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Setting up The Final Commander™ for the first time can seem a bit confusing, understandably so, as this would be the first time you might be exploring the game. As with any tabletop experience, with a little guidance and exploration, the setup process can quickly become straightforward as well as the first move a player could be making to demonstrate their strategic acumen. This detailed guide walks you through each step, from shuffling decks to placing initial units on the battlefield.
By following these instructions, you’ll be ready to dive into your first game in no time.
Now that we have a basic understanding of the components of the game, let us go through the step by step game setup.
Overview of the Components
Before diving into the setup, let’s review the key components you’ll find in your game box.
Civilization Decks
Battlefield Deck
Scoring Tokens
Civilization Decks
These are your primary tools of the trade, when playing The Final Commander™. Each player begins by playing with one of the four civilization decks. These decks are shaped around unique capabilities that are indicative loosely around certain civilizational strengths each historical civilization possessed. Feel free exploring the decks and choosing the one you seem to be attracted to the most. But of course, for longevity purposes of game’s replayability, we would recommend exploring and playing with as well as against all the other decks.
Currently, we offer four civilizations – Mongol, Chinese, Japanese, and Ottoman. You can read more about these civilizations here.
Battlefield Deck
Apart from the Civilization Decks, The Final Commander™ offers a Battlefield Deck, that possesses special cards that influence the Battlefield conditions – like terrain, weather, and unique events – that impacts every player and their civilization decks equally. While this layers an intriguing mechanic over the basic mechanics of opponents playing against each other, we would still recommend playing with this once you have had a few rounds under your belt.
Scoring Tokens
Scoring Tokens within The Final Commander™ are small wooden pieces that help players keep track of the latest Offense and Defense scores of the units during the gameplay.
Step-by-Step Guide to Game Setup
Step 1: Choose Your Deck
Step 2: Shuffle Decks
Step 3: Deal Initial Hands
Step 4: Place Initial Units on the Battlefield
Step 5: Determine Turn Order
Step 6: Flip and Place tokens
Step 7: Shuffle and place Battlefield Deck (optional)
Step 1: Choose Your Deck
The first step in setting up The Final Commander™ is selecting your deck. Each player picks one Civlization deck. If you’re new to the game, it may be helpful to review each deck’s contents, the special abilities and strengths before making your choice.
Step 2: Shuffle Decks
Once all players have picked their decks, shuffle your deck and place it facing down on one side.
Step 3: Dealing Initial Hands
Pick the top 6 cards from your shuffled deck. Take a look at those cards and ensure you have at least 4 Unit type cards. (Learn more about the different card types here.) If not, return the excess cards of the other types to the bottom of your deck and pick the next top – most card from your deck until you have at least 4 Unit type cards in your hand.
Step 4: Placing Initial Units
Place 4 units initially on the battlefield. Initially, each player can only place one card in Attack stance perpendicular to you facing the opponent, and three cards in Guard stance behind the attacking unit parallel to you.
Step 5: Order of Play
As an aspect of being a game designed to be enjoyed among friends and family, we encourage you to discuss and decide the order of play as per your preferences as a group. In case you prefer us to suggest a way to choose the Order of play, we suggest that the last person in the group who watched a Historical Documentary starts the game. In a non-team game, the game proceeds in clockwise direction from the first player.
In case of a team game, refer to Page 07 of the Rules Manual to understand the Order of Play.
Step 6: Starting with Tokens
Take the Scoring tokens out of the bag, and place them next to the players at a comfortable distance from all the players. Do not immediately place the tokens, until all the units are placed by each player on the battlefield. Once all players have placed their units on the battlefield, flip all the cards together, and add tokens as per the starting Offense and Defense scores provided on the cards.
Step 7: Placing Battlefield Deck
For advanced players, an additional step would be to shuffle and keep the Battlefield deck in the middle of the battlefield facing down. Remove the top card and place it facing up. At the end of each round, please follow and do the needful as per instructions provided on the battlefield deck cards.
The effects of Battlefield deck cards impact all the units of all the players uniformly.
Common mistakes while Setting up the Game
Setting up The Final Commander™ for the first time might be susceptible to some minor hiccups, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the game mechanics. Here are a few common issues and how to resolve them:
- Issue: Not exploring decks early on: New players often choose the decks before going through the details of the deck. This can easily end up in making you formulate strategies that might be unsuitable for the decks you are playing with. If this happens, simply stop the game, go over the deck, reshuffle the deck, and start over.
- Issue: Incorrect Unit Placement: Sometimes, players place too many units in one stance, leaving the other line under-manned. If this happens, consider quickly correctly your stances early on so that you can get the best out of the game.
- Issue: Showing cards too soon: New players sometimes show their cards as soon as they place it on the battlefield. Ensure you wait until all players have placed their units on the battlefield before showing your units to your opponents. Otherwise, you might end up informing their strategies and exposing yourself to stronger moves from your opponent(s). Also, please wait until all cards are shown by all players, and then place the tokens on each unit before beginning the game.
Final Thoughts
Setting up The Final Commander™ for the first time can be an exciting process that lays the foundation for strategic, competitive gameplay.
By carefully choosing your deck, shuffling your decks, and placing your initial units thoughtfully, you’ll be ready to jump into battle and compete to be the final commander standing.
By taking the time to follow these steps you can ensure a smooth and enjoyable gaming experience. Now that you’re set up and ready, it’s time to begin your journey into the world of The Final Commander™!
