Royal Ruin

This game uses a standard deck of playing cards to pit two groups of heroes against one another in an epic battle involving tactics, spells, and espionage. The game is for 2-players and usually takes 20 to 30 minutes to play.

If you are familiar with fantasy role-playing games then you will immediately recognize many of the game’s concepts. In this game the three court cards - the King, Queen, and Jack - become the Knight, the Witch, and the Thief. Each hero type has it’s own unique strengths and abilities.

The setup is easy, the action is fast, and you more than likely already have a deck of cards lying around. So the next time you and a gaming friend are looking for a little action why not use those cards and see how your valiant knight fares in battle against some wily thieves and crafty witches?

Each player is dealt 4 court cards and these will become their Party of Heroes. The heroes are placed in a 2x2 pattern in front of each player, called their Marching Order. In this way the two teams can be imagined to be facing each other in a battle formation. The position of each hero in the marching order is important as some hero types are more effective on the front lines while others are better off in the rear.

The game is played in rounds similar to RPG games where initiative, movement, special abilities, and attacks are used to hinder and eliminate the members of the opposing party.

Attacks are resolved by comparing cards played from the players hands (their "Inventories") and if it succeeds then an extra combat step is played to determine if the defender survived the attack or not. Throughout the combat decisions must be made and there is a press your luck element to the fighting.

First team to eliminate the other wins!