WarGear Wiki

The map portion of the board works just like any other map. The only thing that makes map play a little unusual is that the “continental bonuses” are linked to the shields, which are not necessarily grouped together geographically. Nevertheless, groups of identical shields act just like 'continents' in the regular game. Simply collect like shields to get their bonuses (aka Vassals).

What's 'different' about WOR is that you need control of the House Markers on the right side of the board to win the game..

This is not a Conquer-the-Map-To-Win kind of game. Your goal is to take the crown. Once you have done this, you simply kill off the competition by attacking their 'roses,' located directly under the crown.

The 26 House Markers located on the left hand side of the board are used only at the end of the game to attack the crown in order to win the game.

The large number on the marker displays how many nobles, earls, and other prominent members are associated with that house. Along with mercenaries, House Markers hold the units that are used to help you take the crown.. Play on the map is what determines ownership of House Markers.

The # of Vassals printed on the marker tells you how many of that house's shields are on the board. Vassals are mostly important to game-play on the map. They function like the continents on a standard WarGear Map, giving you units “in hand” to place on the map at the beginning of your turn, But they can also be used as mercenaries and combine with your other forces to attack the crown when the time is right.

The Burgh House Marker below has 3 vassals and 8 Prominent House Members.

Capture all 3 (always equal to the number vassals) Burgh House Shields on the map..

..and you capture the Burgh marker.

Notice that when a marker is captured, it receives 1 more army than advertised. The extra unit compensates for the fact that 1 unit must remain whenever you attack. This way, all of your prominent house members are available to attack the crown. House Shields are just like continents in regular WarGear Warfare. In the case of the Burgh house above, if you hold all three of its shields at the beginning of your next turn you receive 3 bonus units in hand to place anywhere you like on the map.

• The # of vassals/shields determine the # of bonus units you receive.
• So long as nobody takes all shields associated with a house marker (and holds them at the beginning of their next turn) ownership of the house marker will not change and you may use its prominent members to attack the crown.
• In order to receive the reinforcements associated with a marker (vassals) you still must own all of its shields.“

Count up all of the armies on your markers, add them to your bonuses, and if you think have enough units to attack the crown, put all of your bonuses on Mercenaries.. Then attack the crown from the Mercenaries and House Markers.

Once you take the crown, simply attack from the crown and take out your opponent's roses (found directly below the crown). See Strategies and Tips for an estimated table of the probability of winning based on the total number of units attacking the crown.

Why didn't my House Marker light up?

House Markers are a special type of territory that designers here at WarGear called “AutoFactories.” Each marker is associated with a continent (of shields) on the map. But instead of that continent giving you units in hand, it captures the factory (your House Marker) and puts units on that factory. But, just like with continents, you don't get them until the beginning of your next turn. Don't worry, as long as you own all of the shields at the beginning of your next turn, the marker will be yours.

I control the House. My marker is lit up, so why didn't I get its vassal bonus?

Vassal bonuses are the same as continental bonuses on a typical WarGear map. You don't get the bonus unless you control ALL of that house's shields on the map. It's very likely that after you obtained the House marker, someone captured one of its shields. Capture it back to get your vassal bonus on your next turn. Don't worry, you won't lose your Marker unless they capture and HOLD all of that house's shields at the beginning of their next turn.

Other War Of The Roses Links:

• Strategies - and Tips for First Time Players
• End Game Analysis and Probabilities