[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":427},["ShallowReactive",2],{"game-en-regicide":3,"overlays-en-regicide":426},{"id":4,"title":5,"accent":6,"age":7,"backdrop":8,"bggUrl":9,"body":10,"categories":27,"components":8,"cover":31,"deepDive":32,"description":16,"duration":160,"extension":163,"faq":164,"industryLegend":8,"lastReviewed":200,"leaders":8,"locale":201,"manualUrl":202,"mechanics":203,"meta":208,"navigation":209,"path":210,"players":211,"publisher":216,"quickStart":217,"resourceLegend":8,"rulesVersion":385,"seo":386,"sourceFiles":387,"sourceNotes":389,"stem":390,"strategies":391,"summary":422,"videoLanguage":8,"videoUrl":8,"weight":423,"year":424,"__hash__":425},"games\u002Fen\u002Fregicide.md","Regicide","#6C4F8A","10",null,"https:\u002F\u002Fboardgamegeek.com\u002Fboardgame\u002F307002\u002Fregicide",{"type":11,"value":12,"toc":23},"minimark",[13,17,20],[14,15,16],"p",{},"Regicide fits in a pocket and plays with a poker deck, yet it feels like nothing else you\nhave played with cards. Enemy health is a number to match, the team's life is its hand, and\neach suit solves a different need.",[14,18,19],{},"The tension is that every resource is a card. Doubling damage with a club means that club\nwill not be there to pay the next attack; healing with hearts spends cards that could have\nkilled the enemy; drawing with diamonds refills your hand but deals no damage. Every\ndecision is a loan against the next turn.",[14,21,22],{},"And the enemy always answers. Against a jack you can absorb it; against a king, the attack\nforces you to discard half your hand. That is why winning teams are not the ones dealing the\nmost damage, but the ones reaching the kings with cards left and the spades already down.",{"title":24,"searchDepth":25,"depth":25,"links":26},"",2,[],[28,29,30],"Card game","Cooperative","Fantasy","\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fcover.webp",{"title":33,"intro":34,"phases":35},"Your hand is life, ammo and time","You can already play cards and cover attacks. Teams sink when they spend their hand too early, so the game is about rationing cards between damage, reducing attacks and healing, knowing each card does all three jobs.",[36,80,120],{"id":37,"label":38,"steps":39},"hand","One hand for everything",[40,55,69],{"title":41,"text":42,"images":43,"check":48},"Attacking and defending come from the same place","There are no hit points: your hand is your life. When the enemy attacks, you discard cards totalling at least its attack, so every card played for damage is a card you will not have to defend with. That is the central tension: teams that kill the first enemies fast reach the queens with an empty hand and die to the first attack they cannot cover.",[44],{"src":45,"alt":46,"label":47},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fbaraja.webp","The full Regicide deck spread on a wooden table, with the number cards, the four animal aces and the face cards separated above.","The tavern deck",{"question":49,"options":50,"answer":53,"explanation":54},"What pays for an enemy's attack?",[51,52],"Discarding cards from hand","Hit points written down",0,"Your hand is your life: each attack is covered by discarding cards worth its value.",{"title":56,"text":57,"images":58,"check":63},"Spades are the biggest savers","Reducing enemy attack with spades is as good as healing: every point reduced is a point of hand you do not discard. Against high-attack enemies, a spade worth 8 can save eight defence cards, more than any combo. Save spades for kings and queens, not for jacks where the attack is low and the saving small.",[59],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fguia-cartas-1.webp","Game cards face up in a fan, none covering another.","Cards",{"question":64,"options":65,"answer":53,"explanation":68},"What does the spade power do?",[66,67],"Reduces the enemy's attack","Doubles damage","Spades lower enemy attack; clubs are the ones that double damage.",{"title":70,"text":71,"images":72,"check":74},"Healing returns cards, not points","Hearts recover cards from the discard, so healing does not erase damage: it turns it back into ammo. That makes healing more useful after a big attack than before, because the discard is full and you can choose what to recover. A heart played early, with a nearly empty discard, wastes its value.",[73],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":75,"options":76,"answer":53,"explanation":79},"What does the heart power recover?",[77,78],"Cards from the discard","Hit points","There are no hit points: hearts return cards from the discard to hand.",{"id":81,"label":82,"steps":83},"powers","Powers, combos and immunity",[84,98,109],{"title":85,"text":86,"images":87,"check":92},"The power scales with the total","Suit powers apply to the total value played, so a combo of two fives triggers a power of 10. Combos are therefore more than added damage: a club combo can double 10 instead of 5, and a spade combo can cut 10 attack. The sum-10-or-less rule forces a choice between power and flexibility: big combos are efficient but empty your hand at once.",[88],{"src":89,"alt":90,"label":91},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fenemigos.webp","Rows of Regicide cards with the four jacks, four queens and four kings, each with its own character illustration.","The twelve enemies",{"question":93,"options":94,"answer":53,"explanation":97},"What value does the suit power use?",[95,96],"The total of the cards played","Only the highest card","The power uses the combo's total value, not the highest card.",{"title":99,"text":100,"images":101,"check":103},"Immunity decides which suit is dead","Each enemy is immune to the power of its own suit: against the jack of diamonds you cannot draw, and against the king of hearts you cannot heal. The team must read the enemy card before choosing what to play: spending a heart on an enemy immune to hearts throws the card away. The jester cancels that immunity, so its best use is unlocking a blocked power, not dealing damage.",[102],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":104,"options":105,"answer":53,"explanation":108},"What is an enemy immune to?",[106,107],"The power of the suit that matches it","All powers except clubs","Each enemy blocks its own suit's power; the jester unlocks it.",{"title":110,"text":111,"images":112,"check":114},"Exact damage fattens the deck","If the exact damage kills the enemy, its card goes face down onto the tavern deck and is worth 10, 15 or 20 when drawn. Fine-tuning becomes a value play: overkill gives nothing extra, exact damage adds a huge card to your deck. Against enemies a few points short, it is worth working out whether you can close exactly instead of playing the biggest card available.",[113],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":115,"options":116,"answer":53,"explanation":119},"What happens if damage exactly equals the enemy's health?",[117,118],"Its card enters the tavern deck","You gain a jester","Exact damage turns the defeated figure into a high-value card in the deck.",{"id":121,"label":122,"steps":123},"team","Playing as a team",[124,138,149],{"title":125,"text":126,"images":127,"check":132},"The team shares one clock","Everyone draws from the same deck and anyone can die to an enemy attack, so there is no “my hand” and “your hand”: there is one shared reserve, split between players. If one player burns cards on damage while another hoards for defence, the team can lose through poor coordination. Before playing, agree who covers the next attack and who can afford to attack.",[128],{"src":129,"alt":130,"label":131},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fpartida.webp","A solo game of Regicide in progress with cards in hand, the tavern deck, the enemy reference card and the castle deck.","A game in progress",{"question":133,"options":134,"answer":53,"explanation":137},"How is damage split across the team?",[135,136],"Each player covers the attack with their own hand","It is always shared by everyone","The attack is covered by the active player's hand; that is why coordination matters.",{"title":139,"text":140,"images":141,"check":143},"Jesters are tempo, not damage","The jester deals no damage: it skips the damage and attack steps and chooses who plays next. Its value is breaking an immunity and handing the turn to whoever has the right hand. Saving it for the moment an immune king blocks the team is far better than spending it on a jack to “pass”. It is the card that turns a lost round into a won one.",[142],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":144,"options":145,"answer":53,"explanation":148},"What does the jester do?",[146,147],"Cancels immunity and chooses the next turn","Deals 10 damage","The jester does not attack: it unlocks powers, skips the attack and controls order.",{"title":150,"text":151,"images":152,"check":154},"Kings are prepared from the jacks","The game is a staircase: jacks, queens and kings, with rising attack and health. The team must reach the kings with high cards and saved spades, not with an exhausted hand. That means killing jacks without spending more than needed, even if it is slower, and saving combos and hearts for queens and kings. Haste in the first phase is paid for in the last.",[153],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":155,"options":156,"answer":53,"explanation":159},"When should high cards be saved?",[157,158],"For queens and kings","For jacks, which are the hardest","Difficulty rises: high cards and spades are worth more against queens and kings.",{"min":161,"max":162},15,30,"md",[165,169,172,176,179,183,186,189,193,197],{"category":166,"question":167,"answer":168},"setup","Can you play with a normal deck?","Yes, that is part of the charm: it plays with a standard 52-card deck plus two jokers as jesters. The Badgers from Mars edition only adds art.",{"category":166,"question":170,"answer":171},"How many players can play?","One to four. More players mean fewer cards each and more jesters in the deck; solo is played with eight cards and both jesters set aside.",{"category":173,"question":174,"answer":175},"turn","What if the tavern deck runs out?","Nothing: keep playing with the cards left in hand. You only lose if someone cannot pay an attack or cannot play a card or yield.",{"category":173,"question":177,"answer":178},"Can you always yield?","No. You may not yield if every other player yielded on their previous turn. Yielding goes straight to step 4, so you also take the attack without having dealt damage.",{"category":180,"question":181,"answer":182},"special","How do animal companions work?","Aces are worth 1 and can be played alone or paired with one other card that is not the jester. Paired with a card of the same suit, the power applies only once.",{"category":180,"question":184,"answer":185},"What happens to defeated royals?","They go to the discard pile, unless the damage was exact: then they go face down on top of the tavern deck and can be drawn. In hand a jack counts 10, a queen 15 and a king 20.",{"category":180,"question":187,"answer":188},"Does immunity cancel damage?","No. Immunity cancels the suit power, but the card's number always adds to the damage. Against the king of spades, spades do not reduce his attack, but they still hurt him.",{"category":190,"question":191,"answer":192},"scoring","Is there a score?","There are no points: you win or lose. To measure how well you played, look at how many jesters you spent and how many cards you had left at the end.",{"category":194,"question":195,"answer":196},"end","How does solo play work?","You play with an eight-card hand and the two jesters set aside. You may flip a jester to discard your hand and draw eight new cards, without counting as drawing for immunity, and only twice per game.",{"category":194,"question":198,"answer":199},"Is there a campaign?","The base game is a single session. For a campaign there is Regicide Legacy, with missions and cards added to the deck, but that is a different product and does not change the rules in this guide.","2026-10-24","en","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.regicidegame.com\u002Fhow-to-play\u002F",[204,205,206,207],"Hand management","Combos","Cooperative play","Suit powers",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fregicide",{"min":212,"max":213,"best":214},1,4,[25,215],3,"Badgers from Mars",{"pitch":218,"pitchCheck":219,"setup":225,"turn":283,"mistakes":350,"winning":378,"winningCheck":379},"Regicide is a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players played with a plain poker deck. The players are a team that must defeat twelve corrupted monarchs: the four jacks, then the four queens and finally the four kings. On your turn you play a card or a combo and its value becomes damage; the suit decides the power: clubs double the damage, spades cut the enemy's attack, hearts heal and diamonds draw cards. Then the enemy strikes and you must discard cards from hand to cover its attack. If you cannot, the whole team loses.",{"question":220,"options":221,"answer":53,"explanation":224},"What does a club do when you attack?",[222,223],"It doubles the card's damage","It reduces the enemy's attack","Clubs double damage; spades are the ones that act as a shield.",[226,236,246,260,270],{"text":227,"images":228,"check":230},"Separate the twelve face cards: four jacks, four queens and four kings. Shuffle the kings and leave them face down; on top, shuffle and place the queens; and on top of those, the jacks. That pile is the castle deck.",[229],{"src":89,"alt":90,"label":91},{"question":231,"options":232,"answer":53,"explanation":235},"In what order do the enemies appear?",[233,234],"Jacks, then queens, then kings","Kings, then queens, then jacks","The deck is stacked so the jacks come first and the kings last.",{"text":237,"images":238,"check":240},"Build the tavern deck from every number from 2 to 10, the four aces (which are animal companions here) and the jesters allowed by the player count. This is the deck you draw from all game.",[239],{"src":45,"alt":46,"label":47},{"question":241,"options":242,"answer":53,"explanation":245},"How many jesters go into a four-player game?",[243,244],"Two","None","Three players add one; four add two; one and two players add none.",{"text":247,"images":248,"check":254},"Reveal the top card of the castle deck: it will be a jack, and that is your first enemy. Put the reference card beside it: jack 10 attack \u002F 20 health, queen 15 \u002F 30, king 20 \u002F 40.",[249,250],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"src":251,"alt":252,"label":253},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fguia-ayuda-1.webp","Whole player aid, legible.","Player aid",{"question":255,"options":256,"answer":53,"explanation":259},"How much health does a queen have?",[257,258],"30","15","The queen attacks for 15 and takes 30 damage; the king goes up to 20 and 40.",{"text":261,"images":262,"check":264},"Deal cards up to each player's maximum hand size: eight for one, seven for two, six for three and five for four. The tavern deck stays in the middle with a shared discard pile beside it.",[263],{"src":129,"alt":130,"label":131},{"question":265,"options":266,"answer":53,"explanation":269},"How many cards does a two-player game use?",[267,268],"Seven","Five","Maximum hand size drops as players are added.",{"text":271,"images":272,"check":277},"The player who most recently committed regicide goes first, as the rulebook jokes. In practice pick someone at random and play clockwise.",[273],{"src":274,"alt":275,"label":276},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fguia-cenital-1.webp","Top-down view of the table at the setup point the step describes.","Table from above",{"question":278,"options":279,"answer":53,"explanation":282},"How is the starting player decided?",[280,281],"By the rulebook's joke, or at random","Whoever holds the most cards starts","Everyone has the same hand size, so the starting order is chosen light-heartedly.",[284,295,306,317,328,337],{"title":285,"text":286,"images":287,"check":289},"Step 1: play a card or yield","Put a card from your hand on the table: its number is the damage you deal. You may also yield, which sends you straight to step 4 without attacking or using any power.",[288],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":290,"options":291,"answer":53,"explanation":294},"What value does an ace have when attacking?",[292,293],"1","11","Aces are animal companions worth 1, though they can be paired up.",{"title":296,"text":297,"images":298,"check":300},"Step 2: trigger the suit power","The suit of the card you played resolves at its total value: clubs double the damage, spades reduce the enemy's attack, hearts heal and diamonds draw cards. Powers are mandatory and cannot be skipped.",[299],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":301,"options":302,"answer":53,"explanation":305},"Can you skip the suit power?",[303,304],"No, it is mandatory","Yes, if the enemy is immune","The power always applies; enemy immunity may cancel it, but you cannot choose.",{"title":307,"text":308,"images":309,"check":311},"Step 3: damage and check","Add the damage to the running total against that enemy. If it equals or beats their health, they fall: the enemy is discarded, so are all cards played against them, and the next enemy is revealed. Whoever defeated it skips step 4 and starts the turn against the new one.",[310],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":312,"options":313,"answer":53,"explanation":316},"What happens on exact damage?",[314,315],"The enemy goes face down on top of the tavern deck","The team wins the game","Exact damage adds the defeated royal to the deck, and those cards count 10, 15 or 20 in hand.",{"title":318,"text":319,"images":320,"check":322},"Step 4: suffer the attack","Discard cards from your hand totalling at least the enemy's attack, reduced by the spades played against them. Aces count 1 when discarded and the jester 0. If you cannot pay, you die and the whole team loses.",[321],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":323,"options":324,"answer":53,"explanation":327},"What pays for the enemy's damage?",[325,326],"Discarding cards from your hand","Hit points on a sheet","There is no health track: your hand is your life, and every attack is paid with cards.",{"title":329,"text":330,"images":331,"check":333},"Combos and companions","You may play two, three or four cards of the same number if they total 10 or less, and every suit power applies at the total value. Aces cannot join combos: they are only paired with one other card or another ace.",[332],{"src":60,"alt":61,"label":62},{"question":334,"options":335,"answer":53,"explanation":336},"What is the maximum total of a combo?",[7,258],"A combo of 5 and 5 is fine; 6 and 6 is not, because it makes 12.",{"title":338,"text":339,"images":340,"check":345},"Immunity and the jester","Every enemy is immune to the power of their own suit: against the jack of diamonds nobody draws, though the damage still counts. The jester cancels that immunity, skips steps 3 and 4 and chooses who plays next.",[341],{"src":342,"alt":343,"label":344},"\u002Fimages\u002Fgames\u002Fregicide\u002Fguia-mesa-1.webp","The table mid-turn, with the pieces the step mentions.","Table in play",{"question":144,"options":346,"answer":53,"explanation":349},[347,348],"Cancels the enemy's immunity and picks the next turn","Doubles the damage of the next card","It is the wildcard: no damage, but it opens the suit powers and controls the turn order.",[351,360,369],{"title":352,"text":353,"check":354},"Spending clubs for fun","A club doubles damage, but it is also a card you will not have to discard when an attack lands. New teams kill the first enemies fast and run out of hand exactly when the queens arrive.",{"question":355,"options":356,"answer":53,"explanation":359},"What does a club do?",[357,358],"Doubles its card's damage","Heals the player","Clubs double damage; hearts heal; spades shield; diamonds draw.",{"title":361,"text":362,"check":363},"Forgetting spades","Spades cut the enemy's attack cumulatively and last until that enemy falls. Against a king, two or three well-placed spades are worth more than a hand full of high numbers you cannot discard later.",{"question":364,"options":365,"answer":53,"explanation":368},"How long does a spade's shield last?",[366,367],"Until the enemy is defeated","Only that turn","The effect is cumulative and persists while the enemy stands.",{"title":370,"text":371,"check":372},"Talking too much","You may not say which cards you hold: only how many you have and how many remain in the deck. Any hint about suits or numbers breaks the game, because the team could then plan without uncertainty.",{"question":373,"options":374,"answer":53,"explanation":377},"What information may you share?",[375,376],"How many cards you have and how many are left in the deck","The numbers and suits in your hand","The rulebook allows quantities only, never contents.","The team wins by defeating the last king. It loses if a player cannot discard enough to cover an attack, or if it is their turn and they can neither play a card nor yield. Victories can be graded by the jesters spent: two jesters is a bronze victory, one is silver and none is gold.",{"question":380,"options":381,"answer":53,"explanation":384},"When does the team lose?",[382,383],"When someone cannot pay an attack or cannot play at all","When the tavern deck runs out","Running out of deck is not a loss: you keep playing with what is in hand.","Reglamento EN (Badgers from Mars, 2020)",{"title":5,"description":16},[388],"reglamentos-pdf\u002FRegicide_Rules_EN.pdf","The two-page official rulebook fits on the table: setup, the four steps of a turn, the suit powers, combos, animal companions, enemy immunity, the jester, communication, defeat and the solo variant.","en\u002Fregicide",[392,396,399,402,406,409,412,416,419],{"level":393,"title":394,"text":395},"beginner","Count the attack before you play","Before committing a card, check what the enemy attacks for and what you can pay afterwards. A big hit that empties your hand is worse than a small one that leaves you three cards for the next turn.",{"level":393,"title":397,"text":398},"Keep the aces","Animal companions are worth 1 when attacking, but they pair with a high card to trigger two powers at once. They also discard as 1 when paying damage, so they are not early plays.",{"level":393,"title":400,"text":401},"Shield before the storm","Against queens and kings, a spade played early reduces every following attack from that enemy. It is the best investment in the game.",{"level":403,"title":404,"text":405},"intermediate","Plan diamonds as a team","Diamonds draw cards in order and skip anyone with a full hand. Play diamonds when the others have room, and avoid handing out draws that get wasted.",{"level":403,"title":407,"text":408},"Exact damage is gold","Match the enemy's health exactly and the royal joins the tavern deck. A drawn king is worth 20 in hand and its power still works: look for the exact finish when you can.",{"level":403,"title":410,"text":411},"Do not waste the jester","The jester cancels immunity and chooses the turn order: it is the card that unlocks an enemy of the suit you cannot use. Save it for queens or kings, not the first jack.",{"level":413,"title":414,"text":415},"advanced","Build combos that total 10","Combos cap at 10, so small pairs and triples are how you trigger several powers at once. A triple of twos with diamonds draws six cards for three cards of hand.",{"level":413,"title":417,"text":418},"Spread the suits across the team","Since you cannot discuss cards, the team coordinates through counts and through what has already been played. If someone has spent all their clubs, everyone knows later damage depends on the rest.",{"level":413,"title":420,"text":421},"Manage the end of the deck","When few cards remain in the tavern deck, diamonds and hearts are worth less. At that point the game is decided by the cards already in hand: reach the kings holding cards, not hoping to draw.","One poker deck, twelve corrupted monarchs and a team: spend the right suits to topple the king without emptying your hand.",2.1,"2020","1gg4tKASf9UVAnJGvCeteXcaA0512njB1aa-Yw2-CMY",[],1792930450491]