The Warriors: Come Out to Play Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup
• How to Play
• 1. Fight Phase
  • Weapon Spots
  • Number Spots
  • Knocked Out
  • War Cards
  • Weapons
  • Gang Rules
  • Winning or Losing the Fight
• 2. City Phase
  • Moving
  • Actions
  • Rest
  • Bopper Cards
  • Challenged to a Fight
• End of Game
• Adjust Difficulty
• FAQ

Contents

Game Board, 7 Gang Leader Figures, 8 Warriors Movers with Bases, 5 Dice, 6 Gang Tiles, 13 Location Tiles, Coney Island Showdown Tile, 56 War Cards, 24 Bopper Cards, 20 Weapon Cards, 21 Tokens (10 Fight Tokens, Defeat Tokens, Bottle Tokens, Instigator Token), Instructions.

Ages 13+, 2-4 players.

Setup

1. Place the game board, tokens, and dice within reach of all players.
2. Place the Warriors Gang Leader figure on the "4" space of the Reputation Track. Then randomly place each other Gang Leader figure on an empty space of the track.
3. Each player chooses a Warriors mover and places the mover on the Bronx Start space of the board. Then they take the four cards for their Warrior and three Throw Hands cards to make a starting hand of seven War cards.
4. Take the unchosen Warriors' cards and the remaining Throw Hands cards and shuffle them all together. Place them in a face-down War Deck. Reveal the top three cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck.
5. Each player takes one Weapon card matching the weapon shown in their starting hand and places it face up in front of them.
6. Shuffle the remaining Weapon cards and place them in a face-down deck. Reveal the top three cards and place them in a face-up row next to the deck.
7. Shuffle the Bopper cards and place them in a face-down deck.
8. Set the Van Cortlandt Park and Coney Island Showdown Location tiles aside. Mix up the remaining Location tiles and place them in a face-down stack. Place the Van Cortlandt Park tile face up next to the stack. The game will begin with a fight at Van Cortlandt Park. Keep the Coney Island Showdown tile nearby for the end of the game.
9. Mix up the Gang tiles and place them in a face-down stack above the Location tile stack. Reveal the top tile and place it face up above the Van Cortlandt Park tile. This is the first gang that the Warriors will fight at Van Cortlandt Park.
10. Place one Fight token on each Fight space on the board.
11. Randomly choose a player to begin the game and give that player the Instigator token.

How to Play

The game has two phases, the Fight Phase and the City Phase, and always begins with the Fight Phase. After each Fight Phase, the Warriors will play the City Phase (see page 8) until a member of the Warriors is challenged to a fight and another Fight Phase is triggered (see page 10).

1. Fight Phase

The game board is split up into four neighborhoods (Bronx, Uptown, Midtown, and Downtown). During the Fight Phase, only the Warrior with the Instigator token and the other Warriors in the same neighborhood as them will participate in the fight.

When fighting, the Warriors participating in the fight will take turns using Weapons and playing War cards to cover spots on the face-up Gang and Location tiles with Defeat tokens. To win the fight, the Warriors must cover both spots on the Gang tile as well as one spot on the Location tile for each Warrior in the fight. If the rival gang is higher on the Reputation Track, the Warriors must cover an additional spot on the Location tile, and the "Reputation" spot must be one of the spots covered to win.

The Warrior with the Instigator token takes the first turn and play continues clockwise. On each turn, you may play any number of War cards and use up to two Weapons (one for each hand!) to try and cover one spot. You can never cover more than one spot in a turn. Warriors continue taking turns until they are knocked out or they win the fight.

Example: There are two Warriors in the Fight against the Lizzies, who are higher than the Warriors on the Reputation Track. The Warriors must cover both spots on The Lizzies tile and three spots on the Backstreets tile, including the "Reputation" spot.

Weapon Spots

You may use a Weapon to cover a spot showing that Weapon. Or you may use a Weapon when playing an "Any Weapon" War card and cover any Weapon spot. (See Weapons on page 6.)

Number Spots

To cover a Number spot, you must play War cards to roll dice. The top left corner of each War card shows the number of dice you roll when you play it. You may play any number of War cards in a turn, but you can never roll more than five dice.

Once you've played the War cards you want for that turn, roll the dice. You may cover one spot that is equal or lower than the highest number you rolled. If you cannot cover a spot, you're knocked out, as explained below.

IMPORTANT!: You can never roll more than five dice and you can never cover more than one spot in a turn.

Example: Cochise uses a Chain, turning it face down, to play his War card. This gives him two dice. He also plays Throw Hands and Streetwise to get two more dice. Because Streetwise has an ability when it is played, Cochise uses it immediately. He then rolls four dice, and his highest number is 4. He can cover either the 4 spot on the Punks Gang tile or the 4 spot on the Graveyard Location tile. He chooses to cover the 4 spot on the Gang tile, placing a Defeat token on it.

(Card text shown in the example: Punks Gang tile - "Before the fight, the Instigator chooses a Warrior in their neighborhood. That Warrior discards two cards." Streetwise (Mercy) - "When this is played, another Warrior in your neighborhood may return a card from their discard pile to their hand." Throw Hands - "When you roll, you may discard this from your hand to add 1 to a die. Then remove this from the game." The Graveyard Location tile has a Number 4 spot, a Weapon spot, a Number 5 spot, and a 5 Reputation spot.)

Knocked Out

If you cannot or choose not to cover a spot on your turn, you are knocked out. Choose a card from your hand to remove from the game. If there are no cards in your hand, choose a card from your discard pile to remove instead. After you are knocked out, you cannot take any more turns in the current fight. Skip your turns until the fight is over.

War Cards

Cards may be played on your turn to roll dice. Some cards have Weapon icons on them. When these cards are played, if you have the matching Weapon you may use it to do an ability, as explained below. The ability on a card may be used only when the text on the card says so. Whenever a War card is played or discarded, place it in your personal discard pile. There is no limit to how many War cards you can have in your hand.

Example cards: Take the Lead (Swan) - "When another Warrior in your neighborhood rolls, you may discard this from your hand to add 1 to a die." Chain (Rembrandt) - Chain = two dice (using the matching Weapon). Smooth Talker (Vermin) - "When this is played, you may re-roll a die after rolling." Throw Hands - "When you roll, you may discard this from your hand to add 1 to a die. Then remove this from the game." Switch Blade (Mercy) - Switch Blade = two dice (using the matching Weapon).

Weapons

You can use a Weapon to cover a matching Weapon spot or when playing a matching War card. War cards that use a Weapon either let you roll two dice instead of one or let you cover any Weapon spot. When you use a Weapon, turn the card face down. You cannot use that Weapon again in this fight. At the end of each fight, turn all Weapon cards face up again.

You can never have more than two Weapons. When you take a third Weapon, choose one to remove from the game.

The Weapons are Switch Blade, Brass Knuckles, Baseball Bat, and Chain.

MOLOTOVS are wild Weapons. You can use a Molotov as if it were any Weapon, whether to cover a Weapon spot or when playing a War card. However, instead of turning the Molotov face down, you must remove it from the game.

Gang Rules

Each gang has a special rule that applies when you fight them, as described on the tile. Examples: "Before the fight, the Instigator chooses a Warrior in their neighborhood. That Warrior discards a random card." / "In this fight, each Warrior can use only one Weapon." / "On each turn of this fight, you cannot roll more than two dice." / "On each turn of this fight, discard any dice that roll the same number."

Winning or Losing the Fight

If you cover the required number of spots, as described on page 4, you win the fight! Move the rival Gang Leader's figure to the bottom of the Reputation Track, shifting the other Gang Leaders up to fill the empty spaces. Remove all the Defeat tokens and place the Gang tile face up on the bottom of the stack and reveal the top tile. If all the tiles in the stack are now face up, turn them face down and mix them up to form a new stack.

If all the Warriors in the fight are knocked out (there are no Warriors who can take a turn), you lose the fight. Leave the Gang tile where it is--you'll fight them again in the next fight--and move the Warriors Gang Leader figure one space down the Reputation Track, swapping positions with the Gang Leader directly below him. If the figure was already on the "7" when it needs to move down, the players lose the game.

Whether you've won or lost the fight, remove all the Defeat tokens and place the Location tile face up on the bottom of the stack--don't reveal another Location tile yet! Then all Warriors who were in the fight turn their Weapon cards face up, and play continues with the City Phase.

Note: After the first fight, remove the Van Cortlandt tile from the game instead of placing it on the bottom of the stack.

Example: The Warriors won the fight against the Hi-Hats. They move the Hi-Hat Gang Leader figure from the "3" space to the bottom of the Reputation Track. Each of the Gang Leaders on spaces "4" through "7" move up one space.

2. City Phase

During the City Phase, Warriors move toward Coney Island, preparing for fights and choosing whether to run from or fight rival gangs.

The Warrior with the Instigator token takes the first turn and play continues clockwise. On each turn, you may either move toward Coney Island or rest. When you move to a space, take that space's action. Then you must reveal any Bopper cards. Warriors continue taking turns until a new Fight Phase is triggered.

The game board shows the route from Van Cortlandt Park to Coney Island, separated into four neighborhoods: Bronx, Uptown, Midtown, and Downtown.

Moving

You may move to any space, as long as:

1. It's closer to Coney Island than where you started.
2. It's in your neighborhood or the next neighborhood--you cannot skip an entire neighborhood.
3. It's not occupied by another Warrior. Ignore this rule when moving to Coney Island.
4. It doesn't show an (X) Fight space--you cannot move to a space that used to have a Fight token on it.
5. It's not past a Fight token--you must stop on a space with a Fight token.

Actions

• Discard pile icon: Return a card from your discard pile to your hand.
• War card icon: Add a War card from the face-up row to your hand. Reveal the top card of the deck to replace it.
• Weapon icon: Take a Weapon card from the face-up row and place it in front of you. Reveal the top card of the deck to replace it. Note: You can never have more than two Weapons. When you take a third, choose one to remove from the game.
• Subway icon: Nothing happens. Don't reveal any Bopper cards this turn.
• Fight token: Remove the Fight token from the game. Then you're challenged to a fight! (See Challenged to a Fight on page 10.)

Rest

Instead of moving, you may return all the cards in your discard pile to your hand, then remove a random card in your hand from the game.

Bopper Cards

After moving or resting, reveal Bopper cards from the deck, one at a time. The number you reveal depends on where you moved:

• Regular Space: If you rested or moved to a regular space, reveal one Bopper card.
• Threatening Space: If you moved to a Threatening space, reveal two Bopper cards.
• Subway Space: If you moved to a Subway space, don't reveal any Bopper cards.
• Fight Token on Fight Space: If you moved to a space with a Fight token, don't reveal any Bopper cards. (You cannot move to an (X) Fight space.)

COAST IS CLEAR cards have no affect when revealed. Discard them to the Bopper discard pile.

THREAT cards are immediately placed face up in front of you when revealed. Ignore what the card says the first and second time you place a Threat in front of you. When you place the third Threat in front of you, stop revealing and suffer the penalty on that third Threat card. Each penalty includes being challenged to a fight. Then take the three Threats and any Coast is Clear cards in the discard pile, and shuffle them back into the Bopper deck.

Threat cards: Arrested - text partly obscured in the printed illustration ("...remove a ... from the game. ... challenged to a fight!") The Fuzz - "If this is your third Threat, remove one of your Weapons from the game. ..." (text partly obscured by overlapping cards in the printed illustration; it ends with being challenged to a fight) Come Out to Play! - "If this is your third Threat, you're challenged to a fight and you cannot run from it!"

Challenged to a Fight

There are two ways you can be challenged to a fight:

1. Moving your mover to a space with a Fight token. Be sure to remove the Fight token from the game.
2. Placing your third Threat in front of you.

When you're challenged to a fight, the Warrior that was challenged secretly looks at the top tile of the Location stack. Without communicating in any way with the other Warriors, decide whether to fight or run.

If you choose to fight, reveal the Location tile, take the Instigator token if you don't already have it, and play continues with the Fight Phase.

If you choose to run, place the Location tile face up on the bottom of the stack. If all the tiles in the stack are now face up, turn them face down and mix them up to form a new stack. Then place one Bottle token on the board and move the Warriors Gang Leader figure one space down the Reputation Track for each Bottle on the board, including Bottle tokens placed on the board previously. If the figure is already on the "7" when it needs to move down, the players lose the game.

End of Game

When a Warrior moves onto Coney Island, they do not reveal a Bopper card. From now on, that Warrior doesn't take turns during the City Phase.

When all the Warriors have reached Coney Island, it's time for the final showdown:

1. The last Warrior to reach Coney Island takes the Instigator token.
2. Take the Coney Island Showdown tile and place it face up.
3. Find the Gang tile of the rival gang that's highest on the Reputation Track and place it face up above the Coney Island Showdown tile.
4. Remove all the other Gang and Location tiles from the game.
5. You cannot run away from this fight! Play a final Fight Phase.

To win the fight, the Warriors must cover both spots on the Gang tile, one spot on the Coney Island Showdown tile for each Warrior in the fight, and an additional "Reputation" spot on the Coney Island Showdown tile for each gang that's higher on the Reputation Track than the Warriors.

If the Warriors would ever move below "7" on the Reputation Track, or they lose the final Coney Island Showdown, all the players lose.

If the Warriors win the final Coney Island Showdown, all the players win!

Example: The third and final Warrior moves to Coney Island. The Warriors Gang Leader figure is on the "3" space of the Reputation Track. The Rogues Gang Leader is on the "1" space. To win the game, the Warriors must cover both spots on the Rogues tile and five spots on the Coney Island Showdown tile (three Warriors + two gangs with higher reputation), including two "Reputation" spots.

Adjust Difficulty

For a more difficult game, you may adjust the number of All Clear cards in the Bopper deck during setup. Remove two for medium difficulty, four for hard difficulty, and six for extreme difficulty!

FAQ

Can I have more than seven War cards in my hand? Yes. There is no limit to the number of War cards you can have in your hand.

Can I play a Throw Hands card to roll a die and then remove that card from the game to add 1? No. Throw Hands can only be removed from the game from your hand.

Can I still play Mercy's Streetwise card if no Warriors in my neighborhood have cards in their discard pile? Yes. You may play it to roll a die, but the ability doesn't happen.

Can I use a Molotov to play a War card? Yes. You can use a Molotov as any Weapon when playing a War card. Then remove the Molotov from the game.

Can I choose to participate in a fight, even if I'm in a different neighborhood than the Instigator? No.

Do I draw a Bopper card after moving to a space with a Fight token? No.

What happens if I would reveal a fourth Threat? Always reveal Bopper cards one at a time. After your third Threat, don't reveal any more, even if you would normally.

What happens if I play Snow's Boombox card and then after the Fight reveal my third Threat? You're immediately challenged to a fight! Look at the next Location tile and choose whether to fight or run.