Objectives
One sits on the line in each sector. During Assessment, score 1 VP for each you control—except on your first turn.
// COMMANDER'S FIELD GUIDE · RULES 0.6.0
Find them.
Fix them.
Break through.
A two-player card game of modern combined-arms warfare. Build your command network, expose enemy contacts, coordinate decisive attacks, and hold the line long enough to win.
01 // THE BRIEFING
Your mission is control.
You win immediately at 10 Victory Points. Control Objectives to score; destroying or overrunning enemy Headquarters awards 3 VP, but does not end the game by itself.
Presence per unit
Each non-Disrupted Maneuver formation in either Front position contributes 1 Presence.
Victory points
Greater Presence controls. A tie is contested and scores nothing. Reach ten and win immediately.
THE GAME IN 60 SECONDS
Deploy. Discover.
Destroy. Dominate.
- Deploy face-down Contacts.
- Move Maneuver units forward.
- Identify with Recon, Radar, or Satellite.
- Attack with ground, fires, air, or precision.
- Control Fronts and score Objectives.
02 // THE OPERATING AREA
Three sectors. Six ranks. One line.
Left, Center, and Right each run from one Rear to the other. Every position holds three ground formations and two Facilities. Air formations use Airbase capacity.
BLUE FORCE FORWARD ↓
LEFTCENTERRIGHT
◆ 1 VP◆ 1 VP◆ 1 VP
RED FORCE ↑ FORWARD
One adjacent position
A Ready ground formation Moves once, then Commits. Hostile ground blocks ordinary movement.
Fill the breach
After clearing an adjacent friendly-side position, the primary Maneuver attacker may enter it.
Cross the line
Cross from your Front into the empty opposing Front, or follow through after clearing it.
03 // COMMAND CYCLE
Four phases. Every turn.
Players alternate complete turns; one turn each makes a round.
Assessment
Resolve Overruns, score Objectives, check victory.
Preparation
Ready cards; take Recovery steps.
Operations
Draw automatically, then deploy, equip, move, sense, and attack in any order.
Sustainment
Resolve end effects and pass command.
CP
COMMAND POINTS ARE NOT A BANK
Generate them only when you pay.
Commit Ready operational Facilities as part of a declared cost. A hidden Facility supplies 1 CP; reveal it to use higher output. Excess is lost.
04 // ENGAGEMENT
Build the kill chain.
Normal attacks need an Identified target. Sensors expose Contacts; support, air defense, EW, and route denial shape the operation.
DIRECT ATTACK
Roll one d6 per Attack and Protection point.
Every 4+ is a success. Attack succeeds only with more successes; ties favor defense.
- Commit a Ready attacker and declare an Identified legal target.
- Optionally pay 1 CP for a Coordinated Assault supporter.
- Defender may Coordinate, then declare one Reaction.
- Attacker may answer that Reaction with one Countermeasure.
- Apply one effect; Coordinated Assault applies two on a margin of 2+ successes.
Command-Link Jamming and C2 +
For 2 CP, Ready EW may Commit to Jam one Identified formation in range. It cannot take Offensive Actions while the link is sustained, but it still defends, reacts, recovers, and provides Presence. Pay 2 CP or Commit a Ready same-sector C2 asset to break the link. Disrupting the EW source also ends it.
Interdiction Fires +
For 1 CP, Ready Fires may Commit and mark an enemy-occupied position in range. Voluntary movement entering or leaving it costs +1 CP until the source's next Preparation or its Disruption. Forced withdrawal is exempt.
Air strikes, bombers, GBAD, and interception +
Aircraft are hosted at Airbases. Before the ground attack, one eligible Fighter or GBAD Reaction may contest the sortie. With no participating defense, the strike gains +2 Attack dice. The Range 5 Long-Range Bomber attacks one Identified target from Rear to enemy Rear; Strategic Bombing Run is the separate two-target Operation.
Recovery and Reconstitution +
Each Preparation grants one free Recovery step. Restore missing Cohesion first; only at maximum Cohesion can a step remove Disruption. A fully restored formation in Reconstitution redeploys to friendly Rear for 1 CP.
Facilities and Overrun +
A hostile formation entering a Facility position reveals and Disrupts it. Recapture within one complete turn or it is destroyed at the occupier's next Assessment. Already-Disrupted Facilities are destroyed immediately.
04B // OPERATIONAL RESERVES
Generate the force. Hold the fires.
The defensive-tempo package is an active human-play experiment. It limits rapid force introduction while giving a prepared defender one finite opportunity to stop a Front entry.
One normal deployment
Deploy the first Formation normally. A second requires Ready Headquarters to Commit as part of that Formation's printed-cost CP payment. No third Formation deploys that turn.
One movement Reaction
When an enemy declares Front entry, reveal it. Once per opponent turn, eligible Ready Fires or Strike aircraft may attack before movement. Any combat effect aborts the paid, Committed movement.
Deny a narrow advantage
At the end of Operations, Commit Ready Headquarters to add 1 Presence where you have at least one and exactly one less than the enemy. The bonus expires after their next Assessment.
Prepared Interdiction and FASCAM compete for the action's single Reaction. A failed or aborted attack allows movement to complete.
05 // EXAMPLE OPERATION
Four turns at Center.
Follow one opening round and the start of the next. Watch Contacts become units, units take the Front, and reconnaissance unlock a strike.
BLUE RED ◆ CENTER OBJECTIVE ↻ COMMIT
TURN 1BLUE COMMAND0–0 VP
Establish the force.
CENTER SECTOREND OF TURN 1
HQREADY
◆CENTER OBJECTIVENO CONTROL
?INF · COMMITTED?DEPOT · COMMITTEDDEPLOYED ↓
HQCOMMITTED · 2 CP
- Assessment: Blue's first turn scores nothing.
- Operations: Blue's automatic draw is skipped. Headquarters generates 2 CP, then Blue deploys Light Infantry to Center Mid and a free Supply Depot. Both arrive face-down and Committed. Nothing is Ready, so Blue passes.
LESSON // Deploy today; activate after your next Preparation.
TURN 2RED COMMAND0–0 VP
Answer with reconnaissance.
CENTER SECTOREND OF TURN 2
HQCOMMITTED · 1 CP
?RECON · COMMITTED?DEPOT · COMMITTED↑ DEPLOYED
◆CENTER OBJECTIVENO CONTROL
?INF · COMMITTED?DEPOT · COMMITTED
HQCOMMITTED
- Operations: Red draws automatically. Headquarters generates 1 CP, then Red deploys Reconnaissance Squadron to Center Mid and a free Supply Depot. Red has no Ready formation and passes.
- Sustainment: Round 1 ends with no Presence at Center.
LESSON // One complete turn per player makes a round.
TURN 3BLUE COMMAND0–0 VP
Take the line.
CENTER SECTOREND OF TURN 3
HQREADY
?RECON · READY?DEPOT · READY
◆CENTER OBJECTIVEBLUE PRESENCE 1
LIGHT INFREVEALED · COMMITTED↑ MOVED FROM MID
?DEPOT · READY
HQREADY
- Preparation: Blue's deployed cards become Ready.
- Operations: Blue draws automatically, then Light Infantry Moves from Center Mid to Center Front. It reveals and Commits.
- Position: Blue now has 1 Presence, but scoring waits until Blue's next Assessment.
LESSON // Entering Front reveals a Contact. Committed Maneuver units still provide Presence.
TURN 4RED COMMAND0–0 VP
Find, then strike.
CENTER SECTOREND OF TURN 4
HQCOMMITTED · 1 CP
RECONOBSERVE · COMMITTEDROCKETSFIRED · COMMITTEDPRECISION FIRE ↓
◆CENTER OBJECTIVENO CONTROL
LIGHT INFDISRUPTED · NO PRESENCE✦
?DEPOT · READY
HQREADY
RED RECONObserve ↻identifies target
→RED ROCKETSAttack 46, 5, 3, 1 = 2
VSBLUE INFANTRYProtection 25, 2 = 1
- Preparation: Red's Recon becomes Ready.
- Operations: Recon Commits to Observe Blue's Contact. An already-Ready Rocket Artillery declares Precision Fires for 1 CP.
- Response: Blue has no eligible Reaction.
- Resolution: Attack wins 2 successes to 1. Blue Light Infantry becomes Disrupted and stops providing Presence.
LESSON // Identify before striking. A successful attack causes one base effect, regardless of margin.
Teaching note: Turn 4 assumes Rocket Artillery was already in play and Ready so the walkthrough can show the complete reconnaissance-to-strike chain. A newly deployed formation cannot act that turn.
06 // FORCE RECOGNITION
The 60-card reference force.
Both players use the same combined deck: 26 Formations, 20 Facilities, 6 Operations, and 8 Equipment.
Formation statistics: Attack · Protection · Cohesion · Range
Headquarters is placed during setup outside the deck. Counts and values are the v0.6.0 playtest baseline.
07 // FIELD REFERENCE
Ready for your first operation.
Setup checklist
- Secretly choose a friendly Rear for Headquarters; reveal both.
- Shuffle the 60-card deck and draw seven.
- Optionally take one full-hand mulligan.
- Randomly choose first player; they skip their first draw.
- No other cards begin in play.
Deployment limits
- Facilities: one/turn, friendly Mid or Rear, Contact + Committed.
- Ground Formations: friendly Mid, Contact + Committed.
- Air: at an operational Airbase, two per base.
- Equipment: one public attachment per Formation.
- Operations: one/turn, then discard.
Face-down and private.
Face-up and targetable.
May act, support, or react.
Turned 90° after use.
Turned 180°; combat-ineffective.
Cannot take Offensive Actions until the command link is restored.
BRIEFING COMPLETE
You have command.
Teach Objectives and ground maneuver first. Add air, precision Operations, and Equipment once the battlefield feels familiar.
Launch rules test bed