What goes on in the junkyards when nobody is around?

After the metal crushers shut down and the land movers roll back into their hangers after the underpaid employees clock out and call it a night, that's when the knights arrive, dressed in shimmering armor, impassioned with chivalry and a taste for war.

It is in the junkyards where these warriors find the tools for battle. And in the landfills, legends are born.

Components

• 112 cards
• Instructions.

Object of the Game

In Trash War, players go head to head in medieval, junkyard combat, using lethal scrap as weapons to break down opponents' walls.

The last knight standing becomes the hailed victor of the landfill battlefield.

Setup

Separate Wall cards from the rest of the deck. Deal 3 Wall cards to each player. Each player places his or her Wall cards face up on the table to create a fortress.

Thoroughly shuffle the rest of the cards and deal 5 to each player.

Place the rest of the cards in a facedown draw pile in the middle of the table. Make sure to leave space for 2 discard piles, a discard pile and a torched card pile next to the draw pile.

Cards that are discarded into the discard pile may be recycled into the game. Cards that go into the torched card pile are permanently removed from the game (discarding rules explained later).

It's time to cry havoc and unleash the junk-Yard dogs of war.

Game Play

Get ready to engage in rumbling junkyard combat. Players throw trash at each other to knock down opponents' fortress walls. When a player's final wall tumbles, he or she is eliminated from the game.

To begin, whoever can spew off the most blistering battlefield threat goes first.

Game turn order does not run clockwise or counter-clockwise. Turn order is determined by who throws trash at who. Hence, several turns may be exchanged between only 2 players while leaving others out of the game for a time.

The starting player begins the fight by selecting a Trash card from his or her hand and placing it face-up on any Wall card of any opponent's fortress. The attacker gets to choose which specific Wall card to attack.

If the starting player does not have a Trash card in his hand, he must discard 1 card and draw a replacement from the draw pile. If the replacement card is a Trash card, he must play it immediately, otherwise, play passes to the left.

Following the initial attack, junkyard combat begins. If you are the unlucky recipient of the first attack, it is your turn. You must react to incoming trash then launch a counter-attack at any player. Your turn (and every other turn in the game) consists of the following turn phases.

Phase 1: Defense

Defend the ramparts and let no unclean thing into your sanctum.

First, you may thwart or direct damage of an incoming attack by using a defense card such as a Mace, Deflect, or Shield card (read card descriptions below).

If you use a Mace card, you may immediately bat incoming trash at another player's fortress. Read the Mace card to find out whose fortress you may attack.

Once you have determined which opponent to attack, place the incoming Trash card on one of that opponent's Wall cards (your choice). Skip to The Redraw Phase (phase 4) of your turn.

If you use a Shield or Deflect card, you have stopped the trash attack in your stronghold. You must then go to the Burn or Repair Phase (Phase 2) of your turn.

Phase 2: Burn Or Repair

After a trash attack stops in your stronghold, whether you block it with a Shield card or it slams into one of your fortress walls, it's time to assess the battle damage and strengthen the ramparts.

You may use either a single Burn card to burn trash from your fortress walls or a single Repair card to repair a toppled fortress Wall card by turning it face up (read Burn Trash card and Repair Wall card descriptions below).

You may not both burn and repair in the same turn.

You may not use a Burn card as a defense card against incoming trash. You may only burn trash after it has hit your wall and done its full damage. That means you can lose a Wall card before having a chance to burn trash.

Phase 3: Launch Counter-attack

It's payback time. Choose a Trash card from your hand and launch it at an opponent by placing it on any of her Wall cards (your choice).

If you do not have a Trash card in your hand, discard 1 card and draw a replacement from the draw pile.

If the replacement card is a Trash card, you must play it immediately, otherwise, play passes to the player on your left.

Phase 4: Re-draw

Draw your hand back up to 5 cards from the draw pile.

Toppling Wall Cards

If a Wall card takes 4 points of trash damage, it is destroyed and must be turned over. If a player is forced to turn over all three of his Wall cards, his fortress has been razed and he is eliminated from the game.

The Cards

Defense Cards

Players may use any of the following cards during the Defense Phase (phase 1).

Mace Card

Of a knight's tools, perhaps the mace is the most trusted. With a little elbow grease and an accurate swing, you can use a Mace card to bat incoming trash toward other players' fortress walls.

Play a Mace card during the Defense Phase (phase 1) of your turn just before trash hits your wall. Each Mace card designates where you will send incoming trash. You can bat incoming trash toward the player on your right or left.

You may bat trash back to the player who sent it your way. You may even bat trash at any player's fortress wall. Read the Mace card as you play it to see where outgoing trash will land.

If you use a Mace card, your turn is over. Skip your remaining turn phases. Game play transfers to the defending player.

You may NOT use a Burn card to burn trash after using a Mace card.

Immediately discard Mace cards into the appropriate discard pile (discarding rules covered below) after playing them.

Deflect Card

Sometimes it's not about the amount of damage, but where you take the hit. As incoming trash threatens the security of your fortress, sometimes all you can do is direct it to stronger ramparts in your fortress walls.

You may use a Deflect card to override your opponent's aim and direct incoming trash to one of your Wall card of your choice. Sure, you have to take the hit, but at least you can choose where the damage lands.

Immediately discard Deflect cards to the appropriate discard pile (discarding rules covered below) after playing them.

Shield Card

The best offense is often a strong defense. As trash hurls through the air toward your fortress, it's time to put up your shields.

You may play a Shield card to block incoming trash. But be warned: trash artillery comes in different strengths.

To block incoming trash with a Shield card, the Shield card's defense value must meet or exceed the damage value of an incoming Trash card.

You can use a Shield card with a defense value of 3 to block a Trash card with a damage value of 3, 2, or 1. However, a Shield card with a defense value of 2 cannot block a Trash card with a damage value of 3.

Immediately discard Shield cards to the appropriate discard pile (discarding rules covered below) after playing them.

Wall Cards

At the beginning of the game, each player builds her fortress by placing 3 Wall cards face up on the table in front of her.

If a Wall card suffers 4 or more trash damage points, it is destroyed.

Turn it face down. Destroyed walls may be repaired using Repair Wall cards during the Burn and Repair phase of a turn.

Trash Cards

Trash, the chosen ammunition of honorable knights, is used to destroy enemy fortress walls. Attack opponents by placing Trash cards on enemy fortress Walls.

Attacking players choose which specific wall card to attack. Each Trash card is marked with a damage value.

If a Wall card suffers 4 or more accumulated trash damage points, that wall is destroyed (turned over).

Catapults

Tip the scales of war by using heavy artillery. Players may use a Catapult card to launch up to 3 Trash cards with any damage value(s) at any single Wall card.

Defending players may use up to the same number of defense cards (Mace, Deflect, or Shield cards) as the number of incoming Trash cards.

For example, if an attacking player uses a catapult to launch 2 Trash cards at an opponent.

The defending player may use up to 2 separate defense cards (Mace, Shield, or Deflect cards) against the incoming trash.

Immediately discard Catapult cards to the appropriate discard pile (discarding rules covered below) after playing them.

Burn Trash

Strengthen the ramparts by burning away the refuse.

You may use Burn cards to remove Trash cards from walls. During the Burn or Repair Phase (phase 2) of your turn, you may use 1 Burn card to rid your Wall cards of trash.

Burn any Trash cards whose total damage value is equal to or less than a single Burn card's burn value.

For example, with a Burn card that has a burn value of 3, a player may burn 1 Trash card with a damage value of 3 or 3 Trash cards with damage values 1.

You may burn trash from multiple Wall cards with a single Burn card, as long as the total damage value of all Trash cards being burned does not exceed the burn value of the Burn card used.

Remember, you may not use Burn cards to burn incoming trash. Burn cards may only be used during the Burn or Repair Phase (phase 2) of your turn after damage to walls has occurred. This means your wall may be destroyed before you have a chance to burn trash.

You may not use both a Burn Trash and Repair Wall card in the same turn.

Immediately discard Burn cards to the appropriate discard pile (discarding rules covered below) after playing them.

Repair Wall

You may use 1 Repair Wall card during the Burn or Repair phase (phase 2) of your turn.

To repair a Wall card, discard a Repair Wall card and turn any destroyed wall in your fortress face up.

Remember, you may not use both a Burn Trash and Repair Wall card in the same turn.

Discarding VS. Torching Cards

At the beginning of the game, leave space on both sides of the draw pile for 2 separate discard piles, the recycle discard pile and the torched card pile.

As you play cards, depending on the card types, you will place them on one of these two piles then immediately draw your hand back up to 5 cards from the draw pile.

The recycle discard pile may be recycled back into play. Cards that are placed on the torched card pile, depending on the Torching Phase (explained below), are permanently eliminated from the game.

Recycling Rhe Draw Pile

When the draw pile depletes to 0 cards, shuffle the recycle discard pile and turn it face down. This becomes the new draw pile. This is called recycling the draw pile. Each time the draw pile is recycled, a new Torching Phase begins. There are 2 Torching Phases.

Torching Phases

Cards marked with torches in the bottom right corner are eventually eliminated from the game, depending on the Torching Phase.

The first Torching Phase starts at the beginning of the game. During game setup, leave space on the table for 2 discard piles, the recycle discard pile and the torched card pile.

During the first Torching Phase, any card played that has 1 torch on the bottom right corner is placed face-up on the torched card pile.

Once the draw pile is depleted to 0, recycle the draw pile and remove the torched card pile from the game.

The 2nd Torching Phase then begins. Cards played that are marked with 2 torches on the bottom right corner are discarded face up onto the torched card pile.

After depleting the draw pile to 0 cards a 2nd time, recycle the draw pile and throw the torched card pile out of the game again.

At this point, all cards marked with torches, except those still in players' hands, have been eliminated from the game. Players may continue to play cards marked with torches from their hands. But rather than discarding them onto the recycle discard pile, toss them out of the game as they are played.

Recycle the draw pile as needed until the game ends.

Good luck, and may the gods of the landfill be with you in combat.

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