We were sent on patrol. The squad was depleted, morale in the pits. Then one of our guys exploded.
Ambush.
Surrounded.
Our lucky day.
We tried to hold them off and radioed for evac, but the helicopter wouldn’t come unless the landing zone was clear.
We had to hold out. We had to survive…
Estas reglas también están disponibles en ESPAÑOL.
This is your squad. You decide where they move and what they attack.
These are threats. Your goal is to eliminate them all before the end of the game.
This is the depot, a special threat card that was added in the second printing and makes the game more challenging. Set this card aside when first playing the game. When it becomes too easy, consult the rules for it at the end of this document.
These are map cards. They are used to randomize the starting positions of the squad and indicate the rows and columns of the map grid while the game is in progress.
When the word adjacent is used, it only refers to cards that are next to each other horizontally or vertically, not diagonally.
Each squad member is either up or down depending on which side of the card is visible. This determines what a squad member can do (like moving, attacking, or using their ability) and whether or not they are affected by some threats (like tanks).
Independent of whether they are up or down, squad members can also become rotated to indicate that they have taken an action or have been prevented from taking an action.
1. Shuffle and deal out the map cards with the numbers facing up to create the map grid.
2. Shuffle and deal out the squad member cards, placing the first at the intersection of "1" and "1" in the map grid, the second at the intersection of "2" and "2", and so on. Make sure that all squad members are facing up and not rotated.
3. Discard the last squad member dealt and flip down any squad members that were adjacent to him.
4. Flip the map cards to hide their numbers.
5. Shuffle the threat cards into a deck and place them face-down within reach.
There are four turn phases that take place every turn until the game ends:
Starting with the top row, deal out one threat card into each row of the map grid, placing it in the column indicated on the bottom of the card.
IMPORTANT! Each threat card has its own rules that take effect during a specific turn phase listed on the card. Make sure that you follow these rules during the specified turn phase, even if they’re not specifically mentioned in this document.
If you go to place an infantry or machine gun threat and there is already another card in that location, place the new threat in the closest empty location in the same row.
If there are two equally distant empty locations, select the one closer to the center of the map grid.
If there are no empty locations in the row, choose and discard a squad member in the row and place the new threat there.
If the row is completely filled with threats, discard the new threat.
Each squad member that is not rotated may take one of the following actions:
After a squad member takes an action, rotate the card so that it cannot take another this turn.
At the end of the maneuver phase, reset all of the squad members so that they are no longer rotated.
A squad member may not move diagonally between two adjacent threats.
Moving diagonally between two adjacent squad members, or between a squad member and a threat, is allowed.
You may move two squad members at the same time to swap their positions.
Each squad member that is up may attack one adjacent threat. Discard all attacked threats where the combined strength of the attackers is greater than or equal to the strength of the threat. The large number on a squad member or threat is its strength. Threats without a strength, like Tanks, cannot be attacked.
Follow the rules on any threat cards still in play. This often means discarding squad members, sometimes only those that are up.
Finally, return to the encounter phase and begin a new turn.
As you deal out the last four threats from the threat deck, a helicopter arrives to help the squad escape. Finish this turn, and then take another turn after that. You will not deal out any threat cards during that final turn.
You win if there are no threats left on the map grid at the end of that final turn.
You lose if there are any threats left on the map grid at the end of that final turn, or if the squad is eliminated before then.
When you've played the game enough that it's gotten too easy for you, consider adding the depot to make it more challenging.
The depot is a special threat that starts on the map at the beginning of the game. It does not attack your squad members, but must still be removed by the end of the game, just like all other threats. It has a strength of 4, which makes it difficult to remove, but when you do the resulting explosion will create a distraction that protects your squad members for the rest of that turn.
1. After dealing out the map cards, check if the the empty column is at the left or right edge of the map. If it is, swap it with the adjacent column so that it is now one of the four center columns.
2. Place the depot at the intersection of the empty column and whichever of the two middle rows is closer to the row labeled 7/8.
3. Deal out the squad member cards like usual, including the part where you discard the last squad member dealt and flip down any squad members that were adjacent to him.
4. If you've done everything correctly, you should have eight cards in play, with exactly four cards on the top half of the map and four cards on the bottom half of the map. The depot should not be touching either the horizontal or vertical edges of the map.
If you have any questions about the rules, please email zach@coincidence.games for clarification and to help us improve them.
The Athlete
The Athlete's ability allows him to "move twice when moving", which is limited to actually moving from one location to another and does not include flipping up or down. He may not, for example, move and then flip down, or flip up and then move.
The Athlete may be used to flip up adjacent squad members each time he moves.
The Athlete may swap with a squad member each time he moves.
The Joker / The Pacifist
The Joker and Pacifist cannot attack, which means they cannot destroy a threat on their own, even if its strength is reduced to 0.
Flares
Flares prevent covered squad members from moving, but do not prevent them from flipping up or down.
Multiplayer
For a challenging multiplayer variant, have an opponent choose which row to place threats in as they're drawn one at a time from the threat deck. Only one threat may be added to each row per turn, just like in the standard single-player game.
For a more cooperative experience, play with two decks on opposite sides of a table, aligning the grids at the top and taking turns together with your partner. Cards at the top of each player's grid interact (in both helpful and harmful ways), but may not cross over into the other player's grid. To win, both players must eliminate all of their threats before the end of the game.