A Game of Thrones

To set up A Game of Thrones, each player first chooses one of the six Great Houses (Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Greyjoy, Tyrell, or Martell). Players then place their starting units (footmen, knights, siege engines, ships) on their designated starting positions on the game board, along with their Power tokens and Influence tokens. Each player receives a hand of seven House Cards unique to their chosen house. The Westeros decks (I, II, and III) are shuffled and placed face down, and the Supply track and Fiefdoms track are prepared with the appropriate tokens.

The primary objective in A Game of Thrones is to control the most castles and strongholds. The game can end in two ways: either after ten full rounds of play, or immediately when any player controls seven castles and strongholds. The player who meets this condition first, or has the most at the end of ten rounds, is declared the winner. Ties are broken by comparing the number of supply barrels, then the number of consolidated power tokens, and finally by the position on the Iron Throne track.

A round of A Game of Thrones consists of three main phases: the Westeros Phase, the Planning Phase, and the Action Phase. In the Westeros Phase, cards are drawn from the Westeros decks, triggering events such as supply adjustments, mustering new units, or special actions. The Planning Phase is where players secretly assign order tokens (March, Defense, Support, Consolidate Power, Raid) to their controlled areas. Finally, in the Action Phase, these orders are revealed and resolved in a specific sequence, leading to movement, combat, and resource collection.

Scoring in A Game of Thrones is straightforward: the player who controls the most castles and strongholds at the end of the game wins. Castles and strongholds are marked on the game board, and their control is determined by the presence of a player's units in that territory. The game's end conditions are crucial for scoring, as reaching seven castles/strongholds immediately triggers victory, while otherwise, the player with the most at the end of the tenth round wins.

The game concludes under two specific conditions. The first is if any player manages to control seven castles and strongholds at any point during the game; that player immediately wins. The second condition is if ten full game rounds are completed. In this scenario, the game ends, and the player who controls the most castles and strongholds at that moment is the victor. If there's a tie in controlled castles/strongholds, tie-breakers are applied based on supply, consolidated power, and Iron Throne position.