Overview

Border Reivers is a card-driven strategy game about the raids and battles along the Anglo-Scottish border during the 16th century (1513-1603). Each player controls one or two of the six major riding families (Grey, Fenwick, Dacre, Maxwell, Kerr, Hume), building strength, recruiting allies, raising defenses, and raiding rival families for livestock. The game spans 3 turns, each representing approximately 30 years, with four seasons per turn: Summer (card drafting and recruitment), Autumn (economic growth and defense placement), Winter (raiding and combat), and Spring (scoring and bonus actions). Victory points are earned through successful raids, livestock holdings, and regional notoriety.

Components

• 1 Mounted map (22” x 34”) showing the Anglo-Scottish border region
• 136 Main Deck cards (Summer cards)
• 60 Mini-Deck cards (Target, Warden, Event, and Trait cards)
• 90 Wooden cubes (15 per family color)
• 60 Wooden sheep meeples
• 42 Wooden horse meeples
• 2 Countersheets (Permanent Defense tokens, Defense tokens, die symbols, etc.)
• 1 Multi-Player Rulebook and 1 Solo Rulebook
• 6 Family Sheets (player aids)
• 6 Reference Charts
• 1 Card Decks Display
• 1 Victory Point Track
• 20 Six-sided dice

Setup

1. Player count adjustments:
   • 2 or 4 players: Remove Grey and Hume families.
   • 3 or 6 players: Use all 6 families.
   • 2-3 players: Each player controls 2 families.
   • 4-6 players: Each player controls 1 family.
2. Family Selection: Draft or assign families per the rules.
3. Place Family Sheets and set Sheep on Map tracker to 4.
4. Place initial cubes on Notoriety Tracks (level 3 in home March).
5. Set up randomization cups for livestock and card draws.
6. Prepare card decks: Summer cards, Event cards, Warden cards, Target cards.

Turn Structure

The game plays over 3 turns, each with 4 seasons:

Summer (Card Drafting)

Six rounds of card play. Each round, each player draws 1 Summer card and must choose one action:

• Recruit: Play the card face-up on your Family Sheet (Reiver, Warden, Allied Grayne, or Office slot). May knock out a previously recruited card.
• Play: Use the card’s immediate effect (then discard to Out-of-Play pile).
• Hold: Place the card facedown in your Held Card box for later use during Winter or Spring.
• Discard: Place facedown in the Summer Cards Discards pile (may reenter play later).

In the 6th round, pass your drawn card to the next player instead of keeping it.

Autumn (Preparation)

1. Economic Update: Gain Cattle and Horses based on Sheep on Map total. Adjust card hand limits.
2. Draw Events: Draw 2 Event cards per turn; resolve immediately or place for later.
3. Place Defenses: Allocate Defense Tokens to Farm Regions, Towns, and Family Seats.

Winter (Raiding)

Each player conducts up to 2 raids (attacks) in sequence:

1. Determine Order: Based on VP standings (lowest VP goes first on Turn 1; VP order on Turns 2-3).
2. Select Target Card: Choose a Target card for your raid, indicating which March to attack.
3. Place Notoriety: Advance your Notoriety in the target March.
4. Select Final Target: Choose specific target within the March (Farm Region, Town/Gaolbreak, or Family Seat/Feud).
5. Compute Combat Dice: Calculate attack and defense dice based on cards, horses, notoriety, and defenses.
6. Resolve Combat: Roll dice; compare hits to determine raid success or failure.
7. Repeat for second combat.
8. Battle Awards: VP for successful raids.

Spring (Scoring and Reset)

1. Reset: Return cards and tokens to starting positions.
2. Score VP: Award VP based on Notoriety rankings in each March (1st and 2nd place score).
3. Bonus Actions: Players in lower VP standings receive compensating bonus actions.

Actions

Raiding (Winter Combat)

• Farm Region Raid: Steal sheep from an opponent’s Farm Region. Successful raids move sheep to your March.
• Gaolbreak: Free your reivers held captive in an opponent’s Town Gaol.
• Feud Attack: Target an opponent’s Family Seat to steal livestock stored from previous feuds.

Defenses

• Permanent Defenses: Castles (2 defense dice, protect 2 adjacent Farm Regions) and Peels (1 defense die, protect 2 adjacent Farm Regions). Activated by playing Summer cards.
• Defense Tokens: Placed during Autumn in Farm Regions, Towns, or Family Seats to boost defense dice.

Livestock

• Sheep: Placed on the map in Farm Regions. More sheep = higher economic output but juicier raid targets.
• Cattle: Stored in Livestock boxes. Score VP at end of game.
• Horses: Used to boost attack dice during Winter raids.

Wardens

Special ally cards that provide ongoing bonuses. Some allow intelligence gathering (peeking at Event deck) or boost combat effectiveness.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

During the Game (Spring of each Turn)

• VP awarded for 1st and 2nd place on each March’s Notoriety Track.
• VP for successful raids during Winter.
• Battle awards for combat victories.

End Game Scoring (after Turn 3)

• Livestock Scores: VP based on total Cattle and Sheep holdings.
• Final Notoriety scoring.

Winner

Highest VP total. Tiebreakers: most Cattle, then most Sheep on map.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Debateable Land: A special March between England and Scotland with only 1 Farm Region. Raids here are undefended until the Scots’ Dyke Summer card is played. Used for Notoriety scoring only; not considered part of England or Scotland.
• Walled Towns (Carlisle, Berwick): Roll 1 extra defense die against Gaolbreaks.
• Day of Truce: Summer card that can reenter play under specific conditions.
• Double Cross: Summer card that can pull cards from the discard pile.
• Offices (Abbot, Prior, Keeper): Special recruited positions that modify economic output or provide other ongoing benefits.
• Advanced Rule - Traits: In 4+ player games, Trait cards give families unique abilities.
• Advanced Rule - Wildcard Target Card: Allows more flexible raid targeting.
• Balanced Summer Card Passing: In 3 or 6 player games, ensures equitable card distribution.

Player Reference

Turn Structure:

1. Summer: 6 rounds of card drafting (Recruit/Play/Hold/Discard)
2. Autumn: Economic update, draw Events, place Defenses
3. Winter: Up to 2 raids per player (select target, compute dice, resolve combat)
4. Spring: Score VP, bonus actions, reset

Player Count:

Players	Families	Families Removed
2	2 each	Grey, Hume
3	2 each	None
4	1 each	Grey, Hume
6	1 each	None

Combat Resolution: Roll attack dice vs. defense dice. Each hit scored based on die results vs. target thresholds.

VP Sources: Notoriety rankings, successful raids, battle awards, livestock holdings.

Game Length: 3 turns (each ~30 years of border history)