Black Rose Wars

Setup begins by placing the Black Rose Room and Throne Room tiles adjacent to each other in the middle of the table. The remaining room tiles are shuffled and randomly placed around these central rooms, forming the lodge. Depending on the number of players (2, 3, or 4), a specific number of Mage cells are shuffled face-down and placed in designated spots around the lodge. Each non-cell location receives an activation token face-up, except for the Black Rose Room, which goes on the Power Board. The Power Board is placed alongside the map, receiving quest cards for the first moon phase and evocation cards. The Event Board is placed on the opposite side of the lodge, receiving a first moon event deck and damage/instability tokens for the Black Rose. If playing with fewer than four players, remove quest cards with the triangular dot symbol. The first player is determined by the person who last gave or received a rose and is given the first player crown. Each player chooses a Mage, takes their matching mini and character sheet, picks a color, and collects matching damage/instability tokens, protection/trap tokens, and rose pens. Players then choose their starting magic school (which no other player can pick) and select starting grimoires to create their spell card draw pile, placed to the left of their Mage sheet. Each player's point token and the Black Rose point token are placed on the zero space of the power track. Finally, Mage cells are flipped face-up, and each player's mini is placed in the cell of their chosen color. Magic school cards are returned to the table to form the base for each deck of spell cards, including the Forgotten spells, which enter the game in the second moon phase.

The primary objective in Black Rose Wars is to accumulate the most Power Points by the end of the game. Players, as Mages, compete against each other to become the new Master of the Black Rose artifact. Power Points are earned through various actions, including completing quests, dealing damage to opponents, and controlling unstable rooms. The game progresses through different moon phases, with more powerful and dangerous events and quests introduced as the game advances. Ultimately, the Mage with the highest Power Point total at the end of the game is declared the Grand Master of the Black Rose Order.

Gameplay unfolds over a series of turns, each divided into six distinct phases: Black Rose Phase, Study Phase, Preparation Phase, Action Phase, Evocation Phase, and Clean-up Phase. In the Black Rose Phase, the owner of the crown token is designated as the first player for the current turn, and event resolution occurs, potentially shifting active events, discarding old ones (granting Power Points to the Black Rose), and drawing new event cards. The Mage who would go last draws an event card, and any event cards with a crown symbol allow that Mage to take the crown token, becoming the first player next turn. Mages without at least one quest card draw one from the current moon phase's deck, with the option to discard it (giving Power Points to the Black Rose). In the Study Phase, each player draws two cards from their personal grimoire, and then draws any combination of four cards face-down from the six magic schools, keeping two and discarding two to their matching school's discard pile. If a Mage exceeds their hand limit, they must discard cards to their memory area. The Preparation Phase involves each Mage choosing their strategy by placing two to four spell cards face-down on their Mage sheet, with one card placed in the quick spell slot. Alignment is crucial, as spells have normal and reverse effects, and the order of the three main spells (left to right) is important for the upcoming Action Phase, though the quick spell is immune to this order. Once all players have placed their cards, the Preparation Phase ends, and spells are locked. The Action Phase begins by checking active events on the Event Board. Each player has two physical action tokens, each with two options: move up to two rooms and activate the room where they ended their movement, or inflict two damage to a target in their current room and activate that room. These actions cannot be divided to fit a spell or second physical action between them. Spells are activated by choosing them in the proper order and flipping them to reveal their effect. Traps and protection spells are placed face-down with a relevant token, awaiting a trigger. When taking damage, Mages assign damage tokens from the casting Mage's pool to the target's life bar from left to right. If a Mage runs out of life bar slots, they are defeated, return to their cell, and Power Points are awarded based on damage dealt. The Mage who delivered the killing blow receives a trophy token. Some powerful spells generate instability in the room from which they are cast, producing one instability token of the caster's color. Players continue performing actions until they have no more to take, at which point they pass. The Evocation Phase allows each minion to move and attack. Starting with the first player, each Mage may resolve all of their evocations in any order. If an evocation loses all its health points, its card is removed back to the Power Board. Finally, the Clean-up Phase involves Mages moving their expended spells to their memory pile, with unresolved traps being an exception, as Mages may retrieve them to their hand. All activation tokens on the board are reset to their available side. Rooms that have become unstable award their activation token to the Mage with the most instability tokens in that room. The game then checks for end-game conditions.

Power Points are the primary measure of success in Black Rose Wars and are accumulated throughout the game. Players earn points by completing quests, with the Mage completing the most quests receiving 6 Power Points, the second most receiving 3, and any other Mage with at least one completed quest gaining 1 point. Trophies, earned by defeating other Mages, also contribute to the final score: 4 Power Points for first place in trophies, 2 for second, and 1 for anyone else with at least one trophy. Unstable rooms, those with activation tokens acquired from destroying rooms, are each worth points. Additionally, the current crown bearer gains 1 Power Point. These points are tallied at the end of the game to determine the winner.

The game concludes under one of two conditions: either any Mage or the Black Rose itself reaches or exceeds 30 Power Points, or the third Moon Phase ends. Once an end-game condition is met, players proceed to calculate their final scores. This involves tallying Power Points from completed quests, trophies collected from defeated Mages, activation tokens from unstable rooms, and an additional point for the current crown bearer. The Mage with the highest total Power Points is declared the Grand Master of the Black Rose Order.