Armadas Laws and Rules
THIS IS ARMADAS OFFICIAL RULES AND THE PROPERTY OF ARMADA GAMES!
INTRODUCTION
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ArmadaChess is based on the great original game of chess.
The game has the same type of pieces, and ALL pieces attack in the SAME WAY.
But Armada has further developed Chess and have introduced new elements and possibilities.
Setup is done by putting pawns at row 4 and 7, and all heavier forces freely behind in row 3 and 8. You always start with the King. Both players has the same 2 minutes to complete the setup.
If one player have not completed the setup in the 2 minutes, then he will lose all pieces not in contact with the gameboard.
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WAYS TO WIN THE GAME
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1. You occupy or destroy all enemy cities.
2. You knock out all the enemy forces.
3. The enemy gives up, or you agree to a draw.
4. You knock out your opponent's king with your king.
5. Opponent cannot move any pieces.
6. The agreed playing time expires, the player with the
most resources on the cities (own and occupied) wins the game.
Equal sum gives a tie.
VICTORY !
BASIC EXPLANATION OF THE BOARD
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The cities (in Armada Battle) or the planets (in Armada Universe) are your BASES. The dice in the city is a STRENGTH INDICATOR and should NOT be rolled.
The arrows from the bases are "exit points" that allow your pieces to enter and exit a base. Attacks on opponents' bases must also occur from such a field.
The base is your headquarter where you can enter to seek protection or convert the piece into another piece (regroup).
Cities in Armada Battle
Planets in Universe
TERRAIN FIELD - MOUNTAINS
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The mountain ranges or asteroid sectors are called "terrain fields"
and they act as an obstacle. Your pieces cannot pass right through
such fields unless the force is specially trained for it.
If you hold a terrain field with a piece, then the opponent need the
SAME TYPE of piece to knock you out. In other words, if you have a
bishop on an terrain field, then the opponent can only attack you with one of his own bishops.
But a TRAINED piece can take anyone and also fly through the terrain field, as if it`s not there.
SABOTAGE
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S - the field at the corner of the board stands for SABOTAGE.
If you hold the opponent's "S" (Sabotage) field, then you lock all opponent's pieces that are equal to the one you hold this field with. In other words: If you hold the opponent's "S" field with a Rook, then the opponent cannot move his Rooks.The sabotage applies from the moment the piece is set down on the "S" field.
INTELLIGENCE
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If, on the other hand, you hold the opponent's "I" field (Intelligence field), you can make two and two moves with another equal piece. In other words, if you hold the "I" field with a Knight, then you can move two and two moves with your other Knights.
The advantage for the Intelligence, takes effect when your next move begins.
The Queen and the King are a "team" and are in this regard seen as the same type of piece.
RESOURCE FIELD
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The little red squares with the R letter inside, stands for resource fields. If you manage to break through enemy lines and you reach the "R fields", you can "free prisoners" and turn a pawn into another piece. It doesn't have to be a queen, choose for yourself, but it has to be a piece that's available outside the game board.
PIECES AND MOVEMENT
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ALL pieces can move and attack EXACTLY LIKE in the original chess.
But some pieces can make defensive additions.
THE PAWN (SCORE 1)
The pawn moves and attacks in the same way as in the original chess. It can jump 2 fields forward, as long as it stands on one of its original starting fields marked with a weak "saw blade". In addition it can do defensive repositioning moves, one to the sides or one backwards. If it goes back to the "saw blade field" later, it will again be able to jump 2 straight ahead.
THE KNIGHT (SCORE 2)
The knight can jump 2 forward and one aside in all directions both for attacking and movement. This is also the same as in the original chess.
​The knight is the only piece that can jump over obstacles. But it can also make defensive "repositioning moves" similar to what the pawn can do. In other words, move one square vertically or horizontally. It cannot attack this way.
The knight has also been given two special features that we will return to later.
BISHOP (SCORE 3)
The bishop attacks and moves in any direction diagonally (as in original chess). It can go as many squares as you want, until you encounter an obstacle. But in Armada you can also make a defensive "repositioning move" similar to the pawn and the knight.
ROOK (SCORE 4)
The rook moves and attacks exactly the same way as it does in original chess, vertically and horizontally, as many squares as you want until you encounter an obstacle.
The rook has also been given several special features that we will return to shortly.
THE QUEEN (SCORE 5)
The queen moves and attacks in all directions, diagonally, vertically and horizontally. It runs as many squares as you want, until it meets an obstacle. Identical to the way it moves in the original chess.
THE KING (SCORE 6)
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The king moves and strikes exactly the same way as the queen, but it can ONLY go one and one square each move. The exception is if you upgrade it, then it suddenly moves exactly the same way as a queen.
The King has also been given other “special functions” that we also will return to.
PIECES AND SPECIAL FEATURES
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THE ROOKPAWN (SCORE 4+1)
This is a way to combine a Rook and a Pawn.
You can "transport" a pawn where you want with your rook.
You must use one move with the pawn to jump "aboard" on top of the rook. Look at this as if the rook and the pawn are standing on the same field and can attack the enemy and protect each other. You also need to use a move with the pawn to jump off, in order to use the pieces separately again. But you can attack an enemy directly from the rook with the pawn if you wish. If your Rook Pawn is attacked and knocked out, you will of course lose both pieces.
You can't move the Rook Pawn on a "terrain field", you can only use one piece at a time on the terrain.
FORTIFIED ROOK
Your Rook can fortify its position by using one move to flip it around. From now on, the rules will be changed to POINTS SYSTEM to determine if the Rook can be knocked out or not.
In order to take a fortified rook, you have to attack with a piece with a HIGHER value. In other words, if you turn your rook and you consolidate its position, only pieces with a higher score than 4 can knock it out.
The queen has 5 and can therefore knock out a regular fortified rook.
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You must use one move to fortify the rook, but the rook can turn and attack in one and the same move.
A fortified rook is just as dangerous as a regular rook.
You can also reinforce your fortified rook by jumping in with a pawn. Then it turns into a "fortified Rook Pawn" and the score increases to 5.
As Armada's laws state that you must have a HIGHER score to knock out a fortified rook, it will now only be possible to take it out with a King (who has a score of 6).
Fortunately, there is an exception to the rule:
The KNIGHT can knock out fortified rooks and fortified RookPawns regardless of the score. This is called a "Commando attack".
Even though the Knight only has a score of 2, it is a specialist in taking out fortified rooks.
TRAINING
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“Training your forces” is the opportunity to make your pieces more powerful. You will then be able to strike any piece standing on a terrain field. You will also be able to move straight through the terrain field as if it wasnt there.
You train a piece as follows:
Place yourself first on a terrain field, and at the next move, lift up the piece and say "training 1". This is considered a move. The next time you have the opportunity, do the same thing again and say "training 2" etc.
​Once you have achieved THE SAME VALUE on your training as the value of the piece you are training, then the piece is fully trained. So, if you have a bishop with a value of 3, then it takes 3 moves to get it fully trained. You can move back and forth on terrain fields and still retain your training status. But if you leave the terrain area, you will lose your half-finished training and you will have to start all over again.
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But when the piece is DONE TRAINING, then take a small rubber band and attach it DOWN on your piece. This indicates a fully trained force. Your pieces will always retain their training, even when they are knocked out. If you can take the piece back in on the board later, it's still trained. In this way, an army will be able to increase its experience and fighting power as the game progresses.​
The pawn have a value of one, therefore it only need one move of training. Heavier pieces use more moves, but in return they will be more dangerous for their opponent. You can only train one piece at a time. Feel free to use a dice or pencil and paper to write down how far you've come in your training.
UPGRADE
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Upgrading provides DOUBLE life. To upgrade you need to move it to your own "S" or "I" field.
The upgrade itself takes place in exactly the same way as with the training. You lift the piece and say "upgrade 1", etc. When you reach the same value as the value of the piece youre upgrading, then its fully upgraded. If it is knocked out, it can be immediately set up again freely on one of YOUR OWN "R fields" and moved again when it is your turn.
It is marked as fully upgraded with a rubber band on the UPPER PART of the piece. When it is knocked out and is given a new life, the elastic band is removed and you have to upgrade it one more time to use the feature again.
An upgraded or trained piece that enters a city (base) can go out again as
upgraded. But an upgraded piece that gets knocked out has to remove the
rubber band and will loose its abillity (So there's a slight difference here since the training always follows the piece).
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UPGRADING THE KING is very special. Because when the king is upgraded,
it will not only get two lives, but it will also start moving like a queen.
​This ability to move as a Queen will not be lost even if it is knocked out the first time.
You move the band from the «neck» of the piece to the «crown». This is to indicate
that it still has the movement part of the upgrade active, but that it no longer has
two lives. If the king is knocked out again, it is out of the game and the rubber band
on the crown is removed.
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When we add other new opportunities for the King, wich we will explain later,
a trained and upgraded King will be the most powerful piece on the board.
CITIES/PLANETS or BASES
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Your cities or planets are your bases and headquarters.
You can win the game by occupying all opponents' bases.
A city or base starts with a score of 1 on the dice.
You must have 2 or higher to take out forces from it.
​You can reinforce it by going into the base with a piece.
If the city has the score 1 on the dice and you enter with a knight that has a value of 2, then the city's new value will be 1+2 which is 3.
To reinforce the city like this, you must first go to an "exit" field indicated by an arrow. You have to use one move to position yourself and one move to enter.
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Since the city's dice can't get lower than 1, you can use this to AMPLIFY or REGROUP your army.
Because when your knight goes in and reinforces your base from 1 to 3 then you can go out again with a Bishop. You can then go back in with the bishop and then go back out with a Rook, etc.
If you go into the city with a King, this is linked to THIS PARTICULAR city. You indicate this by putting a colored rubber band around the city, and set the strength indicator to its maximum (6 points). A king can be in the base even if you take out forces from the city. But the city's strength must be rebuilt to the score of 6 for the king to leave it again. As long as the king is in the city, the rubber band remains.
As you know, you can lose the king and still continue the game, unless it is knocked out by your opponent’s king (because then the game is lost).
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When you reinforce a base, your ability to fight OUTSIDE the city walls is reduced, but the piece is not lost, it can go out again at any time, and you can choose which piece or pieces you take out.
However, you can ONLY take out pieces that are available outside the board. Let's say you lost a bishop and it's put outside, then you can pick up the bishop again (trained or untrained) if your base has 3 or more on the dice.
Note, that you can NOT take out a pawn if you only have a score of 1 on your base. You must have 2 or more to take out a piece.
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ATTACK ON A CITY
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To attack an enemy base, you must first get into position on one of the EXIT squares.
In other words, you can’t attack from far away. You must stop at the "exit" field and then use your next move to attack the city.
But there is an exception, and that is the Knight. This force can attack directly without using an exit field at the city walls. This is called a "Trojan attack". But the knight can also attack like everyone else, through the exit field. You can also reinforce your own cities the same way (This is called a "Trojan reinforcement or a Trojan defense"). When leaving the city again, EVERYONE must use the "exit" field (including the knight).
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To win over the city you must have a higher score on your attacking piece, then in the city.
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You can REDUCE the city's COMBAT POWER by first making a "reduction attack" to weaken the enemy's defense. This is done by attacking the city with a weaker piece.
When this happens, you lose the piece you attacked with, but the city must also be reduced by the corresponding value. In the next turn, you use a new piece to finish the job.
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So if your opponent has 4 on the dice in the city, you can first attack with a knight that has 2 points, reduce the city from 4 to 2, then attack with a bishop that has 3 points and win over the city.
Your opponent can, of course, choose to REINFORCE their city between your attacks.
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DESTRUCTION OF CITY
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​You can also choose to destroy a city, but if you do so, it will come to a price. Firstly the city is transformed into a terrain field with identical rules. This is called immoral warfare.
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You remove the dice on the city and replace it with the attacker's piece. ALL of the attacker's cities must reduce their value by a score of 1. The defender's remaining cities will also have their power INCREASED by 1 point. The attacker will lose his extra move if he choose to destroy the city.
If you attack a city with a piece with the same value as the city's defense ability, then both will fall and the city will become a terrain field.
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You can even choose to destroy your own city, this is called scorched earth tactics.
Your forces enter your own city and burn it down, in the same way as if it was an enemy city,
turning it into a terrain field.
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It is also possible to rebuild a city. This is done with a rook, by fortifying it on the city and rebuilding it with 4 moves simular to training and upgrading. When you reach the score of 4, the rook will be exchanged with a dice with a value of 4.
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MORALITY AND RULES OF THE KING
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As you know, you can continue the fight even if you lose your king.
But it comes at a high price. And remember that you can actually win
the game by knocking out your opponent's king with YOUR king.
This is called a “Desisive Battle”. If the king is located inside a city and
the city is attacked and falls, well then the King also falls in the city.
If YOUR king is the attacker, then you have won the game!
When you take out the king with another piece, then the fall of the king will come at a price.
Because the piece THAT TOOK THE KING determines what consequences it will have for your enemies troops. This is called the rule of "moral fall" and it works as follows:
If you take out the enemy king, with lets say a bishop, then the enemy will lose all his bishops. And if you take out his king with a rook, the enemy will lose all his rooks. Of course he will also lose his king.
ARTILLERY and BLOCKADE
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A king can attack a city from the outside and reduce its defenses for every move you use to "shell" the city with Artillery.
You must stand on an "exit" field near the city and indicate bombardment by lifting up the piece and saying "artillery." Then the city must reduce its strength indicator by the value of 1 for each move it is bombarded.
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If you block all "Exit fields" (arrows) outside a city, you will reduce the city by one point each move. If the King participates in the blockade, this will be called a "King's Blockade" and you will now reduce the enemy city by 2 points for each move you use to block and bomb the city.
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Armadaˋs CHECKMATE
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Armada's Checkmate is completely different than in the original chess.
In Armada, it's a term for totally locked pieces, or a reference to your inability to move. This is one of the ways to win the game (victory method number 5) and is usually achieved by "encapsulating" or sabotaging enemy forces.
If your opponent only has bishops left and you take his sabotage field with your bishop, well then he is locked and has lost the game.
CEASE-FIRE
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When it is your turn, before making your move, then you can ask your opponent if he will want to agree on a cease-fire. If your opponent feels that he can benefit from this, you agree on the length of the ceasefire. This can maximum be 6 moves (each).
Feel free to use a dice or paper and pencil to indicate how many moves (or "weeks") you have left of the ceasefire.
There is nothing wrong with extending it, this is up to you and your opponent. But if a player says NO, there will be no cease-fire.
In practice, the ceasefire consists of the fact that NO ONE CAN KNOCK OUT pieces! You can move your forces with regular moves, moving past threats without being knocked out.
For the sake of simplicity, it is not allowed to violate the ceasefire. It is also important to clarify that asking for a ceasefire acts as a move.
"FORGOTTEN" OPPORTUNITIES AND TIME CONTROL
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When a game runs its course, and you get an opportunity or an advantage. Let's say you occupy a city and you forget to make your extra move…
Then it's YOUR OWN FAULT.
If the opponent makes a move afterwards, then it's TOO LATE. And that's when you're called "a sleeping General!"
This applies to ALL such forgotten benefits you can get in Armada. If your opponent finishes his move BEFORE you claim your right, then there is nothing you can do about it. Opponents are not obligated to inform you that you have forgotten an advantage.
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Remarks
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Rules found in the original chess that is not mentioned in this compendium of laws, like the rule of castling, is not active in ArmadaChess.
There is also another variation of the game Armada. This is called Armada Chaos. All the rules discussed here in the book are applicable there, in addition to the specifics of Chaos.
NOTE THAT THIS IS THE OFFICIAL LAW BOOK OF ARMADA CHESS!