Victory & Honor Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Rules of Engagement
• Sacrifices
• Establishing Trump
• Special Maneuvers
• Victory Conditions
• End of the Round
• Scoring
• End of the Game

Components

• Regiment cards: The Regiment deck contains 40 cards, divided into four regiments. Each regiment is identified by colour: Red, Blue, Black and Yellow. Each regiment contains the following cards, listed by value in descending order:
  • 3 Generals: three stars; two stars; and one star.
  • 1 Cavalry: #7
  • 2 Infantry: #6, #5
  • 1 Artillery: #4
  • 2 Infantry: #3 and #2
  • 1 Scout: #1
• Battle boards: The battle boards are used to determine the position and placement of each player's regiment cards. Each board is divided into three battlefields with their positions: left flank, center and right flank.
• Regiment cubes: There are sixteen regiment cubes (four per regiment), which players can use to help themselves during play. The cubes help players easily see which positions have been opened on the battlefield, and which colours (or regiments) have been opened in that position. Players place the cubes on their battle board after another player has opened a new colour in a free battlefield. Each player receives a set of (4) regiment cubes.
• Notepad: At the end of each round players record their scores on a notepad.

Setup

Each player receives a battle board and places it on the table directly in front of themselves, with the arrows pointing toward the other players (the Left Flank arrow toward the player to the left, the Right Flank arrow toward the player seated to the right, and the Center arrow pointing at the player seated opposite across the table). In a four-player partnership game, each player sits directly opposite their partner. The board is placed in the middle of the four battlefields, and the four regiment cubes are set to one side.

• Each round begins by shuffling the Regiment deck and then dealing ten cards to each player. Since there are four rounds in the game, the first play of each round will be made each time by a different player. For the first round the first player is chosen at random, and the other players open the following rounds in clockwise order.
• When a player finds themselves with a hand of cards that does not include at least one General, they may show their cards and declare that they want a new deal of cards. (A player is not obliged to do so if they do not wish to.)

Finally, each player prepares for battle!

Rules of Engagement

After each player has received and looked at their Regiment cards, the campaign is ready to begin.

Passing: Each player chooses three of their cards and passes them to the other players. Cards passed this way are passed face down, with one card going to each of the three positions on each player's battle board. After all players have filled their boards, each player takes their turn passing their cards to the other players.

• The card in the left flank position goes to the player on the left. The card in the right flank position goes to the player on the right, and the card played in the center position of the battlefield goes to the player seated directly in front of oneself.

Order of Play: On their turn a player must play a card to an open position on their own battle board. A player does not have to play in the same battlefield as the player who played before them, unless forced to do so by a Scout card (see: Special Maneuvers), or if there are no other free positions in their battle board.

• Whenever they can, a player should play a card in a position that would pass the turn to a player who has at least one open (empty) position on their battle board. When such a move is not possible, and the player's only choice is to play toward a player who has all three positions on their battle board covered, the normal order of play ends.

End of Regular Order of Play: Starting from the player who was unable to complete the regular order of play, and continuing clockwise, each player fills the positions on their battle board that are not currently covered. The normal rules of play still apply (players still follow suit if possible; trump and sacrificed cards are placed face down, etc.).

Turn Order: When a player plays a card, their action also determines which player will be next to take a turn.

• When a player plays a card in the center position of their battle board, the next turn passes to the player seated directly across the table from that player. A card played in a player's left flank establishes that the player to their left will be the next player in turn order. Similarly, a card played on a player's right flank establishes that the player to their right will be the next player in turn order.

Opening Cards: The first card played in one of the three battlefield positions is called the "opening card" in that position. Opening cards establish the different regiments in play at each position for each phase of play. Once a player has played an opening card, the other players must follow suit in the same position on their own battle boards, for as long as possible.

• As long as a position remains open on all four players' battle boards, and no player has yet played a card in that position, a player on their turn may open a card of a regiment in that open position. However, a player must always choose a card of a colour that has not yet been opened, since only one regiment can be opened in a battlefield position in each phase of play.

Regiment Cubes: Every time a player plays an opening card, and that card establishes the regiment in play in a particular position, each of the other players places a regiment cube of the same colour as the card played in the same position on their own battle board. Placing these cubes helps players instantly see which colours must be played in each position on their battle board each phase.

• When all three battlefields are complete with a regiment cube, the remaining cube represents the trump colour.

Spoils of War: At the end of each phase of play the result of the battle is resolved for each position of the battlefield. Each player places the cards they have captured, their "spoils of war", in a dedicated spot directly behind the center position of their battle board. Players may look at their spoils of war at any time during the game.

Winning the Center: The player who wins the center position of the battlefield in each phase makes the opening play at the start of the next phase.

Sacrifices

A player is forced to sacrifice a card in a position when they cannot follow suit by playing a card of the same regiment as the opening card established in that position. *

• Sacrificed cards are always placed face down in the battlefield position, and remain so until the end of each phase.
• When sacrificing a Cavalry, Artillery or Scout card, the special maneuver of that card is not allowed.

* Note: A forced sacrifice can be avoided by playing a trump card, if the trump colour has already been determined at that point in the phase.

Sacrificing the Opening: A player may never play a card as a sacrifice in an open battlefield position as an opening card, unless they are forced to do so and have no other possibilities. Exceptions to this rule are explained below:

• A situation can occur when the player's only option is to play in a position that has not yet been opened, and they are not able to open a new colour in that position. This is possible when the only cards remaining in the player's hand are cards of regiments that have already been opened in other battlefields. In this situation the player cannot follow the opening colour, and therefore has no choice but to sacrifice a card (sacrificing the opening) in that position on the battlefield.
• A player may also have to sacrifice the opening after having been forced to play a card in a free battlefield because an opponent played a Scout card against them. In this situation the player is forced to sacrifice a card if they cannot open a new colour in that position.
• Special Note: If a player plays a card as a sacrifice in a position on their battle board, of a regiment that has not yet been opened in one of the other two battlefield positions, it is possible that the sacrificed card may become a trump later in the game. (See: Establishing Trump)

Voluntary Sacrifice: A player may voluntarily sacrifice a card, in a position that has already been opened, in order to avoid being forced to open a new colour* in another battlefield. (*A colour that the player would prefer to be turned later into the trump colour!)

Note: It is always important to remember that a player may never voluntarily sacrifice a card by playing it in a battlefield position that has not yet been opened. (This is allowed only when a player is forced to do so and has no other possibilities!) It is also important to remember that a player must always follow suit when possible.

Defeated Cards: Regiments that have been sacrificed are considered defeated. All defeated cards are automatically beaten, regardless of the value of the card (the only exception is when a sacrificed card becomes a trump card).

Total Defeat: In later phases of the game, toward the end of each round, it is possible that all the cards in the same battlefield position may become defeated. A total defeat can occur when a phase ends with no opening card in one of the three positions on the battle board.

• The absence of an opening card in a battlefield position can be caused by its removal through artillery fire, or by the fact that an opening card was never placed in a particular position on one of the players' battle boards (e.g. only sacrificed cards were played there). In this situation, if none of the cards played as sacrifices became a trump card (see: Establishing Trump, below), all the cards are defeated and beaten.
• All defeated cards are lost and none of the players captures or counts these cards.

Establishing Trump

When all three battlefield positions have been opened, and the three regiments in play have been established, the remaining regiment, the fourth colour not opened on the battle boards in each phase, automatically becomes the trump colour for that phase. Cards that were played as sacrifices before the trump colour was established automatically become trump cards now, if they belong to the trump regiment's colour.

• A card of the trump regiment may be played in a battlefield position only when a player cannot follow suit in that position.
• Trump cards are always played face down, to confuse them with sacrificed cards.
• Cavalry, Artillery and Scout cards of the trump colour cannot perform special maneuvers.
• The special maneuvers of Cavalry and Artillery of all colours except trump have no effect on trump cards.

Special Maneuvers

Cavalry: When a Cavalry card is the last card played in one of the flank positions (left flank or right flank), on all four players' battle boards, and no trump card has been played by any of the players, a "flanking maneuver" takes place.

• In this situation, the player who played the Cavalry card captures all the other cards played in that position (except cards removed by artillery fire), regardless of the value of the other cards played. However, if trump cards were played in the flank position of the battlefield, the flanking maneuver fails, and the position is won by the player who played the highest value trump card.
• Cavalry cannot successfully perform a flanking maneuver when placed in a battlefield position that is in line with artillery fire. In this situation the Artillery card "bombards" and eliminates the threat of the Cavalry card (see: Artillery, below).
• A Cavalry card can never perform a flanking maneuver in the center position of the battlefield.

Artillery: Artillery cards perform a special "bombardment maneuver" on a battlefield position that is directly in the line of fire of the artillery. A card that is played "face up" before or after the placement of an Artillery card, that is directly in the line of fire of the artillery, is bombarded regardless of its value.

• Trump cards and sacrificed cards, which are always played face down, are not affected by artillery fire.

Example: An Artillery card played in a right flank position bombards the left flank of the player to its right. Likewise, an Artillery card played in a player's left flank bombards the right flank of the player seated to the left.

• Although a player may play an Artillery card in the center of the battlefield, the special maneuver of the Artillery is ignored when playing with a partner. In this situation a player can never bombard their ally.
• When two players each bombard the other's Artillery cards, both players capture their opponent's cards.
• All bombarded cards remain on the battle boards until the end of the phase, when all battles are resolved.

Scouts: A player may play a Scout card and use the Scout's special maneuver to force the next player in turn order to play in a particular position on their own battle board. The player who played the Scout may only choose a player who has free positions (a round cannot be ended prematurely with a Scout if there are other possibilities of play). (See: Order of Play)

A player may only suggest in which battlefield to play when their ally plays against a "scout". In this situation, a player is not obliged to comply with the ally's request.

Victory Conditions

At the end of each phase the result of the battle is determined. Starting from the left flank, then proceeding to the right flank and ending with the center, each battlefield position is resolved in the following order:

1. All bombarded cards are removed and captured by the player who bombarded them.
2. A Cavalry card that successfully performs a flanking maneuver (and has been neither bombarded nor prevented by trump) has won, and the player of the Cavalry card captures all the cards remaining in the flanked position (one or more cards may have been removed by artillery).
3. The player with the highest value trump card wins immediately.
4. When a battlefield position has not been flanked, bombarded or prevented by trump, the player with the highest value card of the opening regiment that is still in play is victorious.

End of the Round

At the end of each round, each player gathers the cards they have captured and places them in their Spoils of War. Each player then separates their cards by regiment into different piles to determine their score.

Reserves: When the round is over, each player will have one card in reserve, still in their hand. These reserve cards are treated as captured cards and are added to each player's Spoils of War.

Scoring

Each player counts their Spoils of War separately. Allied players do not combine their cards; rather, the totals are added together.

When playing with an ally, each player first determines their own score separately. Then both allied players on each team add their individual scores together to determine the total victory points of each team.

Both the individual score and the team score for the round are recorded on a sheet of paper.

Victory Points (VP) are earned for:

Regiment Cards: Each regiment card is worth one VP. However, in order to count regiment cards (Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery and Scout cards), a player must have captured at least one General of the same colour.

• If a player does not capture a General in a given colour, they cannot count the regiment cards of that colour. All VP that would have been counted in that regiment are lost!

Generals: All Generals are worth one VP per star they have (3 stars = 3 VP, etc.). Generals are counted automatically and do not need to be accompanied by other cards.

• When a player captures more Generals of the same colour, the VP of each regiment card of that colour increase. Regiment cards with two Generals of the same colour are worth two points each; and regiment cards with three Generals of the same colour are worth three points each.

End of the Game

The total score of the player is determined each round, and finally the player with the highest total is declared the winner(s).

Note: Although playing four rounds is recommended, players may agree on three rounds for a shorter game; or they may decide to play until a certain number of VP is reached (the first player to reach 100 points is the winner, etc.).