The Board

The game takes place on a board consisting of several spaces. Every space may have up to one Unit located there.

Cities

Certain spaces on the map are Cities. Cities may be loyal to at most one Nation. A City which is not loyal to any Nation is neutral.

The Nations

A Nation is a type of non-player game entity which can own Cities and Units. If a Player controls all of a Nation’s Units, that Player is the leader of that Nation. A Nation’s Unit Limit is equal to the number of Cities it owns.

Beginning the Cycle

At the start of the Cycle, the Grand Auction opens and remains open for [2 days], or until all auctions have closed. After this Grand Auction closes, Spring will begin.

Winning the Cycle

At the end of any Phase, if a Nation owns a simple majority of all Cities, that Nation becomes the Hegemon. If the Hegemon has a leader, the Cycle ends in a win for that Player. Otherwise, the Cycle ends in a draw between all players who control Units loyal to that Nation.

Units

A Unit is a type of game entity which exists in a certain space on the board. Units must be loyal to exactly one Nation. At the end of any Phase, if a Unit is not loyal to any Nation, or is loyal to multiple Nations, or if a Unit is located in an invalid space, that Unit is disbanded. When a Unit is disbanded, it is immediately removed from the game.

Shares

Every Unit has exactly 1 Share. Shares may be owned by exactly one Player. If a Player owns a simple majority of owned Shares belonging to a Unit, that Player controls that Unit. If a Unit is not controlled by any Player, then it is disordered. All Shares have a numeric property called its buy-in value, which starts at 0. A buy-in value must be an integer greater than or equal to 0.

Coins

At the start of the Cycle, all Players have 10 coins. All Players joining the Cycle will start with 10 coins.

Time

At the start of the Cycle, the year is 1. Each year will consist of 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. At the end of each season, the Game Master will resolve the player’s actions during that season and begin the next season. All rule proposals shall take effect at the beginning of the season after they were passed.

Spring

During Spring, all Players who control Units will privately submit their orders to the Game Master. All disordered Units will hold. Spring shall last for [2 days], or until all Players have submitted their orders. At the end of Spring, if any Units have been routed during that season, the season will change to Summer, otherwise it will change to Fall.

Summer

During Summer, all Players who control routed Units will privately submit retreat orders to the Game Master. If any disordered Units are routed, they will automatically disband. Summer shall last for [1 day], or until all Players with routed Units have submitted retreat orders. At the end of Summer, the season will change to Fall.

Fall

At the start of Fall, if a Unit is in a City which is not loyal to the same Nation, the City will become Loyal to that Nation. The Player who controls that Unit earns 10 coins. During Fall, all Nations with more Units than their Unit Limit must disband excess Units as a National Action, and all Nations may build Units up to their Unit Limit as a National Action. Fall shall last for [2 days], or until all Nations have resolved their National Actions. At the end of Fall, the season will change to Winter.

Winter

At the start of Winter, the Grand Auction opens. Winter shall last for [2 days], or until all auctions are closed. At the end of Winter, the Grand Auction closes, the season will change to Spring, and the year increases by 1.

The Grand Auction

When the Grand Auction opens, all Shares not owned by any Player will automatically be put up for Auction. Additionally, while the Grand Auction is open, and more than [24 hours] remain until it closes, any Player with sufficient coins may start an Auction for any owned Share by paying that Share’s buy-in value. When the Grand Auction closes, all auctions immediately end.

Auctions

When an item is up for auction, Players may submit integer bids of at least 1 coin for it. A bid will overwrite all lower bids that Player has submitted for that item. A Player may not submit a bid if it would cause the total value of all their bids to exceed the amount of coins they possess. At the end of the auction, the single Player with the highest bid will buy the item for their bid. If no Player has submitted a bid, or if there is no unique highest bid, then the auction will end without the item being sold. If an item is up for auction, and no Player has made a bid in over [24 hours], then the auction immediately ends. When an auction for a Share ends in it being sold, its buy-in value becomes equal to the winning bid.

National Action

A National Action is an action that is taken by a Nation instead of a Player. When a Nation may take a National Action, the method in which that action is chosen is as follows. If that Nation has a leader, then they determine what to do. Otherwise, all Players who control Units loyal to that Nation will vote on what action to take. If, for any reason, no course of action can be determined for a National Action, no action shall be taken, unless one must be taken, then the Game Master shall choose a random course of action.

Orders

During Spring, Units may be issued orders to move to an adjacent space, hold position, or support a valid move finishing in an adjacent space. If a Unit is not issued orders, it will hold. Move and hold orders start with a strength of 1, and increase by 1 for each unit that successfully supports that order. If a Unit with a support order is attacked, then the support order will fail, even if that Unit is not routed.

Attacks

If two Units would move into the same space, then the order with the highest support succeeds, and the other Unit’s order will fail. If a Unit would move into a space occupied by a Unit that is holding position or supporting a move, then if the moving Unit’s order has a higher strength than the stationary Unit’s order, then the movement order will succeed, and the other Unit will be routed, and the Player who controls the victorious Unit will gain 5 coins. Otherwise, the movement order will fail.

Retreat

If a Unit is routed in Spring, then it must retreat in Summer. A routed Unit may move to any adjacent unoccupied space, except ones where Units battled in Spring. A Player may also choose to disband their Unit, rather than retreat.