Vijayanagara - Learn to Play

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

2 Components and Setup

Take a moment to look at the different board spaces and compo-

nents listed below as you set up the game, and familiarize yourself

with each of them and their purpose. A full setup guide can be

found in section 2.1 of the main Rules of Play, and a diagram of

the completed setup can be found on the back of the Rules of Play.

If needed, a pronunciation guide may be found in the Playbook.

Board Spaces

Unfold the board and lay it flat on the table. The board depicts

14th century India, divided into several different kinds of spaces,

and with tracks and holding boxes around the edges:

• The numbered track at the top edge of the board is used to mark

each Faction’s Resources (embossed cylinders) and Victory

Points (flat counters).

• The large boxes are used to hold each Faction’s available

pieces. Any pieces removed from the map are placed back

into that Faction’s holding box.

• The Deccan Influence track is used to measure the Influence

of the Bahmani Kingdom and Vijayanagara Empire in the

Deccan Plateau. As they advance up this track they gain

Victory Points, unlock additional units, and enhance their

Faction-specific Decrees.

1 Introduction

Vijayanagara is a game about the rise of the Bahmani Kingdom

and Vijayanagara Empire and the decline of the Delhi Sultanate

in the 14th century Indian subcontinent. You play as one of these

three Factions, competing for territory and influence across the

Deccan Plateau of southern India, while Mongol invaders threat-

en the Delhi Sultanate from beyond the Hindu Kush mountains

to the northwest. The game ends with the arrival of the Mongol

warlord Timur and the invasion of Delhi in 1398, although the

Delhi Sultanate player can avoid this historical defeat if they

prepare well enough.

Each turn an Event card is drawn and eligible players have the

opportunity to execute the Event, carry out a powerful Command

and Decree from their Faction-specific action menu, or perform a

single Limited Command and remain eligible for the next Event.

This sequence is periodically interrupted by Mongol Invasions

that threaten the Delhi Sultanate and present opportunities for the

Bahmani Kingdom and Vijayanagara Empire, and by Succession

crises that afford a limited range of free actions to each player.

How to Win

To win the game you simply have to achieve a higher score than

both other players after Timur’s invasion of Delhi, but the way

this score is calculated is different for each Faction:

• Delhi Sultanate (black): Your score is equal to the Prosperity

of all Tributary Provinces, plus a variable ‘bonus’ ranging from

-3 to 3 depending on how you fare against Timur at the end of

the game. All Provinces begin the game as Tributaries, setting

your score to its highest Prosperity value of 18, but you will

gradually lose these as the other two players launch rebellions

against your rule. Your aim is to cling on to as much territory as

possible and survive longer than the historical Delhi Sultanate.

• Bahmani Kingdom (turquoise): Your score is equal to the

Prosperity of all Independent Provinces you Control, plus

the number of your Forts on the map (from 0 to 5), plus your

Deccan Influence (from 0 to 4). To Control a Province you

must first launch a rebellion against the Delhi Sultanate, or else

conquer an already Independent Province. To increase your

Deccan Influence you must win battles against Vijayanagara,

or spread your culture by Migrating into shared territories and

fostering economic development.

• Vijayanagara Empire (yellow): Your score is equal to the

Prosperity of all Independent Provinces you Control, plus the

number of your Temples on the map (from 0 to 5), plus your

Deccan Influence (from 0 to 4). To Control a Province you

must first launch a rebellion against the Delhi Sultanate, or else

conquer an already Independent Province. To increase your

Deccan Influence you must win battles against the Bahmanis

or spread your culture by Migrating into shared territories and

fostering economic development.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

• The Sequence of Play track is used to mark which action is

taken by each Faction during a turn, and if they are eligible to

act on the next turn.

There are three kinds of spaces on the map:

• The large round Delhi space is the seat of the Delhi Sultanate.

It is easy for them to Conscript a large number of Troops and

easier for them to defend themselves from Mongol attacks

here. Only Delhi Sultanate and Mongol Invader pieces may

enter this space.

Delhi

• The two irregular Mongol Invasion Regions are labeled

Mountain Passes and Punjab. Mongol Invaders will enter these

spaces as they advance towards Delhi. Only Delhi Sultanate

and Mongol Invader pieces may enter these two spaces.

Mongol Invasion Regions

• The remaining thirteen irregular spaces are Provinces, marked

with a numerical Prosperity value (1 or 2), and with a small

circular space where a Tributary or Control counter can be

placed. Every Province begins as a Tributary, marked with a

Tributary counter. Once this counter is removed a Province

becomes Independent.

• An Independent Province is Controlled by the Faction with a

majority of pieces there (more pieces than both other Factions

combined), marked with a Faction-specific Control counter. If

no Faction has a majority of pieces in an Independent Province

it is Uncontrolled (indicated by the absence of any Control

counter). Mongol Invaders cannot enter Provinces.

Provinces

• The boundaries of some Provinces meet at named Cities. A

City is not a space, but all Provinces bordering a specific City

are considered adjacent to each other (e.g., the Provinces of

Gondwana and Andhra are adjacent via the City of Warangal),

and some Events instruct the player to select Provinces adjacent

to specific Cities (e.g., an Event which specifies a “Province

adjacent to Vijayanagara” means either Maharashtra, Andhra,

or Karnataka).

• The Vindhya Range space, lying at the apex between Malwa,

Jaunpur, Madhyadesh, and Gondwana, is impassable. No piec-

es may ever enter or be placed into this space for any reason.

Vindhya Range

Counters

Pop out the cardboard counters from the countersheet. They will

be used to track various things in the game:

• One square counter for each Faction is used to mark its current

Victory Point total on the large numbered track. Place the Delhi

Sultanate ‘Victory’ counter on the ‘18’ space of the numbered

track at the top of the board, the Bahmani Kingdom ‘Victory’

counter on the ‘0’ space, and the Vijayanagara Empire ‘Victory’

counter on the ‘0’ space.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

Wooden Pieces

Wooden pieces in Faction-specific colors are used either to mark

Resources and Eligibility (large embossed cylinders) or as units

and buildings on the map (all other wooden pieces):

• Embossed cylinders, one for each Faction, are used to mark

current Resources on the large numbered track. These cylinders

are moved up and down the track as Resources are gained or

lost during the game. Resources can even be traded among

Factions for Cavalry or other favors at any time. Place a black

embossed cylinder on the ‘12’ space of the numbered track,

a turquoise embossed cylinder on the ‘6’ space, and a yellow

embossed cylinder on the ‘7’ space.

• Place one embossed cylinder for each Faction on the ‘Eligible

Factions’ space of the Sequence of Play track. These cylinders

are used to indicate Faction eligibility and to record which

actions have been taken during a turn.

• Wooden cubes (red Mongol Invaders and gray Troops) and

embossed hexagonal cylinders (black Governors, yellow

Rajas, and turquoise Amirs) are Units placed on map spaces,

which contribute to Control of Provinces and may Attack

enemy pieces. Amirs and Rajas (but not Governors) may be

either Obedient (embossed side down) or Rebelling (embossed

side up).

• Two square counters, one each for the Bahmani Kingdom and

Vijayanagara Empire, are used to track their current Deccan

Influence. Place both Influence counters (turquoise crescent

moon for Bahmani and yellow sun for Vijayanagara) on the

‘0’ spaces of their Deccan Influence tracks.

• 10 square Cavalry counters form a pool of available Cavalry

that each Faction may draw from when instructed to do so,

and then may spend for a bonus in battles (the two sides of

the Cavalry counter indicate the two possible bonuses). If no

counters remain in this pool, then a player may instead take

a Cavalry counter from any other player when instructed to

take one from the pool. Cavalry can even be purchased/sold

or traded for favors among Factions at any time during the

game. Place eight of these in a pool to one side of the board

for now, and two in the Delhi Sultanate box on the board (the

Delhi Sultanate begins the game with these). The additional

red Mongol Cavalry counter should be placed near the Mongol

Invaders’ box.

• 13 double-sided circular Tributary/Delhi Control counters

are used to indicate when a Province is either a Tributary or

an Independent Province Controlled by the Delhi Sultanate.

Place one, Tributary side up, in each of the round spaces in the

Provinces on the board at the beginning of the game.

• 13 double-sided circular Bahmani/Vijayanagara Control

counters are used to indicate when an Independent Province is

Controlled by either Faction, contributing its value to their total

score. As no Provinces are Independent at the beginning of the

game, place these in a pool to one side until they are needed.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

• Place 4 gray Troops cubes in each of Delhi and Punjab;

3 in Malwa; 2 each in Mountain Passes, Jaunpur, and

Madhyadesh; 1 each in Sindh, Rajput Kingdoms, Gujarat,

Andhra, and Tamilakam; and the remaining 10 in the

box marked ‘Delhi Sultanate’. Place 1 black Governor

hexagonal cylinder in Malwa, and the remaining 4 in the

Delhi Sultanate box.

• Place 4 turquoise Amir hexagonal cylinders in Maha-

rashtra; 2 each in Madhyadesh and on the two indicated

spaces of the Deccan Influence track; 1 each in Gujarat

and Gondwana; and the remaining 6 in the box marked

‘Bahmani Kingdom’. All Amirs should be placed em-

bossed side down, to indicate that they are currently

Obedient to the Delhi Sultanate.

• Place 3 yellow Raja hexagonal cylinders in Karnataka;

2 each in Andhra and on the four indicated spaces of

the Deccan Influence track; 1 in Tamilakam; and the re-

maining 8 in the box marked ‘Vijayanagara Empire’. All

Rajas should be placed embossed side down, to indicate

that they are currently Obedient to the Delhi Sultanate.

• Place the 12 red Mongol Invader cubes in the ‘Mongol

Invaders’ box.

Important – Every Amir in a Bahmani-Controlled Province

is always Rebelling. Every Raja in a Vijayanagara-Controlled

Province is always Rebelling. If a Province becomes Bahma-

ni-Controlled or Vijayagara-Controlled, immediately flip that

Faction’s Units there to Rebelling.

• Wooden embossed disks (Qasbahs, Forts, and Temples) are

Structures placed on map spaces, which contribute to Control

of Provinces and offer Faction-specific bonuses. Structures are

always placed embossed side up (although this has no game

effect). Place 1 black Qasbah disk in Andhra. The remaining 4

Qasbahs, 5 turquoise Forts, and 5 yellow Temples are placed

in their respective Faction’s holding box.

Dice

Six regular 6-sided dice (four dark red and two light brown) are

used to determine the outcome of battles. Place these to one side

near the board.

Pawns

Nine wooden pawns (six white and three brown) can be used to

track spaces selected for actions during play. These are purely

for convenience and have no game effect; set them aside for now.

Cards

A single Dynasty card indicates the current family ruling the

Delhi Sultanate. At the start of the game, the Khalji Dynasty rules

from Delhi with an iron fist, preventing the other two Factions

from selecting the Rebel Command. Once this card is flipped to its

Tughlaq Dynasty side, the power of the Delhi Sultanate begins to

wane and the Rebel Command becomes possible. Place the Khalji

Dynasty card near to the board. The other four kinds of cards

are used to form the deck which drives turn-to-turn gameplay:

• Event cards feature two possible options that a player may

select from, typically one that benefits the Delhi Sultanate and

one that benefits either or both of the other two Factions. Any

Faction may select either option on an Event card, even if it

does not directly benefit them.

• Mongol Invasion cards interrupt the usual sequence of play

and instruct either the Bahmani Kingdom or Vijayanagara

Empire player to take two sequential actions on behalf of the

non-player Mongol Invaders, and then choose whether or not

to accept a ‘compromising gift’, which lowers their Influence

in exchange for Resources and Cavalry.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

3. Example of Play

We are now ready to begin playing the game. Turn over the top

card of the deck, Sᴀɢᴇ ᴏғ Vɪᴅʏᴀʀᴀɴʏᴀ, and place it face-up next

to the deck. This is the active card for the first turn, which will

determine the order in which Factions take their turns and the

possible Event options that may be executed.

Sequence of Play

Along the top of each Event card are the three Faction flags, in

this case the Vijayanagara Empire (yellow), Bahmani Kingdom

(turquoise), and Delhi Sultanate (gray). The order of these flags

determines the sequence in which the currently eligible Factions

choose and execute their action for the turn. At the start of the

game all three Factions are eligible, as indicated by the location

of their eligibility cylinders in the ‘Eligible Factions’ box of the

Sequence of Play track. (You can read about the Sequence of

Play in more detail in section 2.3 of the Rules of Play.)

As Vijayanagara is first eligible, they get first choice of which

action to perform. They have four options, as indicated by the

spaces around the Eligible Factions box on the game board: Com-

mand & Decree, Event or Command, Limited Command, or

Pass. The two options in the circles to the right of the box may

each only be performed by a maximum of one Faction per turn,

and typically make that Faction ineligible to act on the next turn.

The other two options, in the small boxes above and below the

Eligible Factions box, may always be performed by any number

of Factions and allow you to stay eligible to act on the next turn.

As Factions act during a turn they place their cylinders in the

relevant space on the track to indicate which option they have

chosen. All Eligible Factions will act on each card.

• Succession cards are seeded periodically throughout the event

deck (after every eight cards) and give each Faction a partic-

ular action in a certain order. The first Succession card also

permanently flips the Dynasty card from its Khalji side to its

Tughlaq side. These cards are pictured on the player strategy

aid sheets for ease of reference during the game.

• The two identical Timurid Empire cards appear in the final 8

cards of the deck. The first time one of these cards is drawn,

half of the available Mongol Invader units are placed into the

Mountain Passes. The second time one of these cards is drawn,

Timur’s Invasion occurs, triggering a final special sequence

before the game immediately ends. This sequence is described

on the Mongol Invaders page of the player aid.

Deck construction is detailed in section 2.1 of the Rules of Play,

but for now we will simply take the following six Event cards

and two Mongol Invasion cards and form them into a stack in

the following order, facedown from top to bottom: Sᴀɢᴇ ᴏғ

Vɪᴅʏᴀʀᴀɴʏᴀ (#13), Tʜᴇ Tᴜʀᴏ̨ᴜᴏɪsᴇ Tʜʀᴏɴᴇ (#28), Mᴏɴɢᴏʟ

Iɴᴠᴀsɪᴏɴ with Bahmani alliance, Uᴘʀɪsɪɴɢ ɪɴ Dᴀᴜʟᴀᴛᴀʙᴀᴅ (#15),

Mᴏɴɢᴏʟ Iɴᴠᴀsɪᴏɴ with Vijayanagara alliance, Tᴀɢʜɪ ᴛʜᴇ Eʟᴜsɪᴠᴇ

(#27), Mᴀʟɪᴋ Kᴀғᴜʀ (#1), and Bᴇɴɢᴀʟɪ Rᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ (#19). Put

the Zᴇɴɪᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Dᴇʟʜɪ Sᴜʟᴛᴀɴᴀᴛᴇ card on the bottom of this

stack, then place the deck near the game board, where every

player can easily see it.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

Turn 1 – Events

The current Event card is quite attractive for the Vijayanagara

Empire, so they place their cylinder in the Event or Command

circle, which allows them to execute either one of the two options

on the card, or to perform one Command in any number of spaces.

They choose to execute the top (unshaded) Event option, which

instructs them to first increase their Deccan Influence track two

steps (indicated by the yellow sun symbol). Move the yellow

Influence marker two spaces to the right, to the ‘2’ box. This

unlocks the four yellow Rajas in the ‘1’ and ‘2’ boxes – move

them to the Vijayanagara Empire box. It also enhances the effects

of the Compel Decree, and raises the Vijayanagara Victory total

by 2 – move the yellow ‘Victory’ marker to the ‘2’ box now.

Next, the Event text instructs Vijayanagara to place any units

just gained (the four Rajas unlocked from the Deccan Influence

track) “adjacent to Vijayanagara” – meaning, in any map spaces

adjacent to the city point labeled ‘Vijayanagara’. Place two Rajas

in Maharashtra and one each in Andhra and Karnataka. As the

Event has been fully executed, the Vijayanagara Empire’s turn

is now complete.

The Vijayanagara Empire performs the unshaded Event text

on the Sᴀɢᴇ ᴏғ Vɪᴅʏᴀʀᴀɴʏᴀ card, shifting its Deccan Influence

twice and adding Rajas adjacent to Vijayanagara (two into

Maharashtra and one each into Andhra and Karnataka).

Turn 1 – Commands and Decrees

The next eligible Faction is the Bahmani Kingdom, as indicated

along the top of the current Event card, and they can now choose

from any of the remaining three options. They choose Command

& Decree, which will allow them to perform one of their regular

Commands in any number of spaces, coupled with a powerful

Decree either before or after the Command. Place their eligibility

cylinder in this circle, and then take a moment to look at the Bah-

mani page of the player aid, which lists their available Commands

and Decrees along with some additional information. (You can

read about the Commands and Decrees for all Factions in more

detail in sections 3.0 and 4.0 of the Rules of Play.)

At the start of the game, the most attractive Command options for

the Bahmanis are probably Rally (to place additional Amirs) or Mi-

grate (to move Amirs into new territory). Attack requires a larger

number of Amirs to maximize the chances of success, while Rebel

is only possible after the first Succession card has flipped the Delhi

Sultanate’s Dynasty card from Khalji to Tughlaq. Vijayanagara has

access to these same Command options, while the Delhi Sultanate

has a different menu of options that we will look at shortly.

The Bahmanis decide to Migrate first. They may choose any

Provinces as destinations, and pay 1 Resource per destination

to move in up to three Amirs from adjacent Provinces (each

Amir may only move once during the entire turn). They decide

to Migrate to Malwa, Bengal, Gondwana, and Andhra, costing 4

Resources total – shift their Resource cylinder from the ‘6’ space

to the ‘2’ space. Then, move one turquoise Amir from Gondwa-

na to Bengal, one from Madhyadesh to Gondwana, one from

Maharashtra to Malwa, and one from Maharashtra to Andhra.

If any of the moving Amirs had been Rebelling (embossed end

up) and their destination had been a Tributary (in this case, all

destinations), they would have had to flip back to Obedient

(embossed end down). At the end of a Migrate Command, if any

Amir has moved into a space with Vijayanagara pieces (in this

case Andhra), the Bahmanis may spend an additional Resource

to increase their Influence by 1 and lower Vijayanagara Influence

by 1. They do this now – lower their Resources to 1, increase

their Influence to 1, and lower Vijayanagara Influence to 1. This

also requires the Vijayanagara Empire to return two Rajas from

their supply (or from the map if none are in the supply) back onto

the ‘2’ space of the Influence track, and lowers the Vijayanagara

victory total by 1 while raising the Bahmani victory total by the

same amount – do this now.

Next, the Bahmani Kingdom may perform a Decree, choosing

from either Trade (to gain Resources and Cavalry), Build (to

place a Fort), or Conspire (to replace enemy pieces, particularly

the dangerous Governors of Delhi). They decide to Trade, which

grants them 1 Resource for every space with a friendly piece. In

this case there are seven such spaces, increasing their Resources

to 8 total. Trade also grants them at least one Cavalry, plus one

or two if they have at least Influence 1 or 3, respectively. As they

are at 1 Influence, they gain two Cavalry tokens – take these from

the shared pool and place them in the Bahmani Kingdom box

now. The Bahmani turn is now complete.

The Bahmani Kingdom executes a Migrate Command into

four Provinces, then a Trade Decree. Commands and Decrees

are performed to completion at once, but can be performed in

either order.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

Limited Command or Pass

The Delhi Sultanate is the last Faction eligible to act, and as the

two circular spaces are already filled their options are restricted.

They can either Pass to gain 3 Resources, or take a Limited

Command: a Command in one space only. In both cases they

would remain eligible to act on the next turn. The Delhi Sultan-

ate decides to take a Limited Command (place their eligibility

cylinder in this box now).

The Delhi Sultanate has four Commands to choose from:

Conscript (to place Troops), March (to move units), Govern

(to place Governors, remove Obedient enemy units, and place

Qasbahs), and Attack (to remove enemy pieces). Attack can

only be used against Amirs and Rajas if they are Rebelling, so

it is not useful right now. They decide to Conscript, which costs

1 Resource per space to place either five Troops in Delhi, two

Troops in any space with a Qasbah, or one Troop in a Tributary

Province. Because this is a Limited Command they can select

only one space, so they pay 1 Resource to place five Troops in

Delhi. Do this now.

The Delhi Sultanate uses a Limited Command (a Command in

only one space) to Conscript five Troops in Delhi.

Finally, now that all eligible Factions have acted, eligibility is

reset for the next turn. Unless otherwise specified, any cylinder

in the two circular spaces is moved to the ‘Ineligible Factions’

box on the right – slide the Vijayanagara and Bahmani cylinders

to the Ineligible box now. Any other cylinder is returned to the

Eligible Factions box – slide the Delhi Sultanate cylinder to

the Eligible box now. Then, draw the next card from the deck

and place it face-up on top of the currently active card – the

new card is now the active card for the next turn.

Turn 2 – Collect Tribute and Govern

The second active card is Tʜᴇ Tᴜʀᴏ̨ᴜᴏɪsᴇ Tʜʀᴏɴᴇ, with eligibility

order favoring first the Bahmani Kingdom, then the Vijayanagara

Empire, and finally the Delhi Sultanate. However, as the only

eligible Faction is the Delhi Sultanate, they get to choose which

action to perform first and can select any option. The Event text

is not appealing to them, so they select Command & Decree and

place their cylinder in that space on the Sequence of Play Track.

A Decree can always be performed either before or after the full

Command, and they decide to perform it first, selecting Collect

Tribute. This increases their Resources by half the total Prosper-

ity value of Tributary Provinces, which is currently 18, so they

gain 9 Resources – set their Resource cylinder to the ‘20’ space.

They also gain two Cavalry tokens, which come from the shared

pool and should be placed in the Delhi Sultanate box (along with

the two tokens already there from the setup).

The Delhi Sultanate executes the Collect Tribute Decree,

increasing its Resources by half the total Tributary Prosperity,

and adding two powerful Cavalry tokens to its box.

Next, the Sultanate decides to execute the Govern Command.

Govern may be used to select any Tributary Provinces, Inde-

pendent Provinces Controlled by the Delhi Sultanate, Mongol

Invasion Regions, and/or Delhi itself. In each selected space, the

Sultanate must pay 1 Resource and then either add a Governor,

or if there is already a Governor they may remove up to two

Obedient (embossed side down) Amirs or Rajas and place a

Qasbah. As the Sultanate already has a Governor in Malwa and

there is an Obedient Amir there, they select this space first, paying

1 Resource to remove the Amir (place it back in the Bahmani

Kingdom box) and place a Qasbah. The Sultanate also Governs

in Bengal, Gujarat, Punjab, and Delhi, paying 4 additional Re-

sources total to place a Governor in each space – do this now.

Their Resource cylinder should now be at ‘15’. Complete the

turn by moving the Bahmani and Vijayanagara cylinders from

Ineligible to Eligible, and sliding the Delhi Sultanate cylinder

to Ineligible. Draw the next card.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

The Govern Command in Malwa removes the Obedient Amir

there and places a Qasbah as well.

Mongol Invasion 1 – Amass and Attack &

Plunder

The next card drawn is a Mᴏɴɢᴏʟ Iɴᴠᴀsɪᴏɴ card, which interrupts

the usual sequence of play while it is executed. Take a look at

the Mongol Invaders page of the player aid now. Each Mongol

Invasion card indicates that either the Bahmani or Vijayanagara

Faction should decide which two Commands the Mongol Invad-

ers will perform, and then that Faction can also choose to accept

‘Compromising Gifts’ from the Mongols, lowering their Deccan

Influence in exchange for Resources and Cavalry. In this case

the card indicates the Bahmani Kingdom, who first selects the

Mongol Amass Command, placing three red Mongol Invader

cubes in Mountain Passes. They could then select Amass again,

or even Advance, but instead select Attack & Plunder with the

cubes now in Mountain Passes.

Mongol Invaders Attack and Plunder in the Mountain Passes.

Factions hit on rolls less than or equal to the number of their

units in the battle. Cavalry tokens are used to modify the roll

before any units are removed.

Mongol Invaders Attack works in the same way as it does for the

player Factions: the attacker rolls four dice, the defender rolls

two, and any die whose value is less than or equal to the number

of units on that side forces the enemy side to remove a unit. The

Bahmani Kingdom rolls for the Mongols a 5 and three 1s, while

the Sultanate rolls a 2 and a 3. But the battle is not over yet!

After the dice have been rolled the Factions involved may spend

Cavalry tokens, attacker first, then the defender. The Mongols are

always treated as having one Cavalry token available, which they

will use to Charge and convert a miss into a hit if possible, but

in this case it will not make any difference to the outcome. Next,

the Sultanate can choose to spend its Cavalry tokens; each token

can be spent either to ‘Charge’, lowering the value of one of its

dice by 1, or to ‘Screen’, removing an enemy die (other than a

1) completely. As they are already going to have to remove more

units than they have in the space, they just spend one Cavalry to

Charge, lowering their 3 to a 2 (move one Cavalry token from

the Sultanate box to the shared pool). Cavalry having been spent,

hits are finally tallied. Here two Mongol Invaders are sent back

to the Mongol box, and the Sultanate removes both of its Troops

cubes, returning them to the Delhi Sultanate box.

Finally, as part of this Command the Mongols Plunder, remov-

ing 1 Resource from the Sultanate for each of their cubes left

in the space – in this case just 1, lowering the Sultanate’s total

Resources to ‘14’. They would then return any Mongol cubes in

excess of three in that space to the Mongol Invaders box (in this

case, there is only one cube remaining so none are removed).

The Bahmani player also chooses to accept Compromising Gifts,

lowering their Influence from 1 to 0 in exchange for 2 Resources

(up to ‘10’) and two more Cavalry tokens (adjust the Bahmani

Resources, Influence, and Victory markers now, and add two

Cavalry from the shared pool to the Bahmani Kingdom box).

The Mongol Invasion turn is then complete. Draw the next card

without changing the eligibility of any Faction.

Turn 3 – Rally and Conspire

The next card is Uᴘʀɪsɪɴɢ ɪɴ Dᴀᴜʟᴀᴛᴀʙᴀᴅ, with the Bahmani

Kingdom first eligible. They decide to perform a Rally Command

with a Conspire Decree – place their cylinder in the ‘Command

& Decree’ space. They Rally first, which may be used to select

any Provinces that already have a Bahmani piece (or Maharashtra

even without any pieces). They select Madhyadesh, Gujarat, and

Maharashtra, paying 3 Resources total to place one Amir in each

of the first two spaces, and two Amirs in Maharashtra (which

gets a Rally bonus as the Bahmani ‘home’ Province). Then, they

Conspire in Bengal and Gujarat, replacing the Governor in each

Province with another Amir. They choose to place these Amirs as

Obedient (embossed side down), but could instead have placed

them as Rebelling (embossed side up) if desired. The Bahmani

Kingdom’s turn is complete.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

The Bahmani Kingdom executes the Rally Command to add

Amirs in Provinces already containing Bahmani pieces, then

the Conspire Decree to replace Governors with Amirs.

The Vijayanagara Empire could decide to perform the Event or

a full Command in any number of spaces, but instead decides to

perform a Limited Command so that they can stay eligible for

the next turn. Place their cylinder in the ‘Limited Command’

box. They decide to Migrate into Maharashtra for a cost of 1

Resource, and move in one Raja from Andhra and two from

Karnataka (for the maximum three allowed per Migrate desti-

nation). They then opt to pay 1 additional Resource to decrease

Bahmani Influence (which is already at 0 so cannot be decreased

any further) and increase their own Influence by one step to 2,

unlocking two additional Rajas and also enhancing their Compel

Decree again – adjust the Deccan Influence track and Vijayanaga-

ra score and Resources now. The turn is complete – move both

the Vijayanagara and Delhi Sultanate cylinders to Eligible and

the Bahmani cylinder to Ineligible, then draw the next card.

The Vijayanagara Empire carries out a Limited Migrate

Command, spending one Resource to draw three Rajas into

Maharashtra from adjacent Provinces, then another Resource

to shift its Deccan Influence up.

Mongol Invasion 2 – Amass Twice

Another Mᴏɴɢᴏʟ Iɴᴠᴀsɪᴏɴ! This time the Vijayanagara Empire

is in control of the Mongols, and they decide to Amass twice,

first placing three more Mongol Invaders in Mountain Passes,

and then placing an additional three, but these are immediately

moved over to Punjab, as Amass results in an overflow into

the next space if an Invasion Region contains more than four

Mongols (however, no such overflow occurs during a Mongol

Advance Command). The Vijayanagara Empire does not choose

to accept Compromising Gifts, as they are enjoying their rapidly

increasing Deccan Influence. Discard the Mongol Invasion card,

and draw the next card without adjusting eligibility.

Mongol Invaders continue to Amass in the Mountain Passes,

pushing any Invaders above four into Punjab.

Turn 4 – Conscript and Campaign

Delhi is first eligible on the next card (Tᴀɢʜɪ ᴛʜᴇ Eʟᴜsɪᴠᴇ),

and they decide to Conscript and then Campaign (place their

cylinder in the Command & Decree space now). They pay 2

Resources total to Conscript five Troops in Delhi and two in

Malwa (where there is a Qasbah), then use Campaign to move

six Troops from Delhi to Punjab, then five of those Troops again

from Punjab to Mountain Passes (Campaign allows them to move

units along a path of four spaces, picking up and dropping off

any units along the way).

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

Delhi sends a large force to face the Mongol threat.

Next, Vijayanagara decides to pay 1 Resource to perform another

Limited Command, this time an Attack targeting the Bahmani

Kingdom in Maharashtra. They are attacking and roll four dice,

while the defending Bahmanis roll two dice. Vijayanagara rolls a

1, 2, 4, and 6, while the Bahmanis roll a 3 and a 4. If unmodified

by Cavalry tokens, Vijayanagara would score three hits (as they

have 5 units), the Bahmanis would score two hits, and each player

would remove their own pieces back to their own holding box.

Vijayanagara as the attacker considers spending Cavalry tokens

first, but it has none. The Bahmani Kingdom, however, uses two

of its Cavalry tokens for Screening to remove Vijayanagara’s dice

showing a 2 and 4, thereby reducing Vijayanagara’s hits to just

one. Vijayanagara removes two of its Rajas from Maharashtra,

while the Bahmanis remove just one Amir.

Any time that either Vijayanagara or the Bahmanis Attack one

another, Deccan Influence will shift if one removes more pieces

than the other. In this case Vijayanagara lost two units while

the Bahmanis lost only one, so Vijayanagara loses 1 Influence

(placing their two bonus Rajas back on the track from their

holding box) and the Bahmanis gain 1 Influence – adjust both

Faction’s victory markers as well. The turn is complete, so adjust

eligibility (Delhi to Ineligible and both Bahmani and Vijayanagra

to Eligible) and draw the next card.

The Vijayanagara attack collapses under the weight of superi-

or Bahmani cavalry.

Turn 5 – Build and Attack

The Bahmani Kingdom is first eligible on Mᴀʟɪᴋ Kᴀғᴜʀ, and

they decide to first Build and then Attack. Build allows them

to place a Fort in any Province where they already have an

Amir – each Province can only ever hold up to a single Fort, a

single Temple, and a single Qasbah. They decide to place a Fort

in Madhyadesh, to provide some defense against the Sultanate’s

forces there. This also increases their score by one – shift the

Bahmani victory marker from ‘1’ to ‘2’. Next, they pay 2 Re-

sources to Attack in Gujarat and Maharashtra. They first Attack

Vijayanagara in Maharashtra, rolling two 3s, a 5, and a 6, which

only removes two enemy pieces as they have only three Amirs

there. However, Vijayanagara rolls a 1 and a 4, removing only

one Bahmani unit, which again means Vijayanagara will lose

Influence (down to 0, replacing another two Rajas on the track),

and Bahmani will gain Influence (up to 2, this time gaining two

bonus Amirs and also enhancing their Conspire Decree). Finally,

adjust the Victory markers for both Factions to account for the

change in Deccan Influence – the Vijayanagara Empire’s to ‘0’

and the Bahmani Kingdom’s to ‘3’.

In Gujarat the Bahmani Attack will target the single Delhi Sultan-

ate Troop present, which automatically flips the three Attacking

Amirs to their embossed ‘Rebelling’ side (meaning they will

now be vulnerable to counterattack from Delhi). The Bahmani

Kingdom decides also to use the two Amirs in Madhyadesh to

support the Attack (up to two units from an adjacent space with

a friendly Fort or Qasbah may join an Attack, or one from an

adjacent space with a Temple for Vijayanagara, but each unit may

only be involved in one Attack per turn). These Amirs remain in

Madhyadesh, but also flip to Rebelling and will be counted when

calculating the results of the Attack (and could be removed as

casualties if desired). The Bahmani Kingdom rolls two 2’s, a 4,

and a 5, easily enough to remove the single Delhi Troop, while

Delhi rolls a 1 and a 6, sufficient to remove one Bahmani Amir

(which the Bahmanis decide to remove from Gujarat rather than

from supporting Madhyadesh). Neither Faction decides to use

any Cavalry. The Bahmani turn is now complete.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

The Bahmani Kingdom attacks the Vijayanagara Empire in

Maharashtra and the Delhi Sultanate in Gujarat, supported

in Gujarat by the Amirs in adjacent Madhyadesh. Obedient

units which attack the Sultanate immediately flip to their

Rebelling state.

Vijayanagara now decides to play the Event, which is marked

‘Stay Eligible’, meaning that they will remain eligible to act on

the next turn. Both the shaded and unshaded Events on a card

with ‘Stay Eligible’ provide this bonus to whichever Faction

selects the Event. They select the unshaded option, first moving

all Governors on the map to Provinces adjacent to Delhi (they

choose to place all three Governors in Rajput Kingdoms), and

then performing a free Limited Rebel Command. Usually the

Rebel Command is only possible during the Tughlaq dynasty

(after the first Succession card), but this Event allows it to

occur during either dynasty. The Rebel Command may target

any Province where Vijayanagara pieces outnumber all others

combined, which in this case is only Karnataka, so they select

Karnataka. First, remove the Tributary marker there, lowering

the Delhi Sultanate score by the Prosperity value of the Province

(2, down to 16 total). As the Tributary marker has been removed

the Province is now Independent, and will be Controlled by a

Faction that has more pieces there than all others combined (or

else be Uncontrolled, as indicated by the lack of a marker). Place

a Vijayanagara Control (yellow flag) marker there now, and in-

crease the Vijayanagara score by the Prosperity of the Province

(2, up to a total of ‘2’). All Rajas in a Vijayanagara-Controlled

Province are immediately flipped to Rebelling, whether or not

they gained control by a Rebel Command – flip the Rajas there

to Rebelling now. The Vijayanagara turn is complete, adjust

eligibility (Delhi and Vijayanagara to Eligible, the Bahmanis to

Ineligible) and draw the next card.

A Rebellious Vijayanagara Empire emerges in Karnataka. An

Independent Province is Controlled by the Faction with a ma-

jority of pieces there. That Faction’s marker is placed immedi-

ately, and its units are all flipped to Rebelling.

Turn 6 – March and Collect Tribute

The Delhi Sultanate is first eligible on Bᴇɴɢᴀʟɪ Rᴇsɪsᴛᴀɴᴄᴇ and

decides to perform March with Collect Tribute. First, they

Collect Tribute to gain 8 Resources (half of their total Tributary

Prosperity, recently reduced to 16) and two additional Cavalry

from the pool. Then they pay 2 Resources to March into Malwa

and Gujarat. To Malwa they move in three Governors from Rajput

Kingdoms and three Troops from Delhi. To Gujarat they move

in one Troop from Sindh, one from Rajput Kingdoms, and three

from Malwa (note that the three Troops that just arrived into

Malwa could not continue Marching in Gujarat, but the others

that were already in Malwa could do so).

Vijayanagra then chooses to play the unshaded Event, adding two

Rajas each to Jaunpur and Bengal, and removing the Tributary

marker from Bengal (lowering Delhi’s victory points to ‘14’).

Bengal is now Uncontrolled, as the Bahmanis and Vijayanagara

each have two pieces there, but if either can get the upper hand

it will become Controlled by that Faction, adding to their total

score. The turn is complete. Adjust eligibility (Bahmanis to

Eligible and Delhi and Vijayanagara to Ineligible) and draw the

next card.

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

Delhi Marches to respond to the emerging Bahmani threat,

while trouble stirs in Independent but Uncontrolled Bengal.

Succession

The next card, Zᴇɴɪᴛʜ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Dᴇʟʜɪ Sᴜʟᴛᴀɴᴀᴛᴇ, is a Succession

card which interrupts the usual sequence of play while the in-

structions on it are executed. There are three Succession cards

that will appear during the game – they can be perused in advance

on the Faction Strategy sheets. First, we flip the Dynasty card to

its Tughlaq Dynasty side, which allows the Bahmani Kingdom

and Vijayanagara Empire to select the Rebel Command for

the remainder of the game. Then, the Sultanate may perform a

Campaign Decree using only Delhi and Provinces (this special

‘Succession’ Campaign may not enter or exit Mountain Passes or

Punjab), but in this case chooses not to. Next, the Bahmanis gain

Cavalry equal to their Deccan Influence plus Forts, in this case

three (take these from the shared pool). Finally, the Vijayanagara

Empire would gain Resources equal to their own Deccan Influ-

ence plus Temples, but as they have not planned well and have

no Influence or Temples, they do not gain any Resources! If this

were a normal game we would now draw the next event card and

continue play without adjusting eligibility, but this brings us to

the end of our example of play.

Next Steps

We have managed to cover most of the available Commands and

Decrees in this example, but there are a few additional points

worth mentioning. Any Faction Attacking in Delhi (Mongol In-

vaders only) or against a defending Bahmani Fort only rolls three

dice, and die results of ‘6’ never hit (but may still be reduced by

using Cavalry to Charge). Delhi’s Demand Obedience Decree

allows them to restore Tributary status to all Independent Prov-

inces that they Control and have a Governor present, and they

also gain Resources equal to the Prosperity of the Tributaries thus

restored. Vijayanagara’s Build Decree simply places a Temple in

a Province with a Raja (maximum 1 Temple per Province), while

Tax gains them Resources equal to the Prosperity of Provinces

they Control plus Temples in play, and Compel allows them to

add two Rajas to a Province with or adjacent to their pieces (or

instead move in two Rajas from adjacent if they prefer). Finally,

both the Conspire and Compel Decrees can be enhanced by

reaching Deccan Influence 2 for each Faction: enhanced Conspire

allows Bahmani to replace either Governors or Rajas in two

Provinces with or adjacent to Bahmani pieces, while enhanced

Compel provides the Vijayanagara Empire with a Cavalry token

and removes one enemy unit in addition to placing or moving

two Rajas (if a Delhi unit is removed, the Rajas are flipped to

their embossed Rebelling side).

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

Ending the game

How does the game end? The final stack of six Events is shuffled

together with two Tɪᴍᴜʀɪᴅ Eᴍᴘɪʀᴇ cards, instead of two Mᴏɴɢᴏʟ

Iɴᴠᴀsɪᴏɴ cards. When the first of these is drawn, half of the re-

maining available Mongol Invaders (rounded down) are placed

into Mountain Passes. When the second is drawn, the endgame

‘Timur’s Invasion of Delhi’ sequence is triggered. The Mongols

first Attack in Mountain Passes, and then all surviving units (in-

cluding the Sultanate’s) are moved from there to Punjab, where

they Attack again, and finally all surviving units are moved to

Delhi. In Delhi, the Mongols continue to Attack until all units

from one side are eliminated (note that the Mongols roll one

fewer die when Attacking in Delhi, so three total). Finally, the

Delhi Sultanate gains additional victory points equal to 3 minus

the number of surviving Mongols in Delhi, to a minimum of -3.

The Faction with the most victory points wins the game, with

ties going first to whoever has the most remaining Resources.

You have now learned all of the basics you need in order to play

Vijayanagara. If you would like, you can continue this game by

constructing the rest of the deck – shuffle together the remaining

Event cards, form three piles of six Events each, add two random

Mᴏɴɢᴏʟ Iɴᴠᴀsɪᴏɴ each to the first two piles and the two Tɪᴍᴜʀɪᴅ

Eᴍᴘɪʀᴇ cards to the final pile, shuffle each pile again, and stack

them in order with the Tɪᴍᴜʀɪᴅ Eᴍᴘɪʀᴇ pile on the bottom, then

the Lᴏʀᴅs ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Dᴇᴄᴄᴀɴ Succession card, then another pile,

then the Rɪsᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ Rᴇʙᴇʟ Sᴜʟᴛᴀɴs Succession card, and the final

pile on top. Alternatively, you could reset the game according to

the setup instructions in section 2.1 of the Rules of Play.

4. Teaching Guide

Now that you know how to play the game, all that’s left is to

introduce it to your friends or gaming group. How best to do this

will depend on how your group prefers to learn a new game – here

we assume a group that likes to know most of the rules of a game

before they begin playing, but if your group is comfortable with

a ‘rolling teach’ that explains rules as they come up you could

stop after point 5 and simply begin playing. Teaching the game

according to the sequence below will take around 30 minutes,

and the game itself should take around two hours to play, so

budget at least three hours for your first game (with experience

this should come down to well below two hours).

Set up the game before your group arrives, with all of

the pieces out on the board and the deck constructed.

Introduce the topic of the game (warring states in

medieval India) and the identities of the three player

Factions (despotic Delhi Sultanate, renegade Bahmani

Kingdom, and opportunistic Vijayanagara Empire).

Assign a Faction to each player (remember that the

Delhi Sultanate is likely to be the most challenging to

play) and hand out the player aids, including the Faction

Strategy sheets found on the reverse of each Non-Player

aid sheet (these contain historical information and basic

strategy considerations).

Explain that victory is determined by a direct compari-

son of victory points at the end of the game, and empha-

size that the main source of victory points is Province

Prosperity (Tributary Provinces for the Delhi Sultanate,

Control of Independent Provinces for the other two

Factions). Briefly mention the other possible sources

of victory points (surviving Timur’s invasion at the end

of the game for the Delhi Sultanate, and Forts/Temples

plus Deccan Influence for the other two Factions).

Indicate the different kinds of spaces (Mongol Invasion

Regions, Delhi, Provinces, and the non-space Cities that

connect some Provinces) and other features of the board

(numbered edge track, Faction boxes, Deccan Influence

track, sequence of play track).

Turn over the first card and describe the general se-

quence of play, explaining the difference between a

Command, a Decree, and a Limited Command.

Review the available Commands and Decrees for each

Faction, and summarize the Attack sequence (now

would also be a good time to explain how Cavalry

tokens work, perhaps by carrying out a quick example

of a battle).

Finally, use one of the spare Mongol Invasion cards and

the player aid to explain how Mongol Invasion turns

work, then review the three Succession cards and the

Timurid Empire endgame sequence. You should also

explain the deck structure at this point, as it is import-

ant that players know how many Event cards there are

(both in total and between each Succession card). The

diagram on the back of this booklet and on the Sequence

of Play aid sheet can be provided for visual reference.

Start playing, providing further details and clarifications as

necessary. Ideally all players should understand that this is a

learning game, and that mistakes will be made – the best way to

learn is by getting involved!

Vijayanagara – Learn to Play

• Every Amir in a Bahmani-Controlled Province is always Rebelling. Every Raja

in a Vijayanagara-Controlled Province is always Rebelling. If a Province becomes

Bahmani-Controlled or Vijayagara-Controlled, immediately flip that Faction’s Units

there to Rebelling (1.4.5).

• Tributary Provinces are never Controlled or Uncontrolled. Mountain Passes, Punjab, and

Delhi are not Provinces (1.6, 1.7).

• Each space may only ever hold up to one Qasbah, one Fort, and one Temple (1.4.4).

• Only one Event card is revealed at a time. All Eligible Factions may act on each Event

card (2.2).

• Any number of Factions may select a Limited Command (or Pass) and remain Eligible

for the next Event card (2.3.5, 2.3.6).

• Every Decree can be paired with any Command, but a Decree must come either before

or after the Command is completed in all selected spaces (4.1).

• Units to be placed in a space must come from their holding box (1.4.3).

• Mongol Invasion cards and Succession cards do not affect Eligibility (2.4, 2.5).

• Cavalry tokens may be used after dice are rolled, attacker first then defender. Mongol

Invaders use one Cavalry (to Charge) in every battle. If a Cavalry token is earned and

the pool is empty, it may be taken from any other Faction (1.10).

• Resources and Cavalry tokens may be traded freely among Factions at any time (1.5.2).

Negotiated agreements are binding only during the execution of an action, never for

future turns.

Deck Construction

Rules at a Glance

Vijayanagara

The Delhi Sultanate is trying to maintain its grip on the south

of India. Its victory points are equal to the total Prosperity of

Tributary Provinces (1.3.1), adjusted up or down according to

how well Delhi fares against Timur’s final Mongol invasion at

the end of the game.

The Bahmani Kingdom and Vijayanagara Empire are both seek-

ing to establish their own independent Control over Provinces

dividing the Indian subcontinent, solidify their positions with the

construction of Forts (Bahmanis) and Temples (Vijayanagara),

and to ensure the propagation of their Influence throughout the

Deccan region. Their victory points are given by the total Prosper-

ity (1.3.1) of Provinces that they Control (1.7), plus the number

of their Forts/Temples on the map (1.4.2), and each Faction’s

position on a Deccan Influence track (1.9).

See section 5.0 for more details on how to calculate victory at

the end of the game.

1.2 Components

A complete set of Vijayanagara includes the following (a spare

of each wooden piece is also included):

• A 17”x22” mounted game board (1.3)

• A 36-card Event deck (2.3)

• Eight Mongol Invasion cards (2.4)

• Three unique Succession cards (2.5)

• Two Timurid Empire cards (2.6)

• One Dynasty card (2.7)

• Three Attack Reference cards

• Three foldout Faction Aid sheets

• Three Non-Player Faction Aid Sheets/Faction Strategy sheets

• A Sequence of Play Aid sheet (front); and game mat for

Aadu-Huli aata/Goat-Tiger game (back).

• A 12-card Non-Player Ibn Battuta deck

• One Non-Player Mongol Invader card

• 44 cubes (12 red Mongol Invaders and 32 gray Troops; 1.4.1)

• 45 embossed hexagonal cylinders (5 black Governors,

18 turquoise Amirs, 22 yellow Rajas; 1.4.1)

• 15 embossed discs (5 black Qasbahs, 5 turquoise Forts,

5 yellow Temples; 1.4.2)

• 6 embossed cylinders (2 black, 2 turquoise, 2 yellow)

• 9 pawns (6 white and 3 brown)

• One half-size, full color counter sheet

• Six 6-sided dice (4 dark red and 2 light brown)

• A Learn to Play booklet

• A Non-Player Rules booklet

• A background Playbook

• This rulebook

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Vijayanagara is a 1-3 player board game depicting the dynam-

ics of the Indian subcontinent during the years 1290-1398. The

game spans the Khalji (1290-1320) and most of the Tughlaq

(1320-1413) dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate, while showing the

birth of two upstart powers in the Deccan Plateau, the Bahmani

Kingdom and the Vijayanagara Empire. The game closes with the

historical invasion of Delhi by Timur in 1398, though a careful

Delhi Sultanate player might be able to avoid this fate.

A Learn to Play booklet accompanies these rules and provides a

more natural introduction to the game. An additional Playbook

contains a more detailed discussion of the history of this period,

along with event card backgrounds, designer notes, and sug-

gested reading. Rules for automated Non-Player Factions and

examples of their operation are included in a separate Non-Player

Rulebook.

STOP! If this is your first time playing, you might want to start

with the Learn to Play booklet, which will guide you through

setup and teach you the game. This Rulebook is intended

primarily for reference purposes.

1.1 General Course of Play

In Vijayanagara, players take on the roles of the Delhi Sultanate

(

, black and gray pieces), the Bahmani Kingdom (

turquoise pieces), and the Vijayanagara Empire (

, yellow

pieces).

Event cards are drawn one at a time, each identifying an import-

ant historical event or region that played pivotal roles in 14th

century India. Players will have opportunities to either execute

the Event, which can have substantial consequences on the board

state, or to instead use standard Commands and special Decrees

that are unique to each Faction. A Sequence of Play track on the

board is used to determine which Factions are Eligible to play

on each card, and each Event card indicates turn order among

Eligible Factions.

Three Succession cards disrupt the normal course of play. The

first signals the end of the Khalji Dynasty and the dawn of the

Tughlaq Dynasty, changing the rules for the remainder of the

game upon its arrival. Rebellions are not allowed during the

fierce, oppressive rule of the Khalji Dynasty, but are allowed

during the rule of the more vulnerable Tughlaq Dynasty in the

second phase of the game. Regular play is also periodically

interrupted by the actions of the non-player Mongol Invaders,

who threaten Delhi from the northwest, and the game ends with

the climactic arrival of the great Mongol warlord Timur.

1.1.1 Winning the game. Each Faction’s victory point total is

adjusted throughout the game (see 5.0), and the game is won by

the Faction with the most victory points once Timur arrives (ties

are broken by comparing Resources).

Vijayanagara

1.3 Game Board and Map

The game board shows a map of the Indian subcontinent, split

into spaces relevant to the historical period: irregular-shaped

Provinces and Mongol Invasion Regions, and a single large cir-

cular Delhi space. The game board also features holding boxes

to store each Faction’s Available Forces, a numbered edge track

for general record keeping, a Deccan Influence track, and a

Sequence of Play track.

1.3.1 Provinces. Provinces are irregular green-colored map

spaces that are always either Tributaries or Independent (1.6),

and may be Controlled (1.7) by any Faction once Independent.

Each Province has a Prosperity value, either 1 or 2, relevant for

Collect Tribute and Tax Decrees (4.0), and for final scoring (5.0).

Pieces of all three player Factions (excluding Mongol Invaders)

may enter or be placed into any Provinces.

1.3.2 Mongol Invasion Regions. The two light brown irregular

spaces “Mountain Passes” and “Punjab” are Mongol Invasion

Regions. These spaces are not Provinces; as such they are never

marked Tributary or Independent and are never Controlled (1.7)

by any Faction. Only Mongol Invader and Delhi Sultanate pieces

may enter or be placed into the two Mongol Invasion Regions.

1.3.3 Delhi. The large circular Delhi space is the capital of the

Delhi Sultanate. It offers an enhanced version of the Conscript

Command (3.2.1) and is important for final scoring (5.0). Only

Mongol Invaders and Delhi Sultanate pieces may enter or be

placed into Delhi.

1.3.4 City. Cities refer to named points on the map which lie

at certain vertices of Province boundaries. Delhi is not a City.

Cities are not spaces and no pieces may be placed into them.

Some Cities are referenced on Event cards (2.3).

1.3.5 Adjacency. Two spaces are adjacent if they share any border

points (including vertices). Hence Gondwana and Andhra are

adjacent, as are Madhyadesh and Orissa. Jaunpur and Punjab

are not adjacent.

1.3.6 Vindhya Range. The shaded Vindhya Range space, lying

between Malwa, Jaunpur, Madhyadesh, and Gondwana, is im-

passable and may not be entered under any circumstances. This

blocks adjacency between Malwa and Gondwana, and between

Madhyadesh and Jaunpur.

1.4 Forces

The square, hexagonal, and flat circular wooden pieces represent

the various forces of the three player Factions and non-player

Mongol Invaders Faction.

Delhi Sultanate Governors (5)

Delhi Sultanate Troops (32)

Bahmani Kingdom Amirs (18)

Vijayanagara Empire Rajas (22)

Mongol Invaders (12)

Forts (5)

Qasbahs (5)

Temples (5)

Units

Structures

Delhi Sultanate Forces: 5 Governors (black hexagonal cyl-

inders), 32 Troops (gray cubes), and 5 Qasbahs (black disks).

Bahmani Kingdom Forces: 18 Amirs (turquoise hexagonal

cylinders) and 5 Forts (turquoise disks).

Vijayanagara Empire Forces: 22 Rajas (yellow hexagonal

cylinders) and 5 Temples (yellow disks).

Vijayanagara

Mongol Invader Forces: 12 Mongol Invaders (red cubes).

Governors, Troops, Amirs, Rajas, and Mongol Invaders (i.e.,

hexagonal cylinders and cubes) are all Units (1.4.1). Qasbahs,

Forts, and Temples (i.e., wooden disks) are all Structures (1.4.2).

1.4.1 Units. Units may be moved with March (3.2.2) or Migrate

(3.3.2, 3.4.2) Commands and contribute towards their Factions’

Attack (3.2.4, 3.3.4, 3.4.4) Commands.

Governors (black hexagonal cylinders): Elite nobles of the

Delhi Sultanate with their own small armies that may attack

and defend along with the Sultanate’s Troops. Governors use

a Govern Command (3.2.3) to remove Obedient (1.4.5) Rajas

and Amirs and oversee the construction of Qasbahs (1.4.2), and

they are necessary in order to Demand Obedience (4.2.3) in an

Independent Province to place a Tributary marker there (1.6).

Governors are embossed on one end for decoration, but this has

no game effect.

Troops (gray cubes): Each Troops cube represents roughly

10,000 troops in the armies conscripted by the Delhi Sultanate.

Troops (and Governors) may Attack Rebelling Amirs and Rajas

(1.4.5, 3.2.4).

Amirs (turquoise hexagonal cylinders): Elite nobles and gov-

ernors of the Delhi Sultanate whose relationship to Delhi have

become tenuous, as well as the rulers of small kingdoms allied

with the Bahmani Kingdom. Amirs maintain their own armies,

allowing them to Attack other Factions (3.3.4). Amirs are em-

bossed on one end to indicate whether they are currently Obedient

or Rebelling (1.4.5).

Rajas (yellow hexagonal cylinders): Rulers of the Vijayanagara

Empire and small allied kingdoms. Rajas maintain their own

armies, allowing them to Attack other Factions (3.4.4). Rajas

are embossed on one end to indicate whether they are currently

Obedient or Rebelling (1.4.5).

Mongol Invaders (red cubes). Each cube represents roughly

10,000 Mongol troops. Mongol Invaders are always treated as

Rebelling (1.4.5). They are affected by some Event cards (2.3)

and all Mongol Invasion cards (2.4).

1.4.2 Structures. All three types of Structure are embossed on

one side for decoration, but this has no game effect. Once placed

into a map space, Structures may never be moved unless an Event

effect specifically states otherwise.

Qasbahs (black disks): Small towns occupied by a member of

rank within the Delhi Sultanate. Qasbahs are placed using the

Govern Command (3.2.3), improve the Sultanate’s Conscript

Command (3.2.1), and allow up to two Troops and Governors

to support or lead Attacks in adjacent spaces (3.2.4).

Forts (turquoise disk): Imposing defensive structures construct-

ed by the rebellious Bahmani Kingdom. Forts are placed with the

Build Decree (4.3.2), and Attacks on the Bahmani Kingdom by

other Factions are weakened when a Fort is present (3.2.4, 3.4.4).

Forts also allow up to two Amirs to support or lead Attacks in

adjacent Provinces (3.3.4).

Temples (yellow disks): Spectacular symbols of sovereignty

constructed by the Vijayanagara Empire. They are placed by the

Build Decree (4.4.2), and improve the Empire’s ability to Rally

(3.4.1) and Tax (4.4.1). Temples also allow up to one Raja to

support or lead Attacks in adjacent Provinces (3.4.4).

1.4.3 Availability and Removal. Keep any pieces available

for placement in their Faction’s holding box on the gameboard.

When placing or removing pieces, they must be taken from, or

sent to, their Faction’s holding box.

1.4.4 Stacking. Each Province may contain up to one of each

Faction’s Structure; i.e., up to one Qasbah, one Fort, and one

Temple. This stacking limit may never be violated, not even by

Event effects that place Structures. There is no limit to the number

of any Units in a space.

1.4.5 Obedient/Rebelling Units. Amirs and Rajas are always

either Obedient (embossed end down) or Rebelling (embossed

end up). Certain actions and Events flip them from one state to

the other, or may require them to be in a certain state in order to

be affected. Amirs and Rajas are always Rebelling in Provinces

Controlled (1.7) by their respective Factions, but may also con-

tinue to be Rebelling if they lose Control of a Province. Mongol

Invaders are always Rebelling.

IMPORTANT—Every Amir in a Bahmani Controlled Prov-

ince is always Rebelling. Every Raja in a Vijayanagara Con-

trolled Province is always Rebelling. If a Province becomes

Controlled (1.7) by either of these two Factions, immediately

flip all their Units in the Province to Rebelling.

1.4.6 Placing and Replacing pieces. Many Events (2.3), Com-

mands (3.0), and Decrees (4.0) allow pieces to be placed in one

or multiple spaces on the map. When pieces are to be placed on

the map they must be taken from their Faction holding box; if

there are none in the box they may not be placed in the space.

Rajas and Amirs are always placed on the map as Obedient

unless otherwise indicated. If they are placed into a Province

Controlled by their own Faction they will immediately become

Rebelling (1.4.5).

When a piece is to be replaced, the related action does not have

to be taken in full. A piece can simply be removed without being

replaced by another piece during such an action if desired.

Vijayanagara

1.5 Players & Factions

Vijayanagara is playable by 1–3 players. Player Factions are

the Delhi Sultanate (black), Bahmani Kingdom (turquoise),

and Vijayanagara Empire (yellow), with the non-player Mongol

Invaders (red) controlled alternately by the Bahmani Kingdom

and Vijayanagara Empire players. All Factions are “opposing”

to all others.

PLAY NOTE: The Delhi Sultanate is the most challenging

of the Factions to play. A careful balance must be achieved

to maintain control of the southern Provinces while also

fending off Mongol Invasions. First-time players may

quickly learn lessons about under- (or over-!) preparing

for Mongol raids.

1.5.1 Spare Factions. The rules in the separate Non-Player

Rulebook can be used to operate spare Factions, allowing for

either two-player or one-player (solitaire) games, with any

combinations of player and non-player Factions.

1.5.2 Negotiation. Players may make any mutual arrangements

within the rules. Resources and Cavalry tokens may be traded

among any Factions at any time. All negotiations are open. Play-

ers may make any mutual arrangements within the rules, binding

only as follows: once a player agrees to something within the

execution of a Command, Decree, or Event effect, the agreement

holds during that action. A player failing to obtain agreement at

the outset of an action may cancel the action.

1.6 Tributary and Independent Provinces

Each Province may either be a Tributary Province or an Indepen-

dent Province. A Tributary Province is marked with a Tributary

marker placed in the small circular spot above the Province name:

All other Provinces are Independent, and may be Controlled (1.7)

by any Faction. The game begins with Tributary markers in all

Provinces (see 2.1 for Setup). Events (2.3) and the Rebel Com-

mand (3.3.3, 3.4.3) may remove a Tributary marker (making the

Province Independent). Other Events and the Demand Obedience

Decree (4.2.3) can place a Tributary marker in an Independent

Province to set the Province back to Tributary status. Whenever

a Tributary marker is placed into a Province, whether by the

Sultanate’s Demand Obedience decree (4.2.3) or by an Event

(2.3), all Rebelling Amirs and Rajas in that Province are flipped

to their Obedient states (1.4.5).

DESIGN NOTE: A Tributary is a Province in which the

general mass of minor rulers in that region continues to

send annual tributary payments back to Delhi (even if a

few noble houses or even small kingdoms are acting in de-

fiance). An Independent Province is one in which all minor

houses and kingdoms in that region have united to cease

these annual payments to the Delhi Sultanate.

1.7 Control

An Independent Province (a Province that is not a Tributary,

1.6) may be Controlled by any Faction. A Faction instantly takes

control of an Independent Province if its own pieces there out-

number those of all opposing Factions combined (i.e., its pieces

are in the majority there). If a Faction Controls an Independent

Province (1.6), a circular marker is placed with that Faction’s

flag and color. If no Faction controls an Independent Province it

is Uncontrolled, indicated by the absence of any circular marker.

IMPORTANT—Tributary Provinces are never Controlled,

even if a Faction has the majority of pieces there. Delhi, Punjab,

and the Mountain Passes are not Provinces (1.3.2, 1.3.3), hence

they are also never Tributary, Independent, or Controlled.

1.8 Resources

At any moment, each Faction has between a minimum of 0 and

up to a maximum of 24 Resources that are spent to perform

Commands and Decrees (3.0, 4.0), and sometimes increased or

reduced by Events (2.3) and Mongol Invasions (2.4). Resources

are tracked on the numbered edge track using a large embossed

wooden cylinder of the Faction’s color. Resource adjustments

from Events (2.3) and summarized on Faction Aids are indicated

by the

icon.

1.9 Deccan Influence

The Bahmani Kingdom and Vijayanagara Empire Factions each

have a Deccan Influence track associated with the successful

propagation of their influence, whether by economic or military

expansion. Deccan Influence is tracked using Influence markers

matching the color and symbol of each Faction, as depicted

below:

Deccan Influence begins the game at 0 for both Factions, but may

be moved up or down by Events (2.3), Migration (3.3.2; 3.4.2),

or battles between the two (3.3.4; 3.4.4). Advancement on these

tracks confers gameplay benefits (see below) and contributes to

final scoring (5.0). Any increase or decrease that would move the

marker off either end of the tracks is simply ignored.

During Setup (2.1) two Rajas are placed in each of the four

marked spaces on the Vijayanagara track, and two Amirs are

placed in each of the two marked spaces on the Bahmani King-

dom track. These Units represent immigrants from central Asia

and warrior chiefs (Nayakas) who can become amenable to

alliances with the upstart kingdoms. When a Faction’s Influence

marker moves on or past these Units they are immediately placed

in their Faction’s respective holding box. Whenever a Faction’s

Influence decreases below a previously emptied Unit slot, that

Faction must place Amirs/Rajas in the empty spaces from either

their holding box or anywhere on the map.

Vijayanagara

Influence shifts are indicated on Event cards (2.3) and sum-

marized on Faction Aids by icons,

for shifting Bahmani

Influence, and

for shifting Vijayanagara Influence. Whether

a shift in Influence is positive or negative will be indicated on

each relevant Event, Command, or Decree.

1.9.1 Bahmani Influence Bonuses. The Bahmani Kingdom

receives the following bonuses at each Deccan Influence level:

1. Whenever the Trade Decree is taken (4.3.1), the Bahmani

Kingdom gains an additional Cavalry token (1.10) beyond

the standard one usually provided by Trade, for two total.

2. The two Amirs on the track are immediately moved to the

Bahmani Kingdom holding box. The bonus to Trade remains

(one additional Cavalry token). The Conspire Decree can

now be used to replace Rajas as well as Governors, in Prov-

inces with or adjacent to Amirs (4.3.3).

3. The enhancement of the Conspire Decree above remains,

but now the Trade Decree provides two additional Cavalry

tokens beyond the standard one, for three total.

4. The two Amirs on the track are immediately moved to the

Bahmani Kingdom holding box. The bonuses to Conspire

and Trade above remain.

1.9.2 Vijayanagara Influence Bonuses. The Vijayanagara Empire

receives the following bonuses at each Deccan Influence level:

1. The two Rajas on the track are immediately moved to the

Vijayanagara Empire holding box.

2. The two Rajas on the track are immediately moved to the

Vijayanagara Empire holding box. The Compel Decree now

includes an additional option to remove a Troop, Governor,

or Amir in the selected space (4.4.3), and provides a Cavalry

token (1.10).

3. The two Rajas on the track are immediately moved to the

Vijayanagara Empire holding box. The bonus to Compel

above remains.

4. The two Rajas on the track are immediately moved to the

Vijayanagara Empire holding box. The bonus to Compel

above remains.

1.10 Cavalry

The ten Cavalry tokens are placed in a pool at the side of the board

and can be acquired by Factions through Events (2.3), Mongol

Invasions (2.4), Succession cards (2.5), and some Decrees (4.0);

the Delhi Sultanate also begins the game with two Cavalry to-

kens from this pool (2.1). When each Cavalry token is earned it

is taken from the pool; if there are none available in the pool it

may be taken from any other Faction, representing a technology

advance rendering existing military technology obsolete. Store a

Faction’s earned Cavalry tokens in their holding box (the number

of Cavalry tokens each Faction has is open information). Two

spare Cavalry tokens are provided but should not be used during

play, unless they are needed as replacements for missing tokens

(there should always be a pool of ten Cavalry tokens shared

between the three player Factions).

CAVALRY

CHARGE

CAVALRY

SCREEN

Cavalry tokens are used during Attack Commands (3.2.4, 3.3.4,

3.4.4) by either the attacker or defender (or sometimes both).

After both involved Factions have rolled their dice, the attacker

first and then the defender may use any number of Cavalry to-

kens, either to decrease any of the spending Faction’s die rolls

by one to a minimum of 1 (Charge) or to remove an opponent’s

die from the battle unless it is showing a 1 (Screen). Each token

may be used for either effect, and the same die may be affected

(by Charges or Screen) multiple times. Used Cavalry tokens

are then returned to the shared pool. Cavalry tokens gained or

removed by Events (2.3) Mongol Invasions (2.4), Succession

cards (2.5), and summarized on the Faction Aids are represented

by the

icon.

When Mongol Invaders either Attack (3.5.3) or defend against

an Attack by the Delhi Sultanate (3.2.4), they are treated as

having one Cavalry token, and it is always played as a Charge

to reduce one of their die rolls by one (if possible). The Charge

must be used to convert a miss into a hit, or to convert a 2 into

a 1, if possible (i.e., the player currently controlling the Mongol

Invaders must use the token effectively if they can). A single red

Mongol Cavalry token is provided as a reminder of this, but

should never be returned to the shared pool.

Vijayanagara

2.0 Setup and Sequence of Play

2.1 Map Setup and Deck Construction

Place a Tributary marker in the round space in each Province,

then place the following wooden pieces on the map (you can

also find a full setup diagram on the back page of this rulebook):

• Delhi: 4 Troops

• Mountain Passes: 2 Troops

• Punjab: 4 Troops

• Malwa: 3 Troops, 1 Governor

• Jaunpur: 2 Troops

• Madhyadesh: 2 Troops, 2 Amirs

• Sindh: 1 Troop

• Rajput Kingdoms: 1 Troop

• Gujarat: 1 Troop, 1 Amir

• Maharashtra: 4 Amirs

• Gondwana: 1 Amir

• Andhra: 1 Troop, 1 Qasbah, 2 Rajas

• Karnataka: 3 Rajas

• Tamilakam: 1 Troop, 1 Raja

Also place 4 Amirs and 8 Rajas in the indicated spaces on the

Deccan Influence tracks, and place the Bahmani Kingdom and

Vijayanagara Empire Influence markers at ‘0’ on their respective

track.

Place each Faction’s remaining pieces in their holding boxes

as follows:

• Delhi Sultanate: 10 Troops, 4 Governors, 4 Qasbahs

• Bahmani Kingdom: 6 Amirs, 5 Forts

• Vijayanagara Empire: 8 Rajas, 5 Temples

• Mongol Invaders: 12 Mongol Invaders

Place the following wooden pieces and markers on the numbered

edge track:

• Delhi Sultanate Resources: 12

• Vijayanagara Empire Resources: 7

• Bahmani Kingdom Resources: 6

• Delhi Sultanate Victory: 18

• Vijayanagara Empire Victory: 0

• Bahmani Kingdom Victory: 0

Place two Cavalry tokens in the Delhi Sultanate box (they begin

the game with these), then form the remaining eight Cavalry

tokens into a shared pool and place the special Mongol Cavalry

token near the Mongol Invaders box. Form another pool of the

Bahmani/Vijayanagara Control markers. Place the three Faction

Eligibility cylinders into the ‘Eligible Factions’ box on the Se-

quence of Play track. Place the Khalji Dynasty card face-up near

the Delhi Sultanate player.

Prepare the Event deck as follows (a deck construction diagram

can also be found on the second to last page of the Learn to Play

booklet):

1. Shuffle the Event cards and Mongol Invasion cards sepa-

rately.

2. Deal 24 of the 36 Event cards into four equal stacks of six

cards each (the remaining 12 Event cards will not be used).

3. Shuffle two Mongol Invasion cards into each of the first

three stacks (the remaining two Mongol Invasion cards

will not be used). Shuffle both Timurid Empire cards into

the fourth stack.

4. Take the fourth stack (with the Timurid Empire cards) and

place the Lords of the Deccan card on top of it.

5. Put the third stack on top of this pile, and place Rise of the

Rebel Sultans on top of it.

6. Put the second stack on top of this pile, and Zenith of the

Delhi Sultanate on top of it.

7. Finally, place the first stack on top of this pile to complete

the Event deck.

2.2 Start

Draw and reveal the top card of the Event deck, placing it face

up next to the deck to form a played Events pile. Each turn all

Eligible Factions will get a chance to act on the Event card in

eligibility order, after which Eligibility is reset and a new card

is drawn. Regular play is interrupted when a Mongol Invasion,

Succession, or Timurid Empire card is drawn, and the game im-

mediately ends after the second Timurid Empire card is executed.

2.3 Event Cards

Each turn in the game begins with the players revealing the top

card from the Event deck. All played cards and the number of

cards remaining in the Event deck are open to inspection. If

the revealed card is a Mongol Invasion card, Succession card,

or Timurid Empire card, regular play is interrupted to execute

these cards (see 2.4, 2.5, and 2.6 below). Otherwise, proceed as

follows on each Event card.

Each Event card bears a title, card number, italicized flavor text,

Event text, and Eligibility order (2.3.1). Event texts are options

that an Eligible Faction may choose to execute (2.3.4). Flavor

text provides historical interest and has no effect on play.

Vijayanagara

Card number

Eligibility order

Event title

‘Stay Eligible’ indicator

Flavor text

Event text

DESIGN NOTE: Each turn in Vijayanagara corresponds to

roughly five years of history. Game concepts like migration,

rebelling, building forts and temples, and the ramp-up and

consequences of the Events in the game should be inter-

preted with this in mind.

2.3.1 Eligibility. Factions are either Eligible or Ineligible to play

when an Event card is drawn, as indicated by the position of their

Faction Eligibility cylinders on the Sequence of Play track. All

Factions begin the game Eligible to play, and all Eligible Factions

(possibly all three Factions) may choose actions from among their

options on a given Event card. Whether they remain Eligible or

become Ineligible on the following Event card depends on their

choice of actions (2.3.3).

2.3.2 Faction Order. Faction symbols along the top of each

Event card indicate the order of play among the Eligible Factions

from left to right. The Eligible Faction with the leftmost symbol

appearing on the current Event card is the first to choose which

action to take (2.3.3). Ineligible Factions are skipped.

2.3.3 Options for Eligible Factions. The Sequence of Play

track shows the options available to the Eligible Factions. Each

Eligible Faction has the option to select from either of the two

forked options to the right of the Eligible box, provided it has

not already been selected by another Faction; or to execute a

Limited Command (2.3.5); or to Pass (2.3.6).

The two forked options to the right of the Eligible box are to:

• Execute a Command (3.0) in any number of spaces (possibly

zero), combined with a Decree (4.0) either before or after the

Command is fully completed.

• Execute either the Event shown on the current card (2.3.4) or

a Command (3.0) in any number of spaces without a Decree.

Once an Eligible Faction has selected one of the two forked

options, it is no longer available for any remaining Eligible

Faction to select. If both forked options have been taken by the

first two Eligible Factions, a third Eligible Faction may only take

a Limited Command or Pass.

DESIGN NOTE: This is an adaptation of the three-player

Sequence of Play that was originally developed by Ken

Tee for People Power.

2.3.4 Executing the Event. When a Faction executes an Event,

it carries out the Event text literally (sometimes involving actions

or decisions executed by other Factions). The executing Faction

carries out as much of the Event as possible. Unless otherwise

specified, the executing Faction makes all decisions involved in

implementing the text. If another Faction is selected to take an

action, that Faction decides the details of the action.

Event cards have both unshaded and shaded Event text. The

executing Faction may select either the unshaded or shaded text

to carry out (not both). The shaded option is often but not always

favorable to the Delhi Sultanate.

Many Events include the text ‘Stay Eligible’ just below the card

title. A Faction that chooses to execute either Event option on

such a card returns to the Eligible box at the end of the turn,

instead of proceeding to the Ineligible box, even if executing

the Event resulted in a different Faction carrying out the Event

details. To help remember that such an Event was chosen, the

Faction Eligibility cylinder may be placed face down on the

Sequence of Play.

A key to the Icons used in the Event text is provided at the end

of the Key Terms Index and on the reverse of the Attack Ref-

erence cards.

2.3.5 Limited Command. An Eligible Faction always has the

option to execute a Limited Command. A Limited Command is

a Command (3.0) used in just a single space. It can still involve

pieces from multiple spaces, as per the Command’s instructions.

Any number of Eligible Factions may select a Limited Command

and will remain Eligible for the next Event card.

Vijayanagara

2.3.6 Passing. An Eligible Faction always has the option to Pass;

it remains Eligible for the next card and receives Resources as

indicated on the Sequence of Play track (1 Resource for the

Bahmani Kingdom and Vijayanagara Empire, or 3 Resources for

the Delhi Sultanate). If the last Eligible Faction Passes, adjust

Eligibility (2.3.7) and draw the next card.

2.3.7 Adjust Eligibility. After each Eligible Faction has either

executed an action or Passed, move any Faction Eligibility cyl-

inders in the Ineligible, Limited Command, or Pass boxes to the

Eligible box, and move any Faction cylinders in the two forked

options (2.3.3) to the Ineligible box (unless a ‘Stay Eligible’

Event was taken).

IMPORTANT—Remember to always return the Eligibility

cylinder of a Faction that executed a ‘Stay Eligible’ Event to

the Eligible box. As an aid to memory, players may wish to

flip their Eligiblity cylinder face down when they execute a

‘Stay Eligible’ Event.

2.3.8 Next Card. After adjusting Eligibility, reveal the Event

deck’s next card, and proceed as above.

PLAY NOTE: Players may wish to place played cards into

three separate discard piles, one each for Event cards,

Mongol Invasion cards (including the two Timurid Empire

cards), and Succession cards, in order to make it easier to

check how many of each card have been played.

2.4 Mongol Invasion Cards

Upon drawing a Mongol Invasion card, carry out the instructions

on the card in order:

2.4.1 Strategic Assistance. First, either the Bahmani Kingdom

or Vijayanagara Empire (whichever is indicated on the card)

carries out any two Mongol Invader Commands (3.5), possibly

the same Command twice.

2.4.2 Compromising Gifts. Second, the selected Faction may

optionally reduce its Deccan Influence (1.9) by one to gain 2

Resources and 2 Cavalry tokens (1.10).

Play then continues without any adjustment of Eligibility – reveal

the next Event card and continue as per 2.3.

2.5 Succession Cards

Three Succession cards divide the deck of Event cards evenly

(see Deck Construction in 2.1 above) and always appear in the

same order. The instructions on each card are carried out in the

listed order, then play continues without adjusting Eligibility –

reveal the next Event card and continue as per 2.3.

2.5.1 Zenith of the Delhi Sultanate. Zenith of the Delhi Sul-

tanate is always the first Succession card and has the following

effects in this order:

1. Power struggle in Delhi. Flip the Dynasty Card to the Tugh-

laq side. The Rebel Command (3.3.3, 3.4.3) is now available

to the Bahmani Kingdom and Vijayanagara Empire Factions.

2. The Sultanate reimposes its dominance. The Delhi Sultan-

ate may Campaign (4.2.2), using only Delhi and Provinces

(not Mongol Invasion Regions).

3. Military labor market thrives. The Bahmani Kingdom gains

Cavalry tokens equal to its Influence track value and Forts

on the map.

4. Temple towns emerge anew. The Vijayanagara Empire gains

Resources equal to its Influence track value and Temples

on the map.

2.5.2 Rise of the Rebel Sultans. Rise of the Rebel Sultans is

always the second Succession card and has the following effects

in this order:

1. Delhi monitors its interests. The Delhi Sultanate may

Campaign, using only Delhi and Provinces (not Mongol

Invasion Regions).

2. Ala-ud-Din Hasan Bahman Shah gathers allies and takes

the Deccan throne. The Bahmani Kingdom may execute

a free Limited Command, then gains any combination of

Resources and Cavalry tokens equal to the Prosperity of all

Bahmani-Controlled Independent Provinces (to a maximum

of three).

3. Sangama brothers establish an empire. The Vijayanagara

Empire may execute a free Limited Command, then gains

any combination of Resources and Cavalry tokens equal to

the Prosperity of all Vijayanagara-Controlled Independent

Provinces (to a maximum of three).

2.5.3 Lords of the Deccan. Lords of the Deccan is always the

third Succession card and has the following effects in this order:

1. Renewed focus on infrastructure. The Delhi Sultanate may

spend 3 Resources to shift either the Bahmani or Vijayanaga-

ra Influence by one in either direction. This action may be

taken up to three times.

2. Bahmani network covers the Deccan: The Bahmani King-

dom may do the same.

3. Vast, unifying medieval metropolis: The Vijayanagara

Empire may do the same.

Vijayanagara

2.6 Timurid Empire Cards

When the first Timurid Empire card is drawn, place half the

Available Mongol Invaders (rounded down) in the Mountain

Passes, then draw the next Event card and continue play without

adjusting Eligibility.

When the second Timurid Empire card is drawn, carry out the

Timur Invades Delhi sequence described below (and on the

Mongol Invader Faction Aid):

1. First, the Mongol Invaders Attack in the Mountain Passes,

ignoring the Resource consequences of the Attack & Plun-

der Command (3.5.3). Then move any remaining Units

(both Mongol Invaders and Delhi Sultanate Units) from the

Mountain Passes to Punjab.

2. Next, the Mongol Invaders Attack in Punjab, ignoring the

Resource and Province-related consequences of the Attack

& Plunder Command. Then move any remaining Units

(both Mongol Invaders and Delhi Sultanate Units) from

Punjab to Delhi.

3. Finally, the Mongol Invaders Attack in Delhi, ignoring the

Province-related consequences of the Attack & Plunder

Command. They continue to Attack in this way until either

no Mongol Invaders or no Delhi Sultanate Units remain in

Delhi.

IMPORTANT—Remember that the Mongol Invaders always

roll only three dice when Attacking in Delhi (3.5.3).

Once this sequence is complete, calculate final Victory scores to

see which Faction has won the game (5.0).

2.7 Dynasty Card

The current ruling dynasty in Delhi is shown by the Dynasty

card, which should be placed near the Delhi Sultanate player. At

the beginning of the game the Dynasty card is placed with the

Khalji Dynasty side face-up.

2.7.1 Khalji Dynasty. The Rebel Command (3.3.3, 3.4.3) may

not be used during the Khalji Dynasty. Some Event cards may

still allow a Rebel Command or remove a Tributary Marker

directly while this Dynasty card is in play.

2.7.2 Tughlaq Dynasty. The first Succession Card (2.5) flips the

Dynasty card to its Tughlaq Dynasty side. The Rebel Command

(3.3.3, 3.4.3) is now available for the remainder of the game.

3.0 Commands

3.1 Commands in General

A Faction executing a Command chooses one of the four Com-

mands listed on its Faction Aid Sheet and selects the map spaces

to be involved. A Limited Command is a Command which is only

performed in a single space (2.3.5).

3.1.1 Selecting Spaces. Spaces may only be selected once for

any Command in one Faction’s turn, and may be selected in any

order and at any time during the turn. The allowed spaces for each

Command are indicated on the Faction Aid Sheet as “Locations”.

Delhi and both Mongol Invasion Regions are not selectable by

the Bahmani Kingdom and Vijayanagara Empire for any of their

Commands or Decrees (4.0). These map spaces are not Provinces.

3.1.2 Single use per piece. No piece may be used more than once

during one Command (e.g., in more than one Migrate/March,

Attack, or Govern).

3.1.3 Free Commands. Event or Succession cards may some-

times grant free Commands that cost no Resources. A Faction

performing a free Migrate Command (3.3.2; 3.4.2) must still pay

an additional Resource to shift Influence (if desired).

3.1.4 Pawns. Players may mark spaces selected for any type of

actions with pawns. The pawns are for convenience, and do not

limit or affect play in any way.

3.2 Delhi Sultanate Commands

The Delhi Sultanate may choose from Conscript, March, Govern,

and Attack Commands.

3.2.1 Conscript. Conscript augments Sultanate forces by plac-

ing Available Troops (1.4.3) onto the map. Select any Tributary

Provinces, spaces with a Qasbah, and/or Delhi. Spend 1 Resource

for each selected space.

PROCEDURE: Place up to five Troops in Delhi, or two Troops

in a space with a Qasbah, or one Troop in a Tributary Province

without a Qasbah.

3.2.2 March. March moves Troops and Governors into adjacent

spaces. Any spaces may be selected as destinations. Spend 1

Resource for each selected destination space.

PROCEDURE: Move any number of Troops and Governors from

adjacent spaces into destination spaces.

PLAY NOTE: Units moved to each destination may come

from any (e.g., multiple) adjacent spaces. Units may only

ever be moved once during a single March Command

(3.1.2).

3.2.3 Govern. Govern places Available Governors (1.4.3) onto

the map, or uses Governors already on the map to remove Obe-

dient Units and/or to construct a Qasbah. Select any number of

Tributaries, Sultanate Controlled Provinces, Mongol Invasion

Regions, and/or Delhi. Spend 1 Resource for each selected space.

Vijayanagara

PROCEDURE: In each selected space either place a Governor,

OR if the space already contains a Governor remove up to two

Obedient Units and/or place a Qasbah.

PLAY NOTE: Govern where there is already a Governor

may both remove up to two Obedient Units and place a

Qasbah, or may perform either option without performing

the other.

3.2.4 Attack. Attack may remove opposing pieces. Select

any spaces containing Rebelling (1.4.5) Units, or an opposing

Structure without any pieces of the same Faction present (it

may or may not contain Sultanate Units). Spend 1 Resource per

selected space.

PROCEDURE: In each selected space, choose one Faction

with at least one Rebelling Unit or a Structure with none of that

Faction’s Units to target as the defender. Set all Units of that

Faction in the space to Rebelling (Mongol Invaders are always

Rebelling).

All Troops and Governors in that space are attacking, unless they

were already involved in an attack in an adjacent space during

this Command (3.1.2). Up to two (total) Troops and/or Gover-

nors may join the attack from one adjacent space with a Qasbah

(they do not move into the attacked Province, but contribute to

the attack and may be removed as casualties).

The attacker rolls four dice (or three if attacking the Bahmani

Kingdom and a Fort is in the space) and the defender rolls two

dice. Then the attacker may use any Cavalry tokens to reduce

any die rolls or to remove the opponent’s dice, after which the

defender may do the same (including Mongol Invaders, see 1.10).

Finally, each side scores one hit for each of their modified rolls

that is equal to or less than the number of their Units involved

in the Attack, up to a maximum of five (rolls of 6 always miss).

Each Faction removes its own pieces equal to the number of the

opponent’s hits (returning them to Available). Attacking pieces

from an adjacent space may be removed either before or after

those in the selected space.

PLAY NOTE: Obedient Amirs and Rajas may be attacked

in Tributaries if even one Rebelling Unit of that Faction is

present. Units may only ever be involved in a single attack

during any Command (3.1.2). There need not be Sultanate

Units in the space being attacked; a pure raid by only

supporting Sultanate Units from one adjacent space with

a Qasbah is allowed.

3.3 Bahmani Kingdom Commands

The Bahmani Kingdom may choose from Rally, Migrate, Rebel,

and Attack Commands.

3.3.1 Rally. Rally persuades minor rulers to join the Bahmanis,

placing Available Amirs (1.4.3) onto the map. Select any Prov-

inces which already contain a Bahmani piece, and/or Maharashtra

Province (even without a Bahmani piece). Spend 1 Resource for

each selected Province.

PROCEDURE: Place one Amir in the Province, plus up to one

additional Amir if the Province is Maharashtra, plus up to one ad-

ditional Amir if the Province is Bahmani Controlled. Placed Amirs

are Obedient unless the selected Province is Bahmani Controlled,

in which case they are placed Rebelling (1.4.5).

3.3.2 Migrate. Migrate moves Amirs to nearby regions to begin

life anew. Any Provinces may be selected as destinations. Spend

1 Resource for each selected destination Province.

PROCEDURE: Move up to three Amirs from any adjacent Prov-

inces into the destination. They become Rebelling if they enter a

Bahmani Controlled Province, and Obedient if they enter a Trib-

utary Province, otherwise they retain their original orientation.

PLAY NOTE: Amirs moved to each destination may come

from any (e.g., multiple) adjacent Provinces. Amirs may

only ever be moved once during a single Migrate Com-

mand (3.1.2).

Shift Influence: In up to one destination which contains a

Vijayanagara piece, the Bahmani Kingdom may spend 1 Re-

source to increase their own Influence by one and decrease the

Vijayanagara Empire’s Influence by one (1.9). If an Event allows

for a free Migrate, Influence may only be shifted in this way at

the normal cost of 1 Resource.

3.3.3 Rebel. Rebel signals a sudden shift against the Delhi Sultan-

ate. Select any number of Tributary Provinces in which Bahmani

pieces are in the majority (i.e. outnumber all opposing pieces

there combined). Spend 1 Resource for each selected Province.

PROCEDURE: Flip all Amirs in the targeted Province to Rebel-

ling (1.4.5) and remove the Tributary marker. The Province will

now be Bahmani Controlled – place the appropriate marker to

indicate the Province’s new status.

IMPORTANT—Remember that the Rebel Command is nor-

mally only possible during the Tughlaq Dynasty (2.7).

3.3.4 Attack. Attack may remove opposing pieces. Select any

Provinces containing opposing pieces (it may or may not contain

Amirs). Spend 1 Resource per selected space.

PROCEDURE: In each selected Province, choose one Faction

with at least one piece present to target as the defender.

All Amirs in that space are attacking, unless they were already

involved in an attack in an adjacent space during this Command.

Up to two Amirs may join the attack from one adjacent Province

with a Fort (they do not move into the attacked Province, but

contribute to the attack and may be removed as casualties).

The attacker rolls four dice and the defender rolls two dice. Then

the attacker may use any Cavalry tokens to reduce any die rolls

or to remove the opponent’s dice, after which the defender may

do the same. Finally, each side scores one hit for each of their

modified rolls that is equal to or less than the number of their

Units involved in the Attack, up to a maximum of five (rolls of

6 always miss).

Vijayanagara

Each Faction removes its own pieces equal to the number of the

opponent’s hits (returning them to Available). Attacking pieces

from an adjacent space may be removed either before or after

those in the selected space.

Influence Shift: In any battle between the Bahmani Kingdom

and the Vijayanagara Empire, the winning Faction (the Faction

that loses the fewest pieces) increases its Influence by one on

the Deccan Influence track (if possible), while the other Faction

decreases its Influence by one (if possible). If the two Factions

remove the same number of pieces there is no adjustment to the

Deccan Influence track.

PLAY NOTE: Units may only ever be involved in a single

attack during any Command (3.1.2). There need not be

Amirs in the Province being attacked; a pure raid by only

supporting Amirs from one adjacent Province with a Fort

is allowed.

3.4 Vijayanagara Empire Commands

The Vijayanagara Empire may choose from Rally, Migrate,

Rebel, and Attack Commands.

3.4.1 Rally. Rally persuades minor rulers to join the Vijayanagara

Empire, placing Available Rajas (1.4.3) onto the map. Select any

Provinces which already contain a Vijayanagara piece, and/or

Karnataka Province (even without a Vijayanagara piece). Spend

1 Resource for each selected Province.

PROCEDURE: Place one Raja in the Province, plus up to one

additional Raja if the Province is Karnataka, plus up to one addi-

tional Raja if there is a Temple present, plus up to one additional

Raja if the Province is Vijayanagara Controlled. Placed Rajas are

Obedient unless the selected Province is Vijayanagara Controlled,

in which case they are placed Rebelling (1.4.5).

3.4.2 Migrate. Migrate moves Rajas to nearby regions to begin

life anew. Any Provinces may be selected as destinations. Spend

1 Resource for each selected destination Province.

PROCEDURE: Move up to three Rajas from any adjacent Prov-

inces into the destination. They become Rebelling if they enter

a Vijayanagra Controlled Province, and Obedient if they enter a

Tributary Province, otherwise they retain their original orientation.

PLAY NOTE: Rajas moved to each destination may come

from any (e.g., multiple) adjacent Provinces. Rajas may

only ever be moved once during a single Migrate Com-

mand (3.1.2).

Shift Influence: In up to one destination which contains a Bah-

mani piece, the Vijayanagara Empire may spend 1 Resource to

increase their own Influence by one and decrease the Bahmani

Kingdom’s Influence by one (1.9). If an Event allows for a free

Migrate, Influence may only be shifted in this way at the normal

cost of 1 Resource.

3.4.3 Rebel. Rebel signals a sudden shift against the Delhi Sultan-

ate. Select any number of Tributary Provinces in which Vijayanaga-

ra pieces are in the majority (i.e., outnumber all opposing pieces

there combined). Spend 1 Resource for each selected Province.

PROCEDURE: Flip all Rajas in the targeted Province to Rebel-

ling (1.4.5) and remove the Tributary marker. The Province will

now be Vijayanagara Controlled – place the appropriate marker

to indicate the Province’s new status.

IMPORTANT—Remember that the Rebel Command is nor-

mally only possible during the Tughlaq Dynasty (2.7).

3.4.4 Attack. Attack may remove opposing pieces. Select any

Provinces containing opposing pieces (it may or may not contain

Rajas). Spend 1 Resource per selected space.

PROCEDURE: In each selected Province, choose one Faction

with at least one piece present to target as the defender.

All Rajas in that space are attacking, unless they were already

involved in an attack in an adjacent space during this Command.

Up to one Raja may join the attack from one adjacent Province

with a Temple (they do not move into the attacked Province,

but contribute to the attack and may be removed as casualties).

The attacker rolls four dice (or three if attacking the Bahmani

Kingdom and a Fort is in the Province) and the defender rolls

two dice. Then the attacker may use any Cavalry tokens to re-

duce any die rolls or to remove the opponent’s dice, after which

the defender may do the same. Finally, each side scores one hit

for each of their modified rolls that is equal to or less than the

number of their Units involved in the Attack, up to a maximum

of five (rolls of 6 always miss). Each Faction removes its own

pieces equal to the number of the opponent’s hits (returning them

to Available). Attacking pieces from an adjacent space may be

removed either before or after those in the selected space.

Influence Shift: In any battle between the Bahmani Kingdom

and the Vijayanagara Empire, the winning Faction (the Faction

that loses the fewest pieces) increases its Influence by one on

the Deccan Influence track (if possible), while the other Faction

decreases its Influence by one (if possible). If the two Factions

remove the same number of pieces there is no adjustment to the

Deccan Influence track.

PLAY NOTE: Units may only ever be involved in a single

attack during any Command (3.1.2). There need not be

Rajas in the Province being attacked; a pure raid by a

single supporting Raja from one adjacent Province with a

Temple is allowed.

3.5 Mongol Invader Commands

When a Mongol Invasion card (2.4) is drawn from the Event deck,

the Faction indicated on the card (either the Bahmani Kingdom or

Vijayanagara Empire) selects two Mongol Commands to execute

sequentially. The Mongol Commands are Amass, Advance, and

Attack and Plunder (treated as a single Command). The same

Command may be chosen twice.

3.5.1 Amass. Amass gathers Mongol forces in the mountainous

region to the northwest of India.

PROCEDURE: Place three Mongol Invaders from Available

Vijayanagara

into Mountain Passes. Move any now there beyond four into

Punjab, then any now in Punjab beyond four into Delhi. This

Command may only be chosen if there is at least one Available

Mongol Invader.

3.5.2 Advance. Advance marches the Mongol forces towards

Delhi.

PROCEDURE: Move one or more Mongol Invaders from

Mountain Passes into Punjab, or from Punjab into Delhi. This

Command may only be chosen if there is at least one Mongol

Invader in Mountain Passes or Punjab, and must move at least

one Invader.

3.5.3 Attack and Plunder. Attack and Plunder assaults Sultanate

forces in one region and plunders the region for Sultanate Re-

sources. There need not be a Sultanate piece in the selected space.

PROCEDURE: In one space with at least one Mongol Invader,

the player selecting the Mongol Commands carries out a Mongol

attack (if any Sultanate pieces are present). All Mongol Invaders

in that space are attacking.

The player currently controlling the Mongol Invaders rolls four

dice (three if attacking in Delhi) while the Delhi Sultanate player

rolls two. The Mongol Invaders always have one Cavalry token in

any battle, which is always used to Charge (1.10) if possible, and

never for Screen. The Charge must be used to convert a miss to a

hit if possible, then to reduce a 2 to a 1 if possible. The Sultanate

player may then use any Cavalry tokens to reduce any die rolls

or to remove the attacker’s dice as normal (1.10).

Finally, each side scores one hit for each of their modified rolls

that is equal to or less than the number of their Units involved

in the Attack, up to a maximum of five (rolls of 6 always miss).

Each Faction removes its own pieces equal to the number of the

opponent’s hits (returning them to Available).

Then, there are further consequences depending on where the

Attack and Plunder Command took place, and regardless of

whether any attack actually occurred:

Mountain Passes. For each Mongol Invader remaining there,

reduce Sultanate Resources by 1 (down to a minimum of 3).

Punjab. For each Mongol Invader remaining there, reduce the

Sultanate Resources by 1 (down to a minimum of 3) and the

Sultanate player must remove one Troop from any Province on

the map (if possible).

Delhi. For each Mongol Invader remaining there, reduce the

Sultanate Resources by 1 (down to a minimum of 3) and the

Sultanate Player must remove two Troops from any Provinces

on the map (if possible).

Finally, return any Mongol Invaders in excess of three in the

selected space to the Mongol Invaders holding box.

4.0 Decrees

4.1 Decrees in General

A Faction executing the Command & Decree option per the

sequence of play (2.3.3) must choose one of the Decrees listed

on its Faction Aid Sheet to perform. All Decrees can be used in

conjunction with all Commands, and the Decree may be used

either before or after the full Command is carried out.

4.2 Delhi Sultanate Decrees

The Delhi Sultanate may choose from Collect Tribute, Campaign,

and Demand Obedience Decrees.

4.2.1 Collect Tribute. Collect Tribute raises Resources and

Cavalry from the Dehli Sultanate’s tributaries.

PROCEDURE: Gain Resources equal to half the total Tributary

Prosperity (rounded down), and gain two Cavalry.

4.2.2 Campaign. Campaign redeploys Troops and Governors

over long distances along a single route.

PROCEDURE: Move any number of Sultanate Units (Troops

and Governors) from a single origin space to a single destination

space up to three spaces away. Troops and Governors may be

picked up and dropped off in any spaces along the way.

4.2.3 Demand Obedience. Demand Obedience places a Trib-

utary marker in Sultanate Controlled Independent Provinces,

immediately extracts Resources equal to the Prosperity of those

Provinces, and flips Amirs and Rajas there to Obedient.

PROCEDURE: In any number of Sultanate Controlled (1.7)

Provinces with a Governor, replace the Sultanate Controlled

marker with a Tributary marker (1.6) and flip all Rebelling Units

there to Obedient (1.4.5). Increase Sultanate Resources by the

combined Prosperity of all affected Provinces (1.3.1).

4.3 Bahmani Kingdom Decrees

The Bahmani Kingdom may choose from Trade, Build, and

Conspire Decrees.

4.3.1 Trade. Trade enhances the Bahmani’s Resources and

Cavalry through economic engagement in the Deccan and with

foreign powers. Cavalry is acquired more readily when Bahmani

Influence is high.

PROCEDURE: Gain Resources equal to the number of Provinces

containing a Bahmani piece, then gain one Cavalry.

Influential: If Bahmani Influence (1.9) is 1 or 2, gain two Cavalry

instead of one. If Bahmani Influence is 3 or 4, gain three Cavalry

instead of one.

4.3.2 Build. Build constructs a Fort in one Province which

contains an Amir.

PROCEDURE: Place a Fort in one Province that contains an

Amir. Each space may contain only one Fort (1.4.4). The Fort

must come from the Bahmani Available box.

Vijayanagara

4.3.3 Conspire. Conspire represents the formation of new bonds

with aggrieved powers, particularly when Bahmani Influence

is high.

PROCEDURE: In up to two different Provinces with a Bahma-

ni piece, replace a Governor with an Amir (either Obedient or

Rebelling as desired).

Influential: If Bahmani Influence (1.9) is at 2 or more, the Bah-

mani Kingdom may instead replace Governors or Rajas, in or

adjacent to Provinces containing Bahmani pieces. Rebelling

Rajas must be replaced with Rebelling Amirs, otherwise Amirs

may be placed either Obedient or Rebelling as desired.

4.4 Vijayanagara Empire Decrees

The Vijayanagara Empire may choose from Tax, Build, and

Compel Decrees.

4.4.1 Tax. Tax provides Vijayanagara Resources from Provinces

which it Controls.

PROCEDURE: Gain Resources equal to the combined Prosperity

of all Vijayanagara Controlled Provinces, plus the number of

Temples on the map.

4.4.2 Build. Build constructs a Temple in one Province which

contains a Raja.

PROCEDURE: Place a Temple in one Province that contains

a Raja. Each space may contain only one Temple (1.4.4). The

Temple must come from the Vijayanagara Available box.

4.4.3 Compel. The Compel Decree forms ties with minor king-

doms in nearby regions, relationships which are more immedi-

ately useful when Vijayanagara Influence is high.

PROCEDURE: In one Province with or adjacent to a Vijayanaga-

ra piece, place up to two Available Rajas, or move in up to two

Rajas from one adjacent Province. If desired, one new Raja can

be placed and one existing Raja can be moved. Placed Rajas

begin Obedient unless the selected Province is Vijayanagara

Controlled, in which case they are placed Rebelling.

Influential: If Vijayanagara Influence (1.9) is at 2 or higher, also

gain one Cavalry token (1.10) and remove up to one Troop, Gov-

ernor, or Amir in the selected Province. If removing a Sultanate

Unit, flip any Rajas just placed or moved to Rebelling.

5.0 Victory

Each Faction has unique ways of gaining Victory Points, cov-

ered below and on the Faction Aid Sheets. Keep track of victory

points as the game progresses using markers on the numbered

edge track at the top of the game board.

The winning Faction is the one with the greatest number of vic-

tory points after the Timur Invades Delhi sequence is carried out

(2.6). Any ties are broken by the number of Resources held. An

optional second tiebreaker is the winner of a game of Aadu-Huli

aata (Goat-Tiger game, 5.5).

5.1 Delhi Sultanate victory points

The Delhi Sultanate’s base victory points (VP) are

given by the total Prosperity of all Tributary Provinc-

es (1.3.1). At the end of the game the Delhi Sultanate

also adds Victory Points equal to: 3 minus the num-

ber of Mongol Invaders left in Delhi (to a minimum of -3 VP).

EXAMPLE: The Delhi Sultanate earns 3 additional VP if no

Mongol Invaders remain in Delhi at the end of Timur’s Invasion,

and loses 3 VP if six or more Invaders remain in Delhi at the end

of the final assault. If there were three Mongol Invaders remaining

in Delhi, the Sultanate would not gain or lose any victory points.

5.2 Bahmani Kingdom victory points

The Bahmani Kingdom victory points are given by

the total Prosperity (1.3.1) of Bahmani Controlled

Provinces (1.7), plus the number of Forts on the

map, plus their Deccan Influence (1.9).

5.3 Vijayanagara Empire victory points

The Vijayanagara Empire victory points are given

by the total Prosperity (1.3.1) of Vijayanagara Con-

trolled Provinces (1.7), plus the number of Temples

on the map, plus their Deccan Influence (1.9).

5.4 Narrative outcomes

The historical outcome saw a Delhi Sultanate shrinking away

from the Deccan Plateau even before the arrival of Timur. With

tributes being denied by rebelling provinces, the Tughlaqs were

unable to maintain a large standing army, opening it to further

economic deterioration and a near total inability to defend Del-

hi from the invading Mongol army in 1398. Further south, the

century’s end would find a stable Bahmani Kingdom, but one

with growing internal divisions that would cause it to falter in the

coming decades. Finally, the Vijayanagara Empire was on a steep

ascent, fast incorporating the military techniques of their rivals

to the north into their own defensive capabilities and growing

in population and economic output.

If the Delhi Sultanate wins the game, it is because the player

has reduced the speed of the Sultanate’s collapse, successfully

protecting Delhi from Mongol Invasions and retaining the south-

ern Provinces for its economic support, though its future in the

Deccan may still look bleak.

Vijayanagara

If the Bahmani Kingdom wins the game, it is because the player

has successfully conspired with the Governors of Delhi to rebel

against it, better leveraged its early advantage in military tech-

nologies to claim a wider range of territories, and has spread its

influence to enjoy the benefits of large scale immigration and the

attraction of great minds from afar.

If the Vijayanagara Empire wins the game, it is because the

player has ensured the growth of the southern kingdom through

a large population and a strong economy, spread its influence

widely, and weaved its origin stories into regional cult mythology

throughout the Deccan.

5.5 Aadu-Huli aata (Goat-Tiger game)

In the event of a tie in both victory points and Resources the

winner of the game may optionally be determined by a game of

Aadu-Huli aata, played on a separate board which is included in

the box. The rules of the game are as follows.

Decide randomly who will be Player One and who will be Player

Two. Player One controls fifteen Goats. Player Two controls three

Tigers (use any game pieces to represent them).

Setup: The three Tigers are placed onto the three specially marked

vertices. Player One is first to act.

On Player One’s turn, they may:

1. Place a Goat from their supply onto an empty vertex -or-

2. Move one Goat to an adjacent vertex but only once all Goats

have been placed.

On Player Two’s turn, they may:

1. Move one Tiger to an adjacent vertex -or-

2. Permanently capture a Goat with a Tiger by leaping over it

to a free vertex (as in checkers/draughts). Captured pieces

are removed from play.

A move that would return the game to the same state as the turn

before last is not allowed by either player (to avoid a stalemate).

Player One wins by trapping the Tigers (so that the Tigers have

no available moves). Player Two wins by capturing five Goats.

This game and its variants were played at least as early as the

14th century in southern India, as evidenced by carved markings

on ancient ruins. It is elsewhere known as Aadu puli attam, Huli

gatta, and Pulijudam. The game has much in common with other

such asymmetric ‘hunting games’ of the distant past as Rimau-

rimau (Malaysia), Bagh-Chal (Nepal), Halatafl (Scandinavia),

Komikan (Chile/Argentina), Catch the Hare (Spain), and Hare

and Hounds (France). A common theme runs through these

hunting games: a fearsome enemy can be defeated by weaker

forces through unity.

Play may be handicapped by adjusting the number of Tigers and

Goats in the game. The reader is left to ponder the evolution of

asymmetric games throughout human history.

Aadu-Huli aata, the Goat-Tiger game, etched into stone at Vitthala and

Pattabhi Rama temples in Hampi, Karnataka, India

(from Vasantha [2003], see Playbook).

TIMUR’S SHADOW—As an optional variant, players may

wish to restrict all Commands to selecting only a single space

after the first Timurid Empire card has been drawn (possibly

combined with a Decree, if that option is available). This will

tend to reduce uncertainty in the final stages of the game,

promoting longer term planning over big gambles in the final

turns of the game. Players should agree at the beginning of

the game if they are going to use this variant.

Vijayanagara

Key Terms Index

Adjacent: Spaces that share a border or vertex, used for actions

or Events. Gondwana and Andhra are adjacent, as are Madhy-

adesh and Orissa. Jaunpur and Punjab are not adjacent. (1.3.5)

Amirs: Bahmani Kingdom Units, turquoise hexagonal cylinders.

(1.4.1)

Attack: Command that may remove opposing pieces. (3.2.4;

3.3.4; 3.4.4; 3.5.3)

Attacker: Faction initiating an Attack. (3.2.4; 3.3.4; 3.4.4; 3.5.3)

Available: Forces in holding boxes which may be placed on the

map through Commands, Decrees, and Events. (1.4.3)

Bahmani Kingdom: Playable Faction. (1.5)

Build: Decree to construct Forts or Temples. (4.3.2; 4.4.2)

Campaign: Decree to redeploy Sultanate forces across long

distances. (4.2.2)

Cavalry pool: All available Cavalry tokens are kept in a pool

on the side of the board. Spent Cavalry tokens are returned to

the pool. If there are no tokens in the pool, they may instead be

taken from any other Factions. (1.10)

Cavalry tokens: Representing a broad range of military advanc-

es, Cavalry tokens are gained by card effects and some Decrees

and are spent during battles to either Charge or for Screen. (1.10)

Charge: One possible use of a Cavalry token, which reduces a

die roll by one. Multiple Cavalry tokens may be used to reduce

a single die value multiple times. Mongol Invaders always use

a single Charge in every battle, converting a miss to a hit if

possible. (1.10)

City: Cities are labeled vertices on the map. Delhi is not a City.

(1.3.4)

Collect Tribute: Decree to collect Resources from Tributary

Provinces and gain Cavalry tokens.(4.2.1)

Command: Basic actions available to each Faction. (3.0)

Compel: Decree to augment Vijayanagara forces, and possibly

remove an enemy piece and gain Cavalry. (4.4.3)

Conspire: Decree to augment Bahmani forces. (4.3.3)

Control: A Faction Controls an Independent Province if it

has the majority of pieces there. A Tributary Province is never

Controlled. (1.7)

Deccan Influence: Enhances certain Commands and Decrees,

increases the Available pool of Units, and contributes to Bahmani

and Vijayanagara victory; tracked by Influence markers on the

Deccan Influence track next to the map. (1.9)

Decree: Special actions available to each Faction. (4.0)

Defender: Faction subject to an attack. (3.2.4; 3.3.4; 3.4.4)

Delhi: Special map space, capital of the Delhi Sultanate. (1.3.3)

Delhi Sultanate: Playable Faction. (1.5)

Demand Obedience: Decree to return Independent Provinces

back to Tributaries. (4.2.3)

Eligible: Faction able to execute Event or Command: per Faction

order on Event card, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Eligible. (2.3.1)

Event: Card with Faction order and text that a Faction may

execute. (2.3)

Execute: Implement Event or conduct Command or Decree. (2.3)

Faction: Delhi Sultanate, Bahmani Kingdom, and Vijayanagara

Empire are the three playable Factions. Mongol Invaders are a

non-player Faction. (1.5)

Flip: Switch status of an Amir or Raja between Obedient and

Rebelling. (1.4.5)

Forces: Troops, Governors, Amirs, Rajas, Mongol Invaders,

and Structures. (1.4)

Free: Command granted by an Event or Succession Card that

does not cost Resources (3.1.3)

Friendly: Relationship of a Faction to itself. (1.5)

Govern: Command to either place Governors or to remove

Obedient Amirs or Rajas and place Qasbahs. (3.2.3)

Governors: Delhi Sultanate Units, black hexagonal cylinders.

(1.4)

Independent: A Province that is not a Tributary, can be either

Controlled or Uncontrolled. (1.6)

Ineligible: Faction position in Sequence of Play. (2.3.1)

Influence: See Deccan Influence.

Limited Command: Command in one space only without a

Decree. (2.3.5)

Map: Board spaces; Provinces, Mongol Invasion Regions

(Mountain Passes and Punjab), and Delhi. (1.3)

Vijayanagara

March: Command to move Troops and Governors. (3.2.2)

Migrate: Command to move Amirs or Rajas. (3.3.2; 3.4.2)

Mongol Invaders: Mongol Units, red cubes. (1.4.1)

Mongol Invasion Regions: The Mountain Passes and Punjab

spaces on the map. (1.3.2)

Obedient: Status of an Amir or Raja, indicated by its symbol

end facing down. (1.4.5)

Pass: Decline to execute Event, Command, or Decree when

Eligible. (2.3.6)

Pawn: Token to designate/remember spaces selected for Com-

mand or Degree, with no other game effect. (3.1.4)

Piece: All Units and Structures. (1.4)

Place: Move a piece to the map from Available. (1.4.6)

Prosperity: Economic productivity indicated in each Province,

either 1 or 2. (1.3.1)

Province: All map regions other than Delhi and Mongol Invasion

regions. (1.3.1)

Rajas: Vijayanagara Empire Units, yellow octagonal cylinders.

(1.4.1)

Rally: Command to place pieces. (3.3.1, 3.4.1)

Rebel: Command to assert Independence in a Tributary Province.

(3.3.3; 3.4.3)

Rebelling: Status of an Amir or Raja, indicated by its symbol

end facing up. Mongol Invaders are always Rebelling. (1.4.5)

Remove: Return a piece from the map to Available. (1.4.3)

Replace: Remove pieces and, if desired, place other pieces in

their stead. (1.4.6)

Resources: Economic capacity to execute Commands. (1.8)

Screen: One possible use of a Cavalry token, which removes an

opponent’s die (unless it is showing a 1) from the battle. (1.10)

Select: Choose an action’s locations or targets. (3.1.1)

Shaded: Second choice on an Event card, may be selected by

any Faction; often favorable to the Delhi Sultanate. (2.3.4)

Space: Map area that may hold pieces; Provinces, Mongol In-

vasion Regions, and Delhi. (1.3)

Stacking: Limits on the pieces that may occupy a space; each

space can hold up to one of each Faction’s Structures. (1.4.4)

Structure: Qasbahs, Forts, and Temples are all Structures.

Structures can affect Rally, Resources, and Victory, among other

functions. (1.4.2)

Target: Opposing Faction or piece that is the object of an action.

Tax: Decree to collect Resources from Vijayanagara-Controlled

Independent Provinces. (4.4.1)

Trade: Decree to collect Cavalry and Resources from Provinces

with Bahmani pieces. (4.3.1)

Tributary: State of a Province indicated by a marker, opposite

of Independent. A Tributary Province is never Controlled or

Uncontrolled. (1.6)

Troops: Delhi Sultanate Units, gray cubes. (1.4)

Uncontrolled: An Independent Province that no Faction Con-

trols, indicated by the absence of a Control marker. (1.7)

Unit: Troops, Governors, Amirs, Rajas, and Mongol Invaders

are Units that may be used to March/Migrate and Attack, among

other functions. (1.4.1)

Unshaded: First choice on an Event card, may be selected by

any faction; often unfavorable to the Delhi Sultanate. (2.3.4)

Vindhya Range: Impassable map feature. (1.3.6)

Vijayanagara Empire: Playable Faction. (1.5)

Delhi Sultanate

Bahmani Kingdom

Vijayanagara Empire

Resources

Cavalry

Bahmani Influence

Vijayanagara Influence

Icon Key