Nordguard - The Card Game
~ Rules v1.1 ~

~The Mission~
Nordguard is a cooperative game.
Players work as a team to cross the map before time runs out.



~The Map~
At the start of the game, choose the size of the map.
Recommended Maps:
4x4 ~ 1-2 players 5x5 ~ 2-3 players 6x6 ~ 3-4 players 7x7 ~ 4-7 players

Set Frontier and Destination aside (these cards can be identified by their blue backs). Shuffle all other Location cards to be used. Using Frontier as a corner, place the other cards left-to-right, top-to-bottom forming a rectangular map.
Place Destination in the corner opposite to Frontier.

The map may use any number of Location cards. The more Location cards you use to build the map, the tougher the run will be. The more Characters on the team, the easier it will be.

The team starts at Frontier and always moves as a group, represented by the Sled card or marker. Each turn, they may attempt to move North, South, East, or West,
but not diagonally.

Place the Location cards face up initially and study the map. Turn them face down before the team leaves Frontier and play begins. More than one set of Location cards may be used.



~The Team & Items~
Each player picks a Character and fills his or her Items slots with whatever Items they decide will be most useful. Some Characters are required to start with specific Items. They are required to leave Frontier at the start of the game with them, but may lose or drop them during the journey unless specified otherwise. Any Items gained my replace existing ones, but players can’t exceed their set number of Item slots.

Any time the team returns to Frontier, they may restock with whatever Items remain in the Item deck. If no Item cards remain, then no restocking is possible. Before the first turn, shuffle the Event cards and the unused Item cards face-down into separate piles.



~The Countdown~
Before the start of the game, count the height and width of the map. Add these numbers to determine how many days the team has to reach the Destination. Keep track of this countdown with the Countdown card and white plastic clip.

Each turn is one day.

At the end each turn, subtract a day from the Countdown timer. This is done even if Events have added or subtracted other days during the course of the turn.

The team wins the game by ending a turn in the Destination before the Countdown runs out. If the team fails to reach the Destination in time, or if at any point in the game the team is unable to move in ANY direction due to Events or Location challenges, the team loses.



~The Events~
The team must overcome any challenges on the card to move into the Location. If they fail, they stay in their current Location (do not draw an Event card) but may try again in future turns, re-rolling required die rolls. If they succeed, they move into the new Location and draw an Event card.

Follow the instructions on the Event card. If the Event forces the team back to their previous Location (i.e. “retreat”) they do not draw another Event card and may ignore the Location’s challenge. If the team is required to retreat to a Waypoint, but none are face up or present, they retreat to Frontier instead.

The team may be required to draw two or more Events in a turn. Deal with these one at a time. If an Event causes the team to leave that Location, ignore all other Events that would have been drawn there.

Event cards are discarded after use, but are shuffled back into the deck if Event cards run out. Some Event cards remain in the Location as permanent obstacles.



~ Key Terms ~

Challenge:
Any requirement for entry listed on a Location card is a challenge. If another card tells you to bypass a challenge, you may ignore all text on that Location card. Any Event cards placed on Locations are also challenges.

Combat Check:
When prompted by an Event or Location, the team may use guns to defend themselves. Each gun Item can be fired as may times as it has uses remaining, each use counting as 1 die roll added to the total. This total is compared to a total from the card prompting the check. The team may continue rolling until they run out of uses or stop early. Some characters get extra gun uses, due to accuracy. Items, such as Knife, adding a set amount to the total may only be used once per combat.

Drop:
Players may drop Items at any time. Anyone in that Location can pick a dropped Item up. Dropped Items go instantly to the Item deck when the players who dropped them leave that Location.

Gun Check/Gun Roll:
See Combat Check.

Random:
To randomly pick a card in use, collect those cards, shuffle them, and pick one. To randomly draw a card from a deck, shuffle that deck and draw.

Restock:
If the team is told to restock, they may pick any number of Items from the Items deck.

Retreat:
Skip instantly to the specified Location. Don't draw an Event card for entering this Location. Ignore any challenges to enter this Location. If you are required to retreat to a Waypoint and none are face-up or present, skip instantly to Frontier. (You can, as always, restock whenever you return to Frontier.)

Scout:
Nickel has the ability to scout ahead for the team. To do so, he picks a Location on the map, rolling any die rolls in advance. This result stays on the card in the form of dice or written note until after someone tries to enter it, counting as difficulty of the next attempt. If a scouted card is face down, turn it face up.

Other cards also allow players to scout Locations. Binoculars allow scouting once per turn, but only for the Locations directly North, South, East, or West of the player holding them. Binoculars can also be used to scout all Locations the team could move in one turn at once, but this costs a day from the Countdown.

Shuffle:
Some cards require you to shuffle the map. Any shuffled Locations lose Event cards placed on them. Any Locations simply moved, keep theirs.

Starting Items:
A character must carry their starting Items when the team first
leaves Frontier each game.

Steal:
Items stolen from players are put back in the Item deck unless otherwise stated. If a card tries to steal an Item that can’t be stolen, nothing is stolen.

Trade:
At any point, players in the same Location may trade Items among themselves. Unless the item has never been used, a traded Item with set uses is counted as having one use remaining, even if the team member would normally get extra uses. Other cards also allow trading. Items traded away to cards return to the Item deck.





~ Credits ~
Nordguard Universe & Original Art: Teagan Gavet & Tess Garman (nordguard.com)
Game Designer: Tempe O'Kun (furaffinity.net/user/tempo321)
Graphic Artist: John O'Brien Schroeder (furaffinity.net/user/chomamancer)
Special thanks to: Sofawolf Press, the staff of FurPlanet, Slate, & all our playtesters
Mechanics Lead: Nic Wald (furaffinity.net/user/darkdragon452)
Playtest Lead: Jeremia Heupel of ThinkTank Games
Nordguard: The Card Game Copyright © 2012 by Teagan Gavet, Tess Garman, and Tempe O’Kun. All rights reserved.