both.
Ending the Game
The sniper wins immediately if they complete their second objective.
The defenders win immediately if they wound the sniper a second time, or if their action cubes are on the final space of the countdown track at the start of their turn.
Does the specialist sniper have a special shot bag? No, they use the sniper player's shot bag as-is that turn.
Are the Kennel Master's dogs alerted if I move 1 space? Yes. The dogs are alerted by scent, not noise. They are alerted if the sniper enters, exits or moves through their space no matter how fast the sniper is moving. They are not alerted if the sniper moves through an adjacent space.
The Maps
Which map should I start with? As Launch Facility does not have elevated spaces or obstructions, it should make for an easier introduction to the game.
Each side of the main board shows a different map for the sniper to inflitrate. Launch Facility is an outdoor area scattered with buildings to move through and hide between. Submarine Pens is a large compound, split by elevated walkways.
Each map has its own set of nine objective cards, as well as a seperate hidden version of the board for the sniper to secretly record their movement. They have different special rules, but work in mostly the same way. Each map has a dedicated page later in this rulebook, summarising the rules relevant to that location.
Sectors
Each map is broken down into four sectors: a yellow, red and black sector, each patrolled by a squad of defenders of the same colour, and a neutral white sector. The sectors indicate where the units of that squad start, and affect some of their abilities, but the defenders can leave their sector at any point.
The borders of each sector can be seen by the thick dividing lines in that colour. The neutral sector may be broken up into separate areas of the map.
Spaces
How do the spaces affect shooting? The more spaces between you and your target, the more difficult your shot will be. You also cannot shoot through certain spaces from spaces of a different type.
Why are the spaces different sizes? The size of a space reflects the difficulty or ease of interacting with that area. It is faster to move down a road, and easer to shoot down a road, so those spaces are larger. This makes roads tempting for the sniper, but easier for the defenders to patrol.
Where are the space edges where the sectors meet? The sector borders sit on top of the space lines for clarity. The line where two sector borders meet is also the edge of those spaces. The sector borders themselves count as inside those spaces, but this is unlikely to matter during the game unless someone is being very tricky with line of sight.
Each sector is divided into spaces, indicated by the thin black or white lines. These spaces are used for movement, searching, and shooting.
Each space can only contain 1 defender. Any defender may move through a space containing another defender, so long as their movement does not end on the same space. The sniper cannot enter a space containing a defender.
If a defender moves into the sniper's space; the sniper should remain silent. Nothing additional happens, and the sniper can move out of that space on their turn.
Spaces are adjacent if they share an edge. Spaces are matching-adjacent if they share an edge, and are the same type (open, enclosed, or elevated).
There are three main types of space in Sniper Elite:
1: Open
Open spaces are the main spaces of the game: anything outdoors, or in a wide open area is an open space. Open spaces are separated by white lines.
2: Enclosed
Enclosed spaces are spaces inside buildings on outdoor maps, or inside rooms on maps set in large indoor areas. Enclosed spaces are separated by black lines. These are thicker where they border an open space, indicating the presence of a wall. You cannot move through walls: you must use a doorway, as indicated by the icon, to enter or exit a building or room.
3: Elevated
Elevated spaces are on high ground, which can only be accessed from certain points. Elevated spaces are separated by grey lines, and a dashed line where they border lower ground. It is only possible to move into or out of elevated spaces to spaces of another type via certain access points, as indicated by the icon.
Enclosed and elevated spaces also affect line of sight. This is discussed on page 12.
What's Line of Sight? Line of sight is the ability of someone in one space to see into another. It mostly affects shooting.
Special Spaces
Some spaces have additional effects:
Objectives
The numbered spaces indicate the sniper's possible goals for each game. Each objective space has a matching card in the objective deck.
Difficult Terrain
Spaces with an exclamation mark are difficult terrain which slows down defenders and the sniper alike. Any miniature that enters a difficult space must reduce their maximum movement this turn by 1 space: the sniper can move a maximum of 2 spaces, defenders can move a maximum of 1 space.
This means that a defending unit can only enter a difficult space if they start their turn adjacent to it. Similarly, if a sniper is 3 spaces away from a difficult space they wish to enter, they cannot enter that space this turn.
Does entering difficult terrain alert defenders? Moving into difficult terrain is slower than moving into a normal space, but it is not noisier. If the sniper moves 1 space into difficult terrain they are still silent, if they move 2 spaces they are still noisy.
Water
Spaces with a blue X are water spaces. You cannot move into these spaces, but they do not block line of sight.
Obstruction
Spaces with a grey X are obstructions. You cannot move into these spaces, and they always block line of sight.
Example: The sniper on the boat can shoot over the water space at the defender on the walkway. They would need 2 aim tokens to hit.
Example: The sniper on this walkway space can target the defender in the open space on the right, but cannot target the one on the left due to the obstruction.
Starting Positions
The coloured circles on the board indicate the spaces where the defenders of that squad start the game, while the coloured arrows indicate the four possible locations the sniper could enter from. The colour of each matches the sector they are found in.
Officers
Officers start on the circles of the matching colour containing an Iron Cross.
Soldiers
Soldiers start on the circles of the matching colour without an Iron Cross.
The Sniper
The sniper will enter the map via one of the four arrows on the edge of the board. Each arrow matches the colour of the sector it leads into: the sniper may not enter the board via an entrance in the same sector as of one of their objectives.
These arrows are considered off the board, so the sniper will enter the indicated space as part of their first movement action.
Line of Sight
Line of sight simply means the ability to see from one space into another, without something blocking your sight. You have line of sight to your target if you can trace a straight line from any edge of the space you are on to any edge of the space your target is on, without going through an enclosed space, an elevated space or an obstruction.
The word through is important. It is possible to shoot into or out of an enclosed or elevated space, but it is not possible to shoot through it to something on the other side.
Does that mean I can shoot through walls? Yes; walls do not block line of sight (there are windows and openings in the walls not visible in the artwork).
Am I tracing through an enclosed/elevated space if I start there? No. Shooting from an enclosed space does not count as tracing line of sight through that space.
Enclosed Line of Sight
Enclosed spaces do not block line of sight if every space the line moves through is also enclosed.
More simply put, if you're in a building or room, you have line of sight to everywhere else in the same building or room.
As before, you cannot shoot through those enclosed spaces to an open space on the other side.
Elevated Line of Sight
From an elevated space, every other elevated space on the map is within line of sight, unless blocked by an obstruction. When targeting another elevated space, you may shoot over open or enclosed spaces below you (they still count towards the distance your shot travels).
You cannot shoot through an elevated space to an open or enclosed space.
Examples:
The sniper is on an open space. The red arrow shows they cannot trace line of sight through the enclosed space (because they are not on an enclosed space themselves). The white arrow shows they can trace line of sight through other open spaces. They can shoot past the building, but not through it.
The sniper on the open space can trace line of sight to the first defender, because they can trace through other open spaces and through walls. The sniper cannot trace line of sight to the second, as that would be through an enclosed space.
The sniper on the enclosed space can trace line of sight to all of the other spaces inside that building (because they are also enclosed spaces). They cannot trace to the leftmost open space, because that would have them illegally trace through an enclosed space to an open space. They can trace through the wall on the right, to various open spaces and into the other building, because they are not tracing through any enclosed spaces to do so.
The sniper on the open space can trace line of sight to the two defenders on the edge of the elevated walkway. They cannot target the defender on the other side of the walkway, nor the one further along the walkway, as they cannot trace line of sight through an elevated space.
The sniper on the elevated space can target any elevated space, unless blocked by an obstruction. They cannot target any open or enclosed spaces from this position.
The Cards
Objectives
Each map has a dedicated set of objective cards, representing the sniper's goals during the game. The initials on the card back match the name of the map.
Each number corresponds to an objective on the board, and cards of the same suit match spaces in the same sector. The sniper must choose a starting location in a sector that does not contain any of their numbered objectives. The sniper must keep each objective secret until it has been completed.
Sniper Loadout
Each loadout card is a piece of equipment the sniper can use during their turn. The sniper will choose 3 cards from the available options at the start of the game, and may gain more by looting. Each piece of equipment may only be used once.
Why are the objectives styled like playing cards? During World War Two, Allied intelligence secretly sent maps and messages disguised as playing cards to prisoners of war. Peeling apart the layers of paper within the card would reveal their secret instructions.
Defender Specialists
Each specialist card grants a unique ability to 1 defending officer. The defenders assign 1 specialist (of their choice) to each squad at the start of the game. Each specialist ability can be used twice per game, but they can only be used if that officer is currently on the board.
The Shot Bag
The shot bag is an abstract representation of the sniper's accuracy and level of concealment. The tokens inside represent both the likelihood that their shot will succeed from a distance, and the likelihood that they will be spotted while shooting. The contents of the bag will change over the course of the game to reflect the changing battlefield.
Token types: Aim, Suppression, Noise, Recoil.
Map Breakdown: Launch Facility
Enclosed Areas
All of the buildings, the submarine, and the three rail cars in the black sector are enclosed. They can only be entered and exited through the marked doorways.
Water Spaces
Water spaces cannot be moved through, but do not block line of sight.
Difficult Terrain
Difficult Terrain reduces the maximum move distance of the sniper and the defenders by 1. This means it is only possible for a defender to enter this space if they start the movement from 1 space away.
These are also considered open spaces, so they are matching-adjacent to the spaces around them.
Key Loadout
With so many possible angles for a shot, silenced ammo will keep the defenders guessing.
Key Specialist
Well-timed use of the medic's ability will allow the defenders to effectively blockade the roadways.
Map Breakdown: Submarine Pens
Elevated Areas
The light-coloured walkways are elevated spaces. They can only be entered and exited via the ladders.
Enclosed Areas
The rooms in the yellow, black, and red sectors are enclosed spaces. They can only be entered and exited through the marked doorways.
Unique Area: Tunnels Beneath the Walkway
The two red spaces beneath the walkway in the centre of the board are enclosed spaces. These are tunnels under the walkway. Though they occupy the same area on the board as the elevated spaces above, they are distinct spaces. The tunnel and walkway directly above do not have line of sight to one another, and are not considered adjacent. If a unit is in the tunnel, make sure to place the miniature in the red area for clarity.
Unique Area: Rooms Beside the Walkway
The rooms which are adjacent to the walkways do not have line of sight to the walkway. To have line of sight from elevated to enclosed, and vice versa, the line must move through at least 1 open space, or through a ladder.
Water Spaces
Water spaces cannot be moved through, but do not block line of sight.
Obstructions
Obstructions cannot be moved through, and do block line of sight.
Key Loadout
A well-timed rock throw could be just what you need to get a persistent unit out of your path. Of course, your distraction could just as easily be a ruse to mislead your opponents.
Key Specialist
With so many narrow walkways, the Kennel Master's dogs can be used to maximum impact, providing a warning system when the sniper approaches the walkways from above or below.
Loadout
Each loadout card is shown here in full, so the defenders can remind themselves of the possible tools in the sniper's arsenal during the game.
There are 2 copies of each loadout card, except the tommy gun and trench gun. If there are 2 copies of a card, the sniper may start the game with both copies in their loadout.
If a loadout card affects another action this turn, the sniper must play the card before taking that action.
If a loadout card says a unit is killed, can they be deployed by the defenders on their turn? Yes. The defenders' deploy action is bringing a new soldier into the battle.
How does the Tommy Gun work in the solo mode? Both shots count as a single action, and both targets count as your target. When both shots are resolved, move a non-target unit 1 space towards you for each noise token drawn across both shots.
Sound Masking (Environmental Advantage) Ignore any negative effects from moving 2 or 3 spaces this turn. Reveal when the game ends.
S-Mine (Anti-Personnel Explosive) Secretly mark your current space on the hidden board with an X. If an enemy unit ends their movement on that space they are immediately killed: reveal this card, remove the unit from the board, and remove the mark. Reveal when triggered.
Silenced Ammo (Experimental Munitions) When shooting this turn, noise tokens count as recoil tokens. Five or more recoil tokens still causes a misfire. Reveal before shooting.
Distraction (A Rock) Move an enemy unit up to two spaces. They must be within line of sight when they end their movement. Reveal before using.
Tommy Gun (Thompson M1A1) You can shoot an extra time this turn. Announce the number of tokens drawn for each shot before taking the first shot. Do not return the tokens from the first shot to the bag before taking the second shot. Resolve the effect of all noise tokens drawn after the second shot. Reveal before shooting.
Trench Gun (Winchester Model 1897) When shooting this turn, do not draw from the bag. Instead reveal your position, then kill all enemy units in your space and on matching-adjacent spaces. Do not add tokens to your shot bag. Reveal before shooting.
Tips for Play
Defenders
Control of the key spaces is essential to the defenders' victory, as they limit where the sniper can operate — the sniper cannot enter or move through a space containing a defender. Controlling key spaces in a sector enables the defenders to effectively protect that sector from the sniper, making it difficult for the sniper to complete objectives.
It is important that the defenders do not over-commit. If they move into the sniper's space the sniper can silently sneak past them, while if they hold back, the sniper must go around or shoot their way through.
Sniper
The sniper must decide how much they are willing to risk to make sure they hit their target – the more tokens they draw, the further they can shoot, but the more likely it is that they will give away their position.
Even if a successful shot does not generate noise, it can give the defenders some information. If the sniper draws three aim tokens and kills a soldier, the defenders know the sniper was no more than three spaces away from the soldier when the shot was taken. For this reason, it usually makes sense for the sniper to move after shooting, rather than before.
It can make sense for the sniper to draw more tokens that they need when targeting a nearby unit. Drawing a single aim token and killing your target gives away a huge amount about your position.
Adjusting Difficulty
As Sniper Elite is heavily asymmetrical, new players who have not learned its nuances may struggle against more experienced players. To maximise the fun for everyone, we suggest the more experienced player try one or more of the following rule modifiers:
Experienced Sniper
- During setup draw 2 loadout cards at random, instead of choosing 3.
- During setup, load the shot bag with 5 aim, 2 noise, and 3 recoil, instead of 6 aim.
- After objectives have been assigned, look through the remaining objective cards and choose 1 to reveal to the defenders. They will know this is not one of your targets for this game.
- Start the game with the defender action cubes on number 7 on the countdown track, and reset them to 7 when you've completed your first objective.
Experienced Defenders
- During setup, allow the sniper to choose 1 additional loadout card.
- Only place 1 action cube on each specialist, so that each specialist action can only be used once per game.
- The defenders may not use intel for their first two turns.
- Intel can only be used by one squad per turn.
Credits
Creative Director and CEO: Jason Kingsley Chief Technical Officer: Chris Kingsley Head of Rebellion Unplugged: Duncan Molloy Production Manager: Alysa Thomas PR: Pete Ward Game Design: Roger Tankersley & David Thompson Solo Mode Design: Dávid Turczi & Noralie Lubbers Artwork: Edouard Groult, David Lanza & Ed Savage Sculpting: Dave Kidd Graphic Design: Brigette Indelicato, Pye Parr & Alysa Thomas Game Development: Duncan Molloy Additional Testing: Jonathan Bobal, Xavi Bordes & David Digby
Copyright © 2022 Rebellion group. The Rebellion name and logo, and the Sniper Elite name and logo and the Sniper Elite eagle are trademarks of Rebellion and may be registered trademarks in certain countries. All rights reserved.
The stories, characters and incidents featured in this publication are entirely fictional.
Published by Rebellion Unplugged, Riverside House, Osney Mead, Oxford, OX2 OES, UK
Made in China by LongPack Games
If any components are missing, please visit rebellionunplugged.com/contact-us/