Startup

Both players will use the same deck. Each player starts with 20 attrition points. Each player starts with 5 cards. The defending player goes first. During the defending player’s turn, he or she deploys any number of cards from their hand face down in the front.

The player may also choose to deploy any number reserve cards face down in the back. Face cards and Aces cannot be used as reserves.

If the player has face cards, then that player may deploy them in the back face up. The face cards are Jack, Queen and King. Each face card has a special ability (described later). After the defending player is finished, attacking player begins his or her turn.

The attacking player plays his or her cards face down opposing the defending player’s cards. That player can also deploy reserve cards face down and face cards in the back as well in a “reserve pile”. Each player does not need to have the same number of cards in the front. The player with more cards will “go through” during the battle.

Battle

The battle begins when the attacking player is done deploying his or her cards. One by one, both players reveal their opposing fronts. Players turn face up their card that opposes the other. The player with the highest number wins (including bonuses from the Jack) the encounter and the loser of the encounter loses attrition points equal the difference. If the opposing cards have an equal value, then the encounter becomes a draw and the cards get put away with no effect. The battle continues with the other cards in the front. If a player has more cards in the front than the other, the remainder “go through” and directly hit the opposing player. The opposing player loses attrition points equal to the card’s number when it goes through. When the battle is over, all the used cards get taken out in a separate pile called the “dead pile”.

When an encounter occurs and a player has a lower number, he or she may choose and take one card from the “reserve pile” and turn it face up to help add to their side of the encounter. Then the two cards can then be added together against the other. The other player may then add a reserve card if his or her side is lower from the result. Each player may only use one reserve card to help per encounter. Reserve cards get no bonuses from the Jack. The other player may then use his or her reserve card to add to their side. The winner of the encounter is the side with the higher total number. The loser would lose attrition points equal to the difference. The totals are equal, the encounter is a draw and the there is no effect. The player who lost the least attrition points becomes the winner and gains an attrition point.

After the battle, all the cards used in battle are put away. The next turn begins and both players draw from the deck until they have 5 cards in their hand and repeat the deployment, with the defending player playing first. If the deck runs out of cards, then all the cards that were put away in the “dead pile” get shuffled with the remaining deck. Whenever any player loses all his or her attrition points, he or she loses immediately, even if the battle is not over.

Special Cards

The cards with special abilities are the Jack, Queen, King, and Ace.

The Jack is the general and can be deployed face up in the back of its player’s side. While it is present, if gives a +1 bonus to all cards in the front for that player. If played face down, it has a value of 10. The Jack cannot be put in the reserve.

The Queen is the sorcerers and can be played face up in the back of its player’s side. While face up, the player can only play one card face down on it, called a shoot card. During the battle, the Queen can shoot cards. Shoot cards gain a +2 bonus in addition to their value. When a card attempts to go through, the player who is about to take the unopposed card may use the Queen and can shoot the card on the unopposed card. When the card is shot, it turned face up and placed on top of the unopposed card. If the shoot card has an equal or greater value than the unopposed card, the unopposed card has no effect (i.e. the player does not lose attrition points). Shoot cards can get no bonuses from Jacks or help from reserves. If the shoot card has a lower number than the unopposed card, then the player receiving the unopposed card (the controller of the queen) loses attrition points equal to the difference between the two cards. After the battle, if the Queen still has a shoot card on it, the controller of it may shoot at the other player’s face cards (Jack, Queen, King). A face card that is shot will get hurt and the shot remains on top of it. A face card can get shot until it dies. If a face card gets hurt with a total of 10 or more, then it dies and gets taken out. If played face down, the Queen has a value of 10. The Queen cannot be put in the reserve.

The King is the life of the army and can be played face up in the back. While face up, the controller gains 10 attrition points. If the King is taken out, the controller loses 10 attrition points. If played face down, the King as a value of 10. The King cannot be put in the reserve.

The Ace is the top warrior of the army and wins all battles, except against other Aces. If put face down in the front, the Ace will win the encounter against all opposition except with another Ace. If an Ace encounters another Ace, the battle is a draw and no effect happens. Aces cannot be used as shoot cards, cannot be in the reserves, cannot receive help from reserves, cannot get bonuses from the Jack, and is immune to shoot cards. If an Ace wins an encounter, the losing player loses one attrition point. If an Ace goes through, the losing player must chose and put one of his or her face cards away. If an Ace goes through and there are no face cards, then the losing player loses one attrition point.

Solitaire Variant

In this variant, the player will face a random opposing player. The player start first will proceed with his or her turn normally, but the opposing player will be laid out as follows:

* The first 4 cards drawn will be played face down on the opposing side. The 5^th card will be played as a reserve in the “reserve pile” unless it is a face card. If it is a face card, then it will be placed in the back. If the card is an ace, then it is played face down in the battle front as the 5^th battle card. If a Queen is already present, then randomly choose whether the 5^th card will be under the Queen or “reserve pile”,

* The battle is done based on the order of the opposing cards played face down. Both sides will reveal their opposing cards in order, the player plays normally. The opponent, if the battle is losing, will automatically take a card in the “reserve pile” and add it to their side. If the player has a card that will go through and the opponent has a Queen with a face down card, then it is automatically shot. If the player has a face card in the back and the Queen still has a face down card at the end of the battle, then the opposing Queen will automatically shoot a face card at random (if one is already shot, then it will be shot again).

* If the player survives for 5 turns (without losing all attrition points), the he or she wins the game. There is no need to keep track of the opposing player’s attrition points.

This is version 2. If you have any questions, then please send an email to me at influence82@yahoo.com.

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10.18.2006