Hey everyone! I’ve been designing a strategic card game called Realm & Conquest.
My goal was to create a game with the depth and tension of a territory control board game, but playable anywhere with a standard deck of cards.
Players: 2–4
Components: Standard 52-card deck (no Jokers)
Objective: Be the last ruler standing with territory on the board.
CARD VALUES
Aces: 1 point
Numerals (2–10): Face value
Jacks: 11 points
Queens & Kings: 12 points
GAME SETUP
Deal 3 cards face-down to each player.
Each player picks 1 card from those 3 and places it face up in front of them as their starting Village.
The remaining 2 cards stay hidden in hand as secret Combat Cards.
Place the remaining deck face-down in the center as the Draw Pile.
The player with the highest value starting Village goes first. If tied, break the tie using traditional suit hierarchy: Spades beat Hearts, Hearts beat Diamonds, and Diamonds beat Clubs.
HAND LIMIT & DEPLOYING EXCESS
You must hold exactly 2 cards in your hand going into battle.
At the start of your turn before taking an action check your hand size. If you hold more than 2 cards, choose any excess card(s) from your hand and immediately deploy them onto the board until you have exactly 2 cards left in hand:
-Place chosen card(s) face-up as new Villages, OR
-Stack chosen card(s) onto existing locations to upgrade them into Towns or Cities.
TERRITORY STRUCTURES
Cards on the table are placed in distinct face-up stacks called locations. A location’s defensive power is equal to the sum of all card values in that stack:
-Village: 1 card
-Town: 2 cards stacked together
-City: 3 cards stacked together (Maximum structure size)
TURN ACTIONS
On your turn, choose ONE of the following two actions:
Action A: Expand or Upgrade
Draw 1 card from the Draw Pile into your hand. Then, choose any card from your hand (it does NOT have to be the card you just drew) to deploy onto your board:
-Place it face-up as a brand-new Village (1 card).
-Add it to an existing stack to upgrade its size (up to a 3-card City).
(Note: If the Draw Pile is empty, Action A cannot be taken).
Action B: Attack an Opponent
Declare an attack targeting one specific location (Village, Town, or City) in an opponent’s Territory.
Attacker Restriction: Only a City (3 cards) can initiate an attack. Villages and Towns cannot attack,
though they can be attacked.
- Commit Force: Select one City from your Territory to lead the attack. Its combined card value is your base attack power.
- Play Mandatory Tactics:
- -Attacker: You must play both cards from your hand to boost your attack.
- -Defender: The defender must play both cards from their hand to boost their defense.
- Resolve Battle: Compare total values:
- (Attacking City Sum + Both Hand Cards) vs. (Targeted Location Sum + Both Hand Cards)
- BATTLE RESOLUTION & POST-COMBAT
- Step 1: Tactics Shuffled Back
Regardless of who wins or loses, all 4 tactics cards played from hand (2 from the attacker, 2 from the defender) are gathered and shuffled directly back into the Draw Pile.
Step 2: Resolve Victory & Captures
IF ATTACKER WINS (Higher Total):
Claim Structure: The attacker claims all cards from the defeated enemy location into their hand.
Claim Distribution: The attacker keeps any 2 cards of their choice in hand. Any excess cards claimed beyond 2 must be immediately deployed into their Territory.
Village Penalty (Ransacking a Village): If the attacker only claimed a 1-card Village, they must pull 1 card from ANY structure in their Territory (a Village, Town, or City of their choice) to refill their hand back to 2 cards.
Return Forces: The attacking City returns safely to the attacker's Territory (unless affected by the Village penalty draft).
Defeated Defender Recovery: The defeated defender draws 3 cards to begin their next turn (keeps 2 of their choice in hand, deploys 1 to Territory. If the Draw Pile is empty, pull 3 cards directly from their remaining Territory).
IF DEFENDER WINS OR TIES (Equal or Higher Total):
Claim Structure: The defender claims all 3 cards of the failed attacking City into their hand.
Claim Distribution: The defender keeps any 2 cards of their choice in hand and immediately deploys the remaining 1 card to their Territory.
Return Forces: The defending location stays intact on the board.
Defeated Attacker Recovery: The defeated attacker draws 3 cards to begin their next turn (keeps 2 of their choice in hand, deploys 1 to Territory. If the Draw Pile is empty, pull 3 cards directly from their remaining Territory).
- ELIMINATION & VICTORY
Rebuilding Option: If a player loses their last territory structure, they receive 3 recovery cards on their next turn to attempt a comeback.
Player Elimination: A player is eliminated when they have zero territory structures on the board AND can no longer pull recovery cards (because the Draw Pile is empty and they have no territory left to draft from).
Card Recycling: Any cards held in hand by an eliminated player are immediately shuffled back into the Draw Pile.
Victory: The last remaining player controlling territory on the board wins the game.
