Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done - Rules post

Crusaders
Thy Will Be Done

A game of influence and scandal for 2-4 Crusaders
by Seth Jaffee … v6.0 1/10/15

Components

• 64 Building tiles (16 in each of 4 player colors)
• 16 Churches
• 16 Castles
• 16 Farms
• 16 Banks
• 4 Player boards
• 9 Faction cards
• 52 Action cubes (12 in each of 4 player colors, plus 4 for Holy Sepulchre, Aviz, and Alcantara factions)
• 12 Knight figures (3 in each of 4 player colors)
• 1 Game board & Enemy Strength Track
• 24 Rondel tiles (6 each in 6 player colors)
• 32 Enemy tokens
• 11 Slav (white discs)
• 11 Prussians (pink discs)
• 10 Saracen (brown discs)
• 20 Troop tiles (5 for each player)
• 55 Influence tokens (15@10vp, 15@5vp, 25@1vp)

Setup

• Each player receives the following in their player color:
• Player board
• 6 Rondel tiles (* basic side up)
• 3 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)
• 5 Troop tokens (numbered 3 through 7)
• 1 Faction card

* 1 player randomly sets up the Rondel, then other players match it, so everyone's got the same Rondel. For a unique but less balanced game, each player can randomly set up their own Rondel.

· Lay out the Game board and distribute the Enemy tokens to the regions indicated by the flag icons (not Paris), setting 1 of each Slav (white) and Prussian (pink) Enemy tokens on the Enemy Strength Track (on the space with a *) as Strength markers. Brown tokens go face up.
· Choose a Start player at random. In reverse turn order, each player places one of their Knights onto one of the indicated starting regions (adjacent to the Paris region, indicated with a Templar symbol).

· Place 10 Influence tokens + 60 more per player in a supply pile (130/190/250 Influence for 2/3/4 players). 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 (or upgrade an Action bin).
3. Distribute the Action cubes from the chosen bin.

1. Choose an Action
Select any one of the six action bins on the Rondel that has at least 1 Action cube in it.

2. Resolve the Action or Upgrade Rondel
There are six action bins on the Rondel. Each of the actions resolves differently. In each of the following descriptions, "X" refers to the number of Action cubes in the Action bin. Later in the game, Action bins may become upgraded. Upgraded Action bins allow you to split the Action tokens in the bin as you choose between two different actions. You must assign a cube to an action to do that action.

• UPGRADE RONDEL: In lieu of the action, you may instead flip any 1 Rondel space to the upgraded side.
• 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 (hex) costs 1 movement point.
• Leaving a region (hex) occupied by an Enemy token costs 1 additional movement point.
• Castles and Churches you have erected may add to the number of movement points when traveling.
• MUSTER: The muster action allows you to muster troops to take crusading with your knights. 
• Collect the next Troop token from your supply - its cost must be less than or equal to X plus any +MUSTER bonuses from Farms. Collect influence equal to the level of the troop (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5)
• 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. Saracen (brown) is always strength 6.
• If the Enemy Strength is less than or equal to X plus any +CRUSADE bonuses from Troops, or Castles, you have won the Crusade. Otherwise you have not.
• When you win a Crusade, collect Influence tokens equal to the Enemy Strength and advance the marker on the appropriate Enemy Strength track. Keep the defeated Enemy token in your play area for end game majority bonus.
• If you have not won the Crusade, do nothing.
• INFLUENCE: The influence action allows you to gain Influence tokens by spreading the word of the Order.
• Collect X Influence tokens from the supply, plus any +INFLUENCE bonuses from Churches, Farms or Banks.
• BUILD: The build action allows you to erect buildings that confer influence and benefits when resolving the various actions in the game.
• Banks you have erected add 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 (hex) on the board occupied by one of your Knights. (Banks of level 1/2/3/4 cost 3/5/7/9. Other buildings of level 1/2/3/4 cost 3/4/5/6)
• Erect a building pictured on the region (hex) at a discount of 1.
• A building cannot be erected in a region (hex) with an Enemy tile.
• Each region (hex) may only contain 1 building.
• Only the lowest un-built level of each building may be erected (i.e. you may not skip straight to the level III building).
• Collect influence equal to the level of the building erected (1, 2, 3, or 4 – based on roman numeral)
• Building Types:
• Bank: I & II: +1 Build. III: +1 Build and +1 Influence. IV: 2vp per Level IV Building.
• Farm: I – II: +1 Muster. III: +1 Muster and +1 Influence. IV: 1vp per Troop token.
• Castle: I: +1 Knight. II: +1 Travel. III: +1 Knight, +1 Crusade. IV: 2vp per Enemy set (1 of ea)
• Church: I - II: +1 Influence. III: +1 Influence and +1 Travel. IV: 4 Influence at game end.

3. Distribute Action cubes
Take all Action cubes from the bin associated with the Action (chosen in step 1) and distribute them one at a time clockwise around the Rondel. Note that you may upgrade one bin and distribute Action cubes from another! Need example diagram.

End Game
"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. Players may still collect influence after the supply runs out. Keep track of this influence using some other token. At this point, the Order of the Temple and other similar orders have become so powerful that King Philip, threatened by the Orders and deeply in debt to them, has the Orders disbanded.

After all players have finished their turn in the round in which the Influence supply runs out, the game is over.

For Prussian (pink) and Slav (white) Enemy types, award 9 points to the player with the most Enemy tokens of each of those types in their play area. In a 4 player game only, also award 4 points to the player with the 2^nd most Enemy tokens of each of those types.  
 

Finally, count the end game Influence conferred by level IV buildings.

 
The player with the most Influence is the winner.

VARIANTS:
Learning Game: Do not use the Rondel tiles or the upgrade option. Instead use the pre-printed action bins (Travel + Build and Travel + Crusade have already been upgraded). This allows for a game that works fine, but is a little less complicated to explain (no fiddly messing with the Rondel tiles, and no need to explain the Upgrade option for a turn). This variant can be played with or without Faction cards.  
 

First Standard Game: Use the Rondel tiles and the Upgrade action as per the rules. During setup, do not randomize the order of the Rondel tiles. Instead place them over the pre-printed action bins of the same name (for example, place the “Travel (Build)” tile on the “Travel + Build” action bin). Players can upgrade their Rondel as normal. This variant gives a nice, even distribution of actions for a first game, and can be played with or without Faction cards. 

  
Standard Game: Set up per rules: one player randomizes the order of the Rondel tiles, other players match that order. Thus every player has the same Rondel, but the order of the actions is different from game to game. This version of the game can be played with or without Faction cards.  
 

Silly Game: Each player randomizes their own Rondel tile order such that each player may have a unique action order on their rondel. This variant can be played with or without Faction cards. It is likely unfair, and I don’t recommend it for players who care about a fair game.  
 

Tournament: Each player selects the Faction card of their choice, as well as the order of their Rondel tiles, ahead of time. For this variant, multiple players can use the same Faction ability.