Order of the Blade

Assassins from around the world have been brought together for the next recruitment tournament organized by a shadow society known as the Order of the Blade. The Order, comprised of the most skilled assassins globally, hosts this tournament to assess potential new members and determine who merits a place among their elite ranks.

The rules of the tournament are straightforward: each assassin must utilize their skills and abilities to eliminate all other contestants, with the last one standing declared the champion. The Order of the Blade employs their most effective mercenary soldiers as their Shadow Guard to enforce the tournament's rules. During lulls in combat, they march in on the participants, making it perilous to maneuver outside the designated tournament space. The prize for winning is a coveted place within the ranks of the Order, along with the admiration of those who dwell in the shadows. Embrace this challenge, test your skills against the world's best, and prove your worth to become the newest member of the Order of the Blade.

INCLUDES RULES FOR TEAM, CO-OP & MINI ROYALE

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO JOIN THE ORDER?

At the start of the game, each player is given a character card with a unique special ability, but it comes at a cost. During setup, you are given one starting Ability Token but you must decide when to use it for the biggest impact.

If you can land the final point of damage on your target, you’ll earn another Ability Coin and their character’s ability. After all, you did study your target enough to defeat them. Strike fast, or strike late, but only the last one standing earns their place within the Order.

*The different character cards you might get to start the game with, along with a health tracker clip you'll slide onto the left side of the card, and a single shadow ability coin.

DRAW, MOVE, OR ATTACK. CHOOSE YOUR ACTIONS WISELY.

On your turn, you will have 3 actions at your dispense to gain supplies and position yourself for attacks on your opponents. You can choose any combination of the below options on your turn, even repeating action types that might fit your strategy for that turn.

• Draw 1 card from the Shadow Deck, putting weapons or utilities in your hand.

• Move up to 3 squares per action, moving you closer to your target or positioning yourself our of your opponent's Line of Sight, or to hide in the shadows.

• Play a card from your hand. Using a utility card can give you situational advantages, while playing a weapon card is what really makes your opponents bleed.

When making an attack, the defender is actually the one that gets to roll. For example, if I play a Pistol card with a weapon value of 4 and it meets the range and Line of Sight critera, then the player I targeted must roll higher than a 4 to dodge the attack. This puts your health, and therefor your fate, in your own hands.

Playtesters have expressed favoring this mechanic knowing it's their own fault if they can't dodge an attack versus feeling helpless when an opponent is on a hot streak of high rolls. You only have yourself to blame if you can't roll high enough. It's also fun for eliminated players to cheer on someone who's down to their last health consistently rolling their dodge attempts high enough to survive a few last attacks.

*Display of the different weapons cards you might find when taking the draw action from the Shadow Deck

*Display of the different utility cards you might find when taking the draw action from the Shadow Deck

SHADOW GUARDS & EVENTS CHALLENGE THE PLAY AREA

Throughout your game you will occasionally draw event cards that effect the play area and require you to quickly shift your strategy. Shadow Guards will also occasionally march forward, shrinking the arena’s safe zone, and challenge the combatants to move inwards or face a brutal attack.

Anyone caught outside the zone at the end of their turn risk taking damage equal to the Shadow Guard Intensity tracker. But sometimes you might choose to risk the zone to get a better position around a building, then walking straight into the Line of Sight of your opponents.

**In this example, the Shadow Guard cubes have already moved inward several times, shrinking the available safe zone. *

*Display of the available utility card types you might find when taking the draw action from the Shadow Deck

USE THE COVER OF DARKNESS TO INCREASE DODGE CHANCES

Game tiles are made up of 3 types of terrain.

• Buildings will keep most of you limited to the city streets, but can also provide protection from your opponent’s line of sight.

• Light squares should be avoided when possible, as they put a target on your back and make attacking you easier.

• Dark squares on the other hand are where you should lurk. Navigate the darkness and use the shadows to gain advantage dodging attacks. This is how you’ll stay alive longer and ultimately find yourself the last one standing.

*Arial view of some city tiles to see the different terrain types: buildings, dark squares, & light squares

See what people from KantCon 2023 said about their experience

"I love the concept of the Shadow Guard! Super unique and added a fun element. One of the coolest game concepts I’ve played recently!"

"Loved the game as it was well thought out and the mechanics made sense. The graphics are great and enhance the experience."

"Shadow Guard mechanic was pretty fun, as it speeds up the game. There’s a good amount of offensive and defensive cards in the game to make it interesting."

"I enjoyed the battle royale mechanic with the closing circle. Also, I liked the theme including the card art and style."

"I like the speed and pacing of the game. The randomness of the map and lighting adds a great element."

"I like how the different abilities and cards can change how your turn works. I liked how the game pushes you forward."

"It was a very good translation of the battle royale format to board games."

"Overall, I enjoyed playing the game. The card mechanics partnered with the environmental mechanics are very interesting."

Order of the Blade Overview

Order of the Blade Unboxing

BoardGameGeek Listing - Order of the Blade