Faction Wars Rules

Box Contents

Recruit Deck (59)
Cowboys (11)
Ninjas (11)
Pirates (11)
Vikings (11)
Bystanders (6)
Actions (8)
War is Over (1)

Bonus Cards (5)
Conscript Cards (15)
Bid Cards (30)
Line-Up Cards (6)
Rule Cards (10)
Thank You Insert Card (1)

Setup

  1. Line-Up Creation: Place a number of line-up cards in the center equal to the number of players.

  2. War is Over: Set aside the War is Over card. It will be added to the recruit deck later in the game.

  3. Recruit Deck: Shuffle the recruit deck and place it beside the line-up area.

  4. Bid Cards: Distribute a set of bid cards to each player, equal to the number of players.

  5. Conscript Cards: Give each player a set of conscript cards that match the color of their bid cards. These cards form the starting battle deck for each player.

  6. Bonus Cards: Draw three bonus cards at random and display them face up above the line-up.

  7. Initial Line-Up: Fill the line-up with cards drawn from the recruit deck.

How to Play

  1. Recruit Selection: Each player chooses a recruit by placing a bid card face down in front of them that corresponds to the recruit’s position in the line-up.

  2. Reveal: Once all players have chosen, everyone reveals their bid cards simultaneously. Bids are resolved from lowest to highest line-up position.

    • If a player is the sole bidder of a recruit, they add it to their battle deck’s discard pile.

    • If multiple players bid on the same recruit, a battle is triggered.

  3. Battle: Each participating player reveals the top card of their battle deck. The player with the highest card value claims the recruit.

    In the event of a tie, the battle continues, with each tied player revealing the next top card of their battle deck until a winner is determined or a player exhausts their deck.

    All revealed cards are placed into the discard pile of the player’s battle deck. If all players run out of cards and the tie remains unresolved, the contested recruit is placed in the recruit deck’s discard pile, and no player claims it.

    After the resolution of the battle, players who have depleted their battle deck must shuffle their battle deck discard pile to form a new battle deck.

  4. Discard and Refill: After resolving bids, discard the remaining line-up cards into the recruit deck’s discard pile. Refill the line-up with new cards from the recruit deck.

  5. Deck Depletion: When the recruit deck is empty, shuffle its discard pile to form a new recruit deck.

  6. Game End: The game concludes after the recruit deck is depleted a set number of times:

    • 2–3 players: Twice

    • 4–5 players: Three times


    During the final pass through the recruit deck, shuffle the War is Over card into the deck. Drawing the War is Over card triggers the end of the game.

    If the War is Over card is revealed while refilling the line-up, remove it and draw a replacement card instead.

    The game ends at the conclusion of the current round.

  7. Scoring: Players total the point values of their recruits, subtract any penalties from collected bystanders, and add any met bonuses. The player with the highest score wins.

NOTE: Collected cards are always added to the discard pile of the player’s battle deck.

Actions

Certain cards have unique abilities that activate upon collection:

Special Actions: Some recruits possess abilities that trigger when they are collected, either directly from the line-up or through another action or special ability.

Action Cards: Upon collection, perform the action specified on the card. Abilities of recruits collected through action cards are also activated.

NOTE: If an action requires a player to remove a recruit from another player’s battle deck, that player must immediately reshuffle their cards to form a new battle deck.

Special Cards

Berserkers: Berserkers score points based on their quantity. The total score is equal to the number of Berserkers you own, with each individual Berserker earning an equal value. 

For example, owning one Berserker scores 1 point, owning two scores 2 points each (totaling 4 points), and so on. 

In battles, a Berserker has a value of 2.

Buccaneers: When a Buccaneer is collected, the player randomly selects a recruit from another player’s battle deck (including the battle deck discard pile), activates any abilities associated with the selected card, and adds it to their own battle deck discard pile.

Bystanders: Bystanders, representing victims of the warring factions, are placed into another player's battle deck’s discard pile when collected. They negatively impact the recipient’s score and are not considered recruits.

Conscripts: Conscripts form the foundation of your battle deck. They are not considered recruits and, as such, do not contribute to scoring at the end of the game.

Gamblers: When a Gambler is collected, the player draws the top card from the recruit deck, activates any abilities associated with the drawn card, and then, if it is a recruit, places it in their battle deck discard pile.

Kunoichi: The Kunoichi defeats other value 2 cards in battle, except when facing another Kunoichi, in that case, the battle is a tie and continues.

Bonus cards: Gatling Gun, Kuji-kiri, Fair Winds, and Odin’s Favor each award 1 point for every card you own within their respective factions.

For example, possessing Fair Winds along with four additional Pirate recruits would result in a total of 5 points at the end of the game.

Game Variation

Fewer Battles: To reduce the number of battles, set both the line-up and bid card count to the number of players plus one.