VIKTORY II Rules & Resources

Thank you for your purchase of VIKTORY II. We have prepared the following resources to help you make the most of your VIKTORY II experience.

Take a behind the scenes look at the Board Game Design.

Play VIKTORY II Online:

A new online interface allows players to start up a game with their friends. Each player is emailed whenever its his turn to play.

VIKTORY II Online Version

Download the VIKTORY II v2.1 Rules:

VIKTORY II v2.1 Rules in PDF Format

VIKTORY II v2.1 Rules in Word (.docx) Format

VIKTORY II v1.1 Rules [German Translation] in PDF Format

VIKTORY II Instructional Video:

VIKTORY II Demonstration Game

Three player VIKTORY II game, shown played at high speed.

Game concepts explained at normal audio speed to allow viewers to see how a game develops over time with different players expanding and fighting against other players.

The game ends with the two weaker players conceded the game.

VIKTORY II Reference Chart & Player Aid:

VIKTORY II Reference Chart v2.1 Rules (.docx) (originally developed by Alan Emrich)

Helpful VIKTORY II Gameplay Tips

Hex Map Setup:

A couple of useful numbers to remember when you're setting up the game:

5-6 player map - has 15 hexes across and 8 hexes to a side
4 player map - has 13 hexes across and 7 hexes to a side
3 player map - has 11 hexes across and 6 hexes to a side
2 player map - has 9 hexes across and 5 hexes to a side

Notice how as you reduce the player number, the number of hexes per side decreases by one and the number of hexes across decreases by two.

Recommended Turn Event Sequence:

1. Bombard Attacks
2. Regular Attacks
3. Movements without attacks

The rules allow you to do these events in any order, so that players have the maximum degree of flexibility, to speed the game up, and eliminate some legal nitpicking. However, the game does flow more smoothly if you do 95% of your turn actions in the recommended sequence.

Also, once you've made a bombard attack (since it's recommended that you do these first) your units can no longer move and should be turned on their side to denote that they have already been used.

Quick Rules Explanation:

This is a quick method of explaining the rules to someone that hasn't played before, using the "Incremental Approach" techniques:

1. Set up the board and get out all the pieces.

2. Distill the game down to a few sentences. (Less than a minute.) For example:

"Each player will be building towns and cities which support different military units. As players explore and expand across the map, conflict will occur as players collide. The player that conquers all the other players wins the game."

3. Paint an overview for the whole game. (1 to 3 minutes.) For example:

"Each turn a player moves and attacks with all of his units. The more units, the more types of units, and the more hex sides a player attacks from, the better are his chances of winning. When a player loses units as casualties in battle, they are sent to his reserve area (which is just a predetermined area off the map). Then a player places either two new towns, or upgrades an existing town to a city. Building towns and cities and moving units allow you to explore the map and reveal nearby hexes. Towns and cities support units, so each building or upgrade provides you with an additional unit. At the end of his turn, new units from building new towns and cities, as well as any casualties, are placed back onto the map in his towns and cities. When a player conquers enemy towns and cities, his enemy has to lose units, and he gain units.

If a player takes an enemy's capital, they can no longer replace all of their casualties and so must either immediately take it back or they will soon be out of the game. The first player to defeat every other player and eliminate them from the game, wins."

Note: One rule variant avoids player elimination.

4. Expand the overview using details-the finer points. For example:

"At the start of the game, each player will roll a die to determine turn order. The first town each player builds is their capital. Each subsequent turn a player gets to either place two towns or upgrade an existing town to a city. All towns placed must be either two or three hexes from a friendly town and cannot be adjacent to an enemy town.

Upon building a town or moving a unit a player reveals all unexplored adjacent hexes. Upon upgrading to a city a player reveals all unexplored hexes within two hexes of the city.

All towns support one infantry. All cities support an infantry and an additional unit or two determined by the terrain type. A plains city supports three infantry. A grasslands city supports one infantry and one cavalry. A mountain city supports one infantry and one artillery. A forest city supports one infantry and one frigate.

Infantry move two. Artillery move two and can bombard attack into adjacent hexes. Cavalry move three. Frigates move five and can bombard attack into adjacent hexes.

All units must stop moving after they have attacked. All die rolls are hits on a 3 or less, with any 1's being selective (the player rolling gets to choose the casualty). All units can do regular attacks by moving into an enemy occupied hex. Artillery and frigates can do bombardment attacks from adjacent hexes. Bombardment shots are a single die roll per unit attacking. In regular attacks, the attacker gets one die per unit type attacking, plus a die for each hex side being attacked after the first one. In addition, attacking and defending artillery get an additional first-round only roll as well, in which casualties don't get the chance to fire back. Defenders get one die per unit type defending, plus one die if they are in a town or forest, or two dice if they are in a city or mountain hex - a player gets whichever is greater out of the town/city and terrain dice, these are not cumulative), plus one die if one of their frigates is adjacent to the attacked land hex. The attacker rolls first and if he gets more hits than he needs to kill all of the enemy units, he may suppress some of the defender's dice, preventing the defender from rolling all of his dice. Casualties are removed to a reserve area.

After any round of the battle, if all the defenders are casualties and some attacking units have survived, then the attacker has taken possession of the hex and any town/city on the hex. When a town or city is taken, the previous owner must lose the corresponding units from either off the map or their reserve. The new owner gains the corresponding units to his reserve.

Frigates can transport any three land units into battle, picking up from unlimited hexes, but only able to land them into a single hex.

At the end of each player's turn, they place all their units from the reserve back onto the map in their towns/cities. They may place as many units (without restriction) in their capital. Each town may only have one infantry placed in it. Each city may only have two units placed in it (exception three infantry in plains city).

Once a player has lost their capital, they can only place a single infantry back onto the map in each of their towns/cities until they retake their capital. Once they've lost all their towns and cities, a player is eliminated. When a player has eliminated all remaining other players, he's won VIKTORY II.

During the game, players are free to discuss deals, make alliances, or backstab each other as long as they stay within the rules of the game."

5. Provide a battle example.

6. Cover the exceptions.

Hexes can only be attacked once per turn. You can't build a town on a hex with an enemy unit or with an enemy unit adjacent to the hex. A player can't build a town at the beginning of his turn if there are no more available hexes to build on. Excepting the capital, players may not place units from their reserve into a town/city that has enemy units adjacent to it. Otherwise, players may place two units from their reserve in each city (exception three infantry in plains city), providing that the units could be supported there. A mountain city can always have one infantry and one artillery placed in it each turn (provided there are units in the reserve to place). A forest city can always have one infantry and one frigate placed in it, etc. Frigates are restricted to water hexes, but can move through isthmus towns/cities to get to bodies of water on the other side of the town/city. If a frigate is destroyed that has land units aboard, then the land units are lost as casualties. When placing units, frigates must be placed in water hexes adjacent to the forest city or in the nearest available water hex (if there isn't one available). Units moving into a forest or mountain hex must immediately stop (unless that hex contains one of their towns/cities or one of their units which was there at the beginning of their turn).

7. Teach basic strategies and offer "fair warning." (1 or 2 minutes.)

Frigates are powerful units due to the flexibility they provide in terms of fighting ability, but mainly because of their transport capability. If you're playing on a map with lots of water, try to get as many frigates as possible, and watch out for opponents that have them.

Try to make alliances when possible in order to give yourself breathing room on one border to focus on attacking another, as well as to ally yourself with other weaker players when one player starts to become dominant.

Early in the game try to stake a claim to as much land as possible without spreading yourself to thin.

Don't build towns/cities where they are likely to get taken. Attack with as many units as you can when you get into battles, try to have as many different types of units going into each battle, and try to attack from multiple hex sides.

When you place your units, always place them at the front, and keep units constantly moving up to the front to get into battle.

Watch out for sneak attacks on your capital, particularly by enemy frigates transporting land units. Always keep track of your enemy's frigates and which of your towns/cities are within range of them.