Sunday, December 15, 2013

"Templar" Rules revisited

I just wanted to update the rules here, for my own benefit, for the Knights Templar Rond-cala game. With my new Rondel game showing promise, perhaps I'll have the impetus to revisit the prototype of this one as well...

Updated: 10/26/14 after first playtest

The Knights Templar

A game of influence and scandal for 2-4 Crusaders

Components
  • 64 Building tiles (16 in each of 4 player colors)
    • 16 Churches
    • 16 Castles
    • 16 Farms
    • 16 Banks
  • 4 Player boards
  • 48 Action cubes (12 in each of 4 player colors)
  • 16 Knight figures (4 in each of 4 player colors)
  • 1 Game board
  • 30? Enemy tokens
    • 10? Slav
    • 10? Saracen
    • 10? Prussians
  • 28 Troop tiles (7 for each player)
  • 150? points worth of Influence tokens
Setup
  • Each player receives the following in their player color:
    • Player board
    • 4 Knight figures
    • 16 Building tiles (place them in the indicated spaces on the player board)
      • 4 Churches
      • 4 Castles
      • 4 Farms
      • 4 Banks
    • 12 Action cubes (place 2 in each Action bin on the Player board)
    • 7 Troop tokens (numbered 3 through 9)




  • Lay out the Game board and distribute the Enemy tokens to the regions indicated by icons. Each player takes their Level 1 Castle building and places it on their indicated starting region along with one of their Knight figures.
  • Place the Influence tokens in a supply pile. Choose a starting player at random and you are ready to begin!

    Game Play

  • Starting with the Start player, play will progress clockwise throughout the game. A player's turn consists of the following sequence:

    1. Choose any one Action bin on your player board.
    2. Resolve the action associated with that Action bin.
    3. Distribute the Action cubes from the chosen bin.

    1. Choose an Action
    Select any one of the six Actions on the Rondel that has at least 1 Action cube in its bin.

    2. Resolve the Action
    There are six Action spaces on the Rondel, though 2 of them are the same. Each of the Actions resolves differently. In each of the following descriptions, "X" refers to the number of Action cubes in the Action bin.
    • TRAVEL: There are 2 different TRAVEL spaces on the Rondel. The travel action allows you to move your Knights on the game board.
      • Distribute X movement points between your Knight figure(s).
      • Entering any region costs 1 movement point.
      • Leaving a region occupied by an enemy token costs 1 additional movement point.
    • MUSTER: The muster action allows you to muster troops to take crusading with your knights. 
      • Each Farm you have erected adds 1 to the number of action cubes in the Muster bin. 
      • Collect the next Troop token from your supply - its cost must be less than or equal to X.
      • Your board has 2 spaces to hold Troops. Each Farm you have erected confers an additional space to hold a Troop token. [might reduce this to 1]
    • CRUSADE: The crusade action allows you to fight Enemies, scoring influence and clearing regions to make space for more buildings.
      • Choose 1 region containing one of your Knight figures and an Enemy token.
      • Determine the Enemy Strength by checking the Enemy Strength track for the appropriate enemy type.
      • Each Troop token adds 1 to the number of action cubes in the Crusade bin. If the Enemy Strength is less than or equal to X, you have won the Crusade. Otherwise you have not.
      • When you win a Crusade, collect Influence tokens equal to the Enemy Strength and then move the Enemy token to the appropriate Enemy Strength track. 
      • When you lose a Crusade, do nothing.
    • INFLUENCE: The influence action allows you to gain Influence tokens by spreading the word of the Order.
      • Each Church you have erected adds 1 to the number of action cubes in the Influence bin.
      • Collect X Influence tokens from the supply.
    • BUILD: The build action allows you to erect buildings that confer influence and benefits when resolving the various actions in the game.
      • Each Bank you have erected adds 1 to the number of action cubes in the Build bin. 
      • Erect a Building tile costing X or less from your player board onto a region on the board occupied by one of your Knights. (Buildings of level 1/2/3/4 cost 3/5/7/9)
      • A building cannot be erected in a region with an Enemy tile.
      • Each region may only contain 1 building.
      • Only the lowest un-built level of each building may be erected.
      • Collect influence equal to the level of the building erected (1, 2, 3, or 4)
        • Building Types:
          • Bank: Add 1 to the action cubes in the Build action bin.
          • Farm: Add 1 to the action cubes in the Muster action bin. You may house 1 additional Troop tile.
          • Castle: Place an additional Knight token into play at the new Castle.
          • Church: Add 1 to the action cubes in the Influence action bin.
    3. Distribute Action cubes
    Take all Action cubes from the bin associated with the chosen Action and distribute them, 1 at a time, clockwise around the Rondel. See example diagram.

    Game End
    "God is not pleased. We have enemies of the faith in the kingdom"
    When the last Influence token is taken from the supply, finish out the round so that each player has had the same number of turns*. At this point, the Order of the Temple has become so powerful that King Philip, threatened by the Order and deeply in debt to it, issues an arrest order for all Templar Knights and begins to have the Order disbanded.

    * Players may still collect influence after the supply runs out. Keep track of this influence using some other token.


    After all players have finished their turn in the round in which the Influence supply runs out, the End Game phase begins. Flip the starting Castle buildings (in the Paris region) face down - they are considered destroyed. Whenever a building (or knight) is destroyed, each player collects 1 Influence for each building of that type they still have in play.

    Then destroy all buildings (and knights) in regions adjacent to a region that's already been destroyed. Flip the destroyed buildings face down (simultaneously) and collect influence for like buildings (and knights) each time.

    Continue this wave of destruction until all buildings and knights have been destroyed. The player with the most Influence is the winner.

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