Introduction

Panic in the Kingdom, the Princess has been kidnapped (again)! The evil League of Evil holds her in its cursed castle, locked in a dungeon protected by 5 magic locks. No plumber available to rescue her, the bravest Knights run to save the beauty. You are one of those brave champions. The quest will not be easy and only the most cunning will be able to save the Princess.

Goal of the Game

A player's total attack strength should be as close as possible to the BOSS's hit points (HP), without ever going beyond them. To achieve this, in each round, players will face a BOSS by equipping themselves with WEAPON cards. which increase their attack power. Each player then goes to meet the MAGICIAN who offers them SPELL cards in order to optimize their attacking ability, or playing trickery to sideline rivals. The game ends when a player has won 5 KEYS or loses all of their HEARTS. In all cases, the one with the most KEYS wins the game.

Playing the Game

The game is divided into rounds. Rounds are played until one of the end-of-game conditions is fulfilled. End of game conditions:

• If a knight has 5 KEYS (with 2, 3 or 4 players), 4 KEYS (with 5 players), it is the big winner.
• If a player loses their last HEART, it is the end of the game. This player has lost the game and the player who has the most KEYS wins.

Starting Equipment

The Armorer shuffles the deck of WEAPON cards and places the first one, face down hidden in front of each player; then deals a second card face up. Each player therefore has 2 cards in front of them, one hidden and one visible. Each player can see their own hidden card (but not that of others!). To calculate their attack strength, each player secretly adds up the 2 WEAPON cards in their possession and then put them back in their place.

Players’ Turn

Take turns and starting with the player to the left of the Armorer, each Knight has a choice between 2 actions:

• Add WEAPON cards to adjust your attack strength: Add to your Equipment.
• Consider their attack strength to be satisfactory: Meet the Magician.

Attention final chance: a player at the MAGICIAN cannot return to complete their equipment.

A) Add to your Equipment:

They ask the Armorer to give them 1 to 4 cards from the WEAPON deck. They must say aloud the number of cards desired. Once the cards are given, the player is obliged to keep them all and to place them face up in front of them. Players may take more WEAPON cards the following turn. On the Armorer’s turn, the Armorer will also have to say aloud the number of WEAPON cards desired before dealing to themselves. Be careful if a player's attack strength has exceeded the BOSS HP (the player must announce it), they must go to the MAGICIAN on their next turn. When there is only one player left in phase A "Add to your Equipment", they can request cards from the Armorer only one last time. They must then go immediately to the MAGICIAN.

B) Meet the Magician:

The player advances their Knight pawn on the MAGICIAN card. The MAGICIAN makes spells available, but none of those spells are active until a player has decided to validate it. Each Knight has the choice between 2 actions:

• Either they activate a card available at the MAGICIAN and apply its effect. The SPELL cards of dark color are placed on the game or oneself, the SPELL cards of light color are placed next to the BOSS.
• Either they discard a card that is available at the MAGICIAN without applying the effect (so that no other player can activate). They then wait for all the other players to arrive at the MAGICIAN. They no longer plays for the rest of the round.

Once all the players have gathered at the Magician, the fight begins!

Combat

Case of elimination from the round:

• A player's attack strength exceeds the BOSS HP: they discard one of their HEARTS because they were injured in carrying all their weapons.
• The conditions of active SPELL cards are not followed by a player: they do not lose a HEART.

Separate the remaining players:

• Whoever has the attack strength closest to the BOSS HP wins the round, they win a KEY.
• In the event of a tie, the player with the fewest WEAPON cards in front of them wins the KEY. If there is still tie the players involved each win a KEY.

If one or more players equal the value of BOSS's VPs with their attack strength, they score a PERFECT. All players scoring a PERFECT win a bonus KEY. This therefore means that a player who wins the round with a PERFECT wins 2 KEYS. Either way, the BOSS is defeated.

End of the game or start of a new round

End of game conditions:

• If a knight has 5 KEYS (with 2, 3 or 4 players), 4 KEYS (with 5 players), it is the big winner. They will free the Princess while the other Knights, defeated, return to the kingdom covered with shame.
• If a player loses their last HEART, it is the end of the game. This player has lost the game and the player who has the most KEYS wins.

In the event of a tie for KEYS, the player with the most HEARTS in their possession wins the game and free the Princess. If the players are also tied for HEARTS, then all affected players win the game. If the end-of-game conditions are not met, we prepare for the next round.

Setting up a New Round

• The BOSS card is discarded and the next one is revealed.
• The SPELL cards set up during the previous round are discarded and replaced
• The player to the left of the Armorer becomes the new Armorer.
• The Armorer collects all WEAPON cards, shuffles them and replenishes the WEAPON deck

If, at any time, the BOSS deck or the SPELL deck is empty, the discarded cards are recovered and we create a new deck.

• Here we go for a new round: repeat steps 1 to 3 until the end of the game.

SPELL Cards & Effects

SPELL cards can change BOSS HP, player attack strength, and sometimes even change certain aspects of the rules for the duration of the round. At the start of the round, the SPELL cards installed next to the MAGICIAN are inactive. Each time a player encounters the MAGICIAN, they must activate or discard a SPELL card.

A)Activate a SPELL

• If it is a SPELL card that affects a player (dark background), we immediately place the SPELL card in front of the target player, next to their WEAPON cards. A SPELL card affecting a player can be applied to any player, including oneself.
• If it is a SPELL card that affects the BOSS or the rules of the round (light background), it is placed immediately next to the BOSS card. An “active” SPELL card applies its effect for the current round only (see list of SPELL cards below for more details).
• The Mystery SPELL card: one of the SPELL cards is installed face down at the start of each round. The player must announce whether they want to activate or discard it without first looking at it. If the player decides to activate it, they turn it over and considers it from now on as an active spell, without being able to reconsider.

B)Discard a SPELL

Place the SPELL card directly in the SPELL discard pile. No player can activate it anymore. A player cannot discard an already activated SPELL card.

SPELL Effects

Dark-colored SPELL cards

• Increases a player's attack strength by 1 or 2
• Decreases a player's attack strength by 1 or 2
• Swap the hidden WEAPON card of the player who activates this spell with the hidden WEAPON card of another player. Once used, it is discarded.
• Exchange one of the WEAPON cards of the player who activates this spell (hidden or visible) with the 1st of the WEAPON deck. Once used, it is discarded.

Light-colored SPELL cards

• Increases BOSS HP by 1 or 2
• Decreases BOSS HP by 1 or 2
• A player who does not have at least 1 WEAPON card of the required color will not be able to win the round.
• A player who does not have at least 2 WEAPON cards of the same color will not be able to win the round.
• No one loses HEART during this round.
• Cancels a validated SPELL card still present in the game. Once used, the 2 SPELL cards are discarded.
• The winner of the round wins an additional KEY.
• The player with the 2nd closest attack rating VP of the BOSS who wins the round.
• Last game turn! each player who has not yet been to the Magician must do one last action:
  • either ask for a WEAPON cards
  • either activate or discard a SPELL card at the Magician.

Then all the players move on to the COMBAT phase.