Aquila Aflame!

"The King is dead!" The king of Aquila has died in a freak hunting accident. Now, representatives from the surrounding provinces vie for power.

First, set your Attribute cards: Agriculture, Arcane, Defense, Diplomacy, Divinity, Espionage, Fleet, Military, Politics, Resources. You get to choose which attributes are your strengths and which are your weaknesses. You have ten Province Points to spend and they go fast, so spend them wisely.

Do you plan on shmoozing your way to the top with a strategy based on Politics and Diplomacy? Or will you smash your foes with the power of your Military? Maybe you will use intrigue and subterfuge with your Espionage attribute?

The patented "Window Inserts" allow you to customize your Attributes by sliding the window into place to choose the value you want. Just manipulate the insert by flipping it front to back and/or left to right to position the window where you want it.

During the game these inserts always stay in place, but your Attributes may be modified by other cards in play. For example, the "Archers" card gives +1 to Military. 

During the Actions phase each player takes turns resolving two single Actions or one double Action. Obviously, the double Actions are more powerful.

Most Actions involve a conflict between two players, who compare their modified Attribute to determine a winner. Sometimes, the difference between the two modified Attributes is important. A player may choose the single Action "Attack" or the double Action "All Out Attack" and the player with the lower Military Attribute takes damage equal to the difference (double the difference when going all out!) Only the defending player may use their Defense Attribute to lessen the damage. An interesting twist is that these sorts of Offensive Actions (along with Fleet Actions) can not be used during the Winter (Jan, Feb, Dec).

Players may use their Espionage Attribute to spy on another player's cards, or "Sabotage" one of their permanents. The double Action is to steal one of their permanents using "Betrayal".

Diplomacy Actions put treaties into play that affect multiple players. A Trade Treaty gives both players +1 Resources. A Defense Treaty gives both players +1 Defense. Politics can be used to draw cards or even to get Throne Points (see tomorrow's primer.)

Finally, the "Bid on Allies" Action allows you to steal another player's permanent by bidding cards, with the highest bid taking that Ally. 

The game begins in January and goes to December. The game includes a 12-sided die with the months on it to keep track.

At the beginning of each month is the Resources/Agriculture phase. Each player receives cards from the Draw Deck equal to their Resources Attribute plus five. Generally, they are dealt out by the fastest dealer.

After getting cards each player must feed their people by discarding a number of cards equal to their Agriculture Attribute. So, a lower Agriculture is better.

The cards in your hand are both the cards that you can play, like "Barracks" and the money you use to pay for those cards, by discarding. The Barracks have a cost of zero, so you don't have to discard any cards. But other cards are more powerful and you must discard additional cards to put them into play. These cards modify your attributes. The Barracks give a +1 to your total Military Attribute. 

By putting Permanents into their Play Area players can improve their Attributes over the course of the game. 

But some cards also grant Throne Points. The first player to get to six Throne Points and hold them for one round is the winner. Or, whomever has the most Throne Points at the end of December.

But having the most Throne Points during the game makes you a target. You'd better be able to defend yourself when you put the "King's Son" card into play. The other players can attack you by Military, Fleet, or Espionage to remove (or even steal) your Permanents.

Once a winner has been determined, it is customary for everyone to declare, "Long live the King." Enthusiasm levels are optional.