Spirits of Valenor Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• The Campaign
• Game Overview
• Setup
  • Chapter Setup
  • General Setup
• How to Play
  • 1. Play your frontmost hand card (mandatory)
  • 2. Play 1 further hand card (optional)
  • 3. Draw 1 Invader Card (mandatory)
  • 4. Draw 1 Defense Card (mandatory)
  • Devastating a Terrain
  • Defeating an Invader
    • Direct Hit
  • Support Cards
  • Symbol
  • Other Symbols
  • Nature Spirit Cards
• End of Game
  • Won
  • Lost
• Communication
• Reference
  • Turn Overview
  • Remember

Components

67 Base Cards:

• 28 Defense Cards (2× each of values 1–14)
• 14 Support Cards (5× value 1, 4× value 2, 3× value 3, 2× value 4)
• 16 Invader Cards (1× each of values 6–21; backs: 7× A, 4× B, 5× C)
• 4 Reference Cards
• 5 double-sided Location Cards (fronts: 2 of 5 terrain types each; backs: lower terrain devastated)

46 Campaign Cards *

1 punchboard with tokens **

1 Campaign Book

* Note: The Campaign Cards form the Campaign Deck. Do not look at them, and take care not to change the order of the cards. Only take the top card from the deck when instructed to do so during the campaign, and follow the instructions for Chapter Setup (see page 4).

Should the Campaign Deck ever become mixed up (or if you want to reset the game), you can restore the correct order using the numbers in the bottom right corner of the cards.

** Note: Only punch out tokens once you are instructed to do so during the campaign.

The Campaign

In Spirits of Valenor, you experience a campaign together that tells a connected story. It is divided into 15 chapters. Each chapter introduces special rules and, where applicable, new components, presenting you with ever new challenges.

Note: Completing the campaign unlocks a new mode that you can play again and again. You may also simply reset the campaign and start again, or replay individual chapters of your choice.

Game Overview

Spirits of Valenor is a cooperative game, meaning you win or lose together. As Nature Spirits, you face an unknown enemy threatening your peaceful world. You hold both Invader Cards and Defense Cards in hand, and you may not change their order. On your turn, you must first play the frontmost card in your hand, whether it is an Invader or a Defense Card. To defeat an Invader, the Defense at the Location where it is attacking must be at least as high as the Invader's value. If your Defense exactly matches the Invader's value, you also receive a bonus in the form of a Support Card. Defeat all Invaders before they completely devastate a Location to win the current chapter and unlock the next one.

Setup

Chapter Setup

1. First, open the Campaign Book to the current chapter and read the introductory text. Then take the top card – the Chapter Card for this chapter – from the Campaign Deck.

2. The Campaign Book (as well as the front of the Chapter Card) may list additional components for the chapter.

   In most cases, these are new cards from the Campaign Deck located directly beneath the Chapter Card. Take all of these cards from the Campaign Deck, so that the Chapter Card for the following chapter is now on top of the deck. Then return the Campaign Deck to the box and set out the additional components.

   Note: The numbers in square brackets indicate the card numbers within the Campaign Deck (see the bottom right corner of the cards).

   Some chapters also use tokens. Only punch out the tokens you need for the current chapter.

   Components marked with an open-padlock symbol are permanently unlocked from this chapter onwards, meaning they are in play in this and all following chapters.

   Components marked with a clock symbol must be set aside again after the current chapter. However, they may be reused in later chapters if indicated there.

3. Next, the Campaign Book (as well as the front of the Chapter Card) shows the Location Card layout for the chapter. For simplicity, the Location Cards are shown there only by their left, larger terrain symbol.

   Always lay out the Location Cards with the side without Devastation (i.e. with 2 terrain symbols) facing up. Only if a Location is marked with a devastation symbol does it start already on its devastated side (i.e. with only 1 terrain symbol).

   Take the 5 Location Cards and place them from left to right in a row in the middle of the play area, as indicated.

General Setup

Set up each game as follows (note any changes given for the current chapter in the Campaign Book):

1. Shuffle the Defense Cards and set them out as a face-down Defense Deck.

2. Shuffle the Support Cards and set them out as a face-down Support Deck.

3. Sort the Invader Cards by their backs, A, B and C, into 3 piles and shuffle each pile separately. Form the face-down Invader Deck by placing the B pile on top of the C pile, then the A pile on top of that.

4. Choose 1 Nature Spirit Card each from the Nature Spirits unlocked so far and place them face up in front of you (in Chapter 1, 4 Nature Spirits are unlocked). Familiarize yourself with your Nature Spirit's ability and share it with the other players (see Nature Spirit Cards, page 15). Return any remaining Nature Spirit Cards to the box.

   Note: You're free to choose different Nature Spirits each time you play.

5. Draw a hand of 4 cards each as follows:

   a) Draw 1 Invader Card from the Invader Deck.

   b) Draw 1 Defense Card from the Defense Deck and place it behind the Invader Card you just drew.

   c) Draw 1 Invader Card from the Invader Deck and place it behind the Defense Card you just drew.

How to Play

General rules:

1. You may not rearrange your hand cards.
2. Cards you take into your hand always go to the very back of your hand.

The game proceeds in clockwise order, starting with the starting player. You take turns in order until you have either won or lost the current chapter (see End of Game, page 17).

On your turn, carry out the following 4 steps in the order given:

1. Play your frontmost hand card (mandatory)
2. Play 1 further hand card (optional)
3. Draw 1 Invader Card (mandatory)
4. Draw 1 Defense Card (mandatory)

Important: If you cannot carry out a step – for example, if you currently have no hand cards, or one of the decks is empty – skip that step, but still carry out the other steps. If you have no hand cards at the start of your turn and both the Invader Deck and the Defense Deck are empty, skip your turn entirely.

1. Play your frontmost hand card (mandatory)

You must first play your frontmost hand card (if you have one).

Reminder: your frontmost hand card is always the card in your hand of which you can see the full face.

a) If you play an Invader Card, you must observe the following placement rules:

• You must place the Invader below a Location Card showing the same terrain symbol as the Invader Card. There must not already be another Invader there, i.e. each Location may hold a maximum of 1 Invader.

• Invaders must always be placed at the Location Cards with values increasing from left to right. The value of the newly placed Invader must therefore be higher than that of any Invader already placed at Locations further to the left, and lower than that of any Invader already placed further to the right.

  Example: Irina plays the Invader 19, which must be placed at a Location with a Grass terrain symbol. Both the 2nd and 4th Locations from the left show a Grass symbol. However, since Invaders must be placed with values increasing from left to right, and the 3rd Location already has the Invader 14, we must place the Invader 19 at the 4th Location.

Important: If you cannot follow all of these placement rules when playing an Invader, it devastates a terrain (see Devastating a Terrain, page 12).

b) If you play a Defense Card, place it above a Location Card of your choice. Any number of Defense Cards may be at the same Location, and there are no further placement rules to observe.

Note: When placing further Defense Cards at a Location, offset them so that the values of each card remain visible.

Example: Ronja plays a Defense 9. She decides to build up the Defense further at the 4th Location from the left, placing the card alongside the Defense 8 already there. She could also have placed the card at any other Location, regardless of whether an Invader was there or not.

Note: Through the skillful playing of Invader and Defense Cards, you try to defend the Locations and defeat the Invaders (see Defeating an Invader, page 13).

2. Play 1 further hand card (optional)

You may then also play 1 further hand card of your choice.

The following applies:

• You may play an Invader or a Defense Card.
• The position of the card in your hand does not matter.
• The placement rules described in Step 1 for playing Invader and Defense Cards apply.

3. Draw 1 Invader Card (mandatory)

Draw 1 Invader Card from the Invader Deck (if available) and place it at the very back of your hand.

4. Draw 1 Defense Card (mandatory)

Draw 1 Defense Card from the Defense Deck (if available) and place it at the very back of your hand.

Your turn then ends, and the next player clockwise takes their turn.

Devastating a Terrain

As soon as you play an Invader that can no longer be placed according to the placement rules described in Step 1, it immediately devastates 1 terrain:

• Choose 1 Location Card without Devastation (i.e. with 2 terrain symbols) that shows the same terrain symbol as this Invader Card, and turn it over. The terrain with the smaller symbol (not necessarily the terrain shown on the Invader Card!) is thereby devastated, meaning its terrain symbol no longer appears on the back. Any Invader and Defense Cards at the Location Card just turned over remain there unchanged.

  You may not turn over a Location Card that was already devastated (i.e. with only 1 terrain symbol remaining). If an Invader would devastate a terrain, but the required terrain symbol only appears on a devastated Location Card, you have lost the game (see End of Game, page 17).

• Then place the Invader Card that triggered the devastation face down at the bottom of the Invader Deck. This Invader will therefore come back into play later. (If the Invader Deck is already empty, this Invader becomes the new Invader Deck.)

Example: Matthias plays the Invader 6, which must be placed at a Location with a Mountain terrain symbol. Both the 3rd and 5th Locations from the left show a Mountain symbol. Since each Location may hold a maximum of 1 Invader and Invaders must be placed with values increasing from left to right, he cannot currently place the Invader 6, and it devastates 1 terrain. Matthias must turn over either the 3rd or the 5th Location card. He chooses the 5th Location, devastating the lower of the two terrains there (in this case a Forest).

Defeating an Invader

As soon as the sum of the values of the Defense Cards at a Location is equal to or higher than the value of the Invader Card there, that Invader is immediately defeated:

• Place all cards (Defense Cards and the Invader Card) at this Location Card face up on their respective discard piles. The Location Card remains where it is.

  Important: Cards on discard piles are out of the game for the rest of this session. However, you may look at them at any time.

Note: Defeating an Invader can be triggered by playing a Defense or Invader Card, but also through the abilities of some Nature Spirits.

Direct Hit

If the sum of the values of the Defense Cards exactly matches the value of the Invader, this counts as a Direct Hit:

• The Invader is defeated as described above.
• In addition, the player who triggered the defeat of the Invader immediately draws the top card of the Support Deck (if available) and places it at the very back of their hand.

Example: Irina plays a Defense 2 and places it at the 4th Location from the left. The sum of the values of the Defense at this Location is now 8 + 9 + 2 = 19. This defeats the Invader 19 with a Direct Hit. Irina places all cards at this Location on their respective discard piles, and as a reward for the Direct Hit also draws the top card of the Support Deck.

Support Cards

Support Cards are "small" Defense Cards with lower values. They count as Defense Cards in all respects and are treated the same way. However, you can only obtain them through Direct Hits (i.e. not in Step 4 of your turn), and they form a separate discard pile.

Note: At first glance, Support Cards may only seem to contribute very little to your Defense, but without them it is not possible to defeat all the Invaders. So try to land as many Direct Hits as you can.

Symbol

Defense Cards with values 1 to 3 (and also some Support Cards) carry the plus symbol (a plus sign in a box). If you play such a card, you may play 1 additional hand card of your choice after the current step of your turn, as described in Step 2 (any Invaders are defeated first, where applicable). Playing this additional card is a separate sub-step before you move on to the next step of your turn.

You may also play several such cards one after another in your turn, using their effect each time to play a further card.

Example: In the previous example, Irina played a Defense 2 and thereby defeated an Invader. This Defense Card had a plus symbol, so she may now play 1 further card. She decides to play the Support Card she just received for defeating the Invader with a Direct Hit, and places it at the 1st Location card from the left. There is no Invader there yet, but Ronja had asked whether someone could already play a small Defense Card at that Location, since she will need to place an Invader there soon (see Communication, page 18).

Other Symbols

On some Invader and Defense Cards you will find other symbols (three different icons) that only come into play in later chapters. Ignore these symbols for now – their meaning is explained in the special rules for the relevant chapters.

Nature Spirit Cards

At the start of the game, you each have 1 Nature Spirit Card placed face up in front of you (in Chapter 1, 4 Nature Spirits are unlocked). Each Nature Spirit has a special ability, described on the card. If the effect contradicts the rules in this rulebook, the text on the card takes precedence. Unless stated otherwise, you may use your Nature Spirit's ability at any time, including during another player's turn, before or after any step of a turn.

To use your Nature Spirit's ability, first carry out the effect described on the card. Then place your Nature Spirit Card at the very back of your hand.

Example: It is Matthias' turn and he needs to play an Invader at the 1st or 3rd Location, but both are already occupied. Before playing the card, which would devastate a terrain, he asks if anyone can help. Ronja has the Lake Sprite Toni as her Nature Spirit. Its ability lets her immediately play 1 card (even though it is not her turn). She plays a Defense Card from her hand, defeating the Invader at the 1st Location (she then takes Toni into her hand). This allows Matthias to then place a new Invader at this Location, and no terrain needs to be devastated.

While your Nature Spirit Card is in your hand, you may not use its ability. The card must be laid face up in front of you again first.

However, you may never play a Nature Spirit Card from your hand like an Invader or Defense Card. Instead, you must wait until it moves to the front of your hand through the playing of other cards. As soon as your Nature Spirit Card becomes your frontmost hand card, you must immediately place it face up in front of you. This counts neither as playing a card nor as a step of a turn (and does not trigger its effect). You may then use your Nature Spirit's ability again as described above.

Important: If at any point in the game you have no hand cards, you may not use your Nature Spirit's ability. You may only use it again once you have at least 1 (other) card in hand.

Note: The lightning symbol is simply a reminder that you may not play a Nature Spirit Card like other cards, and that you only lay it out once it is at the front of your hand. Later in the campaign, you will encounter other cards with this symbol. The same rules apply to these cards while in hand as apply to Nature Spirit Cards. Note any additional explanations in the Campaign Book where applicable.

End of Game

You continue taking turns until you have either won or lost.

Won

As soon as you have defeated all Invaders, you have won.

(This means the Invader Deck is empty, no Invaders remain in play, and you have no Invader Cards left in hand.)

If you win a chapter, you may move on to the next chapter.

Note: Remember to set aside again any additional components marked with the clock symbol before the next chapter.

Lost

You can lose a chapter in 2 ways:

1. If an Invader would devastate a terrain, but the required terrain symbol only appears on a Location Card that already has been devastated, you have lost.
2. If at least 1 Invader remains in play that you cannot defeat with your remaining Defense Cards (including any potential Support Cards, Nature Spirit abilities, or effects of other cards), you have lost.

If you lose a chapter, try again until you manage to succeed.

Communication

You may (and should) communicate with each other in this game in order to successfully defend your world. However, there is one important restriction:

You may not talk about the exact values of your hand cards, and you may not use "codes" that give clear hints about them.

For example, the following is allowed:

• "I'll have a low/medium/high Invader Card soon that needs to be placed at a forest."
• "Can someone play a small Defense at this Location?"
• "Leave that Invader to me, I'll defeat it!"
• "That Invader needs to go before my turn comes round again."
• "Does anyone have a Nature Spirit whose ability would help here?"
• "This Invader is going to devastate a terrain. Which of the two Location Cards should I turn over?"

For example, the following is not allowed:

• "I can defeat the Invader exactly with my 5 and my 3."
• "My card is only 1 higher."
• "The Invader is as strong as the number of fingers on one hand."

Within the bounds of allowed communication, you may advise the player whose turn it is while it is their turn. However, the final decision always rests with that player.

The player whose turn it is may not take back a card once it has been played. However, they may first play the card face up in the middle of the play area and be advised by the others before deciding where to place it.

Reference

Turn Overview

1. Play your frontmost hand card (mandatory)
2. Play 1 further hand card of your choice (optional)
3. Draw 1 Invader Card (mandatory)
4. Draw 1 Defense Card (mandatory)

Remember

• Cards you draw or take into your hand always go to the very back of your hand.
• You may not play cards with the lightning symbol like other cards. If a card with the lightning symbol is at the very front of your hand, you must lay it out immediately.