Objective of the Game

Welcome, battlefield commanders! In War Chest, you'll step into the shoes of medieval strategists, vying for control of crucial tactical locations across the board. Your ultimate goal? To be the first player or team to successfully place all of your Control Markers on these strategic locations. Master your armies, both on the field and those waiting to be deployed, and claim victory!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get your battlefield ready for glory! Here’s how to set up a two-player game:

1. Place the Board: Put the game board in the center of your play area.
2. Choose Factions and Components: Each player chooses a faction and takes the following matching components:
   • 1 Bag
   • 1 Royal Coin
   • 6 Control Markers
3. Initial Deployment:
   • Place your faction's Royal Coin into your Bag.
   • Place one of your Control Markers onto each of the two matching starting locations on the board. These locations are indicated by green knotwork symbols. All other locations are neutral.
4. Unit Cards (First Game Recommendation): For your very first game, we recommend using the following specific Unit Cards:
   • Player A: Swordsman, Pikeman, Crossbowman, Light Cavalry
   • Player B: Archer, Cavalry, Lancer, Scout

   If this isn't your first game, shuffle all 16 Unit Cards and deal 4 face-up in front of each player. These are the 4 units you'll command this game.

5. Gather Unit Coins:
   • Take the Unit Coins that match your 4 chosen Unit Cards.
   • Put 2 Unit Coins of each type into your Bag, along with your Royal Coin.
   • Place the rest of your Unit Coins in piles next to their matching Unit Cards. This forms your personal supply. Any unused Unit Coins go back in the box.
6. Determine Initiative: Flip the Initiative Marker. The player whose faction matches the face-up side takes the Initiative Marker and will go first.
7. Discard Pile Area: Each player needs a separate area for their discard pile, distinct from their supply.

You are now ready to begin your campaign!

The Turn of Play

A game of War Chest unfolds over a series of rounds, each divided into two crucial phases:

1. Draw Coins

At the start of each round, every player draws 3 Unit Coins from their Bag and holds them in their hand, hidden from their opponent. If your Bag is empty when you need to draw coins, simply refill it with all the coins from your discard pile, shuffle them, and then continue drawing until you have 3 coins in hand.

Heads up! In rare cases, you might only have one or two coins between your hand and discard pile. If this happens, draw what you can. You'll perform fewer actions this round, and your opponent will continue playing after your hand is empty until their own hand is empty.

2. Use Coins

This is where the action happens! Starting with the player who holds the Initiative Marker, players take turns performing actions using one coin at a time from their hand, until both players' hands are empty. Each coin can only be used for a single action. There are nine possible actions, categorized into three types:

Placement Actions

These actions involve placing a Unit Coin face-up onto the board.

• Deploy:
  • Choose a coin from your hand and place it face-up into an empty location you control. This creates a new unit of that type on the board.
  • You can only have one unit of each type on the board at a time. So, if you already have a Swordsman unit deployed, you can't deploy another Swordsman.
  • A unit must be deployed before it can perform bolster, move, attack, control, or tactic actions.
• Bolster:
  • Choose a coin from your hand and add it face-up on top of a matching unit already on the board. This makes the unit stronger and harder to remove from an attack.
  • Units can be bolstered any number of times; there's no limit to the height of a unit stack.
  • All coins in a stack belong to that unit and move together.

Discard a Coin Facedown Actions

These actions involve discarding any coin facedown into your discard pile. This is a key strategic decision point!

• Claim Initiative:
  • Discard any coin facedown from your hand into your discard pile (don't show it to your opponent!).
  • Take the Initiative Marker from your opponent. You will now go first in the next round.
  • You cannot perform this action if you already have the Initiative Marker or had it earlier this round. The Initiative Marker can only change hands once per round.
• Recruit:
  • Discard any coin facedown from your hand into your discard pile (again, keep it secret!).
  • Take any one coin from your supply, show it to your opponent, and place it face-up into your discard pile. This coin will be shuffled into your Bag in a later round.
  • The Unit Coin you recruit does not need to match the coin you spent to recruit it.
• Pass:
  • Discard any coin facedown into your discard pile and pass your turn.
  • You are not required to pass with subsequent coins; you can still use any remaining coins in your hand normally.

The Royal Coin: Your Royal Coin is special! It doesn't have a matching unit and can only be used to perform facedown actions (or the tactic of the Royal Guard unit, if you have it).

Discard a Coin Face-Up Actions (Maneuvers)

These actions, collectively known as maneuvers, involve discarding a Unit Coin face-up into your discard pile to activate the matching unit on the board. Awareness of your opponent's discarded face-up coins is a vital tactical consideration!

• Move:
  • Discard a matching coin face-up into your discard pile.
  • Move the matching unit one space on the board into an adjacent, empty space.
  • If all spaces adjacent to a unit are occupied, it cannot move.
• Control:
  • Discard a matching coin face-up into your discard pile.
  • If the matching unit occupies a neutral location, place one of your Control Markers onto that location.
  • If the matching unit occupies a location controlled by your opponent, return their Control Marker to them and replace it with one of yours.
  • You cannot control a location you already control. Each location can only hold one Control Marker.
  • Victory Condition Alert! If placing this Control Marker means you've placed your last one, you win the game!
• Attack:
  • Discard a matching coin face-up into your discard pile. The unit matching this coin is the attacker.
  • Choose an enemy unit adjacent to your attacker. This is the target.
  • Remove one coin from the target unit and put it back in the box (not into a supply or discard pile).
  • If the target unit was a single coin (not bolstered), it is now destroyed and no longer deployed on the board. You can re-deploy a new unit of that type later.
• Tactic:
  • Some units have unique tactics described on their Unit Cards (e.g., Cavalry's tactic allows it to move and then attack).
  • Discard a matching coin face-up into your discard pile.
  • Execute the tactic described on the matching unit's Unit Card.

Attributes and Restrictions: Beyond tactics, some units have special attributes (additional things they can do) and/or restrictions (things they cannot do). These are always active and don't require a coin to be played like a tactic. For example, the Footman can have two units deployed, while the Archer cannot attack adjacent units except through its tactic.

End of Game and Scoring

The game of War Chest has a clear and exciting end condition:

• The game ends immediately when one player (or one team in a four-player game) has successfully placed all of their Control Markers onto locations on the board.
• That player or team is declared the winner!

Tips for Winning

To help you conquer the battlefield, here are a couple of tactical pointers:

1. Master Your Bag Economy: The facedown discard actions are incredibly powerful. Knowing when to Recruit new units into your bag versus using a coin to Claim Initiative is a critical decision. A well-managed bag ensures you have the right options when you need them most.
2. Observe Opponent's Discards: Pay close attention to the coins your opponent discards face-up. These coins remain visible until they are reshuffled into their bag. This gives you valuable information about which units they might be low on, allowing you to anticipate their moves and plan your attacks more effectively.
3. Understand Unit Synergies: Each unit has unique tactics, attributes, and restrictions. For example, the Pikeman's attribute triggers during an attack, affecting even Knights. The Lancer's tactic requires a target to attack. Understanding these nuances and how your units interact can create powerful combinations and counter your opponent's strategies.