Board Game Hidden Leaders

A fast card game of bluffing and deduction. This is a cunning and subtle filler that will suit both beginners and geeks. If you like fast card strategies, then you will like this game.

Backstage struggle for the throne

The game takes place on a kind of island of Oshra. The Emperor has died, and now different factions are fighting for power. The Imperial army is fighting with the mountain tribes, the undead want the entire island to be engulfed in war, and the watermen, on the contrary, are happy with relative parity. Players act as the Emperor`s children. By manipulating the factions, they strive to seize the vacant throne.

Before the game starts, green and red markers are placed on the starting slot of the influence track. Players receive secret leader cards. Each leader is supported by 2 specified factions. Players do not show these cards to their opponents until the end of the game. Participants also receive 5 hero cards from the deck: one is placed in the squad in front of them, the second is discarded in the wilderness, and three are kept in their hand.

Game progress

The game consists of 3 rounds. Players take turns, clockwise. On their turn, a player:

• plays a hero card from their hand into their squad, applies the card`s property, and moves the green and/or red marker along the influence track

OR

• discards up to 3 cards to the backwoods.

The player then draws face-up hero cards from the tavern or face-down cards from the hero deck in the port, to bring their hand to 4 cards. Then the player discards the extra cards so that 3 cards remain in the hand.

End of the game

The game continues until a player collects a certain number of cards in the squad (depending on the number of participants).

Next, the players determine the winning faction:

• The Dead win if both markers are in the war zone on the influence track;
• The Waters win if both markers are on the same or adjacent divisions of the influence track;
• The Imperialswin if the red marker is at least 2 divisions to the right green;
• Highlanders win if the green marker is at least 2 divisions to the right of the red one.

Finally, the players reveal the secret leader cards. The one who is supported by the winning faction wins. If there are several such players, the one with the most heroes of the winning faction in the squad wins.