Unmatched: Stars and Stripes Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• The Heroes of This Set
• Contents
• Special Rules for This Set
  • George Washington: Espionage
  • Rosie the Riveter: Freedom XK-II Mech Suit
  • John Henry: Steel-Driving Man
  • Wyatt Earp: Showdown
  • Free Actions
  • Gameboard: Secret Passages

The Heroes of This Set

George Washington. It is no overstatement to say America would not exist without Washington. His greatest contributions came as a general of the Revolutionary War and later as its first president. Here, we focus on a lesser-known role: head of the Culper Spy Ring. He enlisted unassuming civilians to gather intelligence from the British and loyalists to give his army an edge. Like America itself, Washington had his faults. Significantly, he was a slave-owner, an evil that cannot be exculpated by other deeds. Tragic, particularly in contrast to the countless Black Americans whose efforts helped secure freedom for a country that would not guarantee theirs for another century. We acknowledge them here, including their representation as one of Washington's spies.

Rosie the Riveter. In the greatest conflict of the modern era, the deeds of America's fighting forces are well documented. But while men fought overseas, America's women waged the "war at home." To meet wartime demands, they filled factory jobs, building the materiel that fed the war machine. These women were personified in the 1942 song "Rosie the Riveter" and immortalized in the iconic poster of Rosie, sleeve rolled up, with the battle cry: "We can do it."

John Henry. The classic folk tale tells of Johny Henry, an enslaved man who worked the railroads, driving spikes into rock for explosives. He engages in a contest against a steam-powered rock drill and improbably wins, but at the cost of his life—his heart giving out with hammer still in hand. This tale embodies themes of diversity, technological obsolescence, and worker's rights.

Wyatt Earp. Nothing epitomizes America's pioneering soul like the Wild West era of the late 1800s, a time of great law and lawlessness. None represent it better than Wyatt Earp and his brother-in-arms, Doc Holliday. The defining event of their lives—the 30-second Gunfight at the O.K. Corral—echoed for years. Unflappable and incorruptible, Earp was simply a force of nature.

Contents

• 4 miniatures
• 120 action cards
• 4 upgrade tokens
• 6 health dials
• 4 character cards
• 5 sidekick tokens
• 14 hero ability tokens
• 1 double-sided board with 2 battlefields

George Washington

• 30 action cards
• 1 Washington hero miniature
• 1 Washington character card
• 3 Spy sidekick tokens
• 4 ruse tokens
• 1 health dial

Rosie the Riveter

• 30 action cards
• 1 Rosie hero miniature
• 1 Rosie character card
• 1 Mech Suit reference card
• 1 Wendy the Welder sidekick token
• 4 upgrade tokens
• 2 health dials

John Henry

• 30 action cards
• 1 John Henry hero miniature
• 1 John Henry character card
• 10 track tokens
• 1 health dial

Wyatt Earp

• 30 action cards
• 1 Wyatt Earp hero miniature
• 1 Wyatt Earp character card
• 1 Doc Holliday sidekick token
• 2 health dials

Before you play for the first time, assemble the health dials by punching out the circles for each character and connecting them with a rivet.

Special Rules for This Set

George Washington: Espionage

Before he became president, General Washington established the Culper Spy Ring that was critical to America's success in the Revolutionary War.

In Unmatched, The Culper Spy Ring uses ruses to confound their opponents, represented by four ruse tokens. At the start of the game, all four of your ruse tokens are ready to use and should be face up.

When one of your fighters attacks, you may choose to use a ready ruse token by playing it next to your attack card. Some of your cards have additional effects — marked by a ruse symbol — that will trigger if you use a ruse token.

Tip: You can bluff your opponent by using a ruse token even when your attack card does not have a ruse-symbol effect on it.

If you use a ruse token with your attack, your opponent may discard a random card from their hand (before they choose to play a defense card). If they do, return the ruse token to your supply and flip it to its used side. Then, they may play a defense card. Ruse-symbol effects can also be canceled as normal by other cards that cancel effects, e.g., Feint.

If you have a ruse token by your card when you resolve the attack, resolve any effects with the ruse symbol. If you do not have a ruse token by the card, do not resolve them. After resolving the attack, return the token to your supply and flip it to its used side.

Some of Washington's cards let you "regain" a ruse token. If you do, flip a used token face up so it is ready to use again.

Rosie the Riveter: Freedom XK-II Mech Suit

Rosie is a literal icon who represented the critical contribution of women to the war effort during World War II. Her cultural reach has only grown since then, becoming a larger symbol of American feminism.

In Unmatched, Rosie wears a mech suit that has unique upgrades, represented by four separate tokens. Each upgrade has an active side with an ability on it and an inactive side. At the start of the game, place them in a row near your hero card with the active sides face down in the following order: Merlin Engine, Cavity Magnetron, Sedgley Fist Gun, and Whizbang.

When an effect tells you to activate an upgrade, flip your leftmost inactive upgrade in the row to its active side. When an effect tells you to deactivate an upgrade, flip your leftmost active upgrade in the row to its inactive side and move it to the end of the row on the right side.

At the start of your turn, activate an upgrade (the leftmost one). At the end of your turn, if all four of your upgrades are active, deactivate all of them. Effects on some of your cards activate or deactivate your upgrades as well.

While an upgrade is active, its ability will resolve. Cards that cancel effects, such as Feint, do not cancel the abilities of the upgrades.

Note: These abilities only apply to Rosie, not her sidekick, Wendy.

John Henry: Steel-Driving Man

The steel-driving man was renowned for his strength and endurance during rail's heyday in the late 19th century. He won a race against a steam-powered machine, only to die in victory.

John Henry starts the game with 10 track tokens. Do not place any track tokens on the board during setup. At the start of your turn, summon a track token to a space in John Henry's zone. This can be a space occupied by a fighter, including John Henry himself. Summoning a token uses the following rules: If you have a token off the board, place one of those; if all of your tokens are on the board, take one of them and place it.

When you move John Henry, spaces with track tokens do not count toward the number of spaces he may move. This applies to movement from both the maneuver action and the effects on his cards. However, he still enters those spaces, meaning he cannot pass through opposing fighters and is still affected by tokens or other effects.

If your opponent moves John Henry due to one of their effects, they do not gain the benefit of your track tokens and must move him using the normal movement rules.

Hammer Cards: John Henry has three different hammer cards with effects that trigger "if John Henry used at least 4 different paths this turn". He uses a path if he crosses it, moving from one space to an adjacent space. He cannot count the same path more than once in a turn.

Wyatt Earp: Showdown

This legendary lawman and gunfighter was most famous for his participation in the "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral" in Tombstone, Arizona. He survived a number of deadly duels and close calls, living to the ripe old age of 80.

During your turn, each time one of your fighters attacks and wins combat, you may choose one of the listed effects: (1) draw a card, (2) gain a free action to attack, or (3) move that fighter up to 1 space. This ability applies to both Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday.

You may not choose the same effect more than once per turn. If you somehow win more than three combats in the same turn, you do not choose an effect.

The free action can be used by either fighter to attack any valid target and does not need to be against the target you attacked to trigger the ability. (See "Free Actions" below.) If you choose to move your fighter, you may only move the fighter that attacked.

Free Actions

Each hero in this set has effects that give you a free action to attack. A free action works like a regular action, but it must be used to attack and does not count toward your two actions per turn. A free action must be used immediately; if you do not use it as your next action on the turn you gain it, it is lost. You may take a free action even if you have already used both of your normal actions.

For example, Wyatt Earp's You Die First scheme card lets you move an opposing fighter and then grants you a free action to attack that fighter. This free action can only be used against that specific target and cannot be used to attack another target, maneuver, play a scheme, or take any other action.

Gameboard: Secret Passages

The White House map features a system of secret passages, which can be used by fighters to move quickly across the map. These passages are indicated by a symbol on certain spaces with a white line leading away. A fighter can move from one space with a secret passage to any other space with a secret passage as if they were adjacent. Moving this way still costs 1 space of movement.

Spaces with secret passages are not considered adjacent for any other purpose, including melee attacks and other effects.

Note: Large figures cannot move through a secret passage. (There are no large figures in this set.)