Quick Start Guide

From Strategery

Overview | Quick Start Guide | Detailed Topics | Scoring

This a step-by-step tutorial to help you get started with the game. Once you are comfortable with the contents of this section, you should move on to the Detailed Topics section to better understand the intricacies of playing the game.

Step 1: Join a Game

The first step is to join an open game. If there are no open games, you must create a new game.

Join an Open Game

There are two main types of games that you can join: public and locked. For locked games, the creator of the game must provide you with a password for you to be able to join. Locked games are denoted with a lock icon () next to the type of the game.

To join an open game, click on the join icon () next to the game. For locked games, enter the password provided to you by the creator of the game.

Create a New Game

To create a new game, click on the 'Create New Game' link and follow the instructions.

If you create a game, you are automatically added to the game as a player. All players can create public games, but only premium players may create locked games. Note, however, that all players can join both public and locked games.

Step 2: Wait for Your Turn

After you have joined a game, you must wait for the game to start and for your turn to begin.

Game Start

A game will start once the required number of players have joined. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to several hours. Note that you do not have to wait around for this: you can walk away, have a coffee, go read a book, and come back later!

You will receive an email notification when the game starts. You can toggle this notification on or off in the "My Account" section.

Assignment of Territories

Once a game starts, all players in the game will be randomly assigned an equal number of territories with 4 units each. If there are an odd number of territories that cannot be equally divided between players, they will be randomly assigned to the remaining players.

Assignment of Turns

After territories are assigned, all players in the game will be randomly ordered and assigned a turn. Note that turns proceed in a sequential manner and players cannot play simultaneously. In other words, you must wait for your turn to play. The turn order is indicated by the order of the player boxes at the top.

You will receive an email notification when it is your turn. You can toggle this notification on or off in the "My Account" section.

Step 3: Take Your Turn

You are now ready to take your turn! A turn usually takes a few minutes. Make sure to plan out your strategy in advance, especially when playing in team games.

Understanding the Game Screen

The game screen consists of several sections.

Game Information - Displays game information such as the type of game.
Messages - Allows communication between players in a game.
Game Log - Displays a history of selected game events such as set turn-ins, player skips, and player eliminations.
History - Allows you to see a history of previous turns.
Control Panel - Allows you to carry out your turn. It will change based on the current phase of the turn.
Players - Displays all the players in a game, the number of territories they occupy, and the number of decorations and armaments each player has.
Game Map - Displays the map and its territories. It also displays regions by color and allows you to interact with the territories.

How to Interact with Territories

To take your turn, you will need to interact with one or more territories. Several types of icons will selectively appear and disappear next to territories while you are playing. The two most common icons are the 'to' arrow icon () and the 'from' arrow icon (). A territory can be selected as the 'to' or 'from' territory by clicking on the appropriate arrow icon next to it. Alternatively, the name of a territory can also be manually inputted in the textbox at the top.

Turn Phases

Each turn consists of at least four phases: turn-in, deploy, attack, and fortify. For team games, there is one additional phase: give. For some game types, there may be additional special phases. See Advanced Topics > Understanding the Game > Game Options > Game Type for further information.

Phase 1: Give (Team Games Only)

In this phase, you will have the option give one of your territories to a teammate. This phase is optional and will only appear in team games.

To give a territory, select the territory that you would like to give using the 'to' arrow icon () and press the 'Give' button. To skip this phase, click on the 'Don't Give' link.

In some game types, you cannot give certain territories. For example, in Capitol games, the Capitol territory cannot be given to a teammate. See Advanced Topics > Understanding the Game > Game Options > Game Type for additional restrictions.

Phase 2: Turn-In

In this phase, you will have the option to turn in 3 'decorations' to receive additional armies. If you do not have enough decorations, a message will be displayed indicating that you do not have enough decorations and that you should proceed to the next phase.

On your first turn, you will not have enough decorations to turn in. All players have 0 decorations at the start of a game.

Decorations

There are three types of decorations: Bravery ( ), Honor ( ), and Valor ( ). They are displayed at the top of the game for each player. Note that you can see how many of each type of decoration that you have ( 0 0 0 ) but you can only see the total number that other players have ( 0 ).

You can earn decorations in one of two ways:

Conquering a Territory - If you conquer at least one territory in a turn, you will be awarded a decoration at the end of that turn. The type of the decoration awarded is randomly determined.
Eliminating an Opponent - If you eliminate an opponent, you will gain all the decorations that that player possesses.

After you accumulate 3 decorations of any one type or one decoration of each type, you will have a 'set' which you may optionally turn in for additional units. After you have accumulated 5 decorations, you will be forced to turn in a set of 3. The number of additional unit you receive is described in the next section.

To turn in a set of decorations, click on the 'Turn in' link. To skip this phase, click on the 'Go to Next Phase' link (this link will not be available if you have 5 or more decorations).

You can choose to hold decorations (up to a maximum of 5) instead of turning in if you feel that it is strategically advantageous to do so (see also Advanced Topics > Playing Strategies > Turning in Decorations).

Phase 3: Deploy

In this phase, you will be able to deploy additional units.

Deploying Units

The number of units that you have to deploy is displayed at the top. The number of units that you receive is determined by four factors:

Territories - For every 3 territories that you hold at the start of a turn, you will receive 1 unit. All players receive a minimum of 3 armies on each turn, even if they hold less than 9 territories.
Regions - If you occupy all territories in a region, you will receive an additional region bonus of 2, 3, 5, or 7 units (depending on which region you occupy). The bonus (by region color) is
5
2
5
3
7
2
units.
Sets - If you turned in a set in the previous phase, you will receive 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 15 additional units (depending on how many sets have been previously turned in by any player in the current game). When the first set is turned in by any player, 4 units are awarded to that player; the next time a set is turned in, 6 units are awarded; and so on. After the set bonus reaches 15, 15 additional units are awarded each time a set is turned in by any player.
Games with Special Rulesets - In some games with special rulesets, you can receive additional units for occupying certain territories.

Think strategically about when to turn in a set. Other players may gain a bigger advantage if you turn in first (see also Advanced Topics > Playing Strategies > Turning in Decorations).

To deploy a unit, click on the add icon () next to a territory. You may optionally input the number of units that you would like to deploy in the textbox beside it (the default is 1). This phase will automatically end once you are out of units to deploy. To skip this phase, click on the 'End Deployment' link.

Any units that are not deployed are forfeited and will not be available on your next turn.

Phase 4: Attack

In this phase, you will be able to attack your opponents. This phase is optional.

You may attack any opponent's territory that is adjacent to your own. To attack a territory, you must have a minimum of 2 units on your territory, regardless of how many units your opponent has.

Outcome of a Battle

The outcome of a battle is determined by dice rolls ^. The attacker can roll up to 3 dice depending on how many units there are on the attacking territory. If there are 2 units, 1 dice is rolled; 3 units, 2 dice; 4+ units, 3 dice. The defender can roll up to 2 dice depending on the number of units on the defending territory. For 1 unit, 1 dice is rolled; 2+ units, 2 dice.

To determine the outcome of the battle, the highest attacker die and the highest defender die are compared. If the attacker die is higher, the defender loses an army. If the defender die is the same or higher, the attacker loses an army. This process is repeated for the next highest pair of attacker and defender dice. The more dice you roll, the greater the probability that you will win the battle (see also Advanced Topics > Understanding the Game > Dice Probabilities).

Armaments may also affect the outcome of a battle. See Advanced Topics > Understanding the Game > Armaments to learn how armaments deployed in a game can affect the outcome of battles.

To attack a territory, use the 'to' arrow icon () to select the attacking territory and the attack icon () to select the territory to attack. Alternatively, you can input the name of the attacking and defending territories in the textbox at the top. To skip or end this phase, click on the 'End Attack' link.

Think carefully about how probabilities of dice rolls and armaments will affect your likelihood of winning a battle. There may be cases when the attacker has the upper hand and others when the defender has the upper hand.

^ Dice rolls are simulated by a random number generator. A number between 1 and 6 (inclusive) is selected to simulate the roll of a die.

Occupying a Territory

When you destroy all the armies on a defending territory, you will be given the option to occupy it with 1 or more armies. Note that you must leave at least 1 army behind on the attacking territory.

To occupy a territory, input the number of armies to occupy in the textbox at the top (the default is 1) and click the 'Occupy' button.

Phase 5: Fortify

In this phase, you will be able to fortify your territories. This phase is optional.

You may move any number of armies from one territory to an adjacent territory that also belongs to you. In team games, you may also move any of your own armies across your teammates territories. Note that you cannot fortify across neutral territories and that all territories must have at least 1 army. You may fortify as many times as you like.

To fortify a territory, use the 'to' () and 'from' () arrow icons to select the giving and receiving territories and click on the 'Fortify' button. Optionally, you can also input the number of armies to fortify in the textbox at the top (the default is 1). To skip or end this phase, click on the 'End Fortify' link. This will also end your turn.

Step 4: Wait for the Next Round

After you have done your turn, you must wait for all other players to finish their turn. Come back later to check on whether it is your turn or not.