The Great Wall reference sheet

Overview

• 1–4 players (+ solo/co-op modes); play as Generals defending the Great Wall against the Mongol Horde [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Game lasts several Years, each with 4 Seasons: Spring → Summer → Fall → Winter [p.3 — Game Overview]
• First Year skips Spring and Summer [p.5 — Setup]
• Core loop: place Clerks at Locations → gather resources → recruit Soldiers → defeat Horde cards [p.3 — Game Overview]
• Win condition: most Honor at game end [p.11 — End of the Game]
• Shame tokens reduce Honor (−5 each) and disable Soldiers [p.6 — Shame Tokens]

Setup

1. Place board (correct side for player count) [p.5 — Setup]
2. Add 10 Shame tokens per player to pool; set up resource supplies [p.5 — Setup]
3. Place Time token (empty side up) in correct slot for player count [p.5 — Setup]
4. Shuffle Artifacts; place 3 face-up in Artifact slots; box the rest [p.5 — Setup]
5. Each player picks a Clan: take 6 Command cards, 8 Clerks, 16 Soldiers (10 Spearmen, 4 Archers, 2 Horsemen), 1 Screen, 1 Honor marker, 1 Tea marker [p.5 — Setup]
6. Shuffle Horde deck; place 1 Horde card in each first-row slot (4-player: +1 per Invasion indicator) [p.5 — Setup]
7. Place 9 Barricades (1 per Barricade slot across all Wall Sections) [p.5 — Setup]
8. Shuffle Tactic deck; place face-down on board [p.5 — Setup]
9. Deal 2 General cards and 2 Advisor cards to each player; each keeps 1 General, chooses 1 Active Advisor (face-up right of General) and 1 Supporting Advisor (face-down under General) [p.5 — Setup]
10. Remaining Advisors form Advisor deck; draw 4 to fill Advisor track [p.5 — Setup]
11. Place 3 Clerks each in the Clerk space; take starting Resources and Tactic cards per General card [p.5 — Setup]
12. All Honor markers on '0'; stack Tea markers in descending Tea-value order [p.5 — Setup]

Turn structure

SPRING

1. Advance Time token one slot [p.10 — Spring]
2. Place new Horde cards (number shown on Time track) [p.10 — Spring]
3. Refresh Advisor track: discard 2 leftmost, slide remaining left, draw 2 new [p.10 — Spring]

SUMMER

1. Overseer Income: collect resources from all Overseers [p.10 — Summer]
2. Discard Shame tokens: pay 2 Chi each [p.10 — Summer]
3. Discard all Command cards on Command track [p.10 — Summer]
4. Reclaim Command cards OR gain 2 Honor per card in discard [p.10 — Summer]

FALL (each player's turn)

1. All choose & reveal Command cards simultaneously [p.10 — Fall]
2. In Tea order, place cards on Command track slots [p.10 — Fall]
3. Each card resolves in track order: (a) Command step, (b) Activation step, (c) Horde Defeat check [p.11 — Fall]

WINTER

1. Firing phase: Archers shoot (left Wall Section first), then Horde Defeat check [p.11 — Winter]
2. Assault phase: compare Offensive Power vs. Defense value per Section; resolve Breach if Power > Defense; discard all Barricades [p.11 — Winter]
3. End Game check [p.11 — Winter]

Actions

• Overseer Upgrade cost is printed on the next Overseer slot; first placement also counts as Upgrade [p.8 — Overseers]
• Warehouse Resources must be spent first when building Walls/Barricades [p.8 — Paying for Walls and Barricades]

Combat

Attacking

• Spearmen: place on any unoccupied Vital spot of the first-row Horde card; gain printed spot reward [p.9 — Attack & Wounding]
• Horsemen: place on 2 adjacent unoccupied Vital spots of any Horde card in the Section [p.10 — Attack & Wounding]
• Archers: place in a Firing spot; Wound 1 Vital spot of any Horde in that Section (use Wound marker, no reward) [p.10 — Attack & Wounding]

Defeating a Horde (all Vital spots covered)

1. Player with most Soldier-covered spots claims the card [p.10 — Defeating Hordes]
2. Each player with ≥1 Soldier on card: +2 Honor [p.10 — Defeating Hordes]
3. Each player: +2 Honor per Archer in Firing spots of that Section [p.10 — Defeating Hordes]
4. Lethality value = number of each player's Soldiers Killed; pay 2 Chi/Soldier to Save (goes to Rest Zone) [p.10 — Defeating Hordes]

Breach (Offensive Power > Defense value)

1. Each player with no Soldiers on a Breaching Horde card: +1 Shame token [p.10 — Breach]
2. Soldiers Killed per Horde card = Lethality; pay 2 Chi/Soldier to Save [p.10 — Breach]
3. All Archers on Breached Section are Killed [p.10 — Breach]
4. Soldiers in Rest Zone are unaffected [p.10 — Breach]

Defense value = Wall tile value + (2 × Barricades on that Section) [p.11 — Assault Phase]

Scoring

• During game: track Honor on Honor track as you earn it [p.4 — Honor Track]
• Shame tokens (under Soldiers): −5 Honor each; cannot go below 0 [p.11 — Final Honor Scoring]
• Claimed Horde cards (no Shame tokens on them): add printed Honor reward [p.11 — Final Honor Scoring]
• Artifacts: add Honor bonus per Artifact card held [p.11 — Final Honor Scoring]
• Shame tokens placed on Horde card slots do NOT reduce Honor [p.6 — Shame Tokens]

End of game

Game ends at end of Winter when any condition is met:

• All 3 Walls (or 2 in 3-player) built to max level [p.11 — End Game Check]
• Shame token pool is empty [p.11 — End Game Check]
• Time token reaches last slot on Time track [p.11 — End Game Check]

Winner: player with most Honor after Final Honor Scoring [p.11 — End of the Game]

Tiebreaker: higher position on Tea track wins [p.11 — End of the Game]

Glossary

• Tea Order: initiative order determined by Tea track stack; top = first; used for most simultaneous effects [p.7 — Tea Track]
• Lethality: number of each player's Soldiers Killed per Horde card when Defeated or Breached; shown on Time track [p.6 — Lethality]
• Overseer: Soldier placed in a Production Location slot; provides bonus resources and Summer income; cannot be removed [p.7 — Production Locations & Overseers]
• Active Advisor: face-up Advisor to the right of General; its printed ability is usable [p.5 — Advisor Cards]
• Supporting Advisor: face-down Advisor under General; increases strength of General's special ability [p.5 — Advisor Cards]
• Breach: Wall Section fails assault (Offensive Power > Defense); triggers Shame tokens, Soldier kills, Archer kills [p.10 — Breach]
• Raid: triggered when a Horde card cannot be placed (Section full); remove Shame tokens equal to player count from pool [p.9 — Raid]
• Advanced Activation: activates a Location without full Clerk slots and without triggering Shame token icon [p.7 — Advanced Activation]
• Vital Spot: spot on a Horde card that must be covered (by Soldier or Wound marker) to Defeat it [p.6 — Horde Cards]
• Donate: after gathering at a Production Location, place 1 Resource in Warehouse and gain 2 Honor (Chi cannot be Donated) [p.8 — Donate]
• Wound marker: placed on a Vital spot when an Archer wounds or when a Soldier is removed; counts toward Horde Defeat but grants no reward [p.10 — Attack & Wounding]

FAQ

• Q: Can Clerks from the same player share a Location? — A: Yes, multiple Clerks of the same player can be in the same Location; all resolve simultaneously [p.7 — Locations]
• Q: Can I choose not to receive a Location's effect? — A: Yes, players may choose not to resolve a Location effect when it activates [p.7 — Locations]
• Q: Does placing a first Overseer count as an Upgrade? — A: Yes, placing the first Overseer is considered an Upgrade [p.8 — Overseers]
• Q: Can Soldiers in the Rest Zone attack during Winter Firing phase? — A: No, only Archers in Firing spots may attack during the Firing phase [p.11 — Firing Phase]
• Q: What happens if the Shame token pool is empty when a player should receive one? — A: That player immediately loses 5 Honor; if they cannot place it on a Soldier or Horde card, remove it from the game and lose 5 Honor [p.6 — Shame Tokens]
• Q: Can a Spearman attack a Horde card in the second or third row? — A: No, Spearmen can only be placed on first-row Horde cards [p.9 — Attack & Wounding]
• Q: When are Soldiers Killed simultaneously or separately during a Breach? — A: Each Horde card counts Lethality separately, but all Kills across cards happen simultaneously [p.9 — Saving Soldiers]