Teach the Game

A quick table script for Regicide: the shared objective, a turn, and how the castle defeats you.

How you win

Work together to defeat all 12 face cards in the castle: first the Jacks, then Queens, then Kings. The team loses if a player cannot meet an enemy’s attack or cannot play a card or yield. The deck is your shared clock and health reserve.

The table

There is no board. Make a face-down castle stack, a shared draw pile called the Tavern, a discard pile, and a visible attack area for the current enemy. Players keep their hands hidden.

A turn

Play one card, a same-number combo worth at most 10, or an eligible Animal Companion with one other card. Resolve its suit power, then add its value to the attack. If the enemy survives, it attacks: discard cards whose total value meets its attack, one at a time, stopping once enough value is discarded. If you cannot do that, everyone loses.

How the game ends

Defeat all 12 royals to win. If the active player cannot cover the enemy attack, or has no legal card and cannot yield, the team loses.

Ways to score

Regicide has no point scoring. The result is a shared win or loss; solo medals are based on how many Jesters remain unused.

What each resource is for

• Clubs: double the attack value against this enemy.
• Diamonds: draw cards from the Tavern, beginning with the active player, until the group has drawn the attack value in cards where hand space permits.
• Hearts: shuffle the discard pile and put the attack value of cards face down beneath the Tavern.
• Spades: reduce this enemy’s attack by the card value for the rest of its fight.

Teaching tips

• Players may discuss general intentions but cannot reveal or hint at exact cards in their hands.
• Emphasize that a defeated royal stays defeated; on an exact-value kill it returns face down under the Tavern, while an overkill sends it to the discard pile.
• Keep the attack and health values visible; each royal is immune to its own suit’s power unless a Jester has cancelled that immunity.