How to Play a Round in The Grizzled: A Turn-by-Turn Beginner’s Guide

The Grizzled plunges you into the heart of World War I trench warfare, where survival hinges on teamwork and understanding. For new players, grasping the flow of a single round is crucial to mastering the game and leading your squad through the devastating conflict. This guide breaks down each phase of a round in The Grizzled, offering a clear, turn-by-turn explanation to help you navigate the emotional and strategic challenges ahead. Let’s walk through a typical round to understand how decisions shape your fate in this gripping cooperative experience.

Decoding a Round of The Grizzled: Phases and Flow

A round in The Grizzled is the fundamental unit of gameplay, representing a period of intense struggle and decision-making for your soldiers. Each round is divided into three distinct phases: the Mission Phase, the Withdrawal Phase, and the Morale Check Phase. Understanding each phase and how they interact is essential to strategizing and surviving the war. Let's explore each phase in detail.

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The Mission Phase: Embarking on a Perilous Turn

The Mission Phase is the heart of each round in The Grizzled. It's where players contribute cards, face challenges, and attempt to push through the hardships of war together. This phase begins with selecting a leader and unfolds through strategic card play.

Steps in the Mission Phase:

1. Leader Selection: The player designated as the leader for the round is determined by the rotation track. The leader token passes clockwise each round. The leader has a crucial role in managing the round and making key decisions, especially during the Withdrawal Phase.
2. Drawing Cards: Each player draws cards from The Peace Deck equal to the number of players plus one. This hand of cards will be used during the Mission Phase.
3. Playing Cards (Going on a Mission): Starting with the leader and moving clockwise, each player must choose to either go on a mission (play at least one card) or declare a withdrawal (pass for the round). Players going on a mission play cards from their hand face-down into the center of the table, forming the “mission pile”. You continue playing cards until either all players have withdrawn, or three identical threats (symbols) are visible in the mission pile.
4. Revealing and Resolving Cards: Once all players who are going on the mission have played their cards, the mission pile is revealed. The threats (symbols) on all played cards are now active and affect the group.

Key decisions in the Mission Phase:

• When to play cards?
• What cards to play?
• Reading non-verbal cues:

The Withdrawal Phase: Knowing When to Retreat

The Withdrawal Phase occurs immediately after the Mission Phase, but only if the mission did not fail during card play (i.e., three identical threats weren’t revealed). This phase gives players who went on the mission a chance to remove some of the accumulated threats by discarding Support cards.

Steps in the Withdrawal Phase:

1. Withdrawal Option: For each player who went on the mission, they have the option to withdraw (remove one threat symbol affecting them personally) by discarding a Support card from their hand. The leader decides the order in which players can withdraw.
2. Discarding Support Cards (Optional): Players who choose to withdraw discard a Support card and remove one of the visible threat symbols that matches a symbol on their Support cards.
3. Consequences of Not Withdrawing: Players who choose not to withdraw, or cannot withdraw (because they don’t have matching support cards, or choose not to discard them) must keep all the threat symbols that affect them that round. These threats will carry over to future rounds and accumulate on their personal player boards.

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Strategic decisions in the Withdrawal Phase:

• Should you withdraw?
• Which Support card to discard?
• Leader’s role in withdrawal order:

The Morale Check Phase: Gauging the Psychological Impact

The Morale Check Phase concludes each round and reflects the ongoing psychological toll of war on the soldiers. This phase involves drawing new threats and potentially resolving Hard Knocks that have accumulated on player boards.

Steps in the Morale Check Phase:

1. Drawing New Threats: For each player who successfully withdrew in the Withdrawal Phase, draw one Peace Card from the deck and add it face-up to the central play area as a new threat for everyone to manage in subsequent rounds.
2. Morale Check (Resolving Hard Knocks): Check each player's player board for accumulated Hard Knocks (face-up cards on their board). If a player has three identical Hard Knock symbols on their board, they suffer a morale breakdown. This means they must remove one Hard Knock card of their choice and give a Speech token to another player.
3. End of Round: The round ends, and the leader token passes to the next player clockwise, beginning a new round with the Mission Phase.

Key considerations in the Morale Check Phase:

• Balancing withdrawal and new threats:
• Managing Hard Knocks accumulation:
• Speech tokens as a resource:

Turn-by-Turn Breakdown of a Grizzled Round: A Quick Summary

To recap, here's a quick turn-by-turn breakdown of playing a round in The Grizzled:

1. Mission Phase:
   • Leader is determined.
   • Players draw cards.
   • Players take turns going on a mission (playing cards) or withdrawing.
   • Mission pile is revealed and threats are active.
   • Mission Phase ends if 3 identical threats appear or all players withdraw.
2. Withdrawal Phase (If Mission didn't fail):
   • Leader determines withdrawal order.
   • Players optionally discard Support cards to withdraw threats.
3. Morale Check Phase:
   • New threats are drawn for successful withdrawals.
   • Morale breakdowns are checked and resolved.
   • Round ends, leader token passes.

Conclusion: Mastering the Round, Mastering The Grizzled

Understanding how to play a round in The Grizzled is fundamental to success in this challenging and emotionally resonant game. By grasping the intricacies of the Mission, Withdrawal, and Morale Check phases, and the strategic decisions within each, you and your team will be better equipped to face the relentless hardships of war and strive for survival. Happy gaming, and may your squad endure!