Teach the Game
A read-aloud introduction to a cooperative Modern mission.
How you win
You are a small team crossing hostile territory to complete a mission before time runs out. Choose your Soldiers and equipment, open a route through Locations, manage enemy fire, and fulfill the Objective together.
Read the Objective first: it tells you exactly what success requires. Buy a team capable of doing that job, then spend Actions and cards to get it into position. This guide uses Modern fourth-edition organization; older cards and later replacement cards can differ. Follow your applicable card text, which takes precedence over the general rules.
The boards
- Deck areas — Hostile deck and Action deck; the Location deck sits beside them.
- Starting Mission — path space 1, where every Soldier starts.
- Mission Timer Track — the
counter shows the turns left. - Location path — numbered spaces 2–12 toward the Objective.
- Hostile area — Hostile cards sit above the Location they are in.
- Turn reminders — the printed turn and attack sequences.
The Mission card is the starting Location (path space 1). The Objective sits in the numbered Location specified by the Mission; the empty spaces between them become your route. Soldier counters show where each Soldier stands, and Hostiles are placed above their Locations. The timer counts down complete mission turns. Keep each Player Soldier’s cards, ammunition and Action counters separate.
See mission preparation for the board reference.
A round
- Soldier turn: refresh Actions, resolve applicable Environment checks, then let Soldiers act in any order. Spend an Action to move, attack, reload, clear one Suppress, or discard and refill a Player Soldier’s hand. Play cards and use other activities at their printed timing/cost.
- Explore: a Soldier in the frontmost played Location lets you play the next Location from a Player Soldier’s hand. Pay its printed play cost and draw its Hostiles. The team can play only one new Location this turn.
- Hostile turn: draw reinforcements, resolve attacks, move out-of-range Hostiles toward firing range, remove one
per Hostile card, then move the down one space.
See the full sequence, movement and combat.
How the game ends
Success comes from the Objective’s exact requirements; some check at the end of the Soldier turn. The team need not all stand on the Objective unless its rules require that. You lose when time expires or the last Soldier is Downed, and must obey any additional scenario failure condition. If the same Action completes the Objective and Downs the final Soldier, success takes priority.
An Escape mission instead begins at the active Objective and travels back toward the Mission. Read its different setup and timing before starting.
Ways to score
| Result or resource | How and when |
|---|---|
| Mission success | Meet every requirement on the Objective; apply its stated timing. |
| Mission failure | Timer passes below 1, the final Soldier is Downed, or a card’s failure condition occurs. |
Experience Points (XP)  | The Soldier dealing the final EKIA to a Hostile card gains its printed XP. These are spent on tactical effects; they are not victory points. Events award no XP. |
| Victory-point total | Standard Modern missions have no victory-point tally or scoring tie-break. Campaign and scenario instructions may track separate progress. |
What each resource is for
| Resource | Why you need it | Get it | Use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource Points | Build a mission-capable team | Mission’s budget | Buy Soldiers, Gear and Skills; actual team value selects Hostile chart rows. |
| Loadout | Limits a Player Soldier’s carried Gear | Soldier rating adjusted by Mission | Fit Weapons, Equipment and spare Ammo; Skills use no Loadout. |
Actions  | Carry out paid activities | Refresh printed allowance each turn | Move, attack, reload, clear Suppress, refill cards; some cards need Actions too. |
| Action cards | Improve tactics and fund entrance costs | Player Soldier begins at Health-sized hand; refill costs an Action | Play their effects, discard for costs, or exchange Location Markers for Locations. |
Ammo and consumables  | Keep Weapons/Equipment functioning | Printed starting allotment and purchases | Track reloads and expend uses as their cards require. |
| XP | Upgrade effects and sustain support | Printed starting benefits and final Hostile kills | Upgun bracketed text, retain support and pay printed XP costs. |
| Health | Keeps Soldiers fighting | Printed starting value |  Wounds reduce it; current Health affects hand refill and printed action tables. |
Hardy  | Resist relevant Environment conditions | Specific Soldier, Skill or Equipment benefit | Spend a matching counter when an Environment check fails. |
Teaching tips
- Read the chosen Objective and required attack types before anyone buys equipment.
- Demonstrate one ordinary attack with a d10 and a d6: both succeed =
EKIA; exactly one succeeds = Suppress; neither = no effect. - Give every Player Soldier a separate hand. Explain that the number of people is different from the number of Soldiers purchased.
- Show the timer before the first turn. Finding a Location and paying its entrance can matter as much as killing an enemy.
Sources
DVG Universal Rulebook, pp. 8–9, 27–36, 40–51; Modern New Recruit Manual v1.1.3, pp. 3–23.