Zoon Alternate Rules

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Zoon is a card game from West End Games. Fun cards, great price, poor game.

Rather than spend my time on a review, I'm instead offering alternate rules to use with those fun-looking cards.

1. Extra equipment needed:
   • A d6 for each player,
   • 12-15 pennies per player.
2. Use the set-up rules as written, except players turn all six cards in the front row face up in place once all 24 cards have been placed on the table. Place a penny showing "heads" on each face-up card, so it doesn't obscure either the movement or power.
3. When a card is lost due to combat, you must flip another card face up. You must always have at least six of your cards face up, unless you are reduced to five or fewer cards, in which case they're all face up. You may have more than six cards face up: if a card in the back row is involved in combat or moves out of the back row, it is turned face up for the remainder of the game.
4. Use the movement rules as written.
5. Combat:
   • Attacking is instigated as in the rules as written, but resolved differently.
   • When a penny is showing "heads" a piece has the combat value of the sum of the two numbers at the top of its card. When a penny is showing "tails" a piece has the combat value of the sum of the two numbers at the bottom of its card. After every combat, any piece involved in combat has its penny flipped to the opposite side.
   • Each player rolls a six-sided die (d6) and adds it to the current combat value of the piece. The higher total wins the combat. In case of a tie, the piece with the lowest combat value wins. (The Underdog rule.) If both pieces have the same combat value and the same die result, the combat is a draw.
   • If only one piece has a Star in its current combat value, the Star becomes the higher number of the opponent's current combat value. Ignore Stars if both sides have one in their current combat value. In case of a draw, follow the special rules on the tribe card.
   • If only one piece has an X in its current combat value, the X becomes the lower number of the opponent's current combat value. Ignore Xs if both sides have one in their current combat value.
   • Combat trumps with multiple uses are placed to the side of the board after their first use, in order to hold a penny. A trump's first usage is always as if its penny were showing "heads."
6. Game play otherwise is as in the rules.

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