Description

Chevalier: Medieval Battles is a wargame for two players which simulates the battles of Europe’s Middle Ages. Players take on the roll of a Medieval general, building their army, maneuvering them on the battlefield, and issuing special orders. The game uses unit cards to represent units in the players’ armies which are arranged on a unique play mat to represent the flanks, front line, and reserves of the army.

Players construct their armies by selecting up to eight unit cards representing fifteen different types of Medieval units. Each unit has a listed maximum army limit, type, equipment, and combat stats for their differing “status levels.” Players also select a hand of eight “orders cards” which can be issued to units during gameplay to move them to a new location on the player’s play mat or gain one-time buffs.

After players alternate deploying their armies on their play mats, combat occurs in a series of turns divided into an Orders phase (when orders cards are played and resolved) and Combat phase (when combat is resolved).

During the Orders phase, players simultaneously play any orders cards they wish to use face-down on the unit receiving the orders. Progressing in a set pattern determined by the play mat, these orders are then sequentially revealed and resolved.

Combat between units on the board is resolved following the same sequential pattern as resolving orders cards. To resolve combat, players add up the relevant combat skill for the current unit and any situational modifiers (such as the type of unit opposing a unit, whether the unit is charging that turn, or any orders cards affecting the unit) to determine how many dice to roll. Each die rolled which meets or exceeds the target unit’s current “defense” value for its current status level scores one “hit” and permanently reduces that unit’s status by one level. As each unit’s equipment listed on its card gives certain bonuses against certain unit types, often while imparting a penalty against other unit types, players can gain an advantage by careful use of their deployment and orders to pit their units against their optimal opponents. Units decrease in effectiveness as they take hits, becoming weaker in both offense and defense. Each unit has three status levels ranging from undamaged to heavily damaged. Any unit reduced by hits beyond its third status level is removed from the game.

The winning player is the one with the last unit remaining on the board.