Koprulu: Yamato is a non-standard board that seeks to reproduce some of the aspects of Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games (Starcraft, Command & Conquer, etc.).
Note: If you have played this board before on another site, please scroll to the bottom for a list of adjustments.
Gameplay:
Each player starts in a single Crystal on their own Base Mesa, which can be one of six surrounding the center. The goal is to expand, capturing and defending additional Crystals and Mesas before other players do. Towers and Crystals are not required to get the bonus for a Mesa. Return to Attack from Transfer is enabled.
Bonuses:
Mesa = 6, Crystal = 5, Tower = 1
Fog-of-War:
Fog is used to simulate the "fog-of-war" that is a common feature of RTS gameplay. At first the fog will appear excessive, but as soon as the towers are in play the board will "lighten up" a bit.
Neutrals:
All territories on the board are neutral except for the starting Crystals. Some of these exist for your protection and may need to be preserved for defense instead of attacked.
Towers:
Towers have three benefits. They...
Can attack two countries beyond the Plains (non-Mesa) territories bordering them. This makes them useful for visibility and attacks. Defend 5v7 when attacked from the Plains bordering them. Towers defend with normal dice when attacked from the Mesa. Deliver a bonus of one unit.
Crystals:
Crystals defend with a 4-sided dice, making them difficult to defend without also holding the surrounding territories.
Warp Crystals:
Warp Crystals allow a player to move from one side of the board to the other quickly. However, doing so incurs a minor dice penalty (6v7)
Starports:
A Starport gives access to 3 special territories: Battleship, Observer and Overlord. You can hold all three special units for a single Starport if you like, but holding the second and third special units incurs a bonus penalty of -10 each. Startports defend with 5-sided dice. Each Starport has a "Color Zone" which identifies the range of the Starports special units.
Starport Color Zones:
Red includes Orange and Purple. Yellow includes Green and Orange. Blue includes Purple and Green.
Starport Units:
Battleship: Attack all towers in zone 6v7. There is a maximum unit count of 30 Observer: View all territories in the zone, but don't attack. Observers can attack each other.Overlord: Double the bonus for every Crystal that you hold in a zone. The Overlord can fortify to and from all Crystals in a zone.
Changes from TOS version:
Observers can attack each other.Overlords have a two-way fortify-only border with all the crystals in their zone.Minor neutral count adjustments for the Overlord and the bridges to the starports.