12 Patrols

About this board game

12 Patrols is a solo, mostly abstract strategy game for one player that takes about 15 minutes to play. As the Constable of the kingdom, you must send out 12 patrols of knights and footmen to protect all nine regions.

The game uses just 9 region cards, 9 D6 dice, and 9 cubes. Your objective is to build a 3×3 grid by placing cards from a changing selection of three available regions. Cards must be played right side up, and each new card must be placed orthogonally adjacent to a card already in the kingdom.

As rows and columns take shape, the symbols on the facing edges of the region cards define the requirements for the patrol spots between them. You may place dice and cubes into open patrol spots whenever the requirements are satisfied. When a row or column of three cards is completed, every item between those cards must be placed.

• Roll all 9 dice and place the 9 cubes nearby during setup.
• Deal three region cards face up and choose one to begin the grid.
• Replace each played card with a new card, maintaining three available choices.
• Place dice and cubes to satisfy the requirements between adjacent regions.

Continue placing cards and patrols until all nine cards are played or you can no longer satisfy the regions’ requirements. You win by placing all 12 patrols satisfactorily, turning the construction of the kingdom into a compact spatial-planning challenge.

Recognized in the 2019 9 Card Design Contest, 12 Patrols won second place for best overall game. Its small component set and single-player format make it a focused card-and-dice strategy experience.