John Carter: Warlord of Mars is a strategic adventure board game based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels, set on the planet Barsoom (Mars). Players take on the roles of heroes and villains pursuing objectives across a map of Barsoomian cities. The game has two modes: The Duelling Game (2-4 players, quick tactical combat) and The Strategic Game (2-3 players, a fuller adventure with movement, encounters, and city-based objectives). Heroes strive to fulfill glory or love conditions while villains pursue their own sinister goals. The game combines point-to-point movement across the Barsoom map with card-driven encounters and combat.
Components
Barsoom strategic map (point-to-point city map showing movement routes)
City sub-game display (tactical area for encounters within cities)
Character counters representing heroes, villains, henchmen, and captives
Movement Cards (determine travel between cities)
Random Event Cards (encounters during city exploration)
Combat tables and charts
Heads counters (currency for movement and encounters)
Dice
Player reference cards
Setup
Each player selects a hero or villain character and takes the corresponding counter and starting equipment.
Place character counters at their designated starting cities on the Barsoom map.
Shuffle the Movement Card deck and Random Event Card deck separately.
Each player receives starting heads (currency) as specified.
For the Strategic Game, place the Happiness Reckoning Index (HRI) marker at its starting position.
Set up the City Sub-Game display near the board.
Turn Structure
On each turn, a player:
Declare destination – Choose which city to travel to.
Draw Movement Card – Determine available heads for movement.
Move – Spend heads to travel along routes between cities. The HRI is adjusted to reflect the number of heads remaining after travel.
City Encounter – Upon arriving at a destination city, enter the City Sub-Game to explore and resolve encounters.
Resolve encounters – Handle combat, discoveries, and other events within the city.
Actions
Movement
Movement is performed by selecting a destination city and drawing a Movement Card to determine available heads.
Routes between cities cost heads to traverse. If a character cannot afford the trip, they must choose a closer destination.
Villains may fly (move more efficiently) while heroes generally travel on foot or by thoat (mount).
City Sub-Game
When entering a city, the character’s position is tracked on the City Sub-Game map.
The city is divided into areas including city gates, streets, palace, arena, slave quarters, and a “house display” area.
Characters move through city areas encountering guards, citizens, and random events.
Movement within the city is governed by separate rules from overland travel.
Combat
Combat occurs when characters encounter hostile forces (guards, villains, monsters, or rival players).
Characters have attributes: strength, agility, and fighting ability, rated on a scale.
Combat resolution uses die rolls modified by character attributes and equipment.
Heroes (like John Carter) have superior fighting ability; the hero’s sword arm makes them formidable.
Positional modifiers and terrain affect combat, particularly when ambushes or surprise attacks occur.
Characters may attempt to escape combat rather than fight.
Encounters
Outdoor encounters are determined by consulting the Area Encounter Chart for the hero’s current location.
City encounters include being apprehended by guards, discovering allies, finding captives, or triggering random events.
Random Event Cards provide both positive and negative outcomes.
At the start of each encounter, players draw a Random Event Card; the character is rewarded or plagued by the result.
Capture and Rescue
Heroes may be captured and held in city arenas or slave quarters.
Captured characters must find ways to escape, either through combat or special events.
Rescuing captives (particularly a hero’s beloved) is a key objective.
Scoring / Victory Conditions
The Duelling Game
Quick tactical combat between 2-4 characters.
No standard “Victory Conditions” – instead, a hero’s or villain’s performance is reviewed at the end in light of glory and love conditions.
Heroes must fulfill their glory or love condition to win. A hero who captures the villain (or rescues a captive) and fulfills these conditions becomes Champion of all Barsoom.
A villain wins by capturing a hero, holding a female personage, or achieving a predetermined villainous objective.
The game ends when either all heroes are removed from play or have fulfilled a glory or love condition.
The Strategic Game
The Strategic Game is the main feature and plays over longer sessions.
Players pursue objectives across the full Barsoom map with city encounters and overland travel.
A simulation built on the Duelling Game foundation, with added strategic depth through movement, resource management, and map control.
Victory is achieved by fulfilling character-specific objectives related to the narrative (love, glory, conquest).
Special Rules & Edge Cases
Jumping: Barsoomian movement rules allow characters to jump due to Mars’s lower gravity. However, heroes probably cannot jump as high as in the novels. Jumping mechanics are simplified for gameplay.
Henchmen: Villains deploy henchmen who act as guards and obstacles. Henchmen can be stationed in cities to intercept heroes.
Female Characters: Captured princesses and other characters serve as objectives. Heroes must rescue them while villains seek to hold them captive.
City Guards: Cities have standing guard detachments that may aid or hinder characters based on faction alignment.
Thoats: Mounts that improve overland movement speed.
Arena Combat: Characters forced into arena combat face gladiatorial challenges.
The Palace: A key location in each city where important encounters and storyline events occur.
Random Event Cards: Some events override normal gameplay (e.g., “Marriage on Barsoom” cards can change character relationships).
Player Reference
Character Attribute
Description
Strength
Physical power for combat
Agility
Speed and evasion ability
Fighting Ability
Skill with weapons
Game Mode
Players
Duration
Duelling Game
2-4
45-60 min
Strategic Game
2-3
120-180 min
Key Concepts
Description
Heads
Currency for movement and actions
HRI
Happiness Reckoning Index, tracks a hero’s morale/progress