• One deck plays up to 4 players. Combine decks to add more players.
• Each player starts with a Castle and is dealt 5 cards.
• Flip over 3 cards from the Draw deck and put them in the middle, this is called the “Flop”.
• Put the remaining cards aside this is the Draw deck
• Discarded cards are placed in the Burn pile.

To get started and to learn and practice, play a quick game of 3 rounds. Just to learn the game mechanics. Each player must attack at least once within the 3 rounds. The player with the remaining highest Kingdom value wins.

There are three different ways to win.
1. Complete your Kingdom by building the final Tower (see Rise of the Empire)
2. Conquer all the other Kingdoms (see Conquering)
3. Build your Kingdom value to 300 (see Build your Kingdom)

FLOP -At the beginning of your turn, if there are less than 3 cards in the Flop from a previous turn, draw cards from the Draw deck to always keep at least 3 cards in the Flop.
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‍DRAW CARD -Take a card from the Draw Deck.
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‍BURN (Optional) -Switch out a card from the Flop for a card from the Draw Deck. Place the “burned” card in the Burn pile.
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‍BUY -Build your army by “buying” cards you want from the Flop in exchange for cards in your hand (see Transactions).
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‍BUILD -Put down Kingdom cards around your castle. Or pick up a Kingdom card to use it as a Troop card. Cannot do both on the same turn. You can only build one tower at a time, but you can build at any point in your turn. Hint: even before drawing a card.
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‍BATTLE -Attack an opponent (this is the last action in a turn).
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‍BURN PILE -Used cards go into the Burn pile.

Rise of the Empire

Putting down Kingdom Cards around your Castle is building to win but also protecting your Castle. The Stack Order must be: Emperor > Queen > Prince > Princess. Building the last and final Princess Tower wins the game.

Build Your Kingdom

Or win by building your Kingdom worth to 300, add up the value of the cards in your hands. When the value in your hand reaches 100 you must announce that you have 100. When you reach 200 you must announce it and put down 100 value cards face-up in front of you. You can use them in battle but they must be faced up so the other players can see.

Tower Defense

When you build Kingdom cards, they act as “Towers”, each Tower fortifies a layer of defense for your Castle. Meaning a player must defeat your Towers in order from highest to lowest, before they can attack your Castle. In an attack, a defender cannot pick up a Tower card to use it as a Troop Card.

Extra Draw Cards

For each Tower you’ve built, take an additional Draw card.

Transactions

The dots on the bottom right of the Hero Cards indicate their exchange price. For example, a card with 4 solid dots can be exchanged for a card with 1 solid dot + card with 3 solid dots.

Battles

Attack and Defense Troops are card hands built in combinations of up to 21.
• Winner (attacker or defender) takes the cards in the middle.
• If the defender loses they lose their highest Tower. If their Castle falls, they are now conquered and a sub-kingdom (forced ally) under their attacker’s Kingdom.
• In a TIE, the attacker has the option to stop or continue attacking until someone loses.

If you attack and defeat another Castle, they are now conquered and a sub-kingdom (forced ally) under you.

The Power of Allies

• You can now blindly pick a card from their hand every time it’s your turn (once per turn) or when you are being attacked for every defense hand you have to play (this can be multiple times if there are several waves of attacks).

• An opponent can “steal” one of your sub-kingdoms by defeating any one of their Towers. But you have the option to protect and keep your sub-kingdom by defending with or for your sub-kingdom.

Power Shifts

• If a player defeats your Castle, they take your place as the Empire ruler, ruling over you and your sub-kingdoms. Huge shifts in power can occur this way, even winning the game.
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• A ruled sub-kingdom can regain their Kingdom’s freedom by attacking their ruler and taking down a Tower. But if the Tower they defeat is the Castle, they now become the new overlord, as well as become the new ruler over the existing sub-kingdoms. During this battle the current ruler cannot take blind cards from the revolting sub-kingdom.

Sub-Kingdoms

• A sub-kingdom can continue to build up their army, attack and build Towers for their own sub-Kingdom.

• If your sub-kingdom attacks and defeats another Castle, although they are both under your Kingdom, the difference is only the ruler that defeated them can take Blind cards from them.

Epic 21

There are three ways to make the rarer, more exclusive Epic 21 combo - Three Attack Heroes that equal 21, Two Champion Heroes that equal 21 or One Kingdom Hero. You can add any one Support Hero to an “Epic 21” hand, allowing you to make a Troop Hand that is over 21.

Final Showdown

When you reach the end of the Draw deck but still have Burn cards, reshuffle to start a new Draw deck. When there are no more Draw, Burn or Flop cards, the Final Showdown is triggered, everyone must battle until they exhaust all their troop cards, a winner is determined by the total number of Towers of a Kingdom, including their allied Kingdom Towers. If there is still a tie, reshuffle and play again.

Epic and Boss Cards

The player who turns over an Epic or Boss Hero gets to keep that card.

• The Epic Hero has an Epic Power Move that must be played right away. The player also keeps the card to be used later as a Troop Card.

• The Boss Hero has a Power Move that can be used later in the game but can only be used either as a Power Move or a Troop Card.

• As a Troop Card, Epic and Boss Heroes can be combined with any one other Hero, to create a two card limit hand that can equal over 21.

Not-So-Secret Move

A multi-card hand equaling 21 with matching suits (symbol and color), allows you to instantly steal anyone’s Kingdom Tower without a battle. Which could give you the Tower you need and/or potentially break their Kingdom Tower stack order. i.e. taking their Emperor Tower would break their Queen and Prince Towers.

Advanced Mode

• To make winning by building a Kingdom more challenging, leave only 1-3 Princess and/or Prince Cards in the deck.

• To make the game more interesting, play with collusion “enabled”. Suggest and try to convince your allies to take actions that would be beneficial to your Kingdom, although they are not required to comply, use negotiating tactics to make agreements. i.e. Although taking Blind cards from your Ally is the default requirement, there is no rule against Allies freely cooperating with you more generously and transparently in card transfers. Beware: Collusion “enabled” also means Betrayal “enabled”.