Winged hussars and Cossacks
Winged hussars and Cossacks Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- Game Goal, Players and Forces
- Components
- General Gameplay Rules
- Global Board Setup
- Player Area Setup
- Game Round
- Action Phase – Spring and Autumn
- Bidding Phase – Spring and Autumn
- Bidding Procedure
- Timeline and Campaign Mode
- Harvest – Summer
- Refresh Phase – Summer
- Event Phase – Summer
- Event Cards
- Titles Phase – Winter
- Special Action Cards
- Card Play Cost
- Orders – Movement and Actions
- Loose Columns
- Raids (Plundering)
- Occupation – Seizing Income
- Siege (Fortress Blockade)
- Battle and Declaration of Hostility (Attack)
- March
- Enlist and Replenish
- Replenishment (Healing Troops)
- Disband Troops
- Town Privileges
- The Lokator, Settlers and Migrating Settlers
- Buy a Province
- Slander and Court Dispute – Duel
- Titles
- Bishop – Senator
- Hetman
- Castellan – Senator
- Voivode – Senator
- Law and Outlawry
- Enemy of the Commonwealth
- Tatar Raid – Besh-bash
- Characters
- Experience Points and XL
- Family Treasury
- Other Houses and Automated Magnates Treasuries
- Favours and Support
- Troops and Warfare
- Battles – Simplified Rules
- Battle Procedure – Full Rules
- Special Tactics
- Dealing Damage
- Sieges
- Expeditions and Other Regions
- Royal Lease Auction
- Order, Unrest and Conflicts
- End of the Game
- Victory Points
- Historical Notes
- Glossary and Index
Game Goal, Players and Forces
Players: 1–4 (up to 5 Magnates + Otaman with expansions). Solo and automa rules are described in the Scenario Book.
Victory: Most Victory Points (VP) after 2 or 3 rounds wins.
Core Mechanics of the Game
- Economy: Peasants and towns provide Income. Tax relief and ruins left by raids stop it.
- The Price of War: Troops eat, drink and draw pay – every unit on the map raises Upkeep.
- The Law of the Borderlands: Petty raiding goes unpunished, but too many crimes make a family an Enemy of the CMW – stripped of titles, Royal Leases and legal protection.
- Tactics and Formations: Battles are decided by units and Tactic cards, not dice. Loose Columns cost an army half its strength.
- The Hostile Frontier: Event cards, Tatar slave raids (Besh-bash) and Cossack uprisings that break out when Happiness drops to −3.
Forces in the Game
Magnates (players) settle land, build fortresses, raise troops, hold high office – and sometimes plunder their neighbours. Other Houses – minor gentry (shared blue and red Crest) and unchosen families (Automated Magnates) – bid against players for Royal Leases. In title auctions, the Other Houses make a single fixed bid (see: Scenario Book). Cossacks are excellent infantry based at the Sich: willing to cooperate, but their rebellion can destroy a family's legacy. They are led by an Otaman player (expansion) or the automated Ex-Registered system. Hetman Troops (Quarter Army, Cossack Register) are commanded by the holder of the matching title or lease.
Your First Game
Play Scenario S with the Simplified battle rules (see: Battles – Simplified Rules, p. 21) and follow the step-by-step game for two families in the Example of Play booklet. Skip every section marked with the advanced-rules icon; these advanced rules are not needed in the first game.
Page References: A framed number (e.g. 20) shows the page with the full rule. Components: Skim pages 2–6 now; return to them when needed.
A Round at a Glance (4 seasons)
Spring – Action Phase: Players secretly choose Action cards; their total Time sets the turn order, then each Force in turn performs its actions and moves its Magnate figure. Bidding Phase: Players bid for yellow cards.
Summer – Harvest Phase: Players collect their profit (Income minus Upkeep) and Influence. Refresh Phase: Estates recover and crimes expire. Event Phase: Event cards trigger events in the region.
Autumn – as in spring.
Winter – Titles Phase: Characters age, and vacant titles go to auction. Details: see Game Round 10.
Components
Component List
- A – 4 Family boards (p. 1).
- B – 21 Yellow cards (p. 4), 4 Special family cards (p. 3), 24 family cards (4 sets of 6 family cards, 3 double-sided, p. 3), 15 Knowledge cards, 6 double-sided (p. 3), 22 Advanced Knowledge cards (p. 3 and 20).
- C – 92 Crests (p. 4).
- D – 60 Coin tokens (p. 4), 34 Influence tokens (p. 4).
- E – 56 Peasants tokens (p. 4).
- F – 34 Wooden tokens (p. 4).
- G – 48 Tactic cards: 4 sets of 12 Tactic cards CMW (p. 4 and 22), 11 Cossack Tactic cards (p. 23), 7 Tatar Tactic cards (p. 23), 1 Muscovite Tactic card (p. 23), 3 Hetman cards (p. 19), and 1 Death of the Voivode card (p. 20).
- H – 87 Troop tokens (p. 5).
- I – 4 double-sided player screens (p. 5), 1 Troop types sheet (p. 21).
- J – Map (p. 6).
- Card tracks: Knowledge Track (p. 20) and Auction market (p. 11).
- 12 Experience tokens (p. 20).
- 44 Buildings and towns (p. 9).
- 8 (4 sets of 2) Favour cards (p. 20).
- 2 double-sided cards with a quick round summary (p. 10).
Family Board and Character Areas
Each player has a Family Board. The front shows the family's two characters and its resource tracks. The back side contains scenario-specific starting setups and distinct family special rules.
Magnate Area (Left Column): Represent the family leader on the map.
- Health ♥: Denotes the character's starting Health. An empty field means 0♥: the character is alive but dies upon losing the next Health point.
- Professed Religion Symbol: Catholic or Orthodox. Some religious Action cards may only be played by one of them.
- Experience Chart: Lists the actions that award XP (e.g. playing yellow cards, committing or punishing crimes, winning titles).
Successor Area (Right Column): Represents the active heir preparing to assume control of the lineage.
- Experience Rules: The Successor lacks a Level track and Experience tokens.
- Health: Place the Successor's Health ♥ tokens on their portrait.
Coat of Arms & External Domains (Centre Zone): Displays the family crest and voivodeships held outside Kyiv. These grant no Income, but must be defended against Tatar raids and Cossack rebellions.
Family Board Parameters and Tracks
Track values are marked with metal pins; keep them updated.
- Level Track (Experience Level – XL): Shows the Magnate's Level (0–10). Both rows form one track; the pin occupies one space.
- Income Track: Shows the total Income of the player's estates. Each peasant token generates Income equal to its face value (1 peasant = 1 Income), while established towns boost the track by a flat +5. Estates containing temporary hardship markers or tokens (such as ruins, tax relief, or mortgages) yield zero revenue. When such a marker is placed on an estate, its owner immediately lowers their Income track by that estate's current value; when the marker is removed, the track increases by the estate's current value.
- Upkeep Track: Shows the Upkeep paid each round for units on the map and held Royal Leases.
- Double-Pin System: Since both Income and Upkeep Tracks can reach two-digit values, they use a double-pin system (e.g. placing one metal pin on the '20' space and another on the '5' space represents a total value of 25).
- Prestige Level Track: Shows the number of Influence feathers the family gains each Harvest Phase. Spaces marked with an apostrophe (3', 4') are intermediate steps: they grant the same Influence as the previous level (3' = 3, 4' = 4). Reaching Level 4 or 5 therefore requires two advances.
- Happiness Track: Reflects the baseline mood of the population working within the family estates. Happiness can be spent on some actions, such as attracting settlers. A drop in Happiness to −3 or lower triggers a local peasant revolt and a Cossack uprising.
Action Card Anatomy
Action cards drive the game: they let Forces move, recruit, build and interact. Each card features specific indicators on its borders and title bars:
- Star ✧ Limit Icon: Upper left corner. A Force may play at most 2 stars per Action Phase (e.g. playing two single cards or one double card). Cards printed without a star icon are unlimited and do not count against this restriction.
- Time Value (Numeric Indicator): On the top bar. The delay caused by the card's action. The total Time of all revealed cards sets a Force's position on the Turn Order Track.
- "Show" Ribbon: Replaces the standard Time value on specific reaction cards. These cards are not deployed during the secret planning phase; they are held in hand and played out of turn at any moment. They do not add to the seasonal Time total and cause no change to Turn Order Track priority.
- Duration: Unless a card states otherwise, its lasting effect ends at the start of the next turn of the player who played it.
- Title Bar Symbols:
- Double-Sided: Indicates that a card features operational choices on both sides. The active side is declared immediately upon placing the card down. It cannot be flipped later during the game.
- Experience: Indicates that performing the action awards the figure 1 XP.
- Crime: The action grants the figure 1 XP but the force's Crest is immediately placed on the nova exilia field of the Crime Track.
- One-Time Use X: Indicates a single-use card. Standard cards are sent to their decks after resolution. Yellow cards are moved to the Auction market × field when played. If a card is revealed but its action is not executed, it is returned to the hand pool.
- Immediate Return: Indicates the card returns to the hand after its effect is resolved, allowing multiple uses during a round.
- Summer Rest: Indicates that after the action is resolved, the card is set aside into a player's resting pile (rotate the card 90°). It cannot be used again until it returns to the hand pool during the Refresh Phase.
Action Card Origins and Deck Affiliation (Bottom Left Corner)
To maintain hand secrecy, all Action cards share an identical card back. A card's specific deck origin, classification, and acquisition methods are shown by the icons on the bottom left corner of the front side:
- Special Family cards: Marked with a family's heraldic banner; available only to that family from the start of the game.
- Starting cards: Labelled with the word "start" and a specific deck number.
- Basic Knowledge cards: Marked with a Level 1 symbol (XL). These represent entry-level advancements available for selection from the Knowledge Track once a figure reaches XL 1 or higher.
- Advanced Knowledge cards: Marked with a Level 4 symbol (XL). These represent rare, powerful advancements available only to figures at XL 4 or above.
- Yellow cards (Auctioned cards): Yellow background; acquired via the Auction market.
Crest Tokens
Crests mark who is where and who owns what.
- Crest (Capitalised): A double-sided square token. It marks estate ownership, hides the composition of armies, and records crimes on the Crime Track.
Currencies, Peasants
The borderland economy and politics are driven by coins, population tokens and status markers:
- Gold: Represented by silver Tymf and gold Ducat coins, supplied in standard denominations (1, 5, 10 and 25 Gold). Player funds are kept hidden behind the Player Screen.
- Influence: Represented by black feathers (value 1) and Kolpak hats (value 3) – used primarily as political currency during auctions.
- Negative Influence: Red feathers (value −1); a penalty that lowers a player's political standing.
- Peasant tokens: The basis of wealth, in denominations of 1, 2, 4 and 8. The bright side shows working peasants; the dark, armed incited side shows peasants who will support a Cossack uprising. Incited peasants never flip back unless a card allows it (e.g. Church, Orthodox Church).
Hardship Components
Wooden components track the state of estates and temporary hardships.
- Hardship Markers: Five markers show temporary problems in an estate:
- Tax relief / Mortgage Marker (black): The estate yields no Income while the marker is present.
- Ruins / Famine Marker (red): Indicates the estate was recently plundered or contains a besieged or blockaded fortress. The estate yields no Income while the marker is present.
- Construction Marker (yellow): Placed on a fortress under construction or being upgraded. While the marker remains, the new fortress level is inactive.
- Enlist Marker (green): Placed on an estate undergoing recruitment. While the marker remains, new units in that estate are treated as wounded and can only defend themselves.
- Supply Marker (blue): Tracks resource depletion during sieges. Once all supply markers are removed, famine begins.
Tactic Card Anatomy
Tactic cards are used only in Full Rules battles. Both sides choose their card secretly and reveal it simultaneously.
- Counter Symbols:
- Green Icons (Left): Depict the specific opponent tactics that this card successfully counters, negating their effects.
- Red Icons (Right): Depict the specific opponent tactics that successfully counter this card.
- Standoff Bar: Depicts opponent tactic icons that trigger an immediate defensive stalemate. If the opponent reveals a matching tactic, no engagement occurs and zero damage is dealt by either side.
- Combat Modifiers:
- Dagger Icons †: Represent the base damage value for a single unit.
- Toughness Modification (+/− ♥): Modifiers are added to the Toughness printed on the token's current face (full-strength or wounded).
- Line Displacement (||): Indicates that specific units (such as Artillery) must be moved to the 2nd Line during execution, altering damage allocation rules.
Troop Token Anatomy
Military units are represented by square cardboard tokens. To keep armies secret, their tokens are stacked and hidden beneath the player's Crest.
Tactical Tip: Each troop type has its own line pattern beneath the soldier's artwork, making tokens easy to recognise and sort.
- Token Condition (the face / back):
- Light Side (Full Strength): Represents a full-strength military unit.
- Dark Side with Blood Drop (Wounded): Indicates a wounded unit. A second wound destroys the token, returning it to the box.
- Token Denomination (Size):
- Single-Soldier Graphics: Represent 1 individual military unit.
- Double-Soldier Graphics: Represent 2 identical units. These tokens may be freely exchanged for two single tokens (and vice versa) at any point during a player's active turn, subject to component availability in the box.
- Nationality & Background: The background colour denotes the specific nation or military origin:
- Beige: Commonwealth players' forces.
- Pink: Hetman Troops (Quarter Army and Cossack Register).
- Yellow: Tatar forces.
- Red: Muscovite forces.
- Grey: Permanent fortress garrisons.
- Core Parameters: Veteran ★, Heavy Cavalry, Fast Cavalry, Toughness ♥, Wounded, Unit Upkeep, Movement Points (shown on a labelled token diagram).
- Upkeep Track Modifier (Top Right Corner): States the cost required per round to maintain the unit (Infantry / Artillery = 1, Cavalry = 2, Hussars = 4). The player's Upkeep Track must be updated immediately upon gaining or losing a token.
General Gameplay Rules
The Golden Rule
If the text of an Action, Tactic, Title or Event card contradicts this rulebook, the card takes precedence.
Public vs. Secret Information
Some information is public, some is hidden.
Public Information (In Plain View): Income, Upkeep, Prestige Level, Happiness and XL on the Family Board are always visible to all players. Negative Influence tokens and Favour cards must be kept outside the Player Screen at all times.
- Secret Information (Behind the Screen): Players' Gold and positive Influence tokens are hidden and must be kept behind the Player Screen. The cards in a player's hand are secret.
- Battle Secrecy: Army and fortress compositions remain hidden beneath the active Crest token. Players who are not Enemies of the Commonwealth may inspect the field armies of Automated Magnates. This rule applies only to field armies; the composition of fortress garrisons always remains secret.
Component Limits
Components are limited to what is in the box.
- Troop Shortages: If a troop type runs out, it cannot be recruited or upgraded until tokens return to the box (by disbanding or destruction).
- Peasant Pools: Peasants are unlimited. If a peasant token must be placed from the box but none are left, use any substitute. To avoid shortages, combine smaller peasant tokens on the map into larger denominations whenever possible.
Rounding Rules
All mathematical calculations – including income, loot, discounts, damage, and Victory Points – must always be rounded up to the nearest whole integer.
- Sequence of Operations: Base values are summed and modifiers applied independently per distinct category or troop type. Rounding up is performed for each category before combining the results.
- Example: If an army fields 3 Cossacks (1.5 damage each) and 1 Light Cavalry unit (1.5 damage), calculations are separate: Cossack damage equals 4.5, rounded up to 5; Light Cavalry damage equals 1.5, rounded up to 2. The combined total is 7 damage (5 + 2 = 7).
Tie-Breaking Rules
The Turn Order Track priority: Ties in card auctions, duels, simplified combat and any other test are resolved in favour of the Force closest to first place on the Turn Order Track.
Dice: The die colour on a card indicates which die to roll: grey is a d6 (1–6), green a d3 (1–3), red a d2 (1–2). Without a d3 or d2, roll a d6 and convert the result: d3: 1–2 = 1, 3–4 = 2, 5–6 = 3; d2: 1–3 = 1, 4–6 = 2.
Global Board Setup
The Map
The map of the Dnieper Region is based on Guillaume le Vasseur de Beauplan's historical work. It is divided into fields, through which forces move, and strategic zones.
Tracks (Crests and Markers Move Along Them)
- Plunder Scale (Exules): Tracks the value each player has plundered in the current round.
- Victory Track (right margin): Tracks each player's Victory Points.
- Cossack Register (Regestrum Cossacorum): Shows the size of the Cossack Register.
- Turn Order Track: Sets the order in which Forces act.
- Overall Happiness: Shows the mood of the whole voivodeship.
- Crime Track (nova exilia / exilia abolitia): Holds the Crests of criminals until punishment or expiry.
- Timeline: Timeline (left margin and top): Shows the current round and season.
Card and Pool Spaces
- Migration Bank (Receptorium Migrantium): Holds peasants seeking land.
- Ongoing Events: Event cards with the Hourglass icon. They remain in play until their conditions are met or another card removes them.
- Current Events: Event cards resolved in the latest Event Phase. They remain here until the next Event Phase.
- Event Deck: The face-down deck of Event cards for the current scenario.
Attack Zones and Exits
- Muscovite Attack Zones: Fields where Muscovite forces are placed when the scenario or an Event card requires it. Muscovite forces remain stationary and only defend their field (moving Muscovite armies are planned for Scenario VI).
- Strategic Points: Kudak, the Sich and the Black Sea.
- Tatar Attack Zones: Fields where Tatar raids enter the map, with die roll indicators.
- Roads to Other Regions (Via…): Exits for expeditions and Swift Support (see: Expeditions, p. 26).
Terrain
- Dnieper River: Crossing costs 2 Movement Points, or 1 via a bridge.
- Black Trail: Tatar slave route; each dark segment is one field.
Fields and Coordinates
- Fields: Areas separated by borders, through which armies and figures move.
- Rivers: Crossing a regular river costs no extra Movement Points; the Dnieper costs 2.
Every field features a unique coordinate identifier to aid location during card resolution and event tracking (e.g. a5, b2 with forest symbol, d5~, g9~):
- Letters (a–h): Run from west to east (fields labelled "d" border the Dnieper).
- Numbers: Increase from north to south.
- "sz" Prefix: Designates a field belonging to the Black Trail.
- "~" Symbol: Indicates a field adjacent to a river.
- Forest symbol: Identifies a forest field, see: Special Tactics, p. 23.
Scenario Selection
Before setup, choose a scenario from the Scenario Book. The scenario sets the number of rounds and any special setup rules.
Global Decks and Component Pools
This setup shows Scenario S; for other scenarios, follow the Scenario Book. First, set up the common tracks and decks:
- The Migration Bank: Place 5 value-1 peasant tokens with their bright side facing up onto the space labelled "Receptorium Migrantium" in the upper left corner of the map.
- Timeline and Season Marker: Place the hourglass token on the "S/I+" space (green spring season icon) of the Timeline on the top-left edge of the map (near field d3).
- The Turn Order Track: Place one Crest token for each player near the start of the Turn Order Track (right side of the map). The starting order follows the "initial round order" number found on the back of each Family Board; the lowest number goes first.
- Status Tracks: Place the tracking tokens onto the following tracks:
- Peasant Overall Happiness: Set the global voivodeship Happiness Level to 0.
- Cossack Register: Set the starting capacity of the Registered Cossacks to 0.
- Titles and Hetman card deck: Arrange the Title cards (Bishop, Hetman, Castellan, Voivode) and the dedicated Hetman Action cards deck face-up close to the Auction market.
- The Attack Deck: Place the 6 double-sided Attack cards near the map (green side up).
- The Auction market: Shuffle and place the Yellow Deck face-down on the rightmost space of the Auction Track below the board. Draw the top 4 cards from the Yellow Deck and place them face up onto the designated spaces of the Auction Track to the left of the Yellow Deck. (Scenario S does not use all of the available Yellow cards. See the Scenario Book for more information.)
- The Knowledge Track and Decks: Position the Knowledge Track below the map. Group identical Level 1 Basic Knowledge cards into separate face-up stacks along the Knowledge Track. Shuffle the Level 4 Advanced Knowledge cards and place them face-down at the start of the Knowledge Track pool.
Initial Placement
Place all automated forces on the map as shown in the scenario setup diagram (Scenario Book):
- Estate Ownership: Place each Force's Crest on every field it owns at the start.
- Provinces: Fields coloured in solid white denote a force's direct ancestral Provinces.
- Royal Leases: Fields shaded in pink denote royal Crown lands leased to specific forces. Place the assigned Crest token onto the field as indicated by the setup diagram.
- Unclaimed Fields: Only a field with an ownership Crest and peasants or a town is an estate. Any other field is unclaimed and neutral, even if any troops are stationed there.
- Peasant Population Deployment: For every estate claimed by an ownership Crest, check the listed population numerical indicator. Take the matching peasant tokens from the common pool and stack them inside the field, bright side up. Always stack tokens with the largest denomination on the bottom and the smallest on the top for easy reading.
- Urban and Structural Placement: Place the plastic models shown on the scenario map:
- Towns: A town increases the estate's Income by 5.
- Fortresses: Place a plastic Level 1 fortress model onto the field if indicated by the scenario layout. If a scenario setup explicitly dictates a Level 2 fortress, place a Level 2 fortress model directly onto the field.
- Family Seat: If the scenario grants a starting Force an ancestral seat, place the family seat model on the designated field.
- Garrisons and Armies: Take specific units indicated by the setup diagram and place them inside that estate.
- Treasuries Deployment: Place the round treasury tokens of independent forces on the map fields specified by the scenario. Treasuries are not troops: unlike square unit tokens, they cannot fight.
Player Area Setup
Distribution of Individual Components
Once the board and tracks are set up, each player chooses a family and takes its components:
- 1 Family Board, 1 Player Screen, 1 set of Experience tokens (2 tokens of 1/2 XP and 1 token of 4/8 XP) and 7 metal pins.
- 1 plastic Magnate figure matching the chosen family.
- All cardboard Crest tokens belonging to the selected family heraldry.
- The dedicated deck of starting Action cards and the unique family special Action card.
- 1 complete starting set of faction-specific Tactic cards.
- The assigned family Favour cards.
Family Board Calibration
Set each track to the starting value indicated on the front of the Family Board (for Scenario S, use the S-line values).
- Statistics Initialisation: Insert the metal tracking pins into the appropriate spaces to set the scenario's starting values for XL, gross Income, gross Upkeep, Prestige Level and Happiness.
- Held Starting Titles: If the Scenario Book grants a family an office at the start, take the matching Title card from the common pool and place it face-up on the Magnate area of the Family Board.
- Character Health: Check the baseline Health values printed within the Magnate and Successor columns. Take red heart tokens from the common asset pool and place them on the character portraits to track their current Health.
- Family Board Reverse: The reverse of the Family Board gives the family's rules and setup. General Rules apply in every scenario. Each scenario bar (S, I 1569+…) lists starting resources and rules that apply to that scenario and all subsequent scenarios, unless a range is specified (e.g. Retinue S, I–III).
- Tactic cards: Only the last number given applies, e.g. Choose 2 Tactic cards replaces Draw 1 Tactic card. Tactic cards are drawn at random only in Scenario S; in all other scenarios they are chosen.
Secret Assets Behind the Player Screen
Each player sets up a Player Screen to hide their assets from opponents. Place the following secret starting resources behind it.
- Starting Funds: Take the Gold and Influence shown for the scenario on the back of the Family Board and place them behind the screen (example, Scenario S: 28 Gold and 4 Influence).
- Cards: Place the starting Action cards, the family card and the starting Tactic cards behind the screen. Each player may look at their own cards; the hand is secret.
- Unit Pools: If a force has unique unit tokens (e.g. Ostrogski's Lipka Tatars), place them openly.
- First-Game Bonus Funds: A player learning the rules takes extra Gold from the bank: 7 in the first game, 4 in the second.
- Figure Entry: Place the plastic Magnate figures directly onto the tactical map fields indicated by the starting scenario configuration (marked by the Magnate figure icon on the setup diagram). A family without a starting estate places its figure on its first acquired estate. The figure and its retinue may move in the same turn with full Movement Points.
Game Round
The game lasts 2 rounds (Short Scenario) or 3 rounds (Long Scenario). Each round consists of four seasons:
| Season | Phases |
|---|---|
| Spring | Action Phase, Bidding Phase |
| Summer | Harvest Phase, Refresh Phase, Event Phase |
| Autumn | Action Phase, Bidding Phase |
| Winter | Titles Phase |
Action Phase – Spring and Autumn
1. Planning and Time
A turn is one Force's activation during an Action Phase. Each Force takes one turn in spring and one in autumn, so two turns per round.
Card selection: All players secretly choose Action cards from their hand at the same time, within the Star limit ✧✧:
- Double-sided cards: Place them face-up, showing the chosen side. All other chosen cards stay face-down.
- Determining Turn Order: All players simultaneously reveal their remaining face-down cards. Each player totals the Time of all their played cards. A lower Time total gives an earlier position on the Turn Order Track.
- Automated Forces Time: The Time of an automated force equals the number of its armies on the map (not unit tokens). In a tie with a player, the Ex-Registered go first; all other automated forces go after the player.
2. Perform Actions (According to the Turn Order Track)
At the start of its turn, each Force first resolves Housekeeping, in this order:
- Remove 1 enlist, 1 construction, and 1 supply marker from each owned estate.
- Flip recruited troops to their full-strength side.
- Remove Loose Columns status from all owned armies that are not besieging, see: Loose Columns, p. 15.
Active Turn: Actions may be performed in any order:
- Card Actions: Resolve the played cards (a player may skip any of them).
- Figure Movement: The Magnate (or Otaman) figure has 4 Movement Points and may lead any friendly army it encounters as a retinue.
- March: Units with a March token move without a card (see: March, p. 16).
Note: Place Crests on the Auction market and draw Knowledge cards after passing the turn to the next Force.
3. Handling Enemies and the Hetman's Forces
Automated Forces Activation: When a Tatar raid, Cossack uprising or war with Muscovy begins, place that enemy's Crest at the end of the Turn Order Track. Stationary Muscovite forces still take their turn, e.g. to consume supply markers during a siege.
- AI Attack Deck Management: Automated enemies have no cards. The player immediately after them on the Turn Order Track (not the Hetman) draws and resolves 1 Attack card per enemy army, using the matching side:
- Green side: Controls the movement, plundering and slave raids (jasyr) of Tatar forces.
- Blue side: Controls the movement, combat and occupations of Ex-Registered Cossacks during an uprising.
If a card cannot be executed, draw and play the next one. After resolving the card, shuffle it back into the deck. If no player is positioned after the enemy on the Turn Order Track, the first player draws instead. A shield with a number on an Attack card (e.g. ≤3, 3–4, 5+) is a condition: it shows how many army tokens the card or its option applies to. The player resolving the card chooses the target named on it (estate, fortress or army) within the army's movement range. If the army cannot carry out the card's action, place the card at the bottom of the deck and draw the next one.
Bidding Phase – Spring and Autumn
Card Auctions
To bid on yellow cards, a player must resolve Card Bidding (or a Family card that allows bidding) and place Crests on the Auction market.
1. Bidding Limit
The number of cards a player may bid for depends on their position on the Turn Order Track. Only players who resolved Card Bidding count (Tatars, Ex-Registered and the Hetman are skipped):
- the first player to resolve Card Bidding: up to 4 cards,
- second: up to 3 cards,
- third: up to 2 cards,
- fourth: only 1 card,
- fifth and sixth: 0 cards.
Note: Special Family cards allow bidding on additional cards regardless of this limit.
The bidding order of the Forces is shown on the Registrum Cossacorum and Turn Order tracks. Example bidding positions:
Tatars– ignored;- Daniłowicz – bids on up to 4 cards (occupies 1st active bidding position);
- Wiśniowiecki – bids on up to 3 cards;
Hetmancannot bid – ignored;Ostrogskidid not play Card Bidding – ignored;- Korecki – bids on up to 2 cards.
2. Bidding Procedure
Cards are auctioned one by one, from left to right. Only cards bearing player Crests are auctioned.
Cards without Crests and cards that receive no winning bid are discarded: remove them from the Auction market to the discard pile X.
3. End of the Phase
- Replenish the Auction market with four new yellow cards.
- Advance the Timeline marker to the next season on the Timeline.
Bidding Procedure
1. Who Participates?
- Yellow cards: Only players who placed their Crest on them during the Action Phase.
- Leases and titles: All Magnate players (except an Enemy of the CMW) and Other Houses.
- Other Houses' Bids: Other Houses do not prepare hidden bids. Their bid is fixed and public: for Royal Leases it is shown on the Lease card, and for titles in the Scenario Book under the current scenario. Therefore, players place their bids first, and Other Houses bid last.
2. Placing Bids (Blind Auction)
Players bidding on a card or title secretly prepare their bids in their hands and reveal them simultaneously. A bid may include only the currencies whose icons appear on the card or title: Gold, Influence, or King's Support. Currencies may be combined.
Conversion rates:
- 1 Influence = 3 Gold
- 1 King's Support = 3 Influence = 9 Gold
Free Support: In auctions for Royal Leases and the Hetman title, a player may add free Influence to their bid if the Lease card shows it (+ icon) or the title rules grant it (+ icon). Free Influence is not taken from the box: when bids are revealed, the player adds it to their bid total. A bid consisting only of free Influence is valid and may win (see: Royal Lease Auction, p. 27; Auction Specifics, p. 18).
3. Resolution
The highest bid wins.
Ties: Other Houses always lose ties against players.
Payment: The winner pays their bid. Losers reclaim all hidden resources from the bid. A player may submit an empty bid but cannot win. They must pay at least 1 resource of their choice to win a card.
Timeline and Campaign Mode
The game can continue beyond a single scenario. The Timeline allows a smooth transition to subsequent rounds and years (e.g. from 1569 to 1593). In Campaign Mode, players resolve the final winter, which is skipped in a standalone scenario. However, the final Bidding Phase is still skipped. At the start of the next spring, shuffle the yellow cards from the × space to form a new yellow deck. Then place 4 cards on the Auction market.
The diagram shows the Timeline for Scenario V: Round 1 begins in spring 1599 (start of a scenario) and runs through winter; Round 2 runs from spring 1601 through winter; Round 3 runs from spring 1604 through autumn (end of a scenario).
Harvest – Summer
Each player subtracts Upkeep from Income. Players collect any profit from the bank or pay any loss from their funds behind the Player Screen.
Budget Deficit: A player who cannot pay the loss pays as much Gold as possible. Any remaining deficit is forgiven, but the player loses 1 Victory Point (the green laurel-wreath icon in the printed rulebook) for each unpaid Gold.
Each player then takes Influence equal to their Prestige Level.
Remember to keep the tracks on the Family Board current.
Refresh Phase – Summer
- Estate Hardship Resolution: Remove one Hardship marker from each estate: a red ruins marker first; a black marker only if no red marker is left.
- Other Houses' estates: Do the same in the estates of the Other Houses.
- Hetman Troops: Replenish wounded units. Destroyed units return to another voivodeship of the Hetman's choice, with a March token.
- (Only in Games Without the Otaman)
- Add Cossacks to the Sich (1 unit for 3–4 players, 2 units for 5; none for 1–2 players).
- Incited peasants from the Migration Bank go to the Sich as Cossacks (remove the peasant tokens to the box).
- Wounded units at the Sich are replenished.
- Migration Bank: Flip all peasant tokens in the Migration Bank to their incited side.
- Other Houses: In each estate without troops, add one Cossack unit if it contains a fortress or generates at least 4 Income.
- Expiry of Penalties:
- Crests from the "exilia abolitia" field return to the respective players.
- The Voivode (and the Castellan, if providing assistance for at least 1 turn) each lose 1 Influence for each such Crest.
- Move the remaining Crests to the "exilia abolitia" field.
- the lawful plundering limit (2).
Event Phase – Summer
- Rewards and Returns: Award rewards from expedition cards. Troops returning from expeditions receive a March token. They may be immediately directed to a new expedition.
- Card Cleanup: Remove Event cards from the previous round. Exception: Move cards displaying the Hourglass icon directly to the Ongoing Events space.
- New Events: Resolve Event cards one by one from the top of the stack until the first Major Event (featuring a light background) is resolved.
- Automated Forces Activation: Automated Forces join the Turn Order Track only when activated: Tatars when a raid occurs, and Ex-Registered Cossacks when an uprising breaks out or when they receive disbanded units (see: Disband Troops, p. 16).
- Royal Leases: If a revealed Event card requires it, conduct a lease auction following the standard procedure for players and the Automated Magnates / Other Houses system.
In the first round, skip to step 3 (new events).
Event Cards
Event cards describe important occurrences in the Kyiv voivodeship and beyond that involve the players, such as auctions for Royal Leases, enemy raids, or political events. Event cards are divided into Major Events (light background) and Minor Events (dark background).
Cards with a book icon and a scenario number next to the title (e.g. II) are described in detail in the Scenario Book, in that scenario's Event card descriptions.
If an Event card requires players to make a decision, they decide one by one, in Turn Order Track order.
First Round Restrictions: Cards displaying a crossed-out "1st round" icon cannot be resolved during the first round of the game. If such a card is drawn in round 1, set it aside and draw another. After this Event Phase, shuffle it back into the middle of the deck (Psi ψ and Omega Ω stay at the bottom).
Front Side of Event Cards: See the illustration on the next page.
Back of Event Cards: In addition to the scenario marking and any Greek letters, there is a narrative description of the event or a rules tip. Players may read this text in advance to anticipate regional occurrences.
Event Card Anatomy
- Card title and card description on the front.
- Card number and book icon: the scenario reference for cards described in the Scenario Book.
- Ongoing Event: Hourglass marking; the card stays in play (see Event Phase).
- Hetman's Priority: The number shown on the card for the Hetman's priority.
- The region affected by the card.
- First-round restriction: The crossed-out "1st round" icon (see First Round Restrictions).
- Pay for deploying forces on an expedition (every round): Paid at the start of the next Event Phase.
- Add the indicated peasant tokens to the Migration Bank (from the box).
- Units the Otaman may send on an expedition.
- Troops affected by the card.
- The value by which the player's Upkeep will increase.
- Impact on General Happiness.
End of the Event Phase: All played Event cards remain on the Current Events space until the subsequent Event Phase. Hourglass cards stay in the Ongoing Events space until their condition is met or another card removes them.
Move the Season marker on the Timeline to autumn.
Titles Phase – Winter
Harvest of Death (Death Check): Each Magnate and each Successor holding a title rolls a d6. On a result of 1 or 2, the character loses 1 Health ♥. If a character's Health falls below 0 ♥, they die immediately. A character remains alive at exactly 0 ♥.
Roll for Other Titles: Roll the die for each title held by the Other Houses. The titleholder dies on a result of 1–3.
1. Death of the Magnate
- Victory Points: The player receives VP equal to the deceased's XL.
- Deceased's titles: Return the deceased's Title cards to the common pool; the family keeps the endowment estates until the next Titles Phase auction.
- Succession: The Successor becomes the new Magnate and keeps their own titles. The new Magnate starts at 0 XL and 0 XP, then:
- Add up the XP on the Title and Education cards in the Successor area.
- Convert this total into XL using the advancement cost (see: Advancement Cost, p. 20) and set the Level track to the result.
- Take any remaining XP as Experience tokens.
- Return the Education card to the player's hand; the Successor's Title cards stay in play. A new Successor enters the empty Successor space (2 ♥, 0 XP).
- Figure: Place the new Magnate in the family seat or on a chosen "Road to…" field (Via…).
- Cards: Return the deceased's Knowledge cards to the Knowledge Track and choose new ones for the new Magnate's XL. Knowledge cards already laid out this turn but not yet resolved are lost, unless the new Magnate chose the same card (advanced cards are drawn at random, so they are usually lost).
2. Death of the Successor
- New Successor: A new character enters play (2 ♥, 0 XP).
- Deceased's titles: The deceased's titles go to auction. The family keeps the endowment estates until the next Titles Phase auction.
3. Auction of Vacant Titles
- Order: Bishop → Hetman → Castellan → Voivode.
- Other Houses: Their bid for each title is given in the Scenario Book.
- Requirements: Only a Catholic may become Bishop.
- Nepotism: A single family may not hold both the Voivode and Castellan offices simultaneously.
- Timeline: Advance the marker to the first season (spring) of the new round.
Special Action Cards
Action cards form the backbone of the game. Some of them have special effects that require careful explanation.
Card Play Cost
The cost is printed on the card. Some cards offer several options with different costs and effects (e.g. Settlers and Lokator).
For example, the Metropolitan of Kyiv card has different play costs for magnates and Otaman (see the example card on the page).
Orders – Movement and Actions
Using the Card
- One Orders card activates one chosen army or garrison.
- Activating a second army in the same turn requires playing another Orders card.
- The same army or garrison cannot be activated twice in one turn.
(An example Orders card is shown on the page.)
1. Movement Rules
Movement Points: The number of "boots" on the troop tokens.
- Infantry: 1 Movement Point.
- Cavalry: 2–3 Movement Points.
Army speed: The whole army moves at the speed of its slowest unit.
Splitting & Combining: An army may freely drop off and pick up units during movement, but at least one token (unit or treasury) or a figure must remain with the moving army throughout the turn.
Limits: Each unit has its own Movement Points per turn; joining another army does not refresh them.
Example: A Cossack unit spends 1 Movement Point to join a cavalry force. It has used up its movement, so if the combined army moves 1 more field, the whole army enters Loose Columns status. To move the cavalry further without this penalty, leave the Cossack unit behind.
One Army and One Garrison: At the end of a turn, a Force may have no more than one army and one garrison in each field. Any additional armies merge automatically.
2. Terrain and Obstacles
- Adjacent field: Move cost 1 Movement Point.
- Rivers: Crossing a regular river costs no extra Movement Point (1 per field, as usual).
- Dnieper river: Crossing the Dnieper without a bridge costs 2 in total. Crossing by bridge, or with a unit bearing a wave icon (e.g. Lipka Tatars or Tatar cavalry), costs only 1 Movement Point.
Example: A unit crossing the Dnieper without a bridge spends 2 Movement Points on that one move. If crossing by bridge or overland, it can cover two fields.
Black Trail (Overland)
Fast Movement: Each dark segment of the trail counts as one field, regardless of its length.
Adjacency: Fields on opposite sides of the trail, separated only by the trail, are adjacent.
River Move (Boats)
- Eligibility: Only infantry, Artillery, treasuries and figures may travel by boat; cavalry cannot.
- Movement Rules:
- Start on a field with a ship icon.
- Downstream (going down): Move up to 3 ship symbols.
- Upstream (going up): Move up to 1 ship symbol.
- Note: If any part of the route goes upstream (e.g. entering a tributary), the limit is 1 symbol.
- Landing: Choose a field adjacent to the final ship symbol and the army immediately enters Loose Columns status.
Loose Columns
An army may use 1 extra Movement Point per turn on movement or an action. If any unit uses it, the whole army enters Loose Columns status.
Loose Columns Status
An army enters Loose Columns status when:
- Forced march: Any unit of the army spends the extra Movement Point, including to raid or attack.
- Occupation: The army occupies an estate.
- Landing: The army lands from boats.
- Siege: The army is besieging (for the whole siege).
- Retreat: The army retreats (see: Retreat, p. 24).
Flip the army's Crest to the Loose Columns side. While in Loose Columns:
- Combat Inefficiency: Only half of the army's tokens (rounded up) fight. The active Force chooses them; from a hidden enemy army, it chooses blindly. The other tokens stay inactive in the 2nd Line.
- Retreat Prohibition: The army cannot play the Retreat tactic.
- Restoration: Flip the Crest back during Housekeeping at the start of the Force's next turn. A besieging army flips it back only in the Housekeeping after the siege ends, or at once if it ends the siege itself during its turn.
- Exceptions: A besieging army can attack with all its tokens. Garrisons never enter Loose Columns. Tatars carrying jasyr remain in Loose Columns until they leave the map.
Example: Ostrogski moves an army of Cossacks (1 Movement Point) and veteran Light Cavalry (3 Movement Points). After one field, he leaves the Cossacks behind, so they stay in regular order. The cavalry moves two more fields without penalty. If it moves a fourth field or raids an estate, it enters Loose Columns.
Raids (Plundering)
Cost and target: Spend 1 Movement Point to raid an estate with no enemy troops (or when no one offers resistance).
Loot: Take from the box half the Income of the estate and 1 Gold for each building (Level 2 fortress = 2 buildings). Towns do not count as buildings for this bonus.
- Consequences (ruins): Place a ruins marker on the estate. An estate with ruins cannot be raided again.
- Raiding a Royal Lease: Raiding a Royal Lease estate inflicts an immediate penalty of −1 King's Support.
- Burning: An army in an estate with no enemy troops, even while passing through, may burn any buildings in that estate at no Movement Point cost: a fortress under construction, a fortress or a family seat (towns cannot be burned). Remove each burned building from the map. Each burned building is a crime, and a Level 2 fortress counts as 2 buildings (see: What Is a Crime?, p. 18). The owner of a burned fortress loses 3 Victory Points per fortress level.
Remember: Gold loot is taken directly from the general box, as the raiding forces are plundering the local agrarian subjects.
Occupation – Seizing Income
- Cost: 1 Movement Point to start; staying in occupation is free. Only an estate with no enemy troops can be occupied.
- Hardships of occupation: The occupying army enters Loose Columns. Place its Crest on top of the owner's Crest, rotated by 45°, so both stay visible.
- Gains: The owner loses the estate's Income and the occupier gains it, ignoring tax relief and mortgage markers (ruins still block Income).
- Legal Consequences: Starting an occupation is 2 crimes; each further turn in occupation is 1 more crime. Occupying a Royal Lease also costs 1 King's Support per turn.
Siege (Fortress Blockade)
- Cost: Initial placement costs 1 Movement Point (unless the enemy has closed themselves in a Tabor – then free); continuation requires no action.
- Rule: The garrison and Figures cannot leave the fortress, and the Tabor wagon cannot move.
- Consequences: Continuing a siege until famine occurs is a crime. More: see Sieges, p. 25.
Battle and Declaration of Hostility (Attack)
Initiating battle: The first attack in a turn is free. Each subsequent attack by the same unit costs 1 Movement Point.
- Field Movement and Passing: Armies may enter and pass through fields with enemy forces. A battle happens only if the active Force declares an attack.
- Crime Penalty: Attacking and damaging Commonwealth-loyal forces is classified as a crime.
Fortress Interception: When an army enters a field with an opponent's completed fortress and garrison, the garrison may attack it at no cost, even outside its turn. Garrisons of the Other Houses (including Automated Magnates) always intercept Enemies of the Commonwealth and never intercept other armies.
- Immediate Halt: This interception ends the opponent's movement. A battle erupts immediately on that field.
- Roles in Battle: The entering army is the attacker; the garrison is the defender. Neither the interception nor any damage dealt in this battle is a crime for either side. Neither side may play the Retreat tactic.
March
Units returning to the map from "Via…" fields (road to…), as well as destroyed Hetman Troops that return to the map, receive a March token, light side up. The March token allows two moves.
- Advantages: Movement without a card, without stars ✧, and without adding to the total Time.
- Restrictions: Troops on the march cannot attack, raid, burn buildings or occupy estates, and they cannot set up sieges or intercept enemy forces.
Duration:
- First move: After moving, flip the token to its dark side.
- Second move: After moving, return the token to the box.
Aggression: To attack with a marching army, play an Orders card (or have the army join a Figure's retinue) and return the March token to the box before combat.
Enlist and Replenish
The Enlist card allows recruiting any number of units in several estates at once: the player's own estates, leases, or estates of other players who give their consent. Other Houses never consent. Besieged estates cannot start recruiting; recruitment started before the siege is completed normally.
The rules below apply to all Enlist cards:
- Procedure: Place the new units in the chosen estates, wounded side up, and put an enlist marker on each of these estates.
- Restrictions: Units being enlisted cannot move or attack but they may defend their field normally. In battle, they may play the Retreat tactic.
- Costs: Pay the recruitment cost shown on the Player Screen and raise the Upkeep track accordingly.
- Finalisation: At the start of the Force's next active turn, remove the enlist marker and flip the units to full strength.
Replenishment (Healing Troops)
Replenishment requires the owner's consent and is permitted only in estates that are not besieged.
- Effect: Pay the cost shown on the Player Screen and flip wounded units to full strength.
- Hussars and Artillery: Each Winged Hussar unit on the map raises the Prestige Level by 1 and gives +3 Victory Points; each Artillery unit gives +3 Victory Points. Losing or disbanding the unit takes these away.
- Box shortages: If tokens of a given type run out, they cannot be recruited.
- Veteran Cossacks: When enlisting veteran ★ Cossacks, a player chooses regular veterans or loyal ones with the loyalty flag (see: Special Trait Icons, p. 5).
The Lipka Tatars are Light Cavalry and their replenishment costs 1 Gold per unit. Wounded Artillery is replenished like other units, but at no cost.
Disband Troops
Disbanded Cossack units join the Cossack forces (Otaman or Ex-Registered) at the start of their next turn. If the Ex-Registered had no armies, the disbanded units become their armies, and their Time in the next turn equals the number of these armies.
Town Privileges
Only a settled estate can receive a town (one per estate). Discounts can reduce the Gold cost to 0, but the Influence is always paid.
Example: Wiśniowiecki wants to found a town in Lubny (f11). This estate lies by a river and borders two settled estates – Lochwica (g8) and Mirogrod. Since the Gold discount applies only to estates without a town, Mirogrod (g9) is not taken into account. Zlotonosza (d14) is too far away – it does not border Lubny directly. In total Wiśniowiecki must pay 1 Influence and 3 Gold (base 5 Gold minus 1 for the river and 1 for the neighbouring estate without a town).
The Lokator, Settlers and Migrating Settlers
These cards deploy peasant tokens from the general box (bright side up) or the Migration Bank (keeping their current side). Each estate has a population limit of 12 peasants.
Note: A new estate rarely generates Income before the end of the game, but it still provides benefits: it scores VP, reduces the cost of founding a town in a neighbouring estate and provides a site for a fortress.
Buy a Province
- Purchase from Automated Magnates / Other Houses: Pay the total value of everything in the Province, as listed on the card. Their troops and treasury return to the box; peasants and the town stay and pass to the buyer.
- Purchase from another player: Players may negotiate any mutually agreed price. All troop and treasury tokens remain in the estate and retain their original ownership. The previous garrison must immediately leave the fortress and become a field army, unless the players agree otherwise.
Slander and Court Dispute – Duel
Other Houses and Automated Magnates always accept a duel.
Example of a Turn
It is spring. Ostrogski secretly selects three Action cards: Buy a Province (Time 2, one star), Build a Family Seat (Time 3, one star) and Card Bidding (Time 1, no star). The two starred cards reach the limit of 2 stars; Card Bidding has no star, so it can be added freely. All players reveal their cards. Ostrogski's total is 6 and Wiśniowiecki's is 4, so Wiśniowiecki acts first.
The example cards read: Buy a Province (Time 2): Purchase one settled Province (not a Royal Lease), paying its total cost. Build a Family Seat (Time 3): Place your Family Seat in a Province (not a Royal Lease). Increase your Prestige level. You may only have one Family Seat. Card Bidding (Time 1): 1st player to play this action: bid for 4 cards. 2nd: 3 cards, etc.
In his turn, Ostrogski first removes 1 enlist, construction and supply marker from each of his estates and removes Loose Columns status from his armies that are not besieging.
- Free Move: The Magnate does not need an Orders card. With his Light Cavalry retinue he moves 2 fields into an estate of the Other Houses and raids it: he takes 2 from the box and places a ruins marker there. This is within the safe plunder limit, so it is not a crime. As the Magnate takes part in the raid personally, he gains 1 XP. The raid costs 1 Movement Point, which is the Light Cavalry's extra Point beyond its limit of 2, so the army enters Loose Columns status.
- Buy a Province: Ostrogski buys a Province with 2 peasants from the Other Houses. Each peasant costs 3, so he pays 6 and raises his Income on the Family Board by 2.
- Build a Family Seat: He pays 4, places his family seat in the newly bought Province and raises his Prestige Level by 1.
Card Bidding: After passing the turn, he places his Crests on the Auction market to join the bidding for yellow cards in the Bidding Phase.
After resolution, cards with the Immediate Return symbol go back to his hand. Build a Family Seat has the Summer Rest symbol, so it goes to his resting pile and returns to his hand in the Refresh Phase.
Titles
Acquiring: Starting titles are assigned by the scenario. Titles not held by any player at the start belong to the Other Houses. A player who wins a title places its card on the Magnate or Successor area, as they choose. Titles are held for life: a title stays with that character until it becomes vacant. A title becomes vacant when its holder dies (including an Other Houses holder) or when a player loses it, e.g. as an Enemy of the Commonwealth. A vacant title goes to auction in the Titles Phase.
Senators: The Bishop, Castellan and Voivode are Senators. Each Senator can veto a peace treaty with the Cossacks.
Endowment: Some offices grant control over specific estates (e.g. Kyiv for the Castellan).
Enemy of the Commonwealth: A player with this status loses all titles and may not bid in title auctions.
Bishop – Senator
Successor as Bishop: If the Successor is the Bishop, the Bishop's restrictions apply only to the Successor; the Magnate duels normally.
Endowment: Fastov (c3) from scenario IV; in scenario III it may be granted by an Event card.
Hetman
1. Troops and Command
- Troops: Hetman Troops (Quarter Army and Registered Cossacks, if they have not defected and the Register was established – scenario II+) may attack only Enemies of the Commonwealth and cannot plunder estates or take part in private magnate wars.
- Turn Order Track: The Hetman is a separate Force on the Turn Order Track, with its own Action deck and its own 2-star limit.
- Combined Army Layout: When private and Hetman troops move together, keep them as one stack: the private troops under the family Crest and the Hetman's troops under the Hetman's Crest. Place one stack on top of the other and rotate the top one by 45°, so both Crests stay visible.
2. Obligations
- Hetman Priority: The Hetman and the Quarter Army deal only with the Event card with the highest priority in play. Players resolve the other cards without them. If a card with a higher priority appears in the same Event Phase, the Hetman and the Quarter Army move to it at once.
- War or expedition: The Hetman must be at the front and gains 3 XP and 1 Influence at each Event Phase.
- Raid: The Quarter Army defends one voivodeship chosen by the Hetman. The Hetman may join the raid and then gains the Character Bonus.
- Other Houses Control: If the Other Houses hold the Hetman title during an uprising, the first player on the Turn Order Track plays the Hetman deck each turn. That player's figure does not become the Hetman and gains or loses no Influence for it.
3. Auction Specifics
Bids may include Gold, Influence, and King's Support. The player with the most Tactic cards adds 1 free Influence to their bid total (not taken from the box).
Castellan – Senator
- Garrison: The Kyiv garrison has no Upkeep but cannot leave Kyiv.
- Voivode Support: The Castellan loses 1 Influence for an expired crime only if he had at least 1 turn to act.
Voivode – Senator
- Rule Change (from 1592): New Voivodes receive no lands. The current holder keeps his lands for life.
- Death of the Voivode: When the Voivode dies (including an Other Houses Voivode), resolve the Death of the Voivode card in the next Titles Phase, in place of the Voivode title auction (use the side for the current year). The Other Houses' bid for the title is given in the Scenario Book; their bid for the leases is given on the card.
- Pursuing Criminals: Must punish the criminal by the end of the second summer after the offence occurred.
Law and Outlawry
Plunder Scale (Exules and Iustitia)
- Safe Looting: Plundering up to 2 per round is lawful, if the raid breaks no other law. The limit resets in the Refresh Phase.
- Tracking Plunder: Track each player's total on the Plunder Scale.
What Is a Crime?
When committing a crime, place the player's Crest token onto the nova exilia field of the Crime Track:
- Kidnapping: Capturing a character figure.
- Treasury Plunder: Plundering any treasury token on the map.
- Aggression: Attacking and damaging Commonwealth-loyal units (defending, or attacking while besieged, is not a crime).
- Famine: Reducing a besieged fortress to famine (placing a red Famine marker).
- Destruction: Burning or demolishing a building; each building is 1 crime.
- Occupation: Seizing an estate forces an immediate placement of 2 Crest tokens onto the track (remaining in occupation adds 1 additional crime per subsequent active turn).
- Grand Plunder: Plundering a total value of 3 Gold before the nearest Refresh Phase is 1 crime (see: Crimes card).
Important Notes
- No Partial Control: A raid always takes the full loot. A raid worth 6 Gold is therefore 2 crimes.
- Victims: Any illegal act against the King's loyal subjects is a crime – in a player's own estates or against other players, Commonwealth forces or Other Houses. Attacking enemies of the Commonwealth (e.g. Tatars) is always legal.
- Risk & Reward: Each Crest placed on the Crime Track instantly awards 1 XP to the Force's Magnate (or Otaman). Committing multiple offences in a single action (e.g. routing troops + burning a building + plundering) places multiple Crests on the track.
The Punishing Hand of Justice
Legitimate retaliation does not generate new crimes on the punisher's account.
- Limit Formula: Each punishment removes 1 of the offender's Crests. Even minor plundering of the offender (1–2 Gold) counts as a full punishment, and every further full 3 of loot is another punishment (3–5 Gold = 2 punishments, 6–8 Gold = 3 punishments, and so on).
- Reward: For each removed perpetrator Crest, the punisher receives 1 XP and 1 Influence.
- Authorised Figures: The Voivode is always authorised and obliged to punish. The Castellan and other players may punish only when summoned for help by the Voivode.
- Other Houses Behaviour: As Voivode, the automated Other Houses always immediately summon the Castellan and all players to punish criminals.
Enemy of the Commonwealth
A player instantly becomes an Enemy of the Commonwealth when holding 3 or more total Crest tokens simultaneously on the Crime Track.
Immediate Consequences:
- Loss of Privileges: Instantly loses all titles and Royal Leases.
- Exclusion: Banned from participating in title and Royal Lease auctions.
- No Protection: Anyone may attack an Enemy of the Commonwealth without a summons from the Voivode; it is not a crime. Each destroyed troop token gives +1 VP and each attack counts as a punishment (1 XP and 1 Influence).
- Lifting the Status: The status is instantly cleared the moment the number of personal Crest tokens on the Crime Track drops to 2 or fewer, either through punishment or token expiry.
- Proportional Punishment: A criminal may be punished only as many times as they have Crests on the track. Without a summons from the Voivode, only an Enemy of the Commonwealth may be punished. Once the criminal is no longer one (2 or fewer Crests), further punishment requires a summons. A punishment beyond the limit or without authorisation removes no Crest from the criminal and is a crime for the punisher.
Example: A player without a summons twice punishes an Enemy of the Commonwealth with 3 Crests. The first punishment is legal (the criminal drops to 2 Crests and loses the status); the second is not: the criminal keeps 2 Crests and the punisher gains 1 Crest on the Outlaw Track.
Tatar Raid – Besh-bash
1. Appearance of the Tatars
Besh-bash: Place 3 Tatar tokens and the Tatar Crest on the attack field shown on the Event card (see: 3. Handling Enemies and the Hetman's Forces, p. 10).
2. Taking the Jasyr
- Action: Tatars spend 1 Movement Point to take jasyr from a settled estate. If an army is there, they must attack and destroy it first.
- Effect: Place a ruins marker on the estate and flip all its peasants to their incited side. 1 peasant is taken as jasyr by the Tatar army, and 1 more flees to the Migration Bank.
- Towns: If Tatars raid a town containing no peasants, draw 1 peasant token from the general box to act as jasyr.
3. Withdrawing with the Spoils
- Loose Columns: An army carrying jasyr automatically enters Loose Columns status and is restricted to a maximum movement of 2 fields.
- Escape: No more Attack cards are drawn for this army. The next player on the Turn Order Track still moves it, but must take it by the fastest route to the nearest Tatar attack field. Spending 1 Movement Point there removes it from the map.
- Penalties: For each peasant token that successfully leaves the map, the Hetman instantly loses 1 Influence and the estate owner loses 1 Happiness (the dove icon, as on the Happiness track).
4. Freeing the Jasyr
- Condition: The Tatar army must be destroyed to rescue the captives.
- Return: Rescued peasants return to their home estate. If the jasyr was taken from a town without peasants, the rescued token is placed directly into the Migration Bank instead of the map field.
- Reward: The liberator receives 1 Influence for each rescued peasant. Destroying any enemy token awards a choice of 1 Gold or 1 Influence, plus +1 VP for destroying an Enemy of the Commonwealth token.
Characters
1. Magnate and Successor Roles
- The Magnate: The Magnate's figure on the map leads armies, starts battles and earns XP.
- The Successor: Remains off the map and has no Experience tokens; their XP comes from the Education and Title cards in the Successor area and is converted into XL on succession. The Successor enters play as a physical figure only upon the active Magnate's death.
- Characters lose Health ♥ in duels and in the Titles Phase.
2. Captivity and Ransom
- Capture Condition: A figure is at risk of capture if it is attacked without an escort or its whole escort is destroyed.
- Defence Roll: The player rolls a d6 and adds the threatened figure's XL.
- Threat Value: Equals the Effectiveness of the attacker's strongest non-artillery unit (Fast Cavalry counts ×2; see: Unit Effectiveness, p. 21).
- Outcome: If the roll is lower than the Threat Value, the figure is captured; otherwise it escapes to an adjacent field.
- Captivity: A captured figure moves together with the army that captured it.
- Release: After the ransom is paid, the figure immediately makes a free move (4 Movement Points) from the field of the captor's army.
- Ransom: The prisoner's owner may pay the captor at any time: 3 Gold + 1 Gold per XL of the figure. The captor must accept. If the ransom is not paid by the end of the Harvest Phase, the player loses 1 Influence and the prisoner loses 1 Health ♥.
3. Retinue (Army Escort)
A figure has 4 Movement Points per turn and may pick up, drop off or swap friendly units along the way.
- Command Limits: The figure never enters Loose Columns, but if any escorting unit uses its extra Movement Point, the whole escort enters Loose Columns.
Example: Lord Ostrogski's figure moves three fields (it could move four). At the start, it picks up a Cossack token but leaves it behind on the first field so that the escort avoids Loose Columns. On the same field, it picks up an Artillery unit, and on the third field, a cavalry unit. The figure itself is never in Loose Columns, and the cavalry still has Movement Points left. However, the Artillery uses its extra Movement Point upon entering the third field, so the whole escort enters Loose Columns.
- Hetman Retinue: The Hetman's retinue may also include Quarter Army and Registered Cossack units.
Experience Points and XL
XP is spent to raise the figure's XL.
1. Experience Chart (XP Gains)
A figure gains XP only for its own actions or for specific cards:
| Action | Magnate | Otaman |
|---|---|---|
| Play a yellow card | 1 | 1 |
| Commit a crime | 1 | 1 |
| Punish a crime | 1 | – |
| Lead a raid | 1 | 1 |
| Join a battle | 1 | 1 |
| Command a battle | 2 | 2 |
| Join an expedition | 2 | 2 |
| Lead a war as Hetman | 3 XP and 1 Influence | – |
| Cossack Naval Raid |
2. Advancement Cost
Each new Level costs as many XP as its number (Level 1 = 1 XP, Level 2 = 2 XP, and so on). Spent XP is removed from the figure's Experience tokens, so going from Level 0 to Level 5 costs 15 XP in total.
Example: A Magnate at XL 2 holds 4 XP. He spends 3 XP to advance to XL 3; 1 XP remains for the next advancement.
3. Level-Up Rewards
When the figure advances, raise its XL on the Family Board. After the turn, once play passes to the next Force, the player chooses one reward:
- Basic Knowledge (any XL): Select 1 available basic Knowledge card from the track.
- Advanced Knowledge (XL 4+): Draw 6 rare Level-4 Knowledge cards, keep exactly 1, and shuffle the remaining 5 back into the deck.
- Tactics Option: Select 1 new combat Tactic card compatible with that specific Force.
- You cannot take a Knowledge or Tactics card you already hold.
Family Treasury
The Treasury token is never hidden under a Crest. An army or garrison of its owner on the same field defends it.
- Movement: The treasury has 3 Movement Points; it can enter Loose Columns and travel by boat.
- Function: Some Action cards require the treasury's estate.
- Treasury Raid: An enemy army may raid an unescorted treasury like an estate; the treasury and the estate it stands in may be raided together. Loot: The owner of a plundered treasury immediately gives the victor exactly half of the Gold hidden behind their Player Screen. The treasury token is then removed from the map.
- Legal Consequences: Plundering any treasury (even an empty one) is one crime. Upon resolution, place the player's Crest token onto the nova exilia field of the Crime Track.
Other Houses and Automated Magnates Treasuries
- Other Houses Treasuries: Other Houses treasuries are placed face down ("?" side up) during setup. When captured, reveal the token and take the shown amount of Gold from the box.
- Automated Magnates Treasuries: The Gold in an Automated Magnate's treasury equals the scenario number (S = 0) plus one d6 roll.
Favours and Support
Players may make alliances and deals, and may break them. However, Gold, Influence feathers, troop tokens, Royal Leases and state titles can never be transferred, traded or loaned between players, except where a rule states otherwise (e.g. ransom, treasury raids, buying a Province).
1. Favour Cards (Minor and Major)
- Victory Points: At the end of the game, each Favour card a player holds is worth 1 VP (Minor) or 2 VP (Major).
- Trading Currency: Favour cards may be given to other players as payment for anything the rules do not forbid, e.g. for leaving an auction, help in battle, handing over an estate or releasing a captured Magnate.
- Broken Promises: If a player accepts a Favour card for a commitment but subsequently breaks that promise, the card must be returned to its original owner immediately.
- Debt Repayment: A player holding another player's Favour card may demand a favour in exchange for it; the card is returned once the favour is done. The first refusal costs the refusing player 1 Influence (even below 0). The demand may be repeated, but further refusals cost nothing and the card stays with its holder.
2. Support from Other Houses
- Hiring Troops: If no player offers Swift Support (see: Swift Support, p. 26), a player may call upon the automated Other Houses by spending 1 Minor Favour card for 1 cavalry unit, or 1 Major Favour card for 2 cavalry units.
- Debt Repayment Trigger: Shuffle the spent Favour card into the Event Deck. When it is drawn, the debtor must send the same number of cavalry units to the Crown (a1) until the next Event Phase.
- Penalty: Refusing repayment inflicts an immediate penalty of −1 Influence and the Favour card is permanently lost to the box.
Troops and Warfare
The foundation of every player's power is their troops, providing strategic options to act against opponents and automated Forces.
Types of Magnate Troops
- Cossacks: Standard infantry acting as steppe sharpshooters.
- Artillery: Heavy support in battles.
- Light Cavalry: The core of cavalry.
- Lipka Tatars: Faster and tougher Light Cavalry (crosses the Dnieper without movement penalties).
- Pancerni: Heavily armed veterans upgraded from regular Light Cavalry.
- Hussars: The most powerful, elite cavalry.
A rider symbol in an orange frame means the rule applies to all cavalry types.
- Artillery Constraints: Wounded Artillery (marked × on its back) does not fight. If the enemy survives a battle in which Artillery was wounded, the enemy may capture or destroy it.
Army Secrecy and Reconnaissance
- Secret Composition: An army stays hidden under its Crest; only Fast Cavalry can scout it.
- Reconnaissance Rules: During its Force's turn, Fast Cavalry automatically scouts all enemy field armies (not garrisons) on its field. It does not scout outside its Force's turn.
Garrison Secrecy and Specifics
- Garrison Movement: Units may enter or leave a garrison for free during their Force's turn, unless the fortress is under an effective siege.
- Secrecy: A garrison is always secret and cannot be scouted; in battle, only the tokens that fight are revealed.
- Order: A garrison never enters Loose Columns.
- Allies: With the owner's consent, allies may join a fortress garrison. Stack each ally's units and Crest on top of the owner's, rotated by 45°. The owner may withdraw consent at any time; the ally's units then leave the fortress in their Force's next turn (from a besieged fortress, only once the siege ends) and become a field army.
Unit Effectiveness
Each unit has one combat value, Effectiveness, used in simplified battles, expeditions and capture tests:
| Unit | Effectiveness | Effectiveness ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Cossacks | 2 | 3 |
| Light Cavalry | 3 | 4 |
| Pancerni | n/a | 4 |
| Lipka Tatars | n/a | 4 |
| Winged Hussars | n/a | 8 |
| Artillery | 5 | n/a |
| Tatar cavalry | 3 | 4 |
| Tatar archers | 3 | 4 |
| Muscovite streltsy |
A double token counts as 2 units (2× Effectiveness).
Battles – Simplified Rules
Battle Resolution
Both sides reveal their armies.
- Victory: Each side adds up the Effectiveness of its units; the higher total wins.
- Loser: The losing army is destroyed; its owner lowers Upkeep accordingly.
- Tie: Both armies take hits as if each had won.
- Winner: Takes hits equal to half the loser's tokens (rounded up).
Hit Allocation (Simplified Rules)
In Simplified Rules, each hit affects exactly one token, regardless of its Toughness. (In the Full Rules, wounding a token costs damage points equal to its Toughness.)
- Both sides inflict hits simultaneously.
- 1st Hit Round: The opponent assigns hits, starting with the lowest Toughness, at most 1 hit per token. A full-strength token is wounded; an already wounded token is destroyed. Artillery cannot be hit.
- 2nd Hit Round: Assign remaining hits the same way. Artillery still cannot be hit.
- 3rd Hit Round: Assign any remaining hits; Artillery can now be hit.
Loose Columns (Battle)
An army in Loose Columns fights under the restrictions of that status (see: Loose Columns, p. 15). If it loses, the whole army is destroyed, including its 2nd-Line tokens. The winner's hits are based only on the loser's fighting tokens.
Example: Korecki's army consists of Hussars (3♥), Pancerni cavalry (2♥) and Light Cavalry (1♥). Wiśniowiecki's army fields 4 Cossack units (1♥ each). All units enter the battle at full strength.
Korecki's total army Effectiveness is 15, while Wiśniowiecki's is 8. Wiśniowiecki's army is destroyed, and Korecki must absorb exactly 2 hits (4 tokens divided by 2).
Hits: The opponent (Wiśniowiecki) assigns the first hit to the unit with the lowest Toughness – Light Cavalry. The token is flipped to its wounded side. Since a single unit cannot receive more than one hit in the same round, the opponent assigns the second hit to the next lowest Toughness – the Pancerni cavalry. The token is flipped to its wounded side.
Sieges in Simplified Rules
Resolve it as a normal battle, but use these Effectiveness values:
| Unit | Besieging | On the walls |
|---|---|---|
| Cossacks | 2 | 5 |
| Cavalry | 1 | 4 |
| Veterans ★ | +1 | +1 |
| Artillery | 5 | 7 |
Walls: A garrison defending a completed fortress takes 1 fewer hit (2 fewer in a Level 2 fortress).
Tip: Play the introductory Scenario S before reading the full combat rules – learn movement and economy in practice! See: Scenario Book.
The advanced-rules icon indicates rules that are not needed in the first game (Scenario S).
Battle Procedure – Full Rules
1. Participation and Reconnaissance
- Declaration: The attacker designates the target army or garrison.
- Allies: Other players with armies on the same field may join either side before the battle.
- Scouting: Both sides reveal the top token of their army.
- Loose Columns: Only half of the army fights; the other tokens stay inactive in the 2nd Line.
2. Command
- Coalition Leadership: The attacker commands its allies; defenders choose one commander. Automated forces: see Neutral Forces.
- Neutral Forces: If Other Houses, Automated Magnates or other automated forces (e.g. Muscovites, Tatars, Ex-Registered Cossacks during an uprising) take part in a battle, the next player on the Turn Order Track after the active Force takes control of them and fights on their behalf, playing Tactic cards as described in Ownership (see: Ownership, p. 23). If no player follows, the first player on the track takes control.
- Hetman's presence: If the Hetman figure is present on the field, they always take supreme command of their alliance.
3. Deployment in Lines
Both commanders secretly split their units into the 1st and 2nd Line on the map, covering them with unused cards:
- 1st Line: Fights directly and is wounded first.
- 2nd Line: Deals no damage (except active Artillery) and is wounded only after the 1st Line is destroyed.
4. Tactic Cards and Engagement
Each commander secretly chooses 1 Tactic card from their hand; both cards are revealed simultaneously.
- Combat Eligibility: The 1st Line must contain at least one unit that can use the chosen tactic (except Retreat).
- Stalemate: If a card's Standoff Bar shows the opponent's tactic, there is no battle and no damage.
- Unit Matching: Reveal the 1st Line. Units not listed on the chosen Tactic card and Artillery move to the 2nd Line.
- Counter: If the opponent's tactic matches a green icon in the upper-left corner of a player's card, that player counters it: the opponent's card has no effect, while the player's card works normally. The opponent's card shows the same match as a red icon in its upper-right corner.
5. Tactics Effects and Damage Dealing
If no counter occurs, both tactics take effect simultaneously.
- Total Damage Calculation (†): For each unit type listed on the card, multiply its damage by the number of those units in the 1st Line (Artillery also in the 2nd Line), then add the results.
- Wounding Threshold: Wounding a token costs damage points equal to its current Toughness (♥). For the detailed queue allocation of damage, see: Dealing Damage, p. 24.
6. Battle Consequences and Spoils
- Victory: A side wins if the enemy flees or is destroyed while it still has troops. Otherwise both armies stay on the field.
- Spoils: For each destroyed enemy token, the winner takes 1 Gold or 1 Influence; the commander shares them among allies freely. Destroying an Enemy of the Commonwealth additionally grants +1 VP per token. If there is no winner, no spoils are taken.
- Veterans ★: After a battle, each participating player may swap one of their units that fought for its veteran version. Light Cavalry may become veteran Light Cavalry or Pancerni. Cossacks always become regular veterans, not loyal ones.
- Capturing Artillery: If the loser's Artillery was wounded, the winner captures it and may keep or destroy it. The winner gains 3 VP; the loser loses 3 VP.
- Acquiring Tactics: If a battle took place, every player whose forces took part in it learns any tactics played by the opponent or by their own alliance that they did not know yet. They take the card with the same name from their own side's deck (e.g. Protect the Flanks), not the opponent's card. Their figure does not need to be present.
Special Tactics
Tactic cards not described in this section have no special rules; their effects are printed on the cards.
Players start with a secret set of Tactic cards and gain more by advancing XL or by fighting.
Tactic Card Labels
- Tactic name and its pictogram at the top of the card.
- This card counters these tactics: the green icon in the upper-left corner.
- These tactics counter this card: the red icon in the upper-right corner.
- Standoff Bar: the tactics this card clashes with (see Stalemate).
- Tactic Effect: Damage dealt † and possible Toughness ♥ modifiers.
- Special action and card number.
- 'start x' marks a starting card.
Ownership
A Force uses Tactic cards from its own nationality's deck (see the card back). When commanding automated forces of another nationality (e.g. Tatars or rebel Cossacks), a player chooses cards from their deck instead of their own.
Charge
Strong for Heavy Cavalry, best on open ground.
- Base Damage (per unit):
- Hussars: 4†
- Light Cavalry and Pancerni: 2†
- Artillery: 4†
- Situational Bonuses: Heavy Cavalry (Hussars and Pancerni) deal additional damage if the following battlefield conditions are met:
- No forest: Hussars add +2†, Pancerni add +1† (per unit).
- No Settled Peasants: Hussars add +2†, Pancerni add +1† (per unit).
- Combat Against a Tabor: If the defender plays the Tabor Wagon card, the Toughness of all charging Hussars and Pancerni cavalry drops by −1♥ (regardless of terrain type).
Example: An army fielding 1 Hussar unit and 2 Pancerni units charges an open field (no forest, no peasants). Base damage equals 8† (4 + 2 + 2). The terrain conditions add a flat bonus of +4† for the Hussars (2 + 2) and +4† for the Pancerni (1 × 2 + 1 × 2), resulting in a combined total of 16† damage.
Tabor Wagon
This tactic involves the troops closing themselves inside a wagon fortress.
- Condition of Use: The army must have used 2 or fewer Movement Points during the current season.
- Siege Trigger: After the battle, an attacker with more tokens may besiege the Tabor; the attacker enters Loose Columns.
- Continuation: The siege continues as long as the besieger has more tokens.
- Exception: If both players simultaneously play the Tabor Wagon card, no siege occurs.
- Counters: The Tabor Wagon card never counters an opponent's tactic and cannot be countered itself.
- Effect: Cossacks and Light Cavalry gain +1♥ in this battle.
- Siege and supply: see: 1. Effective Siege Requirements, Supplies and Famine, p. 25.
Anti-Tatar Formation
This tactic involves troops locking themselves inside a wagon fortress, waiting for the enemy to close in, and launching a sudden counter-charge!
- Condition of Use: The army must have used 2 or fewer Movement Points during the current season.
- Effect: Cossacks gain +1♥ in this battle.
Shoot
- Lipka Tatars +1†.
Retreat
Allows withdrawal from battle, but carries high risk.
- Prohibition: Cannot be played if the army is already in Loose Columns status.
- Effect: The retreating army deals 0†. It moves to an adjacent field with no enemy troops, not across a river without a bridge. If it cannot, it is destroyed.
- Panic: If the opponent plays Charge or Assault, resolve the battle first. Units of the retreating army with 1 Movement Point (infantry, Artillery) have −1 Toughness ♥ in this battle, and Fast Cavalry has +1 ♥. A unit reduced to 0 Toughness is destroyed. Then the army retreats.
- Outcome: The army always ends up in Loose Columns status after a retreat.
Ambush!
A sudden attack by a smaller army.
- Condition of Use: The army must have no more tokens than the enemy army.
- Base Damage: Each unit deals 0† damage; Artillery deals 3† damage.
- Situational Bonuses (+1† per unit for each condition fulfilled):
- The battlefield features a forest field.
- The battlefield directly borders a river field (~ symbol).
- No peasants are currently settled on the field.
- The field is classified as an uninhabitable wasteland (X symbol).
- The enemy army is currently in Loose Columns status.
- Defensive Bonus: In a forest field, each infantry unit participating in the ambush gains +1 Toughness (♥).
- Damage Reduction: Deduct 1† from total ambush damage for each enemy Fast Cavalry unit or Spy (Otaman expansion) present on the field.
Fortress
This card has two versions, for Level 1 and Level 2 fortresses. A garrison uses the version matching its completed fortress.
- Special Resolution: Like Tabor Wagon, it never counters an opponent's tactic and cannot be countered itself.
- Top Bar Specifics: The top bar shows the defender's starting supply markers and the maximum number of tokens on the walls (see: 1. Effective Siege Requirements, Supplies and Famine, p. 25).
Dealing Damage
Round up the damage (†) of each unit type, then add them up (see: Rounding Rules, p. 6).
Damage (†) is spent to wound tokens: wounding a token costs damage equal to its current Toughness (♥). A full-strength token is flipped to its wounded side; a wounded token that is wounded again is destroyed. If several tokens share the lowest Toughness, the side dealing the damage chooses. If the remaining damage is lower than the Toughness of the next token, the rest is lost.
Double tokens: When a double token takes damage, exchange it for two single tokens (even outside its Force's turn) and wound them separately. If there are no single tokens left in the box, the whole double token is wounded, even if the damage is enough to wound only one unit.
Allocate damage points according to the following queue sequence:
- 1st Queue (Damaging): Wound units in the 1st Line, lowest Toughness first, each token at most once. Artillery cannot be hit.
- 2nd Queue (Destroying): With damage left, repeat in the 1st Line from the lowest Toughness; tokens wounded again are destroyed. Artillery still cannot be hit.
- 3rd & 4th Queue (2nd Line): Once the 1st Line is destroyed, remaining damage moves to the 2nd Line in the same way. Artillery can now be hit.
Upkeep: When a token is destroyed or Artillery is captured, update Upkeep at once.
Example: A total of 13† damage is dealt to an army. The defender's 1st Line contains 1 wounded veteran Cossack (1♥), 1 double veteran Light Cavalry token (2 units, 1♥ each), 1 Pancerni unit (2♥), and 1 Hussar unit (3♥).
- 1st Queue (Damaging): Wounding starts with the lowest current Toughness (1♥). The Cossack, the only unit already wounded before the battle, is wounded again and destroyed (1† spent). Both full-strength Light Cavalry units are wounded, and their double token flips to its wounded side (2† spent, 10† remaining).
- Next, the full-strength Pancerni (2♥) and Hussars (3♥) are wounded and flipped to their wounded sides (5† spent, 5† remaining).
- 2nd Queue (Destroying): The process repeats from the lowest current Toughness. The two wounded Light Cavalry units (1♥) are wounded again and destroyed (1† each: 2† spent, 3† remaining).
- Finally, the Pancerni and Hussars, both wounded (2♥), remain; the player dealing the damage chooses the Hussars, which are destroyed (2† spent, 1† remaining). The remaining 1† cannot wound the Pancerni (2♥) and is lost.
Sieges
A siege begins when an army is locked in a fortress or a Tabor. The besieger is in Loose Columns status for the whole siege.
1. Effective Siege Requirements, Supplies and Famine
An effective siege requires enough besieging tokens (a double token counts as 1):
| Max garrison on walls | Supplies | Effective siege | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortress 1 | 2 tokens | 2 supply markers | 3 or more |
| Fortress 2 | 3 tokens | 3 supply markers | 4 or more |
| Tabor Wagon | n/a | 1 supply marker | More than the enemy |
At the start of a siege, place supply markers on the garrison or Tabor, as shown in the table.
- Consumption: The defender removes 1 supply marker at the start of each of its turns.
- Famine: When the last supply marker is removed, place a famine marker; add 1 more at the start of each following turn.
- Effects of famine:
- No Income: The estate yields no Income.
- Weakness: Each defending unit deals −1† damage for each famine marker present.
- Surrender: With 2 or more famine markers, the besieged troops surrender and are destroyed when attacked.
- Cleanup: All famine markers are removed during the summer Refresh Phase after the siege ends.
2. Combat During a Siege
A battle happens only when one side attacks. The garrison is deployed in secret.
- Blockade: Troops and figures inside cannot leave until the siege ends.
- Wall Combat: Occurs when the defender plays the Fortress tactic and the attacker plays Shoot or Assault.
- Attack Expansion: The besieger is in Loose Columns status but can attack with its whole army.
- Defenders' Layout: Only the garrison on the walls fights in the 1st Line of defenders. Remaining units wait in the 2nd Line. Deployed Artillery fights in the 2nd Line normally.
- Attackers' Layout: The besieger sends only the 1st Line. Their 2nd Line remains safe and hidden (Artillery may support from the 2nd Line at the besieger's own risk).
- Sally: The defender cannot play a Tactic card with the sally icon. If they play any tactic other than Fortress (e.g. Charge), a sally occurs immediately.
3. End of Siege
The siege ends immediately when the besieger wins, is destroyed, leaves the field, or loses the numerical advantage required for an effective siege. During its turn, the besieger may also end the siege without leaving the field. It then removes its Loose Columns status at once.
4. Combat Inside the Fortress
Happens through certain cards (e.g. Deception) or when an ally inside the fortress betrays its host.
- Restrictions: The Fortress Tactic card cannot be played. Heavy Cavalry charge bonuses do not apply.
- Mandatory Engagement: There is no Stalemate; the only way out is an uncountered Retreat.
- Combat Strength: Infantry units deal 2× damage.
- Resolution: If both sides survive the clash, another battle is fought immediately. Repeat this process until one side is destroyed or retreats.
Expeditions and Other Regions
Expeditions
1. Sending Troops on Expeditions
Expeditions represent critical military assignments called by the King.
- Eligibility: Any troops on the map that are not besieged may be sent. Units still under an enlist marker finish enlisting as soon as they set out: remove the marker and flip them to their full-strength side.
- Destination: The army moves straight to the given road field (Via…). Flip its Crest to show it is on an expedition.
Example: An army on an expedition to Podolia stands to the left of the Via Moldavica field. On entering it, the army joins the Podolia front; flip its Crest to show the expedition. To deploy forces to Braclavia, the army token is positioned directly below the Via Moldavica field, while forces executing an expedition to Moldavia are positioned to the right.
- Operational Risk: Armies on an expedition never fight other Forces, but may return wounded, as the card says. Figures with them can still use Action cards and may be slandered or challenged.
- Expedition Success: An expedition succeeds if more units are sent to it than there are players. Pay is always received, whether the expedition succeeds or fails. King's Support is awarded only for a successful expedition.
2. Rewards and Pay
All rewards are collected at the start of the subsequent Event Phase, unless an active card description states otherwise:
- Gold and Influence Payout: Taken from the box as shown on the expedition card. For pay, each Winged Hussar unit counts as 2 cavalry units.
- King's Support: If the card says so and the expedition succeeds, at the start of the next Event Phase each participating player receives 1 King's Support token. The player who sent the strongest forces receives 1 additional token (2 in total). To determine this player, all players then reveal their expedition armies and compare their total Effectiveness (see: Unit Effectiveness, p. 21).
- Character Bonus: A figure on an expedition gains 2 XP at each Event Phase while it stays there.
- Long Expeditions: With an Hourglass card, forces may stay at the front for several rounds and receive all rewards again at each Event Phase (a success check is performed in every Event Phase). They may withdraw during their Force's turn, or return when the card is resolved.
3. Hetman Rules and Returns
- Mandatory Service: If the card has Hetman Priority, the Hetman must take part and stay until it is resolved.
- Return Sequence: When the army returns, flip its Crest back and place a March token (×2) on it.
Swift Support
1. The Threat
Event cards may trigger hostile attacks outside the Kyiv voivodeship. Players holding domains in the attacked voivodeships must defend them (verified on the Family Board beneath the family coat of arms).
- Chambul / Cossack Raid: Triggers exactly 1 attack on the indicated voivodeship.
- Sefer Raid: Triggers exactly 2 attacks on the indicated voivodeship.
- Penalties: For each unrepelled attack, the targeted player immediately loses 1 Happiness (the dove icon) or 6 Gold.
2. Quarter Army Deployment
The Quarter Army defends one attacked voivodeship, protecting all players' domains there. The Hetman chooses which; if there is no Hetman, roll a die.
- Sequence: If multiple voivodeships are attacked simultaneously, the Hetman declares their Quarter Army cavalry deployment first. Subsequently, following the Turn Order Track hierarchy, remaining players declare whether and where they will deploy their private cavalry.
3. Cavalry Defence Rules
To repel a single raid on their domains, a player must deploy exactly 1 cavalry unit to that voivodeship.
- Hussars: Count as 2 cavalry units, allowing a single Hussar token to repel a Sefer raid for one player, or a Chambul raid for two separate players (restricted to a single voivodeship).
- Neighbourly Help: A player without enough cavalry may hire another player's cavalry for Favour cards. If nobody helps, they may ask the Other Houses.
- Resolution: Swift Support functions identically to an expedition. Deployed troops return to the map during the subsequent Event Phase, receiving a temporary March token (×2).
Royal Lease Auction
When an Event card announces a lease auction, players and the automated Other Houses compete for control over that specific royal estate.
1. Auction Rules and Heritage
- Inheritance: The current leaseholder adds the free Influence shown on the lease card (+ icon) to their bid in this auction.
- Compensation: If the current leaseholder loses, they take the Gold shown on the lease card from the bank.
- Takeover: The winning bidder takes over the estate in its exact current state, including any active ruins or mortgage markers. If the lease is lost by the Other Houses or Automated Magnates, their units and treasury token return to the box.
The example lease card (Kaniw, d11) shows Heritage +1 Influence, Upkeep 1 and Compensation 3 Gold, and reads: "Other Houses bid: 1 Influence = [red d2 die symbol]. If they win, place their Crest and 1 Cossack unit there."
- Other Houses Bid: The lease card shows the bid of the Other Houses for this auction, adjusted to the scenario and the estate. Since Other Houses always lose ties against players, a player wins by bidding at least this value.
2. Obligations and Restrictions
- Fixed Costs: Each lease has a fixed Upkeep, shown on the lease card and paid every round. The winner raises Upkeep at once.
- Crown Garrisons: Specific leases feature a permanent Crown garrison. These units cannot be disbanded or moved, but the holder pays their Upkeep. Losing or destroying any Crown Artillery inflicts an immediate penalty of −3 VP.
- Enemy of the Commonwealth: Also loses the Crown garrisons of its Royal Leases (see: Enemy of the Commonwealth, p. 18).
Order, Unrest and Conflicts
Around its borders, the Commonwealth faced an endless wave of hostile forces. At times, the threat emerged from within as rebellious defenders. Although the most prominent external adversaries were the Muscovites, Swedes and Ottomans, the Dnieper Region was most frequently exposed to Tatar slave raids and Cossack uprisings.
The Cossack Situation
Cossacks serve one of three masters:
- Own Forces: Independent troops belonging directly to the playable Otaman or the automated Ex-Registered Cossack system.
- Private Cossacks: Mercenary units recruited directly into the private service of players or the Other Houses.
- Registered Cossacks: Elite troops sworn into official Commonwealth service under the supreme command of the Hetman (represented by pink tokens). They do not join uprisings, except the Kosiński Uprising.
- Establishing the Register: When an Event card expands the Cossack Register, the Hetman places the new units in the leases marked with a Cossack icon. The Otaman (or Ex-Registered) removes the same number of their own units from the map, veterans ★ first.
- The Standing Register (Scenario III+): From Scenario III, the Register starts on the map as a permanent garrison in the marked Royal Leases (in Scenario II it arrives through an Event card). It defends its fortress, but only the Hetman may move it out. Keep these tokens under the Hetman's Crest, rotated by 45°.
Uprising Outbreak
- Happiness Track: When an uprising breaks out, each Magnate lowers their Happiness on the Family Board by 1.
- Overall Happiness: Marked on the map; it reflects the whole voivodeship and takes precedence. When it rises or falls, players immediately move their own tracks by the same amount.
- Rebellion Trigger: A formal uprising erupts instantly when the Happiness Level of any individual player drops to −3 or lower. If the Overall Happiness track falls to this threshold, a widespread rebellion erupts across all estates controlled by the Automated Magnates and Other Houses.
- Uprising Armies: Upon a trigger, take all independent Ex-Registered Cossack units on the board (except those on expeditions). Split them equally into separate armies: one against each player where the uprising broke out, plus one against the Other Houses if the rebellion spread to their estates. Assign leftover tokens at random.
- Attack Target: Each uprising army moves straight to its target's (a player's or the Other Houses') estate with the highest gross Income, resolving movement and combat with Attack cards on its turn.
- Escalation: During the first turn of the rebellion, the rebel armies attack only the targeted players who triggered the outbreak.
In subsequent turns, the conflict escalates, and the rebels aggressively attack any forces encountered on the field.
Fighting the Rebels
- Legal Status: Rebel Cossacks are Enemies of the Commonwealth: attacking them is never a crime. Their Crests are never placed on the Crime Track, and any of their Crests already there are removed.
- Cossack Behaviour: Rebels follow the blue side of the Attack cards and occupy the estates they capture. When they capture a completed fortress, the whole army stays inside; at the start of their next turn, 1 random token stays as its garrison and the rest move on.
- Defection: Private Cossack units without the loyalty flag join the rebellion:
- when they meet independent Ex-Registered or Otaman's Cossacks on the same field, or
- whenever their owner's Happiness is −3 or lower. This also applies to units enlisted later.
- Defected Units: Units that join the rebellion form a separate army under the rebels' Crest on their field. The owner lowers Upkeep at once. The new army acts from the rebels' next turn, using Attack cards.
- Incited Peasants: At the start of each Ex-Registered turn, in each estate they occupy, remove 1 incited peasant (exchanging the token for a smaller one) and place 1 Cossack unit there. It joins the Ex-Registered army on that field. If no Cossack tokens are left in the box, the peasant stays in the estate.
Ending the Uprising
A. Agreement and Senate Veto
- Voluntary Resolution: At the start of the Planning and Time step of the uprising's 3rd or 4th turn, before any cards are selected, a peace treaty may be negotiated. It requires consent from the Otaman player (if any) and all Senators (Bishop, Castellan, Voivode); a single veto blocks it. Senate offices held by the Other Houses always consent.
- Automatic Resolution: If the rebellion persists without suppression or voluntary treaty, a formal agreement occurs automatically at the start of the Planning and Time step of the uprising's 5th turn.
- Agreement Cost: Each player loses ½ VP for each 1 of gross Income from their estates still occupied by rebels when the agreement is finalised (rounded up).
B. Suppression (By Fire and Sword)
- Suppression Requirement: Wound every independent rebel Cossack unit token in the voivodeship.
Final Consequences (After Either Resolution)
- Happiness Recovery: Overall Happiness rises by 1 Level after an Agreement or by 2 Levels after Suppression.
- Property Restoration: All occupied estates and captured fortress structures are returned to their rightful owners, and all rebel tokens are moved to the Sich.
End of the Game
The game concludes instantly after the autumn Action Phase in either Round 2 (Short Scenario) or Round 3 (Long Scenario). The final autumn Bidding Phase and winter season are never played. If an uprising is still active, resolve it as an Agreement before scoring.
Victory Points
Victory Points (VP) are scored per category according to the layout on each Player Screen. Round half-points up within each category before adding the final total.
Historical Notes
- Pohrebyshche (a5): Historically part of the Braclavia voivodeship; moved to Kyiv for game balance.
- Quarta Tax: Historically a quarter of Royal Lease revenue (later a fifth, but the name stayed). The in-game value is raised to increase financial tension.
- Tax relief (Wolnizna): Historically much longer – up to 20 years in the Wiśniowiecki estates.
- Cossack Cavalry: A period name for Light Cavalry, not an ethnic term. The game avoids it to prevent confusion.
- Hussar Reform: Before Stefan Batory's reforms, Hussars fought as Light Cavalry. A matching Event card was cut during playtesting.
- Hetmans: The Commonwealth had several at once (Crown and Lithuanian, grand and field); the game uses one.
Glossary and Index
- 1st Line / 2nd Line: The 1st Line fights and is wounded first; the 2nd Line (except Artillery) deals no damage and is wounded only after the 1st Line falls. (p. 22)
- Army: Units on a map field, hidden under a Force's Crest token. Fortress garrisons are not armies. (p. 14)
- Automated Magnates: Unchosen playable families; their boards track Health and XP. Part of the Other Houses. (p. 9)
- Buildings: Level 1 fortresses, Level 2 fortresses and family seats. (p. 15)
- Burning: Burning buildings in an estate with no enemy troops; costs no Movement Points; each building is 1 crime. (p. 15)
- CMW (Commonwealth): The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (the Crown and Lithuania, from 1569). (p. 1)
- Crest (Capitalised): The square token marking a Force's presence, army or estate ownership. (p. 4)
- Crime: An illegal act against the King's loyal subjects. Each crime places the offender's Crest on the Crime Track. (p. 18)
- Crime Track: Holds the Crests of criminals until punishment or expiry. 3+ Crests = Enemy of the Commonwealth. (p. 18)
- Damage (†): Tactic card points spent to wound tokens (Full Rules). (p. 24)
- Domain: A family's lands outside the Kyiv voivodeship, listed on the Family Board; they give no Income but must be defended. (p. 1)