How to Play
In Basilika you build two things: your deck, and the battlefield itself, laid tile by tile. Then you outmaneuver your opponent across it to capture their King. Here's how a game flows.
Start of Game
Going First or Second
Everyone rolls a D20. The highest roll chooses whether to go first or last, and play runs clockwise. See the 7x7 setup.
Roll to see who goes first
You
Opponent
Archetype Effects
Your Archetype is your first tile, placed in a corner of the board. Its effects shape your whole strategy, and its Retinue lists the pieces that start beside your King. See Archetypes.
The Jester - Retinue: 1 Queen.
- Arch-Perpetual: You may play Cards for their End-Game effects at any time.
The Natural - Retinue: 3 Pawns and 1 Rook.
- Arch-Perpetual: Whenever your Pieces are Promoted or Demoted, Heal them to Full HP.
Draw Starting Hand
Shuffle your deck and draw 6 cards. You may Mulligan: set aside up to 4 of them, draw that many, then shuffle the set-aside cards back into your deck. See Setup.
Every detail is in the Rules: Setup.
