Tiny Epic Defenders

Rules of Engagement
Gamelyn Games

Overview After the Great War, known as Tiny Epic Kingdoms, many of the factions, shattered and defeated, looked for something to cling to. One final hope before the last of their race would flow like the river into the ocean of history, gone and forgotten. It was the sages of the Order of Gamelyn who answered their prayers. They provided a new perspective on unity, and a way of life that would welcome peaceful members of any faction. A utopia for all. With very few options and a will to survive, this world alliance became an inevitable truth in the eyes of many of the factions’ leaders. Even factions who hated one another had nothing left but each other. Under the guidance of the Order, a Capital City was chosen and factions from all over the world came to call this city their new home. At last, the world was at peace… but not for long. A great storm is coming and in the darkness of the mist, there be demons.
In this game, players work together to Defend the Capital City and defeat the Epic Foe. All players win or lose collectively. The game ends when either the Capital City falls (players lose) or the Epic Foe is defeated (players win).
Game Components
23 Oversized cards

7 region cards
6 Epic Foe Cards
10 Hero cards


31 Poker Sized Cards


4 Ally Cards
2 Group Ally Cards
6 Dire Enemy Cards
9 Enemy Cards
10 Artifact Cards

16 Wooden Bits


4 Hero Meeples
4 Hero Health Tokens
7 Region Threat Tokens
1 Epic Foe Health Token

Setup
1. Give each player a Hero Card (selected or randomly drawn) along with a Meeple and a Health Token in their choice of color. Place the remaining Hero Cards, Meeples and Health Tokens back in the box.
2. Each player should place their Health Token onto their Hero Card, giving themselves full Health (highest number on the track).
3. Shuffle the Artifact Cards and place the stack face down within reach.
4. Place the Capital City card in the middle of the table.
5. Place the player Meeples in the Capital City.
6. Place the 6 Outer Region Cards around the Capital City. These may be in ANY order, but must form a circle with the Capital City being the center. The Capital City should be oriented so the two short sides point towards only two cards. Players choose which side of each Region to use. For Hard and Epic difficulties, the Outer Regions must be setup randomly.
7. Place a Threat Token on each Outer Region and the Capital City. The Threat Level should start at 0 for the Capital City, and 1 for each of the Outer Regions.
8. Shuffle the Epic Foe Cards and place one face down on the table. Put the other ones back in the box.
9. Create the Turn Deck, Horde Deck, and Destruction Deck as described in the following section.

Creating the Decks
Reserve space to create each of the three decks, face down: Turn Deck, Horde Deck, and Destruction Deck.
1. Shuffle the 9 Enemy Cards. Start each deck with 3 Enemy Cards.
2. Shuffle the 6 Dire Enemy Cards. Add 1–4 of them to the Horde Deck.
The more you add, the more difficult the game will be. Add the remaining cards to the Destruction Deck.

Horde Beck Build
Easy - 1 dire enemy card
Medium - 2 dire enemy card
Hard - 3 dire enemy card with random outer regions
Epic - 4 dire enemy card with random outer regions

3. Add the Ally Card for each player to the Turn Deck. Add any remaining Ally Cards to the Destruction Deck.

Turn Deck Build
1 Player - 2 ally cards, 2 group ally
2 Player - 2 ally cards, 2 group ally
3 Player - 3 ally cards, 1 group ally
4 Player - 4 ally cards

4. For a 1-2 player game, add both Group Ally Cards to the Turn Deck. For a 3 player game, add 1 Group Ally Card. Add any remaining Group Ally Cards to the Destruction Deck.

(3 Random Enemy Cards + Remaining Dire Enemies & Ally Cards = Destruction Deck)

Shuffle the Turn Deck and place it within reach. Shuffle the Horde Deck and place it on top of the Epic Foe Card. Set aside the Destruction Deck; these cards will remain face down for the remainder of the game.
Game Play Overview
The game is played in a series of Rounds. In a Round, cards are drawn and resolved from the Turn Deck until it is depleted. More enemies are then added from the Horde Deck, the Turn Deck is reshuffled, and a new Round begins. After the Horde Deck runs out, the Epic Foe comes into play. The game continues until either the Capital City falls or the Epic Foe is defeated. Cards are drawn and resolved from the Turn Deck one at a time and then added to a discard pile. Players are not allowed to look through the discard pile. A card is resolved according to its type, as follows.

Enemies and Destroyed Regions
If an Enemy or Dire Enemy Card is drawn, it will increase the Threat Level of each Region it attacks. This is done by moving the Threat Token up the track on the Region card. If the Threat Token reaches the last space (noted with a fire symbol), that Region is Destroyed. When a destroyed Region is attacked, the Threat Level rises in the Capital City instead. To show that a Region is destroyed, place a card from the Destruction Deck face down on top of it, covering the ability text.

Once a Region is destroyed, its ability cannot be used. However, players may still Move to, and Defend, Destroyed Regions. If a Region is destroyed when a player is on it, they stay in that Region. In the event that the Capital City is destroyed, the game immediately ends and all players lose.

If one or more players are in the Region that the enemy is attacking, they can Defend the Region. To do so, a player may sacrifice Health Points (1 for an Enemy, 2 for a Dire Enemy) to prevent the Threat to the Region from increasing. Each enemy attack can be Defended, and players may end up Defending multiple times in a single Round. However, players cannot team up to Defend a single Dire Enemy (i.e., both of them sacrificing 1 Health). When a player Defends in a Destroyed Region, the Capital City is Defended instead. A player in the Capital City Region itself may not Defend it, as they are considered to be within the city’s walls, not on the battlefield.
Dire Enemies are handled a little differently than regular Enemies. They possess powerful abilities that can have devastating effects. Defending a Dire Enemy will protect the Region and negate the Dire Enemy’s ability unless otherwise stated on its card. Also, if a player does Defend against a Dire Enemy, they are awarded an Artifact; they draw an Artifact card from the deck and place it face up in front of them.
Players cannot Defend with zero Health, unless assisted by an Artifact or ability.

Allies
Ally Cards and Group Ally Cards allow players to perform Actions. Some of these Actions require Action Points, which are granted by the card.
When an Ally Card is drawn, it is now the turn of the player identified on the card. That player gets 3 Action Points.
When a Group Ally Card is drawn, 3 Action Points are divided among the players however they choose. If there are any Destroyed Regions when the card is drawn, an additional Action Point is granted. Each player that takes at least ONE of the Action Points will get a turn; the turn order is decided by the group. A player must take all of their Actions consecutively (i.e., if one player is going to take 2 of the 3 Actions, that player must use them both consecutively).

After a player uses 3 (or more) Action Points in a turn, the player may choose to sacrifice 1 Health Point from their Hero to gain an extra Action Point. This extra Action must be taken immediately.

Artifacts Artifacts are powerful single-use items that help players progress through the game. The benefits of an Artifact only apply to the player who drew the Artifact. Once an Artifact has been used, it is removed from the game. There are two types: Action and Free Action. Action Artifacts cost 1 Action Point to use and must be used on the player’s turn. Free Action Artifacts can be used off-turn and do not cost an Action Point.

Actions
Players may take the following Actions in any order and any number of times, as long as they have enough Action Points to do so. The only exception is using a Region’s ability; each Region’s ability can only be used once per Ally or Group Ally Card.
Move
A player may move to an adjacent Region for 1 Action Point. Note that the Capital City is only adjacent to two Regions, those connected by the short sides of the Capital City card.

Succor In the Region the player is in, decrease the Threat Level by one for 1 Action Point. NOTE: You cannot decrease the Threat Level in the Capital City. Threat in the Capital City is permanent.
Players cannot Succor with zero Health, unless assisted by an Artifact or ability.
Fight
If the player is in the Region that the Epic Foe is in (after the Epic Foe has entered the game), they may damage it by fighting. For 1 Action Point, reduce its Health by one. (Please note the ability of the Epic Foe, as some may have special rules regarding damage.)
Players cannot Fight with zero Health, unless assisted by an Artifact or ability.

Use the Region’s Ability
Each Region has a special ability. Follow the instructions on the Region Card to use its ability. This can only be used if the player is in that Region, and only once per Ally or Group Ally Card. If the Region’s ability is Passive, it does not cost an Action Point.

Use a Hero’s Ability
Each Hero Card has a special ability that only that player can use. The ability and its requirements are listed on the card. If the Hero’s ability is Passive, it does not cost an Action Point.

Use an Artifact
Use an Action or Free Action Artifact that is in front of the player, then remove it from the game.
Running Out of Health
If a player is at zero Health, they are not eliminated, but may not Defend a Region, Succor, or Fight unless assisted by an Artifact or ability. Players can replenish their Health by using the ability of the Capital City.

Ending a Round Once the Turn Deck is depleted, one of two things happen:
1. If there are cards left in the Horde Deck...
Turn the discard pile of the Turn Deck face down, place a card from the Horde Deck into the Turn Deck, then reshuffle the Turn Deck. A new Round begins.
2. If there are no cards left in the Horde Deck... Reshuffle the Turn Deck. Then, flip over the Epic Foe. The Epic Foe will have a Region noted on it. Place it just outside of that Region. The Epic Foe will remain there until defeated, unless otherwise noted on its card. When the Epic Foe first comes into play, place its Health Token at full Health (highest number). Track damage dealt to the Epic Foe by moving the Health Token down the track.
After the Epic Foe is added, the Turn Deck is simply reshuffled for further Rounds.
Once the Epic Foe is reduced to zero Health, it is defeated. The players win!

Winning and Losing
• Players win the game if they defeat the Epic Foe!
• Players lose the game if the Capital City is destroyed.

Game Credits
Designer Scott Almes
Game Developer Michael Coe
Illustrators William Bricker
Ian Rosenthaler
Graphic Designer Darrell Louder
Editors Brittany Coe
Andy Harrison
Publisher Gamelyn Games
Honorary Producers Steve Jackson Games
Robert Corbett
Lyndon Martin
Derek Leigh Davis
Stephen Eckman


Scott would like to thank his wife, Beth, and his family and friends for their constant support of his tiny epic dreams. He would also like to thank Michael Coe for believing in those same dreams, and the board game and Kickstarter community for helping them come true.

Michael would like to thank his wife Brittany for her creative input and participation in the publication process, as well as for her valuable feedback during the development of the game. A special thanks goes out to Chris Sabat for his talented voice-over work.

Also, thank you to the BoardGameGeek community and to Dean Martin, Rainer Ahlfors, Hobbes Woudenberg, and the other 5,519 Kickstarter backers that made Tiny Epic Defenders a reality!

©2014 Gamelyn Games, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this product may be reproduced without specific permission. Tiny Epic Defenders, Gamelyn Games, and the TED logo are trademarks of Gamelyn Games, LLC.
www.GamelynGames.com