Gears of War: The Board Game

Overview

Gears of War: The Board Game is a cooperative game for 1-4 players based on the video game franchise. Players control COG soldiers fighting through missions against the Locust horde, which is controlled by an AI card deck. Players use Order cards to move, attack, and perform special actions while progressing through modular map tiles toward mission objectives. The game features 7 missions with multiple stages, a cover system, weapon management, and dice-based combat.

Components

32 plastic figures: 4 COG soldiers, 6 Drones, 6 Wretches, 6 Tickers, 3 Boomers, 3 Theron Guards, 3 Kantus, 1 Berserker
168 bridge-sized cards: 35 Locust AI cards, 27 Mission cards (7 missions), 54 Order cards, 4 COG Character cards, 10 Enemy cards, 29 Special Weapon cards, 9 Random Weapon cards
38 mini cards: 34 Location cards, 4 Reference cards
17 double-sided map tiles (1 large, 4 medium, 12 small)
8 Emergence Hole/Sealed tokens, 23 Wound/Dropped Weapon markers
12 Grenade tokens, 36 Ammo tokens
2 Door tokens, 2 Locked tokens
1 Line-of-sight ruler
1 Mission Reference Sheet
5 black attack dice, 4 red defense dice
2 clear plastic door stands

Setup

Randomly choose a first player. Each player chooses a COG Character card (Marcus Fenix, Dominic Santiago, etc.).
Each player receives starting Special Weapon cards, Ammo tokens, and Grenade tokens as listed on their Character card.
Shuffle Order cards and Random Weapon cards into separate decks. Place on Mission Reference Sheet.
Choose a mission (7 available; “Emergence” recommended for first game). Create Mission deck with Setup card on top, followed by stage cards in order.
Set up Locust cards: place Enemy cards (A, B, C) on Reference Sheet, place matching figures and wound markers nearby. Create AI deck by shuffling the AI cards for each enemy type plus General AI cards.
Create Location decks as specified on Mission Setup card. Place level 2/3 decks on Reference Sheet (with Locked tokens if applicable).
Build first map level: draw Location cards one at a time, place matching map tiles connecting entrance to exit, spawn Locust figures at emergence holes per player count. Place door token on final tile’s exit.
Place COG figures on the entrance area of the first map tile. Starting with first player, each may enter a cover space.
Each player draws Order cards equal to hand limit (usually 6; Marcus Fenix draws 7).

Turn Structure

Each player’s turn has 3 steps in order:

1. Heal Step

Draw up to 2 Order cards without exceeding hand limit (usually 6). A COG’s health equals their hand size, so drawing cards effectively heals.

2. COG Order Step

Play 1 Order card from hand (mandatory) to do ONE of:

Resolve the card’s actions in printed order (may skip later actions but must follow sequence)
Move up to 2 areas (ignoring card text)
Perform 1 attack (ignoring card text)

Special Actions (before or after each action on the Order card, once each per turn, costs 1 discarded card each):

Revive a bleeding-out COG in your area
Pick up a dropped weapon marker in your area
Activate equipment in your area (per Location card)

3. Locust Activation Step

Draw the top AI card and resolve it. AI cards have:

Restricted ability: Resolved if the condition is met
Otherwise ability: Resolved if the restricted ability cannot be fulfilled
Traits: Event (always resolved), For Each (activate each matching figure one at a time), Group (resolved once for all matching figures)

The active player makes all Locust decisions (choosing among valid targets, movement paths, activation order). After resolving, play passes left.

Actions

Movement

COG: Move through adjacent areas (sharing cracked dirt borders). Cannot move through walls (black lines), elevation changes (blue lines), or doors.
After moving, may enter a cover space in your area (free). Moving out of cover is also free at start of movement.
Figures can move through areas containing other figures.
Locust: Move per AI card instructions, always taking shortest path. Auto-enter cover if Enemy card has cover icon.

Cover System

Cover spaces hold 1 figure each. Provide defense dice bonus:
- Full cover: +2 defense dice (attacker traces line-of-sight through the cover border)
- Partial cover: +1 defense die (attacker does not trace through the cover border)
- Same area: No cover bonus
Cover direction determined by the white cover arrow on the map tile.

Attacking

Declare target (must be in line-of-sight, traced using the LOS ruler)
Determine attack dice: Choose a weapon; roll its attack value in black dice (normal or overkill)
Determine defense dice: Target’s base defense + cover bonus + range bonus (+1 die per area beyond weapon range)
Roll all dice: Resolve omen-triggered abilities
Deal wounds: Wounds rolled minus shields rolled = wounds dealt

Weapons

Each COG carries up to 4 weapons. Weapons have normal attack value and overkill attack value.
Normal attack: Roll dice equal to normal value (no ammo cost)
Overkill attack: Discard 1 ammo token, roll overkill value in dice (more powerful)
Weapons with 0 normal attack can only overkill. Weapons with no ammo cannot attack.
Triggered abilities: Activate on omen die results (e.g., Boomshot deals splash damage)
Constant abilities: Always active (e.g., Lancer chainsaw, Gnasher range limit)

Grenades

Bolo Grenades can be thrown to deal damage in an area. Can also seal emergence holes (critical for some missions).

Exploring

When a COG reaches a door token, they can explore by discarding 1 Order card. Draw the top Location card from the next level’s deck, place the matching map tile, spawn Locust figures, and remove the door.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

Win: Complete all mission objectives (each stage has a “Flip When” condition; completing the final stage wins the game).

Lose: All COG figures are simultaneously bleeding out.

Bleeding Out

When a COG with 0 cards in hand is wounded, they are bleeding out (laid down on map).
Bleeding-out COGs cannot act during their turn but still draw AI cards on their Locust Activation step.
Another COG in the same area can revive them by discarding 1 Order card (special action).

Special Rules & Edge Cases

COG Characters

Enemy Types

Wound System

Locust wounds are tracked with markers under figures. When wounds equal health, the figure is killed and leaves a wound marker (may contain a dropped weapon).
COG health = cards in hand. Wounds force discarding Order cards. At 0 cards and wounded = bleeding out.

Reactions (Discarding from hand during other turns)

Order cards have reaction icons allowing them to be discarded outside your turn:

Dodge: Avoid an attack
Follow: Move when another COG moves
Guard: Attack when a Locust enters your area

Emergence Holes

Locust spawn from emergence holes on map tiles.
Can be sealed using Bolo Grenades (place Sealed token over hole).
Sealed holes prevent further spawning from that location.

Line of Sight

Use the included cardboard ruler. LOS is traced from the center of the attacker’s position (or cover arrow) to any part of the defender. Walls block LOS; elevation changes do not.

Solo Rules

Play with a single COG. Cards marked “2+” can be returned to box and redrawn. Ignore Combat Zone/Sabotage solo.

Player Reference

Turn Sequence:

Heal Step: Draw up to 2 Order cards (max hand limit)
COG Order Step: Play 1 Order card (resolve actions / move 2 / attack 1) + optional special actions (1 discard each)
Locust Activation: Draw and resolve 1 AI card

Combat Quick Reference:

Attack dice (black): Wounds + Omens
Defense dice (red): Shields
Wounds dealt = wounds rolled - shields rolled
Cover: +1 (partial) or +2 (full) defense dice
Range: +1 defense die per area beyond weapon range