12 Patrols - A solo abstract-ish strategy game
Rules version 2.00
You are the Constable of the kingdom. Send out 12 patrols of
knights and footmen to protect all 9 regions.
Components
12 cards
3 dark colored D6 dice
3 dark colored cubes
3 medium colored D6 dice
3 medium colored cubes
3 light colored D6 dice
3 light colored cubes
Game Overview
Select 9 cards for the game, draw cards, then place region
cards in a 3x3 grid. As you build the grid, add patrols (dice or
cubes) between the cards that satisfy all the requirements in
that row or column. Win by placing all 12 patrols
satisfactorily.
Terminology
➢ Item: A cube (representing a footman) or die
(representing a knight)
➢ Region: One card
➢ Kingdom: The grid of regions that will be
created during the game. By the end of each
game, this will be a 3x3 grid with 12 (total)
patrols, one orthogonally between each card.
➢ Requirements: The numbers and/or symbols
on each (North, East, South, and West) side
of a region card which state the needed sum
of all (1 or 2) patrols in that direction
➢ Patrol: Combination of zero or more cubes
(footmen) with zero or more dice (knights),
placed between two regions. Each patrol
must have at least one item (cube or die).
Note: Requirements on the edges of the cards that face the outside of the 3x3 grid are ignored. So, in
the example on the next page, assuming those 3 cards make up the top row of the 3x3 grid of the
kingdom, the “sum=3” on the top of the Wild Plains and the “3 items” on the top of the Ruins cards are
ignored.
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Example of one row of regions with patrols between them that are satisfactory:
Looking at the icons along the long edges of the cards, from left to right:
1. If there was an icon on the left edge of the Wild Plains, it would be ignored, since there are no
patrols to the left of it.
2. There are 3 items to the right of the Wild plains (2 black dice and 1 red cube).
3. There is 1 item to the left of the Green Valley.
4. There are items of 2 different colors to the right of the Green Valley.
5. The sum of all dice values to the left of Ruins is 6 (4 + 2).
6. If there was an icon on the right edge of the Ruins, it would be ignored, since there are no patrols
to the right of it.
Set Up
1. Roll all 9 dice. You may wish to arrange them by color.
2. Place the 9 cubes near the dice.
3. Select any 9 cards from the 12, shuffle these 9 region cards and place the deck face down.
THe other 3 cards will not be used.
Gameplay
1. Deal 3 region cards face up.
2. Place any one of the 3 anywhere in the kingdom, the to-be built 3x3 grid of region cards.
3. Deal 1 card to replace the placed card.
4. Place any one of the 3 available region cards adjacent to an already played card (to the left,
right, top, or bottom). Cards must be played right side up (not rotated).
5. If desired, immediately select one or more items (cubes and/or dice) to place in any open
patrol spot - any empty spot orthogonally between any played region cards to satisfy the
requirements (the symbols on the facing edges of the region cards). When a row or column of
3 cards is completed, then all items between those cards must be placed.
6. Repeat steps 3 - 5 until all cards are played, or you can no longer satisfy the regions’
requirements.
Winning the Game
Place all 9 cards and place all 12 satisfactory patrols.
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Notes:
1. At any time, you may change the value of an un-played die to any value by discarding from the
game one un-used cube or die.
2. Once cards and items are placed, they can not be moved.
Credits: Game Design: Scott Allen Czysz
Graphic Design: Ilya Baranovsky
An example of a winning play, all 12 patrols placed satisfactorily:
