Feuds

About the Game

Not enough land for all of them

Two to five rulers wake on the same map, and every one of them wants the rest of it. Windmills to feed an army, silver mines to pay it, forges to harden it, campfires where mercenaries wait for coin. Every land worth having is contested, and every contest is settled on the field.

War by placement, not by marching

Battles in Feuds are fought by laying claims. On your turn, you set one unit from your reserve onto a free tile and choose which way it faces. It strikes at once, along every arrow it carries, at whatever captured tile those arrows point to, whoever holds it. A unit knocked out goes back to its owner's hand, and its tile changes banners. Each blow makes the ground worth more, and the value stays. When the field is full or both reserves are empty, the lands are counted, and the greater claim wins.

The rules fit in a breath. The consequences take a lifetime. Sometimes the wisest blow falls on your own soldier, to bring him back to hand. Sometimes the cruellest mercy is to leave an enemy standing, so his reserve stays empty and his turn passes in silence.

The ground takes sides

Mountains cannot be entered. No blow and no wall crosses a river. Units on the water fight only for the water. Walls on a unit's edges turn aside one strike, then break.

Prestige is a crown you can lose

Lose a battle and you lose prestige. Lose all of it and your kingdom falls, however much land you still hold. Win, and it slowly returns. Every attack is a wager, and the realm keeps count.

Five banners

• Legion: no cunning and no magic, only the shield wall and the straight blow.

• Northmen: wounds close by the common fire. They stand where others fall.

• Undead: death is no ending. The fallen rise, and the host only grows.

• Caravan: wealth walks ahead of the blade, with volleys loosed from far off.

• Magical Creatures: no one here fights fair. Magic has twisted their bodies and their very nature.

Twenty-six units, and no two think alike. The Gorgon turns its victims to stone. The Mimic becomes the first foe it strikes. The Spy slips into the land it last attacked. The Diplomat wins a tile with no blade at all.

Features

• Placement tactics: a battle system built on facing, timing and restraint. Every move is a single unit placed, and every placement changes the whole field.

• A living campaign: conquer a generated realm against up to four rival rulers, on three map sizes and five difficulty settings, including one that adapts to you.

• Armies that grow with you: hire mercenaries, buy new attack directions, walls, shots and health at the forge, and trade silver for food at the market.

• Five factions, 26 units: each faction has its own temper, and each unit has an ability that bends the rules.

• Online duels: draft and upgrade your army against a live opponent, then fight a series of battles to decide it.

• 40 achievements: they pay seals, and seals unlock new factions.

• An advisor who has seen it all: a patient, faintly weary courtier teaches you the game. They will not stop you from losing, but they will mention it.