How to Play Covil: The Dark Overlords

Game Objective

In Lair: Dark Masters, players take on the role of dark masters battling for supremacy in the regions surrounding an isolated city. Each player controls a Dark Master with unique powers and troops trained to "defend the world from enemy hordes" and bring "peace and security to the territories"—at the cost of coins, of course!

The game lasts 4 days, each divided into 3 phases: Morning, Afternoon, and Night. The goal is to accumulate the most victory points by the end of the 4th day, when the Mercenaries deck is empty.

Setup

1. Place the game board appropriate for the number of players in the center of the play area.
2. Each player receives:
   • 1 Throne Hall in their chosen color
   • 5 Troops of the same color
   • 5 Henchmen cards
   • 1 Lair in their color
   • 1 coin marker and 1 Hit Point (HP) marker, both set to 5
3. Place the Henchmen in the Servants spaces on the Throne Hall.
4. Place 1 Rebel in the city and leave the rest in a pile near the board.
5. Shuffle the Dark Masters and deal one to each player, placing it on their Throne Hall.
6. Place an Exhaustion marker on each Dark Master with the "Exhausted" side face up.
7. Shuffle the Mercenaries cards, set aside 24, and reveal 6 to form the Mercenary Guild.
8. Shuffle the Relics and deal 2 to each player.
9. The youngest player receives the Malign Scepter and will take the first turn.
10. On the first morning, the starting player chooses a spiral-marked zone to place their Lair and 2 Troops. Other players follow in clockwise order.

Game Flow

Each day is divided into 3 phases:

Phase 1: Morning

Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise:

• All players stand up their troops.
• Summon new troops to your Lair until you reach the number appropriate for the day:
  • Day 1: 2 Troops
  • Day 2: 3 Troops
  • Day 3: 4 Troops
  • Day 4: 5 Troops

Phase 2: Afternoon

Starting with the first player and proceeding clockwise, each player takes a turn with the following actions (in any order):

1. Hire a Servant from the Mercenary Guild
2. Perform any number of free actions
3. Lie down a troop to perform a troop action

The phase ends when all troops are lying down.

Phase 3: Night

All players perform the following together:

1. Discard active Relics
2. Collect protection fees for controlled territories
3. Refresh the Mercenary Guild
4. Pillage the city (Rebels may retaliate)
5. Rest all Servants once

The Malign Scepter passes to the next player clockwise, and a new day begins.

Actions and How to Play

Hiring a Servant

You may hire a Servant from the Guild by paying their cost with:

• Coins from your Treasure Chest
• Discarding Relics from your hand
• Returning a prepared Servant (not Tired/Exhausted) to the Guild

The hired Servant enters your Throne Hall Tired (with an Exhaustion marker).

Free Actions

• Activate Relics: Use instant abilities and gain temporary bonuses
• Exhaust Servants to perform Command abilities

Troop Actions

Lie down a troop to perform one of the following:

• Move: To an adjacent zone (or up to 2 zones with Reinforcements bonus)
• Rest a Servant: Changes from Exhausted → Tired or Tired → Prepared
• Repair Lair: Restore 1 HP (does not work if the Lair is destroyed)
• Gain 1 Coin (maximum of 5 coins in the Treasure Chest)
• Attack:
  • Lie down a troop and exhaust a Servant
  • Declare a melee attack (same zone) or ranged attack (adjacent zones)
  • The defender may use Guardians and Relics to defend
  • Resolve combat:
    • Defender wins: Nothing happens
    • Defender loses (standing troop): Attacker gains 2 coins, defender retreats
    • Defender loses (lying troop): Attacker gains 2 coins, defender removes troop
  • Excess damage goes to the Lair if the troop was defending its zone

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends after the 4th night, when the Mercenaries deck is empty. Calculate points as follows:

• Intact Lair (at least 1 HP): 5 points
• Coins in Treasure Chest: 1 point per coin
• Servants in Throne Hall: 1 point per coin of each Servant's cost
• Relics in hand: 1 point per coin described on them

In case of a tie, break it in this order: most troops on the board, most HP on the Lair, most coins in the Treasure Chest, most valuable Servant.

Tips to Win

1. Control territories: Dominate terrain types to collect protection fees (2 coins per dominated type).
2. Pillage the city carefully: Each troop in the city lets you loot a Relic, but adds Rebels who may retaliate when they reach 5.
3. Manage exhaustion: Exhausted or Tired Servants cannot use abilities. Use troop actions to rest them when needed.