Tyrants of the Underdark

2016

Dive into the Underdark with 'Tyrants of the Underdark', a riveting board game where you strategically lead a Drow house, recruit minions, control territories, and outmaneuver opponents!

60
minutes

2 - 4
player(s)

14+

Medium

About the game

Welcome to the compelling and immersive world of Tyrants of the Underdark. This intriguing board game is a fusion of deck-building and area control mechanics, set in the infamous Underdark of the Dungeons & Dragons universe. It offers a unique blend of strategy, conflict, and cunning, where players assume the role of drow (dark elf) houses striving to subjugate the Underdark beneath the Sword Coast.

The Underdark, a vast network of subterranean caverns and tunnels, is a world beneath the world. It’s a place of darkness, danger, and dread inhabited by monstrous creatures and drow, the dark elves known for their ruthless and manipulative ways. As the leader of a drow house, your ambition is to rise above your kin and seize control, becoming the one true ruler of the Underdark.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

The game ‘Tyrants of the Underdark’ is a competitive board game in which players take on the roles of drow houses fighting for control of the Underdark. Here are the components included in the game and their roles:

1. Game Board: The game board is a map of the Underdark, the subterranean realm beneath the surface world. It includes various locations and paths that players use to move their troops and establish their control.

2. Deck of Cards: The game includes two 40-card half-decks, each representing the resources, minions, spells, and tactics available to the drow houses. Players draw cards from these decks and use them to recruit troops, spy on opponents, assassinate enemy troops, and more.

3. Market Deck: The market deck is a deck of additional cards that players can purchase during the game. These cards provide more powerful abilities and resources than the cards in the initial half-decks.

4. Troop Tokens: There are four sets of plastic troop tokens, each set representing the troops of one of the drow houses. Players use these tokens to establish their control over locations on the game board.

5. Spider Tokens: Spider tokens represent the influence of Lolth, the Spider Queen, over the drow houses. Players can gain these tokens by pleasing Lolth and use them for various benefits.

6. Victory Point Tokens: Victory point tokens are used to keep track of each player’s current victory point total. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.

7. Drow House Cards: Each player receives a drow house card at the start of the game. This card represents the player’s drow house and provides a unique ability that the player can use during the game.

8. Outer Dark Cards: These cards represent the chaotic and dangerous areas of the Underdark that lie beyond the control of the drow houses. Players can explore these areas to discover new resources and dangers.

9. Rulebook: The rulebook provides the complete rules for playing the game, including explanations of how to use each of the game’s components.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Tyrants of the Underdark is a competitive strategy game. In the game, players take on the roles of drow houses trying to seize control of the Underdark. Here’s a step by-step guide on how to set up the game:

1. Player Roles

Each player picks a Drow House. The House card provides a brief background on your house and doesn’t affect gameplay. Each player takes a player mat and places it in front of them. The player mat is where you will manage your troops and spies.

2. Board Placement

Place the game board in the center of the playing area. The game board represents the Underdark and is divided into several sites and locations.

3. Initial Resources

Each player starts with a deck of 10 cards (7 Nobles and 3 Soldiers). Shuffle your starting deck and draw five cards to form your starting hand. Each player also starts with two troops (the colored figures) in each of the two starting locations on the board (Troop locations are indicated by a shield icon).

4. Market Deck and Inner Circle

Choose two half-decks of market cards (each containing 40 cards) and shuffle them together to form the market deck. Reveal five cards from the market deck and place them face up in a row next to the deck to form the inner circle.

5. Setting Up the Troop Tray

Each player takes a tray and places 20 troops into it. The tray should be placed within easy reach of all players.

6. Random Elements

In ‘Tyrants of the Underdark’, the market deck introduces randomness. It’s shuffled and five cards are drawn at a time, so you never know what will be available for purchase on your turn. Other random elements include the deck of cards each player is drawing from.

7. First Player

The player who most recently visited a cave (or the player who won the last game) is the first player. Give them the first player marker.

8. Ready to Play

Once the game is set up, you’re ready to start playing. Remember, the objective of the game is to have the most points by the time the game ends. Points are scored by controlling sites, promoting cards, and from some market cards.

Game flow Round and round we go

Tyrants of the Underdark is a strategy board game where players take on the role of Drow houses competing for control of the Underdark. The game is structured into rounds, each consisting of several phases. During each round, players will perform actions such as playing cards, deploying troops, and conquering sites to gain control of the Underdark and earn victory points.

Setup Phase:

Each player selects a Drow house and takes the corresponding player pieces.
The game board is laid out and the deck of market cards is shuffled and placed face down.
Five cards are drawn from the market deck and placed face up in the market row.
Each player is dealt a starting hand of 7 Nobles, 2 Soldiers, and 1 Priestess.

Turn Order:

Beginning of Turn: The active player draws five cards from their personal deck into their hand. If their deck is empty, they shuffle their discard pile to create a new deck.
Main Phase: The player may play cards from their hand, one at a time, in any order. Each card has two potential abilities: one for power and one for influence. Power is used to deploy troops, assassinate enemy troops, and conquer sites, while influence is used to purchase new cards from the market row.
End of Turn: Any unplayed cards and cards played this turn are placed in the player’s discard pile. The player then refills their hand to five cards. If there are less than five cards in the market row, new cards are drawn from the market deck to refill it.

Game End:

The game ends when one of two conditions is met: either all the troops from the supply have been deployed onto the game board, or there are no more cards in the market deck and the market row cannot be refilled. At this point, the game enters the scoring phase.

Scoring Phase:

Each player counts the total number of victory points they have earned from controlling sites, promoting cards, and any victory points on cards in their deck.
The player with the most victory points is declared the winner. In case of a tie, the player who has the highest total power value on all cards in their deck, discard pile, and hand wins.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

Tyrants of the Underdark is a strategy board game where players aim to control areas and gain power by deploying troops, assassinating rivals, and building their deck with more powerful cards. During each player’s turn, they can take a variety of actions:

1. Play Cards from Hand:

Players can play cards from their hand to perform various actions. Each card has a number of power points that can be spent on these actions. Once a card is played, it’s placed in the discard pile.

2. Deploy Troops:

Players can spend power points to deploy troops to the game board. The number of power points required to deploy a troop is usually indicated on the player’s card.
Troops can be deployed to either an empty location or to a location where the player already has troops. Deploying troops in a location allows the player to control that location, which can earn them points.

3. Assassinate Rivals’ Troops:

Players can also spend power points to assassinate rival troops. The cost to assassinate a troop is typically higher than the cost to deploy a troop, but removing a rival’s troop can disrupt their control over a location.

4. Purchase New Cards:

Players can spend power points to purchase new cards for their deck. These cards are usually more powerful than the player’s starting cards, allowing them to perform more actions or deploy more powerful troops.

5. Promote Cards:

Some cards allow players to promote other cards in their deck. A promoted card is removed from the player’s discard pile and placed in their Inner Circle, where it’s safe from attacks and can provide ongoing benefits.

The strategic choices a player makes during their turn can significantly affect the gameplay. For example, focusing on deploying troops can allow a player to control many locations and earn points quickly. However, this strategy may leave them vulnerable to attacks from other players. On the other hand, focusing on assassinating rivals’ troops can disrupt other players’ strategies, but may slow down the player’s own point accumulation.

Ultimately, the best strategy depends on the situation in the game and the player’s available cards.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

The game of ‘Tyrants of the Underdark’ ends when one of the following conditions are met:

The last Market card is purchased or discarded. In this case, play continues until the end of the current round so that all players have an equal number of turns.
All of the ‘Tyrants of the Underdark’ cards in the player’s deck have been drawn. This means that there is no card left in the draw pile of any player.

Once the game ends, players proceed to the final scoring. Here are the actions players must take:

Count the Victory Points (VP) from their score track: Players add up all the victory points they have earned during the game and recorded on their score track.
Tally the VP from their deck: Players count the victory points displayed in the lower-right corner of all the cards in their deck – this includes their hand, discard pile, and deck.
Calculate the VP from controlled sites: Players gain additional victory points for each site they control on the game board. The number of points gained depends on the specific site.
Consider any VP from card effects: Some cards have effects that provide additional victory points under certain conditions. These points are added to the player’s total score.

The player with the highest total of victory points is then declared the winner of ‘Tyrants of the Underdark’. In the case of a tie, the player who went earlier in the turn order wins.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

‘Tyrants of the Underdark’ is a strategic board game where players accumulate points through various means. The player with the most points at the end of the game is declared the winner. Let’s delve into the specifics of the scoring system:

1. Troop Cards: Players receive points for each troop card they have in their deck. The points are equivalent to the promotion cost of the card.

2. Spy Tokens: Each spy token that a player has placed on the board gives them one point.

3. Sites and Nobles: Players earn points for controlling sites and nobles on the game board. The point value for each site or noble is indicated on the board.

4. Inner and Outer Region Control: Players earn 10 points for controlling the most sites in the inner region and 20 points for controlling the most sites in the outer region.

5. Enemy Troops: Players earn points for each enemy troop they have assassinated during the game. The point value is indicated on the enemy troop.

It’s important to note that points can only be scored during the game and not after the game has ended.

If two or more players tie with the highest score at the end of the game, the tie-breaking rules are applied as follows:

The player with the most total troops (in their deck, hand, discard pile, and inner circle) wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most spies on the game board wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most nobles wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most controlled sites in the inner region wins.
If there is still a tie, the player with the most controlled sites in the outer region wins.

If there is still a tie after all these tie-breaking rules have been applied, the players share the victory.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Tyrants of the Underdark is a strategy board game where players take on the roles of drow (dark elves) houses in the Underdark, the vast subterranean network beneath the D&D world. Although the game is fairly straightforward, there are some rare or special rules, exceptions, and clarifications that might need further explanation:

Troop Deployment: Troops must always be deployed to a site controlled by the player, or to a site where the player already has troops. However, if a player has no troops or controlled sites, they may place troops at any uncontrolled site.

Replacing Enemy Troops: When a player uses a card effect to replace an enemy troop, the enemy troop is returned to its owner’s supply and the player replaces it with a troop from their own supply. If the player doesn’t have enough troops in their supply, they cannot perform the action.

Site Control: If a player has the majority of their troops in a site, they control it. If the number of troops is equal, no one controls it until one player has more troops than any other.

Card draw rules: Each player starts with a hand of three common cards and two noble cards. If a player’s deck is empty and they need to draw, they shuffle their discard pile and create a new deck.
End game: When the market deck runs out, or when a player places their last troop on the board, the end of the game is triggered. Each player has one final turn and then scores are calculated.
Market deck: If the market deck is empty, do not shuffle the discard pile to create a new market deck. Instead, the game ends after each player has one more turn.

Promotion: When a player promotes a card, it’s removed from their hand or discard pile and placed under their player board. It’s no longer part of their deck and can’t be used for the rest of the game.
Assassination: When a player’s troop is assassinated, it’s returned to their supply and not to the general troop pool.
Insurrection: In an insurrection, if the number of troops is tied after removing half of the troops, the active player decides who controls the site.

These special rules and exceptions add a layer of depth and strategy to the game, making it more immersive and engaging.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

Advanced Strategies

Tyrants of the Underdark is a game that requires a mix of strategic planning and tactical prowess. Here are some advanced strategies:

Monitor your opponents’ decks. If you can predict their moves, you can prepare your own strategy accordingly.
Try to diversify your deck. Having a wide range of cards means you’ll have a tool for every situation.
Don’t forget about the promotion mechanic. It’s a good way to thin your deck and ensure you draw your powerful cards more often.

Beginner Tips

If you’re new to Tyrants of the Underdark, these tips might help:

Remember, the game is about gaining points, not just taking control of areas. Always keep an eye on your point total.
Try to balance your deck. You’ll need both soldiers for combat and nobles for influence.
Don’t be afraid to use spies. They can help you control crucial areas of the map.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Here are some common mistakes players often make in Tyrants of the Underdark:

Ignoring the board. Even though it’s a deck-building game, the area control aspect is just as important.
Not using the promotion mechanic. Promoting cards can help you get to your powerful cards faster.
Forgetting to monitor opponents’ decks. Knowing what your opponents can do is vital to forming a counter-strategy.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay

For smoother and more enjoyable gameplay, consider these suggestions:

Keep the game moving. Try to plan your moves ahead of time to reduce downtime.
Ensure all players understand the rules. Clarify any confusion before starting the game.
Use a game organizer. It can help keep the components neat and make setup and cleanup faster.