Terracotta Army
Become the general commander in Emperor Qin’s army
Collaborators
Darren Mok, Fanny Situ, Maddie Liu
My role
Designed all game graphics. Collaborated with team members on game design.
Tools
Tabletop Simulator, Adobe Creative Suite
Welcome to 220BC China. You are local commanders in a training camp. In order to become the general commander in Emperor Qin’s army, the owner of the Tiger Rune, you must win battles against your competitors using strategic battle plans and the resources available.
Setup
Terracotta Army is a 4 player turn based card game, with each round consisting of a planning and a battling stage. Each player starts with 5 randomly drawn Terracotta soldier cards, a left Tiger Rune card, a counter, and a die.
Planning Stage
During the planning stage of every round, each player has 2 options they can choose from.
Draw a Terracotta soldier card
Draw a chance card, and play it immediately
*The player cannot draw more Terracotta soldier cards if he already has 10 in hand.
Battling Stage
Before the first battling stage, each player rolls a dice. The player who rolls the highest number chooses who he will battle for the first round. The player who chooses first is shifted clockwise after every turn. When there are 3 players left, the player “choosing” battles both remaining players, one after another. Until there are only two players left, they battle automatically.
To battle, each player chooses two of their Terracotta soldier cards to play. The player puts down one card face up first for their opponent to see at the same time. Then the player chooses a second card to play and puts it on the table face down. After both players are ready, they reveal the second card at the same time.
Players calculate their overall defense points and offense points by adding the values on the two Terracotta cards played together. Player with the higher offense points wins. The offense points for the Terracotta soldier cards were determined by how rare they appear in the tomb. The rarer the pieces are, the more offense points they have. Damage points are calculated based on the difference in winner’s offense points and loser’s defense points. The loser adds the damage points to the counter. The player is eliminated when he has accumulated 30 or more damage points. After each battling round, players discard the cards they played. At any point, if a player runs out of Terracotta soldier cards to play, they can add 5 damage points to their counter and draw 5 cards.
*Some cards allow the players to see the opponent’s first card, then put down both cards face down.
GAME END
The win condition is met when one player outlasts everybody else or when a player has a full army (all seven types of Terracotta soldier cards in hand).
Special Game Pieces
The Drum
In ancient China, drums were used in war to command the soldiers. According to the sound of the drums, the soldiers learn when to attack and when to retreat, what tactics to use, and how fast they should march. The players take turns using the drum. To use the Drum, the player rolls a die once in the planning stage. The condition represented by the rolled number is in play and affects only the player who owns the Drum for the next battling stage.
Drum Game Condition Options
1. Ambush! The first card is also hidden this round.
2. Focusing on defense, gain 2 defense points to one of your cards this round.
3. Archers’ training session, gain 2 defense points to your Standing/Kneeling Archer cards.
4. Waiting for the opponent to attack, you can look at your opponent’s second card then choose your second card.
5. Marching along, gain 1 offense point to any Infantry Warrior card you play.
6. Deceptive movements, you can change the first card you put down after looking at your opponent’s first card, before putting down your second card.
Tiger Rune
Tiger rune(hu-fu,虎符 in Chinese) is a two-piece rune made of bronze, gold, jade or bamboo. It was used by the chinese emperor to command and dispatch the army. The right piece was retained in the emperor’s hand while the left piece was issued to the local commanders. If someone wanted to dispatch the troops from a certain area, he had to show the complete tiger rune with both pieces that match together in order to obtain authorization.
Because Tiger Rune was used to command an army in ancient China. The player who obtains the right half of the Tiger Rune can choose a condition that is in play for the next battling stage. The player who won the last battling stage and caused the most damage points becomes the General. The General can obtain the Tiger Rune and use it the next round. In case of a tie, Tiger Rune is not in play the next round. To use the Tiger Rune, the General rolls a die twice in the planning stage. Then choose one of the two conditions represented by the rolled numbers. The chosen condition is in play and affects all players for the next battling stage.
Rune Game Condition Options
1. Uneven terrain, all chariot cards lose 2 offense points this round.
2. Infantry warriors’ training session - all infantry warriors gain 3 offense points this round.
3. Cards used this round do not have to be discarded.
4. Each player has to put down an archer as the first card. If no archer is in hand, the player can only put down one card this round.
5. Everyone switches hands with the person sitting across from you. When there’s three players, give your cards to the player on your left.
6. The first card is also hidden this round.
Additional Synergies
Standing Archer + Kneeling Archer: Gain 2 offense points, 2 defense points
Historic reason: Standing archers form the outside ring of the “crossbowmen battle formation,” protecting a kneeling archer in the center
Common Chariot Warrior + Command Chariot Warrior: Gain 3 offense points, 3 defense points
Common Chariot Warrior + Terracotta Chariot: Gain 2 offense points
Historic reason: Because chariot was very powerful in war at the time, common chariot warrior is extremely important in chariot battles, affecting the result of the war.
Cavalry + Standing/Kneeling Archer: Gain 2 offense points
Historic reason: Cavalry warriors are fast, they were used to chase and attack the opponent in close proximity, archers stand behind them for long-distance attacks.
Standing/Kneeling Archer + Infantry Warrior with Spear: Gain 2 offense points, 1 defense point
Historic reason: Archers stand in the front for long-distance attacks, infantry warriors with Spear follow right after. Attack the first group of opponents approaching the army.
Full army (at least one of every card in your hand): You win!
