Game Objective

In A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, players lead one of the Great Houses fighting for supremacy over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The goal is to seize control of as many lands containing Castles or Fortresses as possible to claim the Iron Throne.

Victory Condition: A House wins immediately if it controls seven lands with Castles or Fortresses. Otherwise, the winner is the House controlling the most such lands at the end of the 10th round.

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center of the table.
2. Wildlings Deck: Shuffle the Wildlings cards and place them face down on the designated slot. Place the Wildling Threat Marker on division 2 of the Wildling Track.
3. Westeros Decks: Separate Westeros cards into three decks (I, II, and III) based on the Roman numerals on the backs. Shuffle each and place them face down.
4. Neutral Lords: Place the Neutral Lord tokens corresponding to the number of players on their respective lands.
5. Place the Round Marker on the first division of the Round Track.
6. House Selection: Each player chooses a House (Baratheon, Lannister, Greyjoy, Martell, Stark, or Tyrell).
7. Player Components: Each player receives:
   • 1 House Screen.
   • 7 House cards.
   • 15 Order tokens.
   • 1 Supply token, 3 Influence tokens, and 1 Victory token.
   • 1 Garrison.
   • All plastic Units of their color.
8. Place Supply, Influence, and Victory tokens on their respective tracks as indicated on the House Screen. The player on the first division of an Influence Track takes the corresponding Superiority Token (Iron Throne, Valyrian Steel Sword, or Raven).
9. Place starting Units and the Garrison in the House's home land as specified on the House Screen.
10. Power Reserve: Place all Power tokens in a central reserve. Each player takes 5 Power tokens of their House as their starting Available Power.

Game Flow

The game lasts for 10 rounds. Except for the first round, each round consists of three phases:

1. Westeros Phase

This phase is skipped in the first round. In subsequent rounds:

• Move the Round Marker forward. If it is already on division 10, the game ends.
• Reveal the top card from each of the three Westeros decks.
• Move the Wildling Threat Marker to the right by one division for every Wildling symbol found on the revealed cards. If the marker reaches division 12, a Wildling Invasion occurs immediately.
• Resolve the Westeros cards in order (Deck I, then II, then III).

2. Planning Phase

Players simultaneously place Order tokens face down in every region where they have at least one Unit. This phase consists of:

• Assignments: Placing the orders.
• Revelation: All orders are revealed simultaneously.
• Sending the Raven: The owner of the Raven token may perform a special action.

3. Action Phase

Orders are executed in the following sequence:

1. Raids
2. Marches
3. Support
4. Consolidating Power

Actions and How to Play

Orders

Players use Order tokens to direct their forces. There are Simple Orders and Special Orders (marked with a star). The number of Special Orders a player can use depends on their position on the Royal Court Track.

• Raid: Used to remove an enemy's Support, Raid, or Consolidate Power order in an adjacent region. If a Consolidate Power order is raided, the raider gains 1 Power token and the victim discards 1 Power token.
• March: Moves Units to adjacent regions. This is the only way to initiate a Battle. One March order allows for only one Battle.
• Defense: Provides a combat bonus to the defender of the region.
• Support: Allows Units in a region to add their strength to a Battle in an adjacent region.
• Consolidate Power: The player gains 1 Power token, plus an additional token for every Crown symbol in that region.

Combat (Battle)

A Battle occurs when a March brings Units into a region occupied by an enemy. The Attacker is the one who marched; the other is the Defender.

1. Call for Support: Adjacent Support orders are activated.
2. Initial Strength: Sum of Unit strengths (Infantry: 1, Knight: 2, Ship: 1, Siege Tower: 4 if attacking a Castle/Fortress, else 0), plus Defense/March modifiers and Garrison.
3. House Cards: Players secretly play one House card. These add strength or special effects. Sword symbols cause losses to the loser; Fortress symbols block Sword symbols.
4. Valyrian Steel Sword: The owner may add +1 strength (once per round).
5. Final Strength: Total sum of all modifiers. The highest strength wins. Ties are broken by the position on the House Lands Track.
6. Resolution: The loser suffers losses (based on Sword symbols) and must Retreat. Retreating units become Fugitives (placed sideways) and provide no strength.

Other Mechanics

• Supply: When a Supply card is played, players determine their Supply Level based on Supply symbols in their lands. This limits the number of Armies (2+ units) and their size. Excess units must be removed.
• Recruitment: When a Recruitment card is played, players spend points (Fortress: 2, Castle: 1) to place new Units.
• Establishing Power: When leaving a land via a March, a player may place a Power token to maintain control of the land without Units.
• Sea Transport: Ships allow Units to move between lands connected by a chain of friendly Ships.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends immediately if a House controls 7 lands with Castles or Fortresses. Otherwise, it ends after the 10th round.

Winning Criteria:

1. The House with the most lands with Castles or Fortresses wins.
2. If tied, the House with the most Fortresses wins.
3. If still tied, the House with the best Supply wins.
4. If still tied, the House with the most Available Power wins.
5. If still tied, the House highest on the Iron Throne Track wins.

Tips for Winning

• Chain your Marches: You can create a "chain" of March orders to move Units through multiple regions in one round, though this is risky as enemies can see the chain after the Revelation.
• Manage your Supply: Be careful when capturing or losing lands with Supply symbols, as a Supply card can force you to dismantle your Armies immediately.
• Strategic Power: Use Consolidate Power orders in regions with Crown symbols to maximize your Available Power for political struggles and establishing control.