]||[|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:| The Gates of Hell |:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|]||[
Four princes of Hell are vying for the infernal throne, and the first to claim and hold it shall certainly rule the Nine Circles with an iron fist. Even the demonic rage and fury of these demon princes, however, cannot long withstand the blistering hellfire they must cross to claim this power. Once they have passed this hurdle, they must assault the very gates of hell to pass into the antechamber. However, the throne itself stands guarded by vicious abominations cloaked in shadow and wreathed in flame. Only the prince strong enough to battle past these monsters will find the way clear to lay claim to the Throne of Hell.
Gameplay
Throne of Hell
The Throne of Hell is the inner area (bordered in bright red) of the board, and the players' final goal. These tiles are capitals, barren, and any stack on one of these tiles grows by +3 per turn. In addition, the center-most tile of the throne may attack any of the four bases or dukedoms directly. Any player who holds all 9 throne tiles gets a +666 normal bonus.
Bases
Each player begins at his or her base in one of the four corners. The four tiles that comprise the base are capitals and each grant +1 unit per turn, placed automatically as a factory bonus on those tiles. Bases defend with 7-sided dice against the surrounding Hell Rock (see below). In addition, holding an entire base grants +5 normal bonus units per turn.
Hell Rock
Hell rock tiles (textured, gray border) are barren, meaning that units cannot be placed directly there. Every hell rock tile in a player's possession reduces the normal bonus by 1 per turn. In addition, any stack of units left on such a tile will automatically decrease by 2 per turn.
Dukedoms
There are four 3x3 Dukedoms of Hell on the edges of the board, each comprised of 9 tiles bordered in white, the middle one of which is a capital. Each player stack on a Dukedom tile will increase by 1 unit per turn. Holding an entire Dukedom will grant an additional +5 normal bonus units per turn.
Baronies
There are four 2x2 Baronies of Hell in the next-to-outermost corners of the board, comprised of 4 tiles (bordered in white). Holding an entire Barony will grant an additional +3 normal bonus units per turn.
Antechamber
The Antechamber is the outer ring of tiles (bordered in dark red) players must pass through to reach the Throne of Hell. These tiles are barren, but any player stack on such a tile will increase automatically by 1 per turn.
Fortify Waypoints
One-way fortify-only borders allow players to transfer units directly from their base to the baronies, from the baronies to special waypoints (see icon legend) in the antechamber, and from those to further waypoints in the Throne. Fortification is toward the center only, and not allowed in the opposite direction.
Rules
Cards
No limit; 6,6,6...
Abandon
On, revert to neutral at end of turn
Fortifies
6 per turn, return to attack from fortify on
Placement
Many of the tiles on the board, including all hell rock tiles, are barren -- no units may be placed there. However, return to placement from attack is on and players are allowed to keep 13 units in reserve
Capitals
Unit assimilation set to 66%. This means that if you eliminate another player, you will acquire two thirds of their units and territories.
Special thanks to Ozyman for developing the Advanced Map Editor: http://prestopnik.com/wargear/MapEditor/