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How to Play

Runebound (Third Edition)

2-4 players 120-180 min 7.5 Board Game Geek Rating

Players choose heroes in the fantasy realm of Terrinoth, exploring and completing quests while battling evil forces like Margath the Dragonlord or Vorakesh the Corpse King. The main mechanic involves adventure-driven exploration with customizable heroes using skills and assets. Victory comes from defeating the primary villain threatening the realm before other players can.

Published 2015

Runebound (Third Edition)

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Prepare hero cards
Select hero characters from available options including warriors, mages, and scouts with unique abilities
2
Deal ally cards
During setup, after dealing three asset cards to the markets, also deal 1 ally to each market
3
Form a party
Use a shop action to form a party by spending trophies matching the cost of the ally as seen in the top right hand corner of their card
4
Add minions to game
Minions are meant to be used when playing with ALLIES and can optionally be added to any game using the Caves mini-expansion or Northern Territory Map
5
Reveal ally adventure
Reveal your ally's specific adventure shown in the top left corner of the ally card

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Use ally skills
A player may use their ally's skill as though it was their own while they are in an adventuring party together
2
Allow ally to lead
A player may allow their ally to take the lead before casting tokens for a combat round
3
Add ally combat tokens
When an ally takes the lead, the player adds their ally's combat token to their cast
4
Engage villains
When you engage a villain with an ally in your party, flip the ally deck to reveal the minion deck
5
Reveal minions
Reveal minions until the total difficulty icons equal the trophy cost of the ally in the top right hand corner
6
Divide damage between minions
A minion is effectively an ally for your foe who decides how damage is divided each combat round
7
Use hero abilities
Activate special abilities listed on hero cards during appropriate timing windows
8
Cast combat tokens
Place tokens to determine initiative and combat actions
9
Recast tokens
Some abilities allow recasting spent tokens during combat
10
Use mana abilities
Spend mana (ᴺ symbol) to activate special spell abilities on cards
11
Test attributes
When testing attributes, reveal cards and check for success symbols
12
Explore quest cards
When exploring, some heroes gain bonuses from their abilities

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Complete ally adventures
Finish the specific adventure shown on your ally's card to make them a permanent party member
2
Defeat villains
Reduce villain health to 0 after eliminating all their minions
3
Handle ally loss
An ally is lost if the ally is defeated or during a retreat
4
Manage party survival
Keep heroes and allies alive through combat encounters by blocking damage and healing
5
Collect trophies
Gain trophies from defeated enemies to recruit new allies and purchase equipment

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

[FR] Scénario "La Mort Rouge"

[FR] Scénario "La Mort Rouge"

Session

Antre de RecK - Runebound v3 - 2/4 - Partie Phase 1

Antre de RecK - Runebound v3 - 2/4 - Partie Phase 1

Session

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FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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