Game Objective

Welcome, survivors! In This War of Mine: The Board Game, you're not here to be heroes, but to survive. Forget glory; the goal is to keep your group of civilians alive and, if possible, with a shred of sanity, amidst the chaos of a besieged city. You'll need to manage scarce resources, make difficult decisions, and face the consequences of a brutal world. Victory is simply surviving this war, day after day, until peace returns or... well, until death knocks on the door. Each day is a battle, and each night, a chance to find what's needed to see the next dawn.

Setup

Let's tidy up the shelter and prepare for the journey. Setup is a crucial step to ensure everything is in the right place before the war truly begins!

1. Determine the Leader: Randomly choose the Leader. They will be ultimately responsible for decisions, but remember: survival is a group effort!
2. Draw 3 Character Cards:
   • Shuffle the Character deck.
   • Draw the first red-bordered card and the first two black-bordered cards.
   • Place these 3 cards face up near the board. These are your starting Characters. Note their names on the Save Game sheet.
   • Place a Hunger token (level 2) near each Character.
   • Find the corresponding miniatures and place them in the Guard space on the board.
   • The remaining Character cards go to the unused Characters space on the board.
   • Colored Base Rings: For easier identification, insert each miniature into a colored ring and place a token of the same color near the corresponding Character card.
3. Place Cards on the Board:
   • Place all decks in their respective spaces on the board, as illustrated in the manual.
   • UTILITY cards with a green corner go to the Utilities space. The rest go to the Ideas space.
   • Separate the red-cornered cards from the NIGHT RAIDS and RESIDENTS decks (they will be used later).
   • Draw 3 cards from the LOCATIONS deck and place them in the 3 Location spaces.
4. Place Shelter Cards on the Board:
   • Place all Shelter cards face up (side without the blue corner) in their identically named spaces on the board (e.g., Rubble in the Rubble space, Locked Door in the Locked Door space).
5. Build Event Deck:
   • Place the Event cards face down in the Events space, in the following order:
     1. Shuffle 3 Final Event cards (these will be at the bottom of the deck).
     2. Place the Chapter III card on top of the deck.
     3. Draw 4 random Event cards and place them on top of the deck.
     4. Place the Chapter II card on top of the deck.
     5. Draw 3 random Event cards and place them on top of the deck.
     6. Place the Chapter I card on top of the deck.
   • The remaining Event cards are not used.
6. Separate Tokens and Resources:
   • Place the tokens and resources in their respective compartments in the box.
   • Place the following tokens and resources in the Stockpile space: Lockpick, Shovel, 4 Components, 4 Wood, 2 Water, 3 Raw Food.
   • The Black Die and the Noise token should be accessible.

Remember: the game is cooperative, and Characters do not belong to specific players. The Leader makes the final decision, but always after hearing everyone's opinion. Only the Leader can touch the game components!

The Game Turn

A day in This War of Mine is a cycle of 7 phases, which repeat until the end of the game. Let's detail each one:

1. EVENT (A new day begins...)

Each new day, the first thing to do is face what the world outside has in store for us.

• Draw and resolve the top card of the Event deck.
• Don't forget to add Cold tokens to the Cold space on the board, as described on the revealed Event card.

2. DAYTIME ACTIONS (Morning)

During the day, it's time to make improvements to the shelter, scavenge through rubble, and try to make this place a little more livable.

• Movement in the Shelter: Your Characters can move freely horizontally and vertically (using stairs) within the shelter. Obstacles such as Grates, Locked Doors, Rubble / Rubble Remains, and Holes are impassable.
• Three Actions: Each Character can perform up to 3 actions. Condition tokens with black markings can reduce the number of available actions (1, 2, or all 3).
• Action Stages: At the beginning of each stage (First, Second, and Third Action), assign all available Characters to the chosen actions and resolve their effects simultaneously.
• Types of Actions:
  • Actions in Shelter Spaces / Utility Cards: Place a Character on the space/card and discard the necessary resources/tokens from the Stockpile. Created tokens are added to the Stockpile.
  • Actions on Shelter Cards: Place a Character on the chosen Shelter card and resolve its back. Some cards (Rubble, Grate, Locked Door) require specific tokens (Shovel, Saw, Lockpick) in addition to the Character. The Shovel for Rubble can be replaced by an extra Character.
  • Pick the Lock (Locked Door): Requires a Lockpick. Roll the Black Die. Result 1-3: no effect. Result 4-10: discard the Lockpick and resolve the back of the card.
  • Allocate a New Utility Card: Choose a Utility card from the deck in the Utilities space. Place it in an empty Shelter space, place a Character on it, and discard the necessary resources/tokens from the Stockpile. Flip the card face up.
• After each action stage, the Journal is passed to the NEXT PLAYER.

3. DUSK

The sun sets, and with it, the need to take care of your Characters' basic needs.

• Water: Each Character must drink 1 Water (discard from Stockpile). Roll the Black Die for each Character who did not drink Water: 1-5 increases Hunger by 1; 6-10 increases Sadness by 1.
• Hunger: Each Character must eat 1 or more food tokens (discard from Stockpile).
  • CANNED FOOD: reduces Hunger by 2.
  • RAW FOOD: reduces Hunger by 1.
  • VEGETABLE: Hunger remains the same.
  • NO FOOD: increases Hunger by 1.
• The Journal is passed to the NEXT PLAYER.

4. NIGHT

Darkness brings opportunities and dangers. It's time to decide who recovers and who ventures out.

• Assign each Character to one of these 4 tasks:
  • SLEEP IN A BED: Place up to 1 Character on 1 BED card. Reset the Character's Tiredness to zero.
  • SLEEP ON THE FLOOR: Place any number of Characters in the SLEEP ON THE FLOOR space. Reduce the Tiredness of these Characters by 2.
  • GUARD: Place any number of Characters in the Guard space to protect the Shelter. Increase the Tiredness of these Characters by 1. There must be at least 1 guard.
  • SCAVENGE: Place up to 3 Characters in the LOOT PILE space to send them into the city. Increase the Tiredness of these Characters by 1.
• The Journal is passed to the NEXT PLAYER.

5. SCAVENGE

The Characters who went out to scavenge for supplies face the dangers of the ruined city.

• Choose a Location: Choose 1 of the 3 available Location cards and move all Scavenging Characters there. Pay attention to the red rules on the Location card.
• Choose Equipment: If there are Weapons or equipment (Lockpick, Saw, Shovel) in the Stockpile, you can assign them to the Scavenging group (place them in the Loot Pile space). You can also take tokens from the Stockpile to attempt to Trade.
• Adjust the Noise Token: Place the Noise token on the "1" space of the marker. Whenever the game instructs to increase or reduce Noise, move the token. If the game instructs to roll for Noise (using the Black Die) and the result is equal to or less than the current Noise, an encounter is activated: set the Noise counter to "1", draw and resolve the top card of the Residents deck.
• Prepare Unknown Deck and Explore: Draw Exploration cards equal to the number displayed on the chosen Location (10, 12, or 14). Place them face down in the Unknown space. Resolve them one by one, discarding them face up in the Discard space. Collected items go to the Loot Pile.
• Loot Choice: When the Unknown deck runs out, exploration ends. Shuffle the Exploration and Residents cards back into their decks. Add as many resources (Wood, Components, and Water) as you wish to the Loot Pile. You can carry back a total weight of tokens/resources equal to the sum of the Inventory value of the Scavenging Characters. The weight of tokens is displayed on their icon; resources weigh 1. What is not carried is discarded.

6. NIGHT RAID

While the scavenging group is out, the shelter can be targeted by invaders.

• Choose Weapons for Guards: If there are Weapon tokens in the Stockpile, you can assign them to the guards (by placing them in the Guard space). Each Character can wield only 1 Weapon.
• Night Raid: Draw and resolve the top card of the Night Raids deck.
  • LOSS: Amount of tokens/resources stolen from the Stockpile.
  • WOUNDS: Amount of Wounds to be distributed among the Characters in the Guard space.
• Guards and Weapons: Roll a Combat Die (corresponding to the weapon used) for each Character in the Guard space. The number of icons (shield, knife, bullet) in the die result indicates the amount to subtract from Loss or Wounds.
  • Pistol/Assault Rifle/Shotgun: Discard 1 Ammunition token. Assault Rifle can spend 2 Ammunition for 2 shots. Shotgun and Hatchet can ignore the Night Raid card with the specific icon.
• Dexterity during Night Raid: The Dexterity value allows rerolls for better results. The last reroll is final.
• Barricade Boards: Each constructed BARRICADE BOARDS token reduces 1 WOUND or 1 LOSS.
• Crime Wave: If there are still red-cornered Night Raid and Residents cards separated during setup, shuffle 2 of them (in any combination) back into their respective decks.

7. DAWN

We survived another day. It's time to regroup and prepare for the next.

• The Scavenging Group Returns: Move all Characters from the Scavenging group to the Shelter and place all tokens/resources they brought into the Stockpile.
• Assign Medicines and Bandages: If there are Medicines/Herbal Medicines/Bandages in the Stockpile, assign them to the sick/wounded.
• Draw a Fate Card: Draw and resolve 1 Fate Card (ignore the bottom part of the die). If the card instructs to swap a Location, remove it, slide the remaining ones, and draw a new Location for the "Far Away" space.
• Narrative Action Card: Draw 2 Narrative Action cards, read them, choose one, and shuffle the other back into the deck.
• Alcohol: Can be used before or after resolving a Fate card.
  • HOMEMADE SPIRITS: Choose a Character, increase their Tiredness by 2 and reduce their Sadness by 1.
  • PURE ALCOHOL