Alliance Version

For 4 Players Playing in Competing Alliances

Your army is camped on a great battlefield. Across from you is your ally's army. Opposing you both are the armies of your opponents. When the battle begins, your goal is simple: advance your flag until it is adjacent to your teammate's flag.

If you can "unite" your flags, you win the game. Of course the two opposing armies are trying to beat you by uniting their own flags. (You can also win by capturing both of their flags).

You and your teammate secretly plan how you'll advance your forces and attack your opponents.

You'll decide where on the battlefield you hope to unite your flags, how to confuse your opponents, and where to attack them. Reinforcements will arrive, cannons will fire, cavalry will charge and scouts will make long range strikes. The battle awaits you.

Game Components

• Game Board (use the red 4 Player side)
• 4 sets of Playing Pieces in 4 colors

Note: The two sets of blue colored Pieces are "allied" and the two sets of red colored Pieces are "allied".

Before Playing for the First Time

Insert the cardboard Tokens inside each Playing Piece as shown in Illustration A. Take care to match the color of each Token with the same colored Playing Piece.

Before the Battle Starts

Place all 20 of your Pieces in front of you. Now select any 13 of your Pieces and place them, one each, on the 13 spaces of your camp.

Your Flag Piece MUST be among these 13 Pieces. (You will learn from experience how best to arrange your Pieces, and which ones to include at the start of the game). During play, you will bring in the remaining 7 Pieces. For now, keep these 7 Pieces in Reserve.

Important: When setting up, and during play, take care to make sure your opponents do not see the identity of your Pieces, except when you reveal a Piece involved in an attack.

Before the game begins teammates should secretly discuss their "battle plan". It is best to do so in separate rooms. The topics you discuss are up to you, but they should include your plans on how to attack the opponents, how to confuse them of your intentions and - most importantly - where you'll unite your own Flags to win the game.

It's also a good idea to decide on a code phrase or gesture to use when you think you're adjacent to your teammate's Flag, so you won't have to reveal it if you are mistaken.

Game Play

Decide which player will move first and then play in turn. On your turn, you may move ONE of your Pieces or attack an opposing Piece.

Note: Should you be unable to do either action, the game is over and you lose.

Moving Your Pieces & How To Attack

In this version, Cannons and Flags move differently (as stated below). For an explanation of how all of the other Pieces move and how they attack, please refer to the other side of this Rules Screen (under 2-Player Lightning Version).

Cannons No Rank: "•"

Cannons move one space per turn, except when attacking. When you wish to attack with ("fire") a Cannon, it must move exactly 3 spaces in a straight line and the first two spaces must be vacant.

The opposing Piece in the third space, regardless of its rank, is defeated and you capture it. Cannons can fire over lakes, with each lake space counting as one space.

Once you attack with a Cannon, it must be removed from the board, but you add it to your Reserves, so you will be able to return it to the board and attack with it again. A Cannon is captured by any piece that attacks it.

Your flag No Rank: "F"

Your Flag can advance on the battlefield one space per turn, but is defenseless against any attack. Keep that in mind: any Piece that attacks your Flag captures it.

Captured Flags are taken to either one of the opponents' two Stockades.

Escape: A Flag can move out of a Stockade only if no enemy Piece is standing guard on any of the four adjacent spaces.

Rescue: If you move a Piece to a space adjacent to a Stockade where your Flag (or your ally's Flag) is held captive, the Flag is rescued and placed immediately on a vacant space in its camp.

Using your Reserves

You may enter one of your Reserve Pieces onto any vacant space in your camp according to these two conditions:

1. Instead of moving on your turn, you may enter a Piece from your Reserve.
2. If you win an attack, as a BONUS, you may enter any one of your Reserve Pieces immediately.

End of the Game

You and your ally have two ways of winning: Your two Flags meet on the Game Board or you capture both of your opponents' Flags.

1. Uniting flags: You move your Flag to a space adjacent to an allied Piece, which you presume is your ally's Flag: You touch the other Piece and say your code-phrase for "Our Flags Unite". If your ally agrees, the game is over. Shake hands and show the two Flags to your opponents (But if it was a mistake - your ally says that it was not his Flag - play is resumed as if nothing has happened).

2. Capturing flags: The moment you or your ally capture your opponents' second Flag (their first one already being held in captivity in a Stockade) the game is over.

Alliance "Lightning" Version

For 4 Players Playing in Competing Alliances

For a fast-playing 4-player Alliance game, do the following:

Setup

Each player starts with 13 Pieces and no Reserves. The 13 Pieces each player will do battle with include: one each of Ranks 3 through 10, 1 Spy, the Flag, 1 Cannon and 2 Scouts. The remaining 7 Pieces of each army are out of the game and are not used.

Game Play

There are two changes:

1. Cannons are not removed when they attack. An attacking Cannon moves to the space vacated by the captured defending Piece and remains in play.

2. Since there are no Reserves, no additional Piece enters play following a successful attack. Once captured, a Piece is out of play.

End of the Game

Same as in the 4-Player Alliance Version.

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