Saga of Soldiers and Heroes

Saga of Soldiers & Heroes Begins with one simple mechanic: When a player takes their turn, they draw one card from their deck, then they play one card from their hand. That's all.

The play area is divided into three battles. When a card is played, it is added to one of the battles, where its force value will be added to its side.

The game is played over five rounds. Each player plays with a deck of units: 9 basic soldiers and 3 heroes. You get to choose which heroes you want to include each round. Heroes can be stronger than Soldiers, but more importantly, each hero has a unique special ability.

The game includes 15 different heroes. Both players have an identical collection to choose from.

When both players have played all of their cards, the round ends and victory points are awarded for winning the battles.

Each player has a lot of decisions to make during this game, and it begins before a single card is played. When each round begins, players customize their decks by choosing three heroes to include. With five rounds played and fifteen heroes to choose from, a player will use each hero exactly once per game. The eventual winner will likely be the player who best utilizes all of the different abilities.

The heroes' abilities are quite varied. Discovering powerful combinations with them is part of the fun of the game, as is finding clever ways to counter your opponent's strategies.

Each turn, you will have two (occasionally more) cards in your hand, and you will play one of them. You have to decide where to put that card. It gets added to one of the three battles. Most of the cards you play will be soldiers. A soldier on its own only does one thing: Add 1 force to your side of their battle. When and where to play your soldiers might appear to be a simple decision, however it can be the difference between victory and defeat. You could think of it along the same lines as decided when and how to move your pawns in a game of Chess. You have three battles to fight without enough soldiers to go around. And some of them are actually going to get killed by opposing hero abilities.

This is a game that balances simplicity with depth. It is designed to be playable by just about anybody, while also requiring dedication and experimentation to master.

A PDF copy of the rules is available for free on this page.

Message from the designer

I like this game. I think it's pretty slick. That's my honest (and biased) opinion. It's too big to be a micro-game, but it plays a lot like one.

I am terrified to share the things I create. I make games for fun, I love the process. I'm passionate about game design. I have no expectations for the finished product except to have a game that I enjoy. I'm truly designing for an audience of one. The prospect of sharing it with other people overwhelms me with anxiety. The professional advice I received on this subject was to give up and maybe change my life goals. I wish I was joking about that.

Despite doctor's advice, I would like to take this game to Kickstarter someday, when my brain is healthy enough to get through it. The way I look at it, that's the only way to give this game a proper chance out in the world. This game deserves a chance to live. For some reason, it feels like my work isn't finished until I've reached an audience, as much as I hate the process. My natural inclination is to horde all of my creations to myself and never leave my hermit cave. I'm hoping selling it here is a good first step. How stressful could that be? It would be nice to eventually make back the money I spent on the art. And of course, the coolest possible outcome would be if the game ends up in the hands of people who play it and enjoy it.

Thanks for checking out my game, and for reading this tangent. If I could ask one thing of you, it would be to check out the artist: Daria Rashev. Everything she does is amazing. Thank you

-Hyrum