FAQ
75 answered questions75 official
Rules questions from the BoardGameGeek forum. Answers marked Official were confirmed by Alderac Entertainment Group or the designers.
Common mistakes
- Playing a short hand when the bag runs out; refill it from the discard pile and keep drawing to 3. Ruling · Rule
- Putting coins lost to an attack back in the supply; they go in the box for good. Ruling · Rule
- Claiming the initiative while already holding it, to keep it for next round. Ruling · Rule
- Paying for extra Berserker maneuvers from your hand, or boxing the coins; they come off the Berserker and go face up in your discard pile. Ruling · Rule
- Using the Lancer tactic just to move two spaces; it needs a target to attack. Ruling · Rule
- Moving a unit through an occupied hex during a two-space move. Ruling · Rule
- Paying for the Royal Guard tactic with a Royal Guard coin; only the Royal Coin works. Ruling · Rule
Showing 75 of 75
My bag runs out while I draw. Do I play with fewer coins? Official
No. Draw what is left, put your whole discard pile in the bag, shuffle and keep drawing until you hold three. You only play a short hand when your bag and discard pile together hold fewer than three coins.
Source: BGG thread
Do I draw my next hand as soon as my own hand is empty? Official
No. Everyone draws at the start of the next round, after all players have used their coins.
Source: BGG thread
Can I claim the initiative when I already hold the marker, to stop my opponent taking it? Official
No. You cannot claim initiative while you hold the marker, and the marker changes hands at most once per round.
Source: BGG thread
Is passing a single coin or does it end my round? Official
Passing is one action that costs one coin, discarded face down. On your next turn you can pass again or do anything else.
Source: BGG thread
My coins don't match anything I can use. Can I throw the hand away and draw again? Official
No. Every coin can still recruit, claim initiative (if you don't hold it) or pass, each discarded face down.
Source: BGG thread
Can I count the coins in my bag, and can my opponent? Official
Yes to both. The count follows from what is in hand, in the discard pile, in the supply and in the box, so it is open information. Your own face-down discards are known to you.
Source: BGG thread
Are the coins removed from the game open information? Official
Yes. Anyone may look at and count the coins that went back in the box.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Why can't the Royal Coin act as a wild coin? Official
On purpose: it stops "small bagging", keeping only a few coins in the bag so that the same units come out every round.
Source: BGG thread
Where does a coin removed by an attack go? Official
Back in the box, not the supply or the discard pile. It never comes back (except through the Reinforce decree from Nobility).
Source: BGG thread
Can I attack my own units? Official
No. An attack targets an enemy unit.
Source: BGG thread
Can a unit move through another unit when it moves more than one space? Official
No. Every space it enters must be empty, whether the unit in the way is friendly or an enemy.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can every unit make a normal attack? Official
Every unit except the Archer and the Lancer (and, from Siege, the Trebuchet), which attack only with their tactics.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Is "you may" on a card optional, and is anything without "may" required? Official
"You may" is optional. An effect without it is required, for example the Warrior Priest's draw.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does an "after this unit attacks" ability work if the attack destroys the attacker? Official
It triggers, but it can fizzle. The Warrior Priest still draws and the Assassin still removes a coin. A Swordsman with no coin left can't move, and a Berserker or Bannerman with nothing left on the board does nothing. The same holds when the Sacrifice decree destroys the attacker. This ruling replaces earlier answers that said such abilities never trigger.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
When several abilities trigger at once, which goes first? Official
The active player picks the order, and each action resolves completely before the next one starts.
Source: Nobility rules sheet
Can the Archer attack an adjacent unit? Official
No. It attacks only with its tactic, two spaces away.
Source: Rulebook FAQ
Can the Crossbowman attack an adjacent unit? Official
Yes. Its tactic reaches two spaces in a straight line, and it can also make a normal attack.
Source: Rulebook FAQ
Can the Crossbowman shoot through a Fortification with no unit on it? Official
Yes. A Fortification is not a unit, so it doesn't block the shot.
Source: BGG thread
Do the Archer or the Lancer need to be bolstered to attack a Knight? Official
Yes. Their tactics are still attacks, so the Knight's rule applies.
Source: BGG thread
Does a Berserker discard coins from its hand for each extra maneuver? Official
No. One coin from hand starts it. Each extra maneuver is paid by taking a coin off the Berserker stack and putting it face up in your discard pile, not in the box.
Source: BGG thread
Does the Berserker remove the coin before or after its extra action? Official
Before. It is a cost: a two-coin Berserker that pays to attack again is down to one coin and can no longer attack a Knight.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the Cavalry use its tactic when it is already next to its target? Official
Yes. It may move one space and then attack an adjacent unit, which can be the same one.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the Ensign move a unit anywhere within two spaces? Official
No. It gives that unit a normal one-space move, ending within two spaces of the Ensign. A moved Berserker can use its ability, and its owner controls it.
Source: Rulebook FAQ · BGG thread
Can the two Footman units do different maneuvers with the tactic? Official
Yes, one after the other in the order you choose. One can control while the other moves.
Source: Rulebook FAQ · BGG thread
Can I deploy both Footman units with one coin? Official
No. Each deploy is its own action; the second Footman can join later. The tactic also can't chain into further tactics.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the Lancer use its tactic just to move two spaces? Official
No. It needs a legal target for the attack when you start the tactic, and the attack is in the same straight line as the move.
Source: Rulebook FAQ · BGG thread
Can the Light Cavalry move just one space? Official
Yes. It can make a normal move or use its two-space tactic.
Source: Rulebook FAQ
Can the Marshall give an attack to the Archer or the Lancer? Official
No. It grants a normal attack only. Attack abilities of the Warrior Priest, Berserker and Swordsman still trigger after it.
Source: Rulebook FAQ
Does the Mercenary ability work if the Mercenary is not on the board? Official
No. It gives the Mercenary on the board a free maneuver; it can't deploy it or recruit.
Source: Rulebook FAQ
Does the Pikeman hurt the attacker if either unit has only one coin? Official
Yes. It happens with the attack, whatever the result, and it is not an attack itself, so it also hits a Knight. A one-coin Knight attacking a one-coin Pikeman destroys both.
Source: Rulebook FAQ · BGG thread
Which attacks don't trigger the Pikeman? Official
Only attacks from more than one space away: the Archer, and the Crossbowman when it isn't adjacent. A Royal Guard that attacks a Pikeman loses a coin from its unit, not from its supply.
Source: BGG thread
Which coin pays for the Royal Guard tactic? Official
Only the Royal Coin, discarded face up. A Royal Guard coin cannot start this tactic.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can a teammate's Royal Coin move my Royal Guard? Official
No. Only the player who owns the Royal Guard can use their Royal Coin to move it.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the Scout deploy next to a friendly unit when I have no free location? Official
Yes. It deploys next to any friendly unit, or on a location you control. You still can't have two Scouts on the board.
Source: BGG thread
What can I do with the coin the Warrior Priest draws? Official
Use it at once for any action that coin could normally take: deploy, bolster or maneuver its unit, or recruit, claim initiative or pass. The Royal Coin drawn this way can only do face-down actions.
Source: Rulebook FAQ · BGG thread · BGG thread
Can I capture my opponent's starting locations? Official
Yes, like any other enemy location.
Source: Rulebook FAQ
How many locations does each side need? Official
All its Control Markers: six in a two-player game (two start on the board, four to go), eight per team with four players (three start on the board, five to go).
Source: BGG thread
Can I recruit coins for my teammate? Official
No. Recruit is for your own units. Anything that says "friendly" works on your teammate's units too.
Source: BGG thread
Can the initiative change hands twice in a round with four players? Official
No. It moves at most once per round, and never from your teammate.
Source: BGG thread
Can I tell my teammate which coins I hold? Official
Yes, out loud so the other team hears. You may not show your coins.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does an attack from the Sacrifice or Guard decree trigger unit abilities? Official
Yes, they are normal attacks: Warrior Priest, Berserker and Swordsman abilities trigger, and so does the Pikeman. The Archer and the Lancer can't use these decrees.
Source: Nobility rules sheet
Where does the coin removed by Sacrifice go? Official
Into your discard pile, not out of the game.
Source: BGG thread
Sacrifice targets a Royal Guard. Where does its lost coin come from? Official
Its owner may take it from the supply, because Sacrifice grants an attack.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
What happens to a bolstered unit's coins when I Redeploy it? Official
The whole stack is deployed again, still bolstered.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Can the Earl's tactic proclaim Redeploy on the Earl itself? Official
Yes, even onto the location it just took, and its ability then lets it move.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the Bishop's move or attack apply to the coin it recruited? Official
No. The Bishop recruits any coin, then the Bishop moves or attacks. If it recruits a Mercenary, finish the Bishop first, then the Mercenary maneuvers.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does a move from the enemy Bannerman trigger my Berserker? Official
No. The Bannerman's move is not a maneuver.
Source: BGG thread
Does the Herald's bolster count as recruiting a Mercenary? Official
No, it is only a bolster.
Source: BGG thread
Can the Herald's free maneuver after a proclaim be its tactic? Official
Yes. A tactic is a maneuver.
Source: BGG thread
Can the new Royal Guard jump over units to reach a location? Official
No. It makes moves, so every space it passes through must be empty.
Source: BGG thread
Can I proclaim Spy when my opponent has no coins in hand? Official
Yes, the designers and AEG allow it.
Source: BGG thread
Does Reinforce only work on Royal Guard coins? Official
No. Every attack removes a coin from play, and Reinforce can bring any of them back to your supply.
Source: BGG thread
Does Guard work on a unit standing on my teammate's location? Official
Yes, any location your team controls.
Source: BGG thread
Can I play Bishop or Bannerman without the Royal Decrees? Official
Yes, and the same goes for the Siege weapons without Fortifications.
Source: BGG thread
Can a Siege Tower attack twice if its first attack leaves it with one coin? Official
Yes. It only needs to be bolstered when the tactic starts.
Source: Siege rules sheet
Does the War Wagon have to move when it uses its tactic? Official
Yes. It pushes the other unit and fills the space it left.
Source: Siege rules sheet
Can the War Wagon take the coin a neighbour loses to a Pikeman? Official
No. The Pikeman's effect is not an attack. If the Pikeman itself is attacked and the War Wagon takes that loss, the Pikeman still hurts the attacker.
Source: Siege rules sheet
Can the Archer or the Trebuchet attack a Fortification? Official
Only with an attack they are allowed to make: their tactics. Any attack that can hit a unit can hit a Fortification.
Source: BGG thread
Can I attack my own Fortification? Official
The rules don't forbid it.
Source: BGG thread
Can the Sapper build a Fortification during its tactic? Official
In practice no: after attacking a Fortification it never ends up on a location it can fortify.
Source: BGG thread
Can a unit in a Fortification be poisoned? Official
Yes.
Source: Nightfall rulebook
Can an Assassin or Saboteur poison a Bishop or a Knight? Official
Yes, bolstered or not: poisoning is not an attack.
Source: Nightfall rulebook
One Footman unit is poisoned. Can I still use Footman coins? Official
Yes, on the other Footman, and its tactic lets the poisoned one maneuver too. One Footman coin discarded face up unpoisons both if both are poisoned.
Source: Nightfall rulebook · BGG thread
Can the Royal Coin move a poisoned Royal Guard? Official
Yes.
Source: Nightfall rulebook
Can a unit carry both Poison Counters? Official
Yes. It takes two face-up coins to clear both, one per counter. The Assassin's ability works on a unit the Saboteur poisoned.
Source: BGG thread
When the Assassin attacks a poisoned unit, how many coins are lost? Official
Two: the attack removes one from the unit, and the ability removes one from that unit's supply. With no coin left in that supply, the ability does nothing.
Source: BGG thread · Nightfall rulebook
Does the Skirmisher's Decoy block every attack of a Siege Tower? Official
No. It cancels one coin loss; the second attack removes a coin as normal. "After it attacks" abilities, like the Warrior Priest's, still trigger on a blocked attack.
Source: Nightfall rulebook
Does the Infiltrator's Decoy work when it takes a neutral location? Official
Yes. Its ability works whenever it controls a location; only its tactic needs an enemy one. It does nothing while its Decoy Coin is away from its card.
Source: Nightfall rulebook
Which coins go to the discard pile when a unit is shocked? Official
Only the shocked unit's coins on the board. A second Footman unit keeps its coins.
Source: BGG thread
Can the Heavy Cavalry move one space, or move two without shocking? Official
It always moves exactly two spaces in a straight line. It may end on an empty space; if it ends on an enemy, it must be able to shock that unit, so never on an enemy in a Fortification.
Source: Shock Tactics rulebook
Which unit does the Warlord shock, and can it choose itself? Official
The friendly unit it maneuvered is shocked. It cannot choose itself.
Source: BGG thread · BGG thread
Does the Vanguard need to be bolstered for its tactic? Official
No. The printed FAQ that suggests it is a misprint.
Source: BGG thread
Can the Raider pay its tactic with another unit's coin? Official
No, the coin comes off the Raider itself.
Source: BGG thread
When does the Rearguard move during a multi-attack? Official
Straight after each attack and its effects. It can move between the two Siege Tower attacks, or several times during a Berserker's run.
Source: Shock Tactics rulebook
The War Drummer stacks several coins on one bag. Which is drawn first? Official
The last one placed. It can target any player's bag, a teammate's too.
Source: Shock Tactics rulebook