Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit
Star Wars: The Queen's Gambit Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 65 Battle Droids
- 12 Destroyer Droids
- Two Viceroys
- 1 Darth Maul
- 4 Armored Attack Tanks (AAT)
- 3 Multi Troop Transports (MTT)
- 1 Obi-Wan
- 1 Qui-Gon
- 1 Red Queen Amidala
- 1 Purple Queen Amidala
- 1 Captain Panaka
- 21 Palace Guards
- 1 "Star Wars" marker (First Player marker)
- 1 Anakin's Naboo Fighter with stand
- 27 Gungans
- 8 Kaadu
- 2 Fambaas
- 3 Catapults
- 4 Palace supports
- 18 damage markers
- A deck of Naboo Battlefield cards (45 cards)
- A deck of Naboo Theed Palace cards (45 cards)
- A deck of Trade Federation Battlefield cards (45 cards)
- A deck of Trade Federation Theed Palace cards (45 cards)
- 2 game boards
- Theed Palace, with 3 levels of game board
- 8 Starfighter cards
- 8 attack dice
- 6 defense dice
- 2 six-sided dice
- 4 reference sheets
Assembly
- Remove all pieces and dice from their packaging.
- Carefully remove the three Theed Palace levels and the 4 reference sheets from their frames.
- Carefully remove the 8 Starfighter cards from their frame.
- Apply the stickers to the white dice and the black dice, following the instructions printed on the backing sheet.
- Apply the round Queen Amidala sticker to the blank side of one of the green damage markers.
Game Objectives
Naboo player's objective: Eliminate every droid in the game and hold the majority in the Palace throne room. The following pieces are droids: Battle Droids, Destroyer Droids, Armored Attack Tanks, and Multi Troop Transports. The two Viceroys and Darth Maul are NOT droids.
Trade Federation player's objective: Destroy all but two of the Naboo pieces in Theed Palace (so as to permanently prevent Naboo from holding the majority in the throne room). Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan count toward the total of Naboo pieces.
Choosing Sides
Decide which player will play the Naboo side and which will play the Trade Federation side. Each player sits on the side of the boards where their pieces are set up.
Setup
Below is a diagram showing the setup of all game elements. If you don't want to read the setup rules, look at the diagram and try to set everything up from it.
If you need clarification, read what follows.
Battlefield
Place the Battlefield board on your playing surface as shown in the diagram.
Set up the Naboo pieces on the Battlefield board as follows:
- On hexagons marked with the letter G, place a group of 3 Gungan warriors.
- On hexagons marked with the letter K, place a group of 2 Kaadu riders.
- On hexagons marked with the letter C, place a Gungan catapult.
- On hexagons marked with the letter F, place a Fambaa.
Set up the Trade Federation pieces on the Battlefield board as follows:
- On hexagons marked BD, place 4 Battle Droids.
- On hexagons marked DD, place 2 Destroyer Droids.
- On hexagons marked AAT, place an Armored Attack Tank.
- On hexagons marked MTT, place a Multi Troop Transport.
The Palace and Space
To assemble the Palace structure: place the three board levels into two of the Palace supports as shown in the diagram. Be careful to place the levels exactly as shown. Then place the other two Palace supports into the three board levels to complete the structure.
Place the Palace board on the playing surface, as described in the diagram. Place the three-level Palace structure between the two game boards. Part of the Palace's first level sits on part of the Palace board.
Place the Trade Federation Starfighter cards on the space grid as shown in the diagram.
Naboo pieces on the Palace board and three-level structure
- Place the blue Obi-Wan piece on the Obi-Wan space.
- Place the green Qui-Gon piece on the Qui-Gon space.
- Place the red Queen Amidala piece on the hexagon marked "Red Queen." Place the purple Queen Amidala piece on the hexagon marked "Purple Queen."
- Place the grey Captain Panaka piece on the hexagon marked "Captain Panaka."
- Place a Palace Guard on every hexagon marked PG.
- Set up Anakin's Naboo fighter on its black stand and place it on the space marked "Anakin."
Trade Federation pieces on the Palace board and three-level structure
- Place the red Darth Maul piece on the Darth Maul space.
- Place a Battle Droid on the hexagons marked BD.
- Place a Destroyer Droid on the hexagons marked DD.
- Place the two Viceroys on the two hexagons marked VR.
Trade Federation Starfighter cards
Shuffle these 8 cards and place them face down as shown in the setup diagram.
Action cards
There are four separate Action card decks. The Naboo player and the Trade Federation player will each play with two decks — one for Theed Palace, one for the Battlefield.
Both Naboo decks share the same black back. Separate the two decks by their face side (Battlefield cards and Theed Palace cards). Naboo Battlefield cards have a dark grey border and Naboo Theed Palace cards have a brown border.
Both Trade Federation decks share the same back. Separate the two decks by their face side (Battlefield cards and Theed Palace cards). Trade Federation Battlefield cards have a light grey border, and Trade Federation Theed Palace cards have a black border.
Shuffle each deck separately and place them face down beside the Palace, as shown in the setup diagram.
Reference sheets
Place the four reference sheets as shown in the setup diagram.
Damage markers
- All damage markers are placed with the "AH" letters visible.
- Place 5 green damage markers, one on each icon on the Naboo side of the Battlefield board.
- Place 7 brown damage markers, one on each icon on the Trade Federation side of the Battlefield board.
- Place a green damage marker on the Obi-Wan space.
- Place a green damage marker on the Qui-Gon space.
- Place a green damage marker on the Captain Panaka space.
- The Queen and her decoy: The Naboo player decides which of the two queens (red or purple) is the real Queen Amidala and which is her decoy. The player then secretly places the damage marker bearing the Queen Amidala sticker, sticker side down, on the space that will represent the real queen. One of the plain green damage markers (with no sticker) is placed on the other space representing the queen, with the "AH" letters visible. The Naboo player may look under their damage markers at any time to remember which is the real queen.
- Place a brown damage marker on the Darth Maul space.
The First Player marker
Place the First Player marker beside the Trade Federation Battlefield deck, as shown in the setup diagram.
Draw hands
Each player draws 5 cards from each of their decks, for a total of 10 cards (5 Battlefield cards and 5 Theed Palace cards). Players keep their cards in hand, face down.
General Sequence of Play
Four battles take place simultaneously. You play cards to influence these different battles. Focusing too heavily on a single battle can be too restrictive a strategy; spreading your attention across every battle can leave you too thin. It is strategy, card play, and use of the Force that will decide which side wins.
Turn
The following rules cover the two-player game. Rules for four players (two teams of two) appear later in this rulebook.
The game is played in successive turns. Each turn consists of 5 phases. Each player simultaneously carries out the following phases during a turn:
- Choose 4 cards to play from your 10 cards in hand. Place them face down in a pile in front of you. The top card of the pile is your first card. The second card from the top is your second card, and so on. Set the six remaining cards aside, face down, for the rest of the turn.
- Move as many Bonus cards as you wish from your Bonus pile underneath the 4 cards you chose. (You will have no Bonus cards on the first turn.) Move Bonus cards without looking at them. See "Bonus Cards" below for more information.
After both players have completed phases 1 and 2, continue with phases 3, 4, and 5:
- The player holding the First Player marker turns over the top card of their pile and plays it (see "Playing Cards" below). Players then play cards alternately until all chosen cards and Bonus cards have been played. If one player runs out of cards to play, the other player continues playing cards until they too run out.
- Pass the First Player marker to the other player.
- Each player draws two new cards from each of their decks and adds them to the 6 cards set aside during phase 1, giving them a new hand of 10 cards.
General Rules
The general rules apply to all four battles: THE BATTLE OF THEED PALACE, THE BATTLE OF THE MELTING PIT, THE BATTLE OF THE NABOO PLAINS, and THE BATTLE OF THE DROID CONTROL SHIP.
Using Reference Sheets
Each player has two reference sheets showing Move, the number of attack dice (Attack), the number of defense dice (Defense), attack range (Range), and damage points (Damage). It is recommended to use these reference sheets throughout the game.
Playing Cards
During a turn, both players will play cards to carry out different actions. Most cards indicate more than one action. When a card indicating more than one action is turned face up, the player chooses which one to carry out. The real strategy of the game lies in the choice of which cards you play and the order in which you play them.
Battlefield cards have actions that (mostly) affect the Naboo Plains and the space battle. Theed Palace cards have actions that (mostly) affect the Jedi/Sith battle and the Naboo Palace battle.
There are many different card types, but most of them let you move and/or attack on the board with different characters or groups of characters.
When a card's action concerns two different types of characters, you may move and/or attack with either of the designated characters, in either order. For example, one card reads: 1 Destroyer Droid and 2 Battle Droids. After playing this card, the Trade Federation could move and attack with a Battle Droid, then move and attack with a Destroyer Droid, then move and attack with the second Battle Droid.
Important rule: When you play a card with an action that involves more than one group or more than one character, you cannot choose exactly the same group or the same character to move and/or attack twice during that same action. For example, if you play the Gungan Group 3 card, you must move and attack with 3 different Gungan groups.
Discarding cards: Once you have played a card from your Theed Palace pile or your Battlefield pile, place that card on the discard pile in the location shown in the setup diagram.
Movement
All characters and groups move before attacking, and cannot move again after attacking, even if they have movement points left.
Characters and groups can move their full movement allowance (as shown on the reference sheet).
Characters and groups can choose not to move during their movement phase.
Characters and groups can only move through or into an empty space.
The Jedi (Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon) and the Sith (Darth Maul) have different movement abilities. See the Battle of the Melting Pit section.
Using Dice
There are three different types of dice: the attack die, the defense die, and Anakin's movement die. The attack die (4 red and 4 grey) shows "hit," "multiple hits," or "miss." The defense die (4 blue, 1 green, and 1 gold) shows "block," "multiple block," or a blank face (no block). Anakin's movement die is a standard six-sided red die.
Attack
After moving, characters and groups may then attack. A character or group that has just moved may attack any character or group within its range (see the reference sheet). You choose a target to attack, then consult the reference sheet to find out the number and color of attack dice to roll. (For example, a Palace Guard rolls a grey die, while a Destroyer Droid rolls 2 red dice.) Roll the attack dice and note the total number of "hits." Characters and groups cannot attack friendly characters or groups.
Defense
Some characters and groups may defend themselves when attacked. Their defensive abilities are noted on their reference sheet. If a character or group has a defense die, the player controlling that character or group rolls that die when the character or group is attacked. After the attacker rolls their attack dice, the defending player rolls the appropriate dice. Each "block" shown on the defense die reduces the number of "hits" shown on the attack die by one.
Damage Points
There are, as far as damage points are concerned, two types of characters in the game — those with damage markers and damage tracks, and those without. Characters without a damage marker (Battle Droids, Destroyer Droids, Gungan warriors, Kaadu, and Palace Guards) are eliminated after a single "hit." All other characters can take several "hits" before being eliminated. These characters have damage markers and damage tracks on the board.
Resolving Battles
After the attacker rolls the attack die and the defender rolls the defense die (if any), the total number of "hits" is applied to the defender. If the character has no damage track, each hit that lands destroys it. If the character has a damage track, the damage marker is moved along the track a number of spaces equal to the number of "hits" suffered. If this would move the marker beyond the character's damage track — that is, into the red space — that character is destroyed and removed from the game.
Bonus Cards
Throughout the game, certain actions allow players to draw Bonus cards. Bonus cards are extra cards that are played on the following turn, letting a player carry out more than four actions that turn and, where applicable, play cards in a row without the opponent being able to react. There are two situations that allow you to draw Bonus cards:
- Eliminating a group or a character on the Naboo Plains.
- Killing certain characters in Theed Palace (see the reference sheets).
When you draw Bonus cards, you may choose to draw from the Theed Palace deck or from the Battlefield deck. If you draw several Bonus cards, you may draw them from the same deck or from both decks.
Bonus cards cannot be used on the turn during which they were drawn. They are placed face down between the two decks, in a single pile. Do not look at your Bonus cards. They must remain secret until they are turned face up on the following turn.
At the start of the next turn, after placing your four Action cards face down, you take as many Bonus cards as you wish and place them beneath your four Action cards. This way, you can play more than four Action cards during that turn.
From here, you can continue reading all the rules before playing, or you can read only the strategy descriptions for the different battles and play through the few example first-turn walkthroughs. You can then start playing, referring back to the rules whenever questions come up.
Battle of Theed Palace
Strategy
Naboo player: To win, you need to hold the majority in the throne room. The sooner you hold the majority there, the better. It is a room that is difficult to reach but easy to defend.
Trade Federation player: Destroy all Naboo pieces in the Palace, including Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, except two, before Anakin deactivates the droids.
The Two Queens
Before the game begins, the Naboo player chooses which of the two queens will be the real Queen Amidala — the purple queen or the red queen. The identity of the real Queen is only revealed when one of the two is eliminated.
Movement
All characters in the Palace can move four spaces, except for the Jedi and the Sith (as explained in the Melting Pit section). Certain cards can increase movement distance when the action shown on the card is carried out. In addition, if the real Queen Amidala is eliminated, the Palace Guards' movement is reduced by 2 spaces for the rest of the game (see the reference sheet).
Window Ledge Movement
Certain cards allow Naboo forces to use window spaces to move between floors. These cards say "Window Ledge Movement." When one of these cards is played, the Naboo player may move characters from a space facing a window to an empty space directly below or above it. Moving between two floors counts as one movement point (even though it crosses two floors). With such a card, characters cannot move into an already-occupied space, nor attack into the window spaces above or below them. Characters may continue moving after moving up or down. They may also attack normally. Trade Federation characters cannot move up or down through window spaces, though they can block window spaces to prevent or limit Naboo movement. A player may use a window movement card to move and/or attack with some or all of the characters shown on the card, as normal.
Line of Sight
All characters that begin the game in Theed Palace have an attack range, or "Line of Sight." Line of Sight is a subtle concept that essentially means "if your character can see the target, that character can attack it." If there is nothing between the character and the target, that character has Line of Sight. But the attacker and the targeted space, as well as characters occupying the spaces between them, block Line of Sight, as do pillars, staircases, the throne, and both doors.
To determine Line of Sight, imagine a line drawn from the center of the attacker's hexagon to the center of the defender's hexagon. This Line of Sight is only broken if a hexagon (or part of a hexagon) between the two characters contains an obstacle. If the imaginary line runs along the edge of one or more spaces containing obstacles, Line of Sight is not blocked unless there are obstacles on both sides of that line.
Special Locations and Spaces in Theed Palace
Throne Room: The Naboo player must hold the majority in the throne room to win.
Doors: Doors leading to the throne room and to the Melting Pit block Line of Sight. Characters on a space adjacent to a door can only be attacked through the door by a character on the space on the other side. Likewise, that character can only attack, through the door, a character on an adjacent space on the other side of the door. Doors do not block or slow movement.
Windows: Windows are set into the walls of the Palace's three-level structure. Unlike doors, which are grey, windows are light blue, almost white. Spaces adjacent to windows become crucial when the Naboo player plays a Window Ledge Movement card.
Staircases: There are staircases between the Palace's three floors. Moving from one floor to another counts as one movement point. Characters on staircases can attack someone on the staircase space directly above or below the attacker.
Staging Area: There are Battlefield cards that let the Trade Federation player bring troops into the Palace from the Battlefield. When these cards are played, the Trade Federation player may only place these troops on the clear, red-bordered spaces near the first-level staircases. Troops may only be placed on empty spaces. These spaces may be blocked by the Naboo player to prevent reserve droids from arriving in the Palace. In that case, any excess droids that cannot be placed in the staging spaces because some of them are occupied are placed outside the game.
Viceroys: The two Viceroys cannot move, attack, or be attacked, and cannot be moved through. They block Line of Sight.
Bonus Cards: The death of Captain Panaka lets the Trade Federation player draw a Bonus card.
Battle of the Melting Pit
Beneath Theed Palace, a battle rages between two Jedi and a Sith Lord. Neither side can leave this place until the other has been defeated. But should they get out...
The Melting Pit area is inaccessible to all characters other than the Jedi (Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan) and Darth Maul, though characters may attack through the door if a Jedi or the Sith is on a space adjacent to theirs. Red-outlined spaces are spaces onto which only the Jedi and the Sith may move. All spaces surrounding other spaces are adjacent.
Strategy
Naboo player: Defeat Darth Maul. Each surviving Jedi may enter the Palace to strongly influence the outcome of that battle.
Trade Federation player: Defeat Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. If Darth Maul defeats both Jedi, he may enter the Palace to strongly influence the outcome of that battle.
Special Movement and Combat
The two Jedi and the Sith Lord move and fight differently from other characters. While other characters move first and then attack a target, these three characters may split their combat and movement during their turn. For example, they can choose to move 3 spaces, roll a die against one opponent, move 6 spaces, use their 2 remaining dice against another opponent, and then move their remaining 3 spaces.
When you declare an attack with one of these characters, you announce how many attack dice you are using against the opponent. You then roll that number of dice. The defender rolls all of their defense dice. After calculating the number of hits and determining any resulting damage, you may then declare additional attacks on the same target or on different targets. Be careful: rolling one die at a time and resolving the damage from that single die lets the defender roll their defense dice (if any) up to three times, whereas attacking with a roll of three dice at once only lets the defender roll their defense dice once. On the other hand, spreading out your attack lets you finish off a character without spending all your attack dice in a single attack.
Darth Maul and the two Jedi may only attack characters that are adjacent to them.
Double Attack Card
There are cards that let the Jedi or the Sith attack twice. When this card is played, the Jedi and the Sith can use their 6 dice during this action. The maximum number of dice they can roll in a single attack is 3.
The Riposte Die
When rolling a defense die, the Jedi and Darth Maul roll the green riposte die, which serves a double purpose — in addition to having "block" symbols, this die also has an attack symbol ("hit"). If this symbol is rolled during a defense, the defender lands a hit on the attacker. This symbol is not a "block." It is worthwhile rolling the Jedi's or Sith's defense dice even when an opponent's attack has failed, since you may still land a "hit" while defending. This riposte attack is not limited by the single-space attack range that the Jedi and Sith normally have — it lands a "hit" regardless of range. No defense die is rolled by the attacker who is hit by a riposte. It is an attack that hits automatically.
Leaving the Melting Pit
Neither combatant may leave the Melting Pit until the opponent has been defeated. Darth Maul cannot leave the Melting Pit until both Qui-Gon AND Obi-Wan have been defeated. Once the Melting Pit battle is over, the special movement and riposte die of the Jedi and Sith truly come into play.
Bonus Cards
If Darth Maul is eliminated, the Naboo player receives 5 Bonus cards. If Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan is eliminated, the Trade Federation player receives 3 Bonus cards (6 total if both Jedi are defeated).
Battle of the Naboo Plains
The Battle of the Naboo Plains is a diversion — a way of drawing droids away from the Palace. Neither player can afford to ignore it. This is where most of the game's Bonus cards are won.
Strategy
Naboo player: Protect the Fambaas — they keep the shield activated. Use your catapults — they are the Gungans' best weapons. Your victories on the battlefield will earn you important Bonus cards to play the following turn.
Trade Federation player: Wipe them out... down to the last one. Eliminate one of the Fambaas. Once a Fambaa is eliminated, the shield is deactivated. You can then bring in your heavy artillery, the Armored Attack Tanks. Your victories on the battlefield will earn you important Bonus cards to play the following turn.
On the Battlefield: What Is a Group? What Is a Character?
The Battlefield is the only place where you will play with groups. Gungans, Kaadu, Battle Droids, and Destroyer Droids are groups. Fambaas, Catapults, Multi Troop Transports, and Armored Attack Tanks are characters. Characters have damage tracks. Each damage track corresponds to one character.
Group Movement and Direction
You cannot combine or split up groups on the Battlefield. As groups shrink in number, they become weaker and more vulnerable. All group movement values are shown on the reference sheets.
Combat and Range
A group with a range of 1 can only attack adjacent spaces. A group or character with a range of 2 can attack any group or character two spaces away, provided the first space in between is empty. Catapults, which have a range of 3, can fire over (above) occupied spaces to attack groups or characters. As groups lose units, their attack capabilities are reduced. Check the reference sheet to determine how many dice to roll.
Half-Spaces Out of Play
There are 8 half-spaces on the board. These spaces cannot be occupied. You cannot move or fire through these spaces.
The Shield
When the game begins, a shield protects the Gungan forces from the deadly assault of the Trade Federation's Armored Attack Tanks. This shield can be deactivated if one of the Fambaas is eliminated. The Fambaas cannot move or attack.
The shield divides the Battlefield into two sectors: inside the shield and outside the shield. Groups can only attack other groups on the same side of the shield. So, groups inside the shield can only attack groups also inside the shield, and groups outside the shield can only attack groups that are also outside. There are hexagons that the shield line passes through; groups on those spaces are both inside and outside the shield at once, and can be attacked by (or attack) groups on either side.
Only Gungans, Battle Droids, Destroyer Droids, Catapults, and Kaadu riders may cross the shield. Armored Attack Tanks and Multi Troop Transports cannot cross the shield.
Deactivating the Shield
There are two Fambaas carrying the generators that power the shield. If one of the Fambaas is destroyed, the shield is deactivated. When this happens, all units may cross and attack through the spaces where the shield stood. The shield cannot be reactivated.
Moving Droids to the Palace
There are Battlefield cards that let the Trade Federation player move droids to the Palace (see the Theed Palace section for where these troops arrive). Droids moved to the Palace must be taken from the same group — you cannot choose droids from different groups.
Activating New Droids
There are Battlefield cards that let the Trade Federation player activate (deploy) additional droids onto the Battlefield. These droids are activated by Multi Troop Transports and can be placed on any free hexagon adjacent to a Multi Troop Transport. If there is no Multi Troop Transport, or no free space adjacent to one, no new droid can be activated. In addition, the exact type of droid must be available "outside the game board following elimination" in order to bring it back into play (for example, if there is no Battle Droid outside the board, no Battle Droid can be deployed). You may activate a group of droids smaller than its normal size, provided those droids are available outside the game board.
Note: if all Multi Troop Transports are destroyed, no new droid can be activated.
Bonus Cards
Players receive Bonus cards for each enemy group or character they fully destroy. If you eliminate all enemies on a space, you receive a card. It is possible to win several Bonus cards in a single turn by destroying several enemy groups and/or characters. It is not necessary to eliminate all enemies on a space in a single action to receive a Bonus card. For example, you receive a Bonus card if you finish off enemy troops on a space, even if those troops had already been weakened. In short, every time you eliminate all enemies on a single space on the Battlefield, you receive a Bonus card.
Battle of the Droid Control Ship
Above the planet Naboo, fighter pilots do battle with droid starfighters in an attempt to bring down the Trade Federation's Droid Control Ship. One pilot in particular is essential to achieving that goal.
Strategy
Naboo player: You must destroy all the droids to win. Play Anakin cards to try to move Anakin as close as possible to the Droid Control Ship. If Anakin reaches the Droid Control Ship, you eliminate all Battle Droids, Destroyer Droids, Multi Troop Transports, and Armored Attack Tanks from the game.
Trade Federation player: Play Starfighter cards to slow Anakin down. You must try to keep Anakin at bay long enough to try to eliminate all but two of the Naboo pieces in Theed Palace.
Anakin's Path to the Droid Control Ship: Anakin Spaces and Starfighter Grids
There are six Anakin spaces on the board, including the starting space, the Droid Control Ship space, and the 4 spaces in between. There are five grids, one between each Anakin space. Each grid contains 11 spaces. Some grids contain Starfighters in several spaces; others have fewer. Anakin must navigate through empty spaces to reach the next Anakin space.
Movement
Movement and combat work in a completely different way in the space battle. When a "Move Anakin" card is played by the Naboo player, that player attempts to move Anakin one space closer to the Droid Control Ship.
When this happens, the Trade Federation player rolls two grey dice (the symbols on these dice are shown in the top-left corner of the grid). Each die showing a "hit" may be used on the grid as an additional Starfighter. The Trade Federation player places these dice on any empty spaces on the grid, to block that space.
The Naboo player then rolls the two Anakin dice (the two standard six-sided red dice) and adds the two results together to determine which space is crossed (from space 2 to space 12). If that space is empty, Anakin crosses the grid. Advance the Anakin piece one space. If the space is occupied (either by a Starfighter or a grey die), Anakin is blocked and cannot advance.
In either case, Anakin's turn ends. Anakin can only move one space per Anakin card played.
Starfighter Cards
There are cards in the Trade Federation's Battlefield deck that let the Trade Federation player place Starfighter cards on the grids to try to slow Anakin down. When a Starfighter card is used, place it face up on any grid Anakin still has to cross. There is no limit on the number of Starfighter cards you may place on the grids.
Crossing a Starfighter card works the same way as crossing the grids printed on the game board. The Trade Federation player rolls a number of grey dice equal to the number of die symbols shown in the top-left corner of the grid (or of the Starfighter card placed on the grid). Each "hit" shown by the dice lets you place a grey die on the card, representing an additional Starfighter (note that Starfighter cards let you roll 2 to 4 dice instead of the 2 dice shown on the board itself).
If Anakin fails to cross the card's grid, the card remains on the board and Anakin's turn ends. If Anakin succeeds in crossing the card's grid, the card is removed, and Anakin may attempt to cross the printed grid, or possibly the card that was underneath the first card crossed. This continues until Anakin has crossed every card placed on the grid plus the grid printed on the board, or until Anakin fails to get past the Starfighters.
Starfighter cards are not reshuffled or returned to form a new deck. Once a Starfighter card is played and has been crossed by Anakin, it is set aside for the rest of the game.
The Final Space
When Anakin reaches the Droid Control Ship (the final space), he has succeeded in destroying that ship and deactivating all the droids. Remove all droids from the game (Battle Droids, Destroyer Droids, Armored Attack Tanks, and Multi Troop Transports), leaving only Darth Maul and the two Viceroys on the Trade Federation side. If the Naboo player has eliminated Darth Maul and 3 Naboo pieces are still alive in the Naboo Palace, the good guys win immediately. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan count toward the total of Naboo pieces. If Darth Maul is still alive, the Naboo player must hold the majority in the throne room to win. When that happens, the game ends. If Darth Maul manages to kill all but two of the Naboo pieces before they hold the majority in the throne room, the Trade Federation wins. Since the Viceroys cannot be eliminated, the Naboo player must always have a minimum of 3 characters to hold the majority in the throne room.
Winning the Game
Naboo forces: The Naboo player wins when they have deactivated all droids by destroying the Trade Federation's Droid Control Ship, and they hold the majority in the Palace throne room. Read "The Final Space" above for more details.
The Trade Federation: The Trade Federation player wins when they destroy all but two of the Naboo pieces in the Palace.
Four-Player Game
The four-player game is almost exactly the same as the two-player game, except for the following changes:
- Each player has a hand of 6 cards (three from each deck) and plays only two of them.
- At the end of the turn, each player draws one Theed Palace card and one Battlefield card.
- Play proceeds clockwise starting with the first player, each player playing one card.
- One player on each side controls the Palace battle and the Jedi/Sith battle, while the other player on that side controls the Battlefield and the space battle. Players may play cards for either battle, but only the player who controls that battle may move characters, make decisions, and roll dice. Discussion between teammates to determine the best possible move is allowed.
- When choosing which cards to play, teammates may show each other their cards and discuss possible strategies. However, cards may not be traded between players.
- All Bonus cards go beneath the pile of the player who controls the Battlefield and the space battle.
At the start of the game, the First Player marker is given to the Trade Federation player who controls the Battlefield and the space battle, and is then passed to the other players clockwise.
Example of Play
Example First Turn
Julie is the Trade Federation player. Julie has selected 4 cards to play and places them face down in a pile, in the order she wants to play them.
Dan is the Naboo player. Dan has selected 4 cards to play and places them face down in a pile, in the order he wants to play them.
Trade Federation's 1st card
The Trade Federation player (Julie) goes first. She turns over the first of her chosen cards and places it on the discard pile.
The first card is a Trade Federation Battlefield card — DRAW A STARFIGHTER CARD or DRAW A THEED PALACE CARD AND PLAY IT. She chooses to draw a Starfighter card. She draws the Starfighter card and places it face up on the grid in front of Anakin.
Naboo's 1st card
Now it is the Naboo player's turn to turn over a card. Dan turns over his first card. It is a powerful Battlefield card called USE THE FORCE. He places it on the Battlefield discard pile. The USE THE FORCE card reads: Draw a Battlefield card and play it, then draw an additional Battlefield card and play it. So Dan draws his first Battlefield card. He turns over a card showing two actions, 1 KAADU GROUP or 2 GUNGAN GROUPS. Dan decides to use the 2 GUNGAN GROUPS action.
A Gungan group can move one space. Dan decides to move Gungan Group A. A Gungan group has a Range of 1, meaning it can only attack adjacent spaces. There is a Battle Droid group one space away that it attacks, declaring which Battle Droid in that group it is attacking. Dan rolls a grey die for each Gungan present in the group (there are currently 3 Gungans in this group). Dan rolls 3 grey dice and scores 2 "hits." Battle Droids roll no defense dice and only have one damage point of durability each, so Julie removes 2 Battle Droids from the game. Now Dan moves Gungan Group B into position to attack the same group of Battle Droids. He rolls 3 grey dice and scores 1 "hit," so Julie removes one Battle Droid from the game.
Dan draws his additional Battlefield card. It shows ANAKIN or 1 GUNGAN GROUP.
Dan decides to try to move Anakin. Anakin must try to reach the Droid Control Ship. Unfortunately, he has to contend with Starfighters in his path.
The Trade Federation player, Julie, looks at the top-left corner of the card directly in front of Anakin. Two grey die symbols appear in the top-left corner, meaning Julie will roll 2 grey dice. She rolls the two grey dice and scores one "hit." For each "hit" she rolls, she may block an additional space. She places a grey die on space 7. Now Dan rolls the two six-sided red dice and adds up his two results. He rolls a 5 and a 3, for a total of 8. Space 8 has no grey die on it, and it has no Starfighter either, so Anakin succeeds in crossing the card. Julie removes the Starfighter card from the game.
Dan may keep trying to move Anakin until he reaches the next space, or until he rolls a total that is blocked. So Dan tries again to move Anakin. Looking at the grid printed on the game board directly in front of Anakin, Julie sees that she must roll 2 grey dice. She rolls the 2 grey dice and scores 2 "hits." She decides to block spaces 7 and 8. Dan rolls the two six-sided red dice and rolls a 2 and a 4, for a total of 6. Space 6 is not blocked, so he moves Anakin to the next space. Since Dan moved Anakin one space, Anakin's turn is over.
Trade Federation's 2nd card
Julie turns over her next card, a Theed Palace card, DARTH MAUL or 2 BATTLE DROIDS. She places it on her Theed Palace discard pile. She chooses the DARTH MAUL action. She chooses not to move Darth Maul. She attacks Qui-Gon with Darth Maul. Looking at the Trade Federation's Theed Palace reference sheet, she sees that Darth Maul rolls 3 red dice. She decides to roll all of Darth Maul's attack dice at once. Before rolling her attack dice, she taunts Dan: "Now, weak Jedi, you'll see the power of a well-trained Sith." She rolls the 3 red dice and scores a total of 4 "hits." Dan looks at his Naboo Theed Palace reference sheet and sees that Qui-Gon rolls 2 defense dice, 1 green die and 1 blue die. He rolls the two dice and scores two "blocks." Julie rolled a total of 4 "hits" and Dan rolled 2 "blocks," 4-2 = 2, so Dan takes 2 damage points.
Dan moves the damage marker on Qui-Gon's damage track 2 spaces, to the number 2. When a character's damage marker reaches the red circle, that character is destroyed and removed from the game.
Dan may keep trying to move Anakin until he reaches the next space or rolls a total that is blocked. So Dan tries again to move Anakin. Looking at the grid printed on the board directly in front of Anakin, Julie sees she must roll 2 grey dice. She rolls the 2 grey dice and scores 2 "hits." She decides to block spaces 7 and 8. Dan rolls the two six-sided red dice, rolling a 2 and a 4, for a total of 6. Space 6 is not blocked, so he advances Anakin to the next space. Since Dan moved Anakin one space, Anakin's turn is over.
Naboo's 2nd card
Dan turns over his next card, a Theed Palace card — RUSH THE PALACE, Captain Panaka and 4 Palace Guards. He places it on his Theed Palace discard pile. Dan decides to move his Palace Guards first. His reference sheet shows that Guards can move 4 spaces. The RUSH THE PALACE card lets him move all his Palace Guards 8 spaces, which does not apply to Captain Panaka.
- He chooses a Palace Guard and moves it 8 spaces. Then he designates his target, a Battle Droid. Dan rolls 1 grey die and scores a "hit." He eliminates the Battle Droid.
- Now he moves his second Palace Guard 5 spaces, designates another Battle Droid as his target, rolls a grey die but scores no "hit."
- Then he moves his third Palace Guard 8 spaces, chooses another Battle Droid as his target, rolls a grey die but scores no "hit."
- Now Dan moves his fourth Palace Guard 3 spaces, chooses another Battle Droid as his target, rolls a die but scores no "hit."
- He then moves Captain Panaka 4 spaces, chooses a Battle Droid as his target, rolls a red die, scores a "hit," and eliminates the designated Battle Droid.
Trade Federation's 3rd card
Julie smiles as she turns over her next card, a Theed Palace card — 4 BATTLE DROIDS. She places it on her Theed Palace discard pile.
She chooses a Battle Droid and moves it 2 spaces. Then she designates her target, a Palace Guard. She rolls 1 grey die but scores no "hit."
Now she moves her second Battle Droid 4 spaces, chooses another Palace Guard as her target, rolls 1 grey die but scores no "hit."
Then she decides not to move her third Battle Droid — this droid is already well positioned to attack. She chooses another Palace Guard as her target, rolls a grey die but scores no "hit." Dan says: "Your Battle Droids shoot exactly like in the movie — they hit nothing at all."
Now Julie is frustrated. She moves her fourth Battle Droid 4 spaces, chooses the Red Queen as her target, rolls a grey die and scores a "hit." Dan rolls a blue defense die for the Red Queen. Unfortunately, he rolls no "block," so the Red Queen is hit. He moves the marker on the Red Queen's damage track by 1, placing it on the number 1.
Naboo's 3rd card
Dan turns over his next card, a Theed Palace card — WINDOW LEDGE MOVEMENT for THE RED QUEEN AND 3 PALACE GUARDS. He places it on his Theed Palace discard pile. This card lets him move using window ledges.
- He chooses a Palace Guard and moves it 4 spaces using window ledge movement. Then he designates his target, a Battle Droid. He rolls 1 grey die and scores a "hit." He eliminates the Battle Droid.
- Now he moves his second Palace Guard 3 spaces, again using window ledge movement. He doesn't attack since he has no target within range.
- He then moves the Red Queen 4 spaces, again using window ledge movement. He chooses a Destroyer Droid as his target, rolls a red die and scores 2 "hits." Julie rolls 2 blue defense dice and scores 1 "block." 2 "hits" - 1 "block" = 1 "hit," so one hit lands, and Julie reluctantly removes the Destroyer Droid from the game.
- He then moves his third Palace Guard 4 spaces, again using window ledge movement. He doesn't attack since he has no target within range.
Trade Federation's 4th card
Julie turns over her next card, a Battlefield card, DESTROYER DROIDS 2 GROUPS or BATTLE DROIDS 1 GROUP. She places it on her Battlefield discard pile. She chooses to carry out the Destroyer Droid action.
A group of Destroyer Droids can move up to 2 spaces. Julie decides to move the Destroyer Droid group one space forward. Destroyer Droids have a range of 2, meaning they can only attack enemy groups or characters two spaces away, provided the first of the two spaces is unoccupied. There is a Fambaa two spaces away, so Julie can attack, designating that Fambaa as her target. Julie rolls 4 red dice (2 red dice for each Destroyer Droid in the group) and scores a total of 5 "hits." The Fambaa has defense dice. Dan rolls the blue defense die and the gold defense die and scores no "blocks." 5 - 0 = 5, so the Fambaa takes 5 "hits." Dan is about to move the marker on the damage track when he realizes the Fambaa can only take 5 hits, so it is destroyed. Julie draws a Bonus card (she chooses to draw from the Theed Palace deck) and places it in the Bonus card space. Since one of the two Fambaas has been destroyed, the shield is deactivated. The Armored Attack Tanks and Multi Troop Transports can join the battle on the following turns.
Naboo's 4th card
Dan turns over his next card, a Theed Palace card — QUI-GON, OBI-WAN, or 2 PALACE GUARDS. He places it on his Theed Palace discard pile. He chooses the QUI-GON action. He chooses not to move Qui-Gon. He attacks Darth Maul with Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon rolls 3 red dice. He decides to roll all of Qui-Gon's attack dice at once. He rolls the 3 red dice and scores a total of 3 "hits." Darth Maul rolls 2 defense dice, 1 green die and 1 gold die. Julie rolls the two dice and scores 1 "block" and 1 "riposte." Dan scored a total of 3 "hits" and Julie scored 1 "block." 3 - 1 = 2. So Darth Maul takes 2 damage points. Julie moves the marker on Darth Maul's damage track 2 spaces, to the number 2. The "riposte" means Dan moves the marker on Qui-Gon's damage track by 1, from the number 2 to the number 3.
Translation: Frédéric Frenay. Proofreading: Retam. Layout: LudiGaume.