Embark on a thrilling quest as courageous heroes, united against the evil rulers and their tainted reign.
Unleash the unique abilities of your champions and loyal animal companions. Defeat the corrupted monarchs, cleanse their darkness, and recruit them to your cause, restoring life to the land.
Get ready for an epic adventure in the world of Regicide!
Throughout this guide, I will take you through the ins and outs of the game, from setup to solo play.
The game aims to work closely with your teammates to defeat forceful foes by attacking methods, resulting in the conquest of the King.
What You’ll Need to Play?
To be able to play Regicide, you’ll need to get your hands on these specialized cards; there is a way to play it with a standard deck of cards. However, in my opinion, it’s nowhere near as fun.
Now, all you need is a cool group of friends ready to purge the enemies.
Getting Ready to Play Regicide
You’ll need to prepare to play by first shuffling your deck of cards. Remove the four Kings from the deck and lay them down on the table facedown, then do the same with the Queens and Jacks. This is now known as the Castle Deck, which should be placed in the middle of the table, with a Jack on top, face up.
Next, shuffle the cards numbered two to ten with the animal and Jester cards. This is now the Tavern Deck.
Now, it’s time to deal with the cards. How many cards each player gets depends on how many are playing.
Follow the instructions below to determine how many cards will be dealt from the Tavern Deck.
Maximum Hand Size and Player Setup
Players, jesters, and their max hand sizes make up the game’s crew. Let’s break it down:
- One Player: If you’re playing solo, you’ve got one jester and can hold up to 8 cards.
- Duo: No jesters, just two players, and a max of 7 cards each.
- Three Players: There’s one jester per player, and the hand cap is six cards.
- Four Players: The foursome gets two jesters per player and a limit of 5 cards each.
Rules and How to Play Regicide Card Game?
Now you’ve got your hands; it’s time for the first player to make their move by discarding one card from their hand. The card must equal or exceed the enemy’s card value.
From here on, you discard one card at a time straight onto the pile. Animal cards are worth one point, and Jesters are worth zero if they’re played to cover damage.
If, at any point, you suffer damage, the turn returns to the next player.
The game is played in four steps:
- Play a Card and Attack the Enemy: The face value of the card determines the attack damage.
- Active the Suit Power: Black cards have powers that can be saved for later, and reds can be used straight away. I’ll tell you about the specific abilities shortly.
- Check the Damage: Now it’s time to check if the damage done is greater than the enemy’s health value.
- Defeat: If you’ve not defeated the enemy, you’ll have to accept the damage to your health. The enemy’s attack can be reduced depending on the number of Spades you play.
1. Card Powers
As I mentioned above, some cards, like red, have specific powers and can be played immediately or saved for later if they’re black.
- Diamonds: These mean drawing cards one at a time until the value equals the attack value. However, if you reach your maximum hand count, you shouldn’t draw.
- Hearts: Hearts is a healing card. Mix up the discarded cards, then grab facedown cards equal to your attack value. Slide these cards under the Tavern deck without looking and put the discarded cards face up on the table.
2. Animal Companions
In the first step, Animal Companions are the stars. They can go solo or team up with one other card (except the Jester). When Companions join in, they count as 1 for attack and bring their suit power into the mix.
For a picture, think of the 8 of Diamonds paired with a Companion of Clubs. Together, they have an attack value of 9. Both suit powers kick in like a dynamic duo. With Clubs’ Companion, you draw nine cards and unleash 18 damage. If Hearts and Diamonds powers tag along, heal with Hearts first, then with Diamonds’ draw.
Companions can even buddy up with other Companions. If you play a Companion with another of the same suit, you use the suit power just once.
3. The Jester
The Jester’s attack value is a zilch, a.k.a. 0. But is it a superpower? It crushes enemy immunity, making suit powers work when cards match the enemy’s suit.
After playing the Jester, you skip Steps 3 and 4. Instead of the usual pass-the-baton routine, the Jester’s player picks the next player.
During Jester’s time, chit-chat rules shift. Until the next player’s turn, you can hint if you want to play next or not. Keep it vague, like “I’ve got a trick up my sleeve” or “I’ll sit this one out.” But shhh, don’t spill the beans about your cards.
Quick note: Pre-Jester Spades cards chip away at their attack value if the enemy’s a Spades fan. But pre-Jester clubs won’t pull double duty against a club’s enemy.
4. Enemy Sheilds
The enemies each have immunity to certain powers used against them if they match their suit. For example, you can’t use a 3 of hearts on a King of hearts. However, the damage value still applies, but no cards need to be drawn. You can also use a Jester to cancel the enemy’s immunity.
5. Yeilding
It can sometimes benefit you to skip steps 2 and 3 to protect yourself; it means you have to take the damage, but it might have a better outcome.
6. Combinations
You can get creative in step 1. For example, you could pair, triple, or quadruple cards with the same number to add up to 10 or less. Animal Companions don’t join combos alone but can team up with one card (even another Companion).
You can play pairs of 2s, 3s, 4s, or 5s, or triples or quads of 2s.
When combined, all suits’ powers count for the total attack. For example, 3 Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs together draw nine cards, cut the enemy’s attack by 9, and deal 18 damage.
Keep the Heart-Diamond combo neat: resolve the heart first.
Playing Regicide Solo
If you’re not playing with other people and going solo when playing Regicide, there are a couple of things to bear in mind regarding the rules.
Check out the brief guide below for solo play.
Set up as usual, but put those two Jesters on the side. You’ve got a single hand of 8 cards.
Take turns, one after the other. Remember, each Jester has a trick: Toss your hand and grab eight new cards.
And nope, this doesn’t count as drawing against diamond-immune enemies. You’ve got two Jester tricks in your bag. But remember, flipping them doesn’t cancel enemy immunity.
1. Jester Powers
You can use the Jester’s power:
- At Step 1’s start, before playing a card,
- In Step 4, start before facing damage.
2. Victory Levels
Here’s the deal on wins:
- 2 Jesters used: Bronze Victory
- 1 Jester used: Silver Victory
- 0 Jesters used: Gold Victory
The Crowning Close
And that, my fellow tacticians, wraps up our Regicide guide.
With Jesters up your sleeve and combos in your grasp, you’re set for the royal rumble.
As you dive into battles and chase those victories, defeating your enemies along the way, keep your wits sharp and your strategy even sharper.
Now, let the games begin!
