Objective: Each player (2-6 players) must defend their home country by keeping at least one of their castles within it. On a player's turn, they earn points for every castle they control on the game mat, and they may gain additional points by successfully attacking opponent pieces. Once any player reaches 120 points, the current round is finished so all players receive an equal number of turns. The player with the highest score at the end of that round wins.

However: If a player ends their turn without at least one castle in their home country, they are eliminated from the game for failing to defend it.

Extensions Pack: Optional extensions are available and may be added to the game if the group chooses to use them. These modules can be purchased wherever the game is sold.

Important: All players must agree on which extension(s), if any, will be used before beginning setup.

Game Mat: The game mat is divided into seven color-coded countries. The land consists of small triangular spaces, each bordered by three adjacent spaces-one on each side. These triangles form the primary movement and placement grid for all land-based units.

Mountain Ranges: Place three of the smallest mountain ranges entirely within the middle country. The remaining six mountain ranges are placed between the outer countries; each of these ranges must cover at least two spaces in each of the two countries it borders.

Important: Mountain ranges must not touch each other, not even at the corners, and must have at least one space of separation between them.

Mountain range placement is permanent for the entire game. The player who suggested playing sets the mountain ranges, doing their best to keep the layout fair (perfect balance is impossible due to differing strategies). All placement rules above must be followed, and the mountains must be set before players draw their point tokens.

Point Tokens: There are six different colored point tokens in the black bag, each color corresponding to one of the six outer countries on the game mat. There is no token for the middle (black) country or for the islands.

After the mountain ranges have been placed, each player draws one token from the bag without looking. The color drawn determines that player's home country for the game. Once all players have their tokens, they sit around the game mat so that each player is facing their assigned home country.

Points Track: A scoring track numbered from 1 to 120 surrounds the game mat and is used to record each player's progress points. As players earn points during the game, they move their scoring token along the track accordingly.

Note: Players may agree to begin the game with a set number of points (for example, starting at 30). This option shortens the overall game length and can be especially helpful for new players learning the game.

Plunder Point Markers: The shape of the plunder markers used in the game depends on the number of players:

• 2 players: football-shaped markers
• 3 players: triangle-shaped markers
• 4 players: diamond-shaped markers
• 5 players: pentagon-shaped markers
• 6 players: hexagon-shaped markers

These markers indicate how many points opponents gain for each successful attack against that player's pieces (explained in detail later).

Progress Point Flags: Each player receives seven progress flags in their player color. A progress flag is placed in the top slot of any black castle a player controls. At the end of that player's turn, they earn progress points for each of their flagged castles.

The number of points a flagged castle provides depends on which country it is located in. Castles in a player's home country are worth the fewest points, while castles in the country directly opposite their home country are worth the most. The game mat includes mini-maps that show the point value of each country relative to each player's home country. Islands are considered part of the middle country for scoring purposes.

Note: Progress flags are worth fewer points in a 2–3 player game and increase in value with more players.

Before beginning play, take a moment to review the point values for each country. Ensure every player understands how many points each of their flagged castles will earn based on its location.

Dice: Each player has a set of dice in their color, along with a dice cup. Every set includes an 8-sided die (8d) and a 12-sided die (12d). The game mat includes a dice key showing which dice are used for each type of piece.

• 8d: used for armies and camps
• 12d: used for cavalry and walls
• Castles: roll all dice available to the player and use the highest result (explained later)

At the start of the game, all players roll their 12d. The highest roll goes first; ties are rerolled until a single player wins.

Pieces: Each player receives the pieces in their color: 5 camps, 6 walls, 7 cavalry, 8 progress flags, and 9 armies.

There are also 18 black castle pieces used during setup and gameplay.

Starting Castles: The first player places a black castle on any empty land space within their home country, then inserts one of their progress flags into the top slot to claim it. Each other player, in clockwise order, places their starting castle in the same manner until everyone has one castle on the game mat.

Important: Castles and camps may touch mountain ranges, but may not touch another castle or camp, even at the corners. There must always be at least one land space separating any two castles or camps.

Starting Camps: After all starting castles have been placed, the last player places one of their camps on any empty land space. The other players then place their starting camp in counterclockwise order until each player has placed one camp.

Reminder: The same spacing rule applies: camps and castles may touch mountains but must never touch each other, even corner-to-corner.

Starting Cavalry, Armies, and Walls: After all starting camps are placed, the first player places the following pieces within their home country:

• 2 cavalry
• 2 armies
• 2 walls

Walls are placed on the borders of land spaces, not inside the spaces themselves. Each remaining player then places their starting cavalry, armies, and walls in clockwise order until all players have placed their initial pieces.

Wall Placement Rules

• A wall is placed on one border of a land space.
• A land space may have only one wall on each of its three borders.
• Walls may touch corners with other walls, mountains, camps, or castles.
• Walls may never touch another wall, camp, or castle side-by-side.

Strategy Hint: Position your starting cavalry, armies, and walls to create strong defenses around your starting castle.

Order: Turns move clockwise around the game mat starting with the first player.

Actions: On a player's turn, they receive two actions, chosen from the following four options:

• Camps
• Castle
• Move
• Attack

A player may choose any combination of actions. For example, they may Move and then Attack, or Move twice, or perform any other valid pair. The first action must be fully completed before the second begins. As explained later, players must clearly declare their chosen action before rolling any dice, when applicable.

Camps Action: When choosing this action, the player announces "Camps!" so all players are aware of the action being taken.

The player may then disassemble any number of their own camps currently on the game mat (removing them from play). Disassembling camps is optional; the player may remove none, some, or all of them.

After disassembly, the player may place any number of their available camps back onto the game mat. Each camp must replace one of the player's own cavalry or army pieces already on the board. All standard placement rules still apply:

• Camps may touch mountain ranges,
• but they may not touch another camp or castle,
• not even corner-to-corner.
• There must always be at least one land space separating camps and castles.

The player may place as many or as few camps as they wish, as long as they have the pieces available.

Castle Action: When choosing this action, the player announces "Castle!" so all players are aware of the action being taken.

The player then replaces one of their existing camps on the game mat with a castle and places one of their progress flags in it to claim ownership.

Note: A player may only build a castle if they have an unused progress flag available.

Only one castle may be built per Castle action. Therefore, a maximum of two castles may be built on a turn if the player uses both of their actions to do so.

Move Action: When choosing this action, the player announces "Move!" so all players are aware of the action being taken. The player then rolls all of their dice (6d, 8d, and 12d) to determine how many total movement points each type of piece may use.

• 6d: ships (only if using Durdain Armadas™)
• 8d: armies
• 12d: cavalry

Each die result represents the total number of spaces that all pieces of that type may move combined. For example, if the 12d shows a 7, the player's cavalry may move a total of 7 spaces across all cavalry pieces.

The player may choose which group to move first (ships, armies, or cavalry), but all pieces of one group must finish moving before beginning another group. After finishing a group, the corresponding die is returned to the cup as a reminder that the group has already moved this action.

As each piece moves from one space to the next, the player must count each movement aloud, one number at a time, so all players can track the total.

Note: Backtracking is NOT allowed; not even with reverse counting.

Movable pieces enter the board from one of the player's camps or flagged castles, moving into an adjacent empty space. Entering the board counts as one space moved.

A movable piece may build or remove one of the player's own walls on any border of the space it occupies.

• Building a wall = 1 movement count
• Removing a wall = 1 movement count

Only one wall may exist on any border. Walls may touch corners with other walls, mountains, camps, or castles. Walls may not touch another wall, camp, or castle side-by-side.

A piece may cross only its own walls. A piece may not enter or hop over an occupied space. Movement must follow adjacency-no skipping spaces.

Attack Action: Only movable pieces may attack. Castles, camps, and walls cannot attack. When choosing this action, the player announces "Attack!" so all players are aware of the action being taken.

A player may attack with any number of their pieces that are in position to do so. Each attacking piece must be adjacent to the opponent piece it is targeting. The player must clearly indicate which of their pieces are attacking and which opponent piece is being attacked. If multiple pieces are adjacent to the same defender, the player may declare a multi-piece attack.

Resolving a Battle: Both players roll the die associated with their piece type:

• Armies: 8d
• Cavalry: 12d
• Ships: 6d (Durdain Armadas™)
• Walls: 12d
• Castles: roll all dice and use the highest result

The highest roll wins. If the roll is tied, both players reroll until a winner is determined.

Multi-Piece Attacks: If multiple pieces attack a single defender, each attacking piece rolls its appropriate die. The attacker adds all results together for a single cumulative attack value. If the attacker wins, only one of the attacking pieces moves into the defeated space. If the attacker loses, all attacking pieces are removed from the board.

Battle Outcomes: If the Defender Wins, all attacking pieces involved in the battle are removed from the game mat and returned to their owner; and the battle ends immediately. If the Attacker Wins, the defeated piece is removed from the board and returned to its owner; the attacker then receives plunder points based on the defender's plunder marker on the points track; example: In a 4 player game (diamond-shaped markers), if the defender's marker is past the 7 point marker, the attacker earns 7 plunder points; the attacker must then move at least one of the attacking pieces into the defeated space - except when defeating a wall or castle.

Special Rules for Castles: When a castle is defeated: no attacking piece moves into the space, no plunder points are awarded, and the defender's progress flag is returned to its owner and replaced with the attacker's flag (if available). If the attacker has no spare flag, the castle remains unclaimed.

Unclaimed castles may be taken without a battle if the player has an adjacent movable piece on their turn. The player simply places one of their progress flags in the castle.

Important: If capturing a castle removes the opponent's last castle in their home country, the attacker must declare: "Beware [color]!" (similar to calling "check" in chess).

Continuing the Attack Action: The Attack action is not limited to a single battle. A player may continue attacking as long as they have movable pieces in position to do so. The player may also stop attacking at any time-they are not required to attack with every eligible piece.

Beware: As described earlier, when an opponent calls "Beware [color]!", it means that player no longer has any progress flags in their own home country. This serves as a warning: the player must correct the situation by the end of their next turn. If they fail to regain at least one castle in their home country, they are eliminated from the game. All of their pieces-including their point token-are removed from the game mat.

As a reward, the player who originally called "Beware [color]!" may immediately claim any of the eliminated player's vacant castles by placing their own progress flags in them.

Note: If a player is in a "beware" state at the very end of the game, they do not receive another turn to defend their home country. Their points are not counted; it is treated as though they were already eliminated.

If the player successfully regains control of at least one castle in their home country by the end of their turn, they remain in the game and continue earning progress points as normal.

Progress Points: At the end of a player's turn, they earn progress points for each of their castles on the game mat. A castle scores points only if it contains one of the player's progress flags. The number of points earned from each flagged castle depends on its location relative to the player's home country (see the progress maps on the game mat):

• Castles in the home country are worth the fewest points.
• Castles in the two neighboring countries are worth more.
• Castles in the middle country and islands are worth even more.
• Castles in the next two countries beyond those are worth still more.
• Castles in the country directly opposite the player's home country are worth the most points.

After adding up the total, the player advances their scoring token on the points track. This completes their turn.

Recap: On a player's turn, they choose and complete two actions, each selected from the four available options: Camps, Castle, Move, or Attack. The two actions may be the same or different, but each must be fully completed before beginning the next.

During the turn, the player may earn plunder points for any successful attacks. At the end of the turn, the player collects progress points for all of their flagged castles. If a player captures an opponent's last castle in that opponent's home country, they must declare "Beware [color]!".

Important: At the end of their own turn, a player must have at least one progress-flagged castle in their home country. If they do not, they are immediately eliminated from the game. All of their pieces-including their point token-are removed from the game mat, and the opponent who eliminated them may claim their castles

Winning: Once any player reaches 120 points or more, the current round is played to completion so that all remaining players receive an equal number of turns.

However, any player who is still in a "beware" state at the very end of the game does not get another chance to defend their home country. Their points are not counted, and they are treated as though they were already eliminated.

The game always ends with the last player in turn order completing their turn. After that, the player with the highest score is declared the winner.

Important: Enjoy playing the game as much as we did creating it!

The Durdain Armadas™ game extension: This extension activates the sea and island spaces on the game mat. Each player adds three ships to their set of colored pieces.

Movement and Boarding Ships move through sea spaces only. Armies and cavalry may board or disembark from a ship by moving between a land or island space and an adjacent occupied sea space. Boarding or disembarking costs 1 movement count for the army or cavalry. Ships always use the 6d for movement, whether or not they are carrying passengers. Ships enter the game mat by 1 movement count to move from a player's camp or flagged castle into an adjacent empty sea space

Combat with Ships Only ships may attack other ships. Armies and cavalry cannot attack ships. When two ships battle, both players roll the 6d. If a ship is defeated, the ship and all passengers aboard are removed from the game mat, and the victorious ship moves into the defeated space.

Ships may also attack into land spaces that border their sea space following normal attack rules for castles and walls. However, to attack a camp or a movable piece on land, a ship must contain a passenger unit. This ensures the attacker has a piece available to move into the defeated space if the attack succeeds.

Multiple ships may participate in an attack if they are positioned legally and follow all standard rules.

Islands Island spaces function exactly like land spaces. Camps, castles, and walls may be built on islands. Castles on islands score progress points equal to the middle country.

The Durdain Dragons™ game extension: This extension activates the mountain spaces and the dragon markers around the points track. It introduces powerful dragon units and a new type of action. Each game includes:

• 1 Queen Dragon
• 2 dragons per player color
• 9 dragon nest pieces

After placing the mountain ranges during setup, the Queen Dragon is placed in any mountain range within the middle country. Each dragon nest piece is placed on a dragon marker around the points track.

Dragon Nests and the Queen Dragon Dragon nests may enter the game mat at the end of a player's turn. If a player's point token passes one or more dragon nest markers during scoring:

1. The player replaces the Queen Dragon on the board with the nest piece they passed.
2. The Queen Dragon is then placed in any other empty mountain range of the player's choosing.
3. This process repeats for each dragon nest marker the player passed that turn.

The Dragon Action This extension adds a fifth possible action: the Dragon Action. When choosing this action, the player announces "Dragon!" so all players are aware. During a Dragon Action, the player may do the following:

1. Claim a Dragon - If the player has a movable piece adjacent to a mountain range containing a dragon nest, they may replace that nest with one of their own dragons. The dragon nest piece is removed from the game mat. The player now controls that dragon.
2. Move a Dragon Between Mountain Ranges - Either of the player's dragons may fly from its current mountain range to any other empty mountain range. Dragons may only fly mountain-to-mountain during the Dragon Action, not during normal movement.

Dragon Movement Dragons use the total of all three dice (6d + 8d + 12d) for movement. Dragons may occupy sea spaces on their own and mayenter or leave mountain ranges from any adjacent space.

Important: During a Move Action, dragons always move first before any other movable pieces. Dragons may not fly between mountain ranges during a Move Action-only during the Dragon Action.

Dragon Combat During an Attack Action, a dragon's battle strength is the cumulative value of all three dice (6d + 8d + 12d). Rules:

• Dragons may not attack from mountain ranges. They must move out first.
• Dragons move into defeated spaces just like other movable pieces.
• If using Durdain Armadas™, dragons can attack ships.
• If using Durdain Kingsmen™, dragons do not receive any kingsmen battle bonus.

The Durdain Kingsmen™ game extension: This extension adds four kingsmen to each player's colored piece set. Kingsmen function as elite movable units with unique movement and combat abilities.

Movement Kingsmen are movable pieces and follow the same movement rules as armies and cavalry:

• They enter the game mat from a player's camp or flagged castle, costing 1 movement point.
• They may board and disembark from ships when using the Durdain Armadas™ extension.
• They may move across land spaces just like other movable units.

Choose Which Pieces Move With Each Die: During a Move Action, the player may choose whether each die (6d, 8d, 12d) moves its normal unit type or instead moves kingsmen. Examples:

• A player may use the 6d to move kingsmen instead of ships.
• Then use the 12d to move cavalry normally.
• Then use the 8d to move kingsmen instead of armies.

Each die may be assigned independently.

Comba:t Kingsmen have powerful combat capabilities. During an Attack Action, kingsmen uses the highest result out of all three dice just like castles. Also, each kingsmen on the game mat provides a +1 bonus to player's die rolls if that kingsmen is in the same country as at least one of the player's pieces participating in the battle.

• Each country is evaluated separately.
• Bonuses stack.
• Only kingsmen in the same country as the attacking or defending piece(s) contribute.

Combat Example: Tyler is attacking Matt.

Tyler is attacking with two cavalry in the Blue Country and one army in the Red Country

• Tyler has one kingsman in Blue → +1 Blue bonus
• Tyler has two kingsmen in Red → +2 Red bonus

Matt's defending piece is one kingsmen in the Blue Country

• Matt has four kingsmen in Blue (including his defending piece) → +4 Blue bonus

Tyler Roles:

• 12d = 3
• 8d = 5
• Attack value = (3 × 2 cavalry) + (5 × 1 army) + 1 Blue bonus + 2 Red bonus
• Attack total = 14

Matt Roles:

• Kingsman uses highest of 6d/8d/12d = 8
• Defense value = 8 + 4 Blue bonus
• Defense total = 12

Tyler wins the battle: 14 > 12.