Overview

City States of Arklyrell is a fantasy strategy board game where players control competing city-states in the fictional world of Arklyrell. Players build armies, develop their cities, forge alliances, and wage war against rival city-states. The game combines area control, resource management, and diplomacy as players vie for dominance across the map.

Components

• Game board (map of Arklyrell with city-state territories)
• City-state faction cards
• Army unit tokens/counters
• Resource tokens
• Diplomacy cards
• Combat dice
• Building/development tiles

Setup

1. Place the game board in the center.
2. Each player selects a city-state faction and takes their starting units and resources.
3. Place starting armies and buildings on each player’s home territory.
4. Shuffle diplomacy and event card decks.
5. Determine a starting player.

Turn Structure

Each round consists of player turns in order:

1. Income Phase: Collect resources from controlled territories.
2. Build Phase: Recruit units, construct buildings, and develop your city.
3. Diplomacy Phase: Negotiate with other players, form or break alliances.
4. Movement Phase: Move armies across the map.
5. Combat Phase: Resolve battles in contested territories.

Actions

Build and Recruit

• Spend resources to recruit military units (infantry, cavalry, siege engines, etc.).
• Construct buildings in your city-state to improve resource production or unlock abilities.

Diplomacy

• Negotiate alliances, trade agreements, or non-aggression pacts with other players.
• Alliances provide mutual benefits but can be broken.

Move Armies

• Move army units across the map to claim neutral territories, reinforce positions, or invade rival city-states.
• Movement is limited by unit type and terrain.

Combat

• When armies from different players occupy the same territory, combat occurs.
• Resolve using dice modified by unit types, terrain, and special abilities.
• Defeated units are eliminated; the winner controls the territory.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

The game can end through:

• Domination: A player controls a majority of territories on the map.
• Points: After a set number of rounds, the player with the most victory points (from territories, buildings, and achievements) wins.
• Elimination: If all but one player is eliminated, the surviving player wins.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Faction abilities: Each city-state has unique strengths and weaknesses affecting strategy.
• Neutral territories: Some areas on the map start neutral and must be conquered or settled.
• Siege warfare: Attacking fortified cities requires siege units and is more difficult than open-field combat.
• Betrayal: Alliances are not binding and can be broken at any time, adding a layer of social gameplay.
• Fantasy elements: Some factions may have access to magical units or abilities.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
Income	Collect resources from territories
Build	Recruit units, construct buildings
Diplomacy	Negotiate alliances and agreements
Movement	Move armies across the map
Combat	Resolve battles with dice + modifiers

Win Conditions

Territory domination, most VP, or last standing