Game Objective

The King is dead, and the kingdom needs a new leader! In Claim, you and your opponent represent two of the kingdom's five factions, competing to win the vote of the other factions and become the new king. To do this, you'll need to recruit loyal followers and then use them to secure the loyalty of the five factions.

The player who wins the vote of at least three factions wins the game!

Setup

1. Shuffle all 52 faction cards and place them face down in a pile in the center of the table. This is the draw pile.
2. Deal 13 cards to each player. Each player receives their cards without showing them to their opponent.

Gameplay Flow

A game of Claim is played in two distinct phases:

Phase One: Recruit Followers

This phase consists of thirteen rounds, one for each card in the players' hands. The Leader in each round is the player who won the previous round (or, in the first round, the youngest player).

Each round is played following these steps:

1. Reveal A Card: Reveal the top card of the draw pile and place it between the players. The players will compete to win this card.
2. Play Cards:
   1. The Leader plays a card from their hand. They can choose a card from any faction.
   2. The other player plays a card from their hand. If possible, this player must follow the faction of the card played by the Leader. They can only play a card of a different faction if no cards in their hand match the faction played by the Leader (exception: Doppelgänger).
3. Win Cards:
   1. The player who played the highest value card of the faction played by the Leader wins the card. In case of a tie, the Leader wins the round.
   2. The winner places their won card face down beside them, forming their Follower deck. The loser takes a card from the top of the draw pile and places it face down in their Follower deck. This player may look at this card but cannot show it to their opponent.
   3. If one or both players played a Undead card, the winner of the round takes this card(s) and places it/them face up in their Score pile. An Undead card won from the draw pile still goes into the winner's Follower deck.
4. Discard all remaining played cards.

Continue until the draw pile is depleted and players have no cards left in hand. The game then proceeds to Phase Two.

Phase Two: Gather Supporters

Both players take the 13 Follower cards they won during Phase One to form their hand. Players will now play another 13 rounds.

Each round is played following these two steps:

1. Play Cards:
   1. The Leader plays a card from their hand.
   2. The other player plays a card from their hand, following the same rules of following the Leader's faction from Phase One.
2. Win Cards:
   1. Determine the winner as in Phase One.
   2. The winner of the round places both played cards face up in their Score pile, unless a faction power (Dwarves) is in effect.

After both players have played all the cards from their hand, all factions are scored.

Actions and How to Play

The actions in the game revolve around playing cards to win rounds and accumulating cards for final scoring.

Cards and Factions

• Goblins: Numbered 0 to 9 (five 0s). No special powers.
• Dwarves: Numbered 0 to 9. In Phase Two, the player who loses a round receives all Dwarves played during that round and places them in their Score pile.
• Undead: Numbered 0 to 9. Undead cards played are not discarded in Phase One. Instead, they are placed in the winner's Score pile for the round.
• Doppelgängers: Numbered 0 to 9. This faction is considered a wild card. You can play a Doppelgänger instead of the faction requested, even if you are able to follow the faction. When played in response to the Leader, the card is considered to be of the same faction as the Leader's card. A Doppelgänger does not gain any special powers from the faction it follows.
• Knights: Numbered 2 to 9. When played after a Goblin, it automatically defeats the Goblin, regardless of its value. The player must still follow the played faction if possible.
• Help Cards: 2 cards.

Card Playing Rules

• Follow Faction: In both phases, if possible, the second player must play a card of the same faction as the card played by the Leader. A player can only play a card of a different faction if no cards in their hand match the faction played by the Leader (exception: Doppelgänger).
• Special Powers: The faction powers (Knights, Undead, Dwarves, Doppelgängers) can alter the outcome of rounds or how cards are collected.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends after the completion of Phase Two.

Scoring

Players count how many cards of each faction they have in their Score pile.

• Whoever has the most cards of a faction wins the vote of that faction.
• If there is a tie in the number of cards of a faction, whoever has the highest value card of that faction wins the vote.

Winning Condition

The player who has the vote of at least three factions wins the game!

Tips for Winning

• Manage Your Hand: In Phase One, think about which cards you want in your hand for Phase Two. Winning high-value cards can be useful, but accumulating many cards of a specific faction might be more strategic for final scoring.
• Use Faction Powers Wisely: The special powers of the factions can turn the tide of the game. Knowing when to use a Knight against a Goblin, or how Dwarves and Undead affect scoring in Phase Two, is crucial.
• The Doppelgänger is Versatile: The Doppelgänger can be used to follow any faction, making it a valuable card to ensure you can follow the Leader's faction or to surprise your opponent. Remember that it does not gain powers from other factions.