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