Fate of Akalon: Tribes
2-4 players
30 minutes
Ages 13+
Rules Version 4.09
From the journal of Erini Moonwatch, Sylvan attendant
It has been 14 years since the Great Storm. The hot winds still scour Akalon and
the wasteland grows every year. I was a mere babe when my family fled north
with our people, but in my dreams I remember. I remember our shining city. I
remember our fields. I remember the songs, the plays, the hanging
gardens. Now the farmers are warriors, the artists now dabblers in wild
magic. At least I have my trees…for now.
Introduction
In Fate of Akalon: Tribes, players fight in a series of battles using cards to
overpower and outlast their opponents. Synergistic card effects provide subtle,
complex strategies and almost endless replayability. The surprising depth of
play is belied by its simple mechanics. Each faction sports a different
theme. Orcs focus on offense while Dwarves on defense. Elves are the masters
of deck and hand manipulation while the Undead manipulate the
cemetery. Which faction will survive? You decide!
The basic rules are for the 2-player game followed by rule changes for 3-player
and 4-player game at the end.
2-Player Rules
Starting the Game
We were not the only ones driven from our homes. Men, Orcs, Goblins, Trolls,
and other creatures, fair and foul, were forced to uproot by the fury of the
Great Storm. All became nomads as the hot winds devoured villages and
towns, hunting grounds and fisheries, forests and swamps, and, with them,
hope and future.
We thought the mountains would save us, but the dwarves turned their backs
to us. They locked themselves away, determined that they at least would
survive. Now, even their venerable mountains are slowly being eaten by the
wasteland. Here, north of the mountains, the tribes of Akalon try to survive.
There is not enough land, food, world for all of us to live. Now, we fight to hold
what we have, so we can go on. To live, we must take life. We had forgotten
how to kill long ago. We have remembered.
I remember our shining city……….
Skirmish
The first fight is called a skirmish and determines who plays first. Each player
flips over the top card from their deck and places it on their battlefield. Text
effects on cards are ignored for the skirmish. The player with the highest
combat value wins the skirmish. If there is a tie for the highest combat value,
then discard the cards and skirmish again. The winning player puts their card in
their discard. The losing player puts their card in their cemetery and chooses a
player to be the attacker for the first battle. The other, unchosen player is the
defender. Each player then draws 5 cards from their deck. The skirmish step is
performed only once per game.
Battles
Contents
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Each player chooses a faction deck, shuffles it and forms a face down deck. Do
not draw any cards yet.
Most of the game is spent in a series of battles where cards are played to the
battlefield and totaled to determine the battle outcome. To play a card
means to place it on the battlefield and follow the card text effects. Almost
every card has text that affects the game. Some card effects allow a player to
play from another area such as the discard or cemetery. Some allow a player
to play more than one card either immediately or later in the battle. Unless
Rulebook
4 Faction Decks
Elf
28 cards
Dwarf
28 cards
Orc
28 cards
Undead
28 cards
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otherwise stated on the card, the effect only occurs when the card is played
to the battlefield and any choices must be made immediately.
The battle steps are described below.
1. Attacker Plays
In each battle, the attacker plays first by playing one card from their hand
to the battlefield and then following the text effect on that card. If a
player has no cards in hand, they do not play any card to the battlefield.
2. Defender Plays
The defender then plays one card from their hand to the battlefield and
follows the text effect on that card. If a player has no cards in hand, they
do not play any card to the battlefield.
5. Check for End of Game
The total combat value (generally ignoring card text effects) of all cards in a
player’s cemetery is called their cemetery value. At this step, if either
player has 30 or more cemetery value, then the game is ended. The player
with the least cemetery value is the winner. If this is a tie, then the game
is a tie.
6. Reinforcement
At this step, if a player has no cards in hand, then that player reinforces by
drawing five new cards from their deck. If a player’s deck is empty,
immediately shuffle the discard to form a new deck and continue the
reinforcement. So each successive battle will be played with one fewer
card in hand until that player is allowed to reinforce.
Keep on battling until the game ends!
3. Resolve Battle
After all cards are played, add combat values for all cards for each player
on the battlefield including card text effects. This is called the battlefield
value. The total combat value for an individual card cannot be reduced to
a value less than zero.
Card Areas
Cards can be in six areas, which are described below. Each player has their own
set of card areas and their cards cannot go to card areas belonging to other
players unless card text effects say otherwise.
The player with the highest battlefield value wins the battle and their
battlefield cards are victorious.
The other player loses the battle and their battlefield cards are defeated.
If there is a tie for the highest battlefield value, both players lose the battle
and all of the battlefield cards are defeated. If a player has no cards on the
battlefield, then that player loses the battle.
Victorious battlefield cards are placed in the discard.
Defeated battlefield cards are placed in the cemetery.
4. Determine Next Attacker
If the attacker wins the battle or if no one wins the battle, then the
attacker remains the next attacker. Otherwise, the defender becomes the
next attacker.
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Battlefield
Cards are played to the battlefield and affect the battle
outcome. Playing a card means to place it on the battlefield and
follow the card text effects. The total combat value (including
card text effects) of all cards on a player’s battlefield is called
their battlefield value.
Cemetery
Defeated cards are placed here face up. Order does not
matter. The total combat value (generally ignoring card text
effects) of all cards in a player’s cemetery is called their
cemetery value. It is convenient to arrange the cemetery in
piles of 10 value for easy cemetery value counting.
Deck
Cards for reinforcement and some other text effects are drawn
from the deck. Drawing a card means taking from the top of the
deck and placing it into the hand without revealing it. If, at any
time, a player’s deck is empty, immediately shuffle the discard
to form a new deck.
Discard
Cards in winning battles are placed here face up after the battle
resolved. The order cannot be rearranged, but, when multiple
cards are discarded at the same time, the player chooses the
order which they are discarded.
Hand
The hand holds cards playable on that player’s turn or when
another effect allows a card to be played. There is no hand
limit.
Out-of-Play
Some card text effects cause cards to be removed from the
game. This area is face down so keep it away from the deck to
avoid mixing them up.
Although cards in hand are secret from other players and cards in the deck are
hidden from all players, the card counts in these areas are public to all
players. For the other areas, cards including card counts are public to all
players.
Card Text Effects
Normally, the card text effect is followed immediately when the card is played
on the battlefield and remains in effect until that card leaves the battlefield.
Some effects actually happen later in the battle though. Some cards have
conditional text effects and are signified with a bold condition. Any text after
the bold condition keyword is followed only if the condition is met. Some
conditional effects apply only when the card is in a certain game area such as
the cemetery or discard. Other conditional effects apply when the card is
played on attack or defense. Some cards have attributes in the lower left of
the text box which help determine how other cards may affect them.
Battlefield
Cemetery
Discard
Hand
Attack
Defense
When this card is in your battlefield area
When this card is in your cemetery area
When this card is in your discard area
When this card is in your hand
When this card is played while the player is attacking
When this card is played while the player is defending
If a player chooses to or is forced to draw, discard, reveal, look at or play from
any area that has no cards, then nothing happens. But if a player’s deck is ever
empty, immediately shuffle the discard to form a new deck.
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Since only one card can be played this battle, both cards are revealed and then
discarded.
Simultaneous Card Text Effects
Many cards have the phrase “After all cards are played...” or “If defeated...”
etc. in their text so it is possible to have simultaneously triggered card
effects. If more than one card is triggered at the same time, use the following
process to resolve the ordered of effects.
Resolve simultaneous card text effects starting with the attacking
player. Repeat for the defending player. If any player has multiple
simultaneous card text effects, that player chooses the order in which they
occur. It is possible for more cards to be played in this step if the battle has not
resolved yet. If this happens and more simultaneous effects occur, simply
repeat same the process until no more effects are pending. A single card’s
effects cannot be triggered more than once per battle.
Rules Exceptions
The basic rules are presented above but the real strategy hinges on well-timed
playing of cards with text. There are many circumstances where the card
effects will conflict with game rules or other cards. This is part of the game
design and promotes deeper strategic play.
If the text on a card conflicts with the basic game rules, then the card text is
followed instead.
If the text on a card directly conflicts with other played cards, then the text on
the card and only on the card whose effect happens last is followed.
A Few Card Ruling Examples
Orc Goblin/Hobgoblin then Dwarf Tactician
Goblin allows a player to play a Hobgoblin, giving them two cards on the
battlefield. If this is followed by a Tactician, then the Hobgoblin still remains in
play because the cards were already played, though the Goblin and Hobgoblin
no longer get their attack bonuses because their text is ignored. Any card
played after the Tactician is treated as if it had no text effects.
3-Player Rules
3-player is essentially a free-for-all game and is played as 2-player, except there
is one attacker and two defenders. Each player totals their own battlefield
individually. The player with the highest individual battlefield value is the
winner of the battle and the other two players lose the battle.
When skirmishing, if there is a tie for the highest combat value, the tying
players, and only those players, discard their cards and skirmish again. Since
the skirmish for three players will have two losing players, the player to the left
of the winner of the skirmish chooses a player to be the attacker for the first
battle. The other two unchosen players are defenders.
When determining the next attacker, if there is a tie for the highest battlefield
value between the defenders, then the player to the left of the attacker
becomes the next attacker.
When checking for end of game, if only one player’s cemetery value exceeds
30, then the game continues for the remaining two players using the 2-player
rules.
The process for resolving simultaneous card effects is the same as the 2-player
rules, except effects are resolved in order going clockwise from the attacker.
4-Player Team Rules
Fate of Akalon: Tribes can also be played using teams. The 4-player team game
is played using two teams of two players where teammates sit across from
each other. Each player still has their own card areas. Teams do not share card
areas.
Undead Ghoul then Elf Master Summoner
When skirmishing, each player still flips a card from their deck but the skirmish
value is the total combat value for each team. Otherwise, the skirmish
outcome is determined as in the 2-player game. The team losing the skirmish
then decides which individual player is the lead attacker and starts the attack
for the first battle.
The Ghoul says each opponent can play only one card in this battle. This is
stricter than the game rule of playing one card. The Master Summoner says to
reveal two cards from the deck and play one and discard the ones not played.
If a player or their teammate leads the attack, then they are both considered to
be attacking. Otherwise, they are both considered to be defending. The lead
attacker will start the attack each battle until the attacking team changes.
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When a team loses the attack, the lead attacker becomes the player to the left
of the current lead attacker.
Although each player still has a separate cemetery, when a team has 60 or
more combined cemetery value, the game ends. The team with the least
combined cemetery value wins the game. If this is a tie, then the game is a tie.
The process for resolving simultaneous card effects is the same as in the 3player rules.
More Information
See our website, www.FoursightGames.com, for more information including
announcements, rules clarifications, card errata, and upcoming expansions!
Credits
Lead Game Designer:
Robert Nicaise
Game Designers:
Jeff Baker
Jeff Hale
Jamie Kelly
Graphic Design:
Maria Fronckowiak
Aaron Fowler
Artwork:
Mosh Yong
Le Rastislav
Kim Van Deun
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