War Time: Generals is a tactical tabletop card game where players take the role of battlefield commanders, deploying units, advancing across the front lines, and issuing orders in real time. Battles take place on a compact grid where positioning, timing, and strategy decide the outcome of the war. Each match challenges players to manage their energy, deploy troops wisely, and push through enemy defenses to threaten the opposing General. Whether you’re building a deck, commanding your army, or outmaneuvering your opponent, every decision on the battlefield matters.

Print Instructions

Print the card booklet twice to create two full decks.
Each battle deck should contain 20 cards, including 4 copies of each of the 5 unit types.

Each deck must also include 1 General card to complete a full playable War Time: Generals (WTG) deck.

RULES & GUIDELINES

War Time: Generals is a tactical battlefield card game where players command troops across a 3×3 battlefield to defeat the enemy General.

Objective

Defeat the enemy General or finish the battle with the most remaining General health.

1. Game Setup

Each player needs:

• 1 General card
• 1 deck of 20 cards (prototype size)

A *30-card format is currently being tested and may be implemented soon. Players may test games using either deck size.

Battlefield Layout

Each player controls a 3×3 battlefield grid.

Rows are divided into:

• Back Line – closest to you
• Middle Line
• Front Line – closest to the enemy

General Position

Your General does not occupy a grid tile.

Instead, it is placed in a floating tile above your Back Line.

• The General is always present on the battlefield
• Units that have range capable of reaching it may attack it

Starting Hand

1. Shuffle your deck
2. Draw 5 cards

Choose a starting player randomly.

2. Energy System

Energy represents your command resources for deploying troops.

Starting Energy

Each player begins with the starting energy listed on their General card.

Energy Growth

At the start of each rotation (your turn) you gain:

+1 Energy

Energy Limits

• Energy cannot exceed the maximum value listed on your General card
• Energy cannot go below 0

Energy Usage

Energy is currently used only for:

Deploying units/troops from your hand onto the battlefield.

3. Turn Structure

Players take turns in the following order.

1. Draw Phase

Draw 1 card from your deck.

If your deck is empty, you simply cannot draw a card and continue playing.

2. Deploy Phase

You may deploy units from your hand by paying their Energy cost.

Units are deployed onto valid spaces on your battlefield.

• A unit may only be deployed if the tile is legal and unoccupied
• Energy is reduced by the cost of the deployed unit

3. Move / Attack Phase

During this phase you may:

• Move units
• Attack with units

Important rules:

• Only the active player may attack during their turn
• Units attack from the tile they occupy
• Units remain on the battlefield until destroyed

Movement rules depend on the unit’s movement ability.

4. Tactical Phase (Optional Actions)

After resolving movement and attacks, the player may perform additional actions if possible.

The player may:

• Deploy additional units if they still have Energy remaining
• Move units that have not moved yet

This phase allows the player to continue using remaining resources if they have not already used them earlier in the turn.

5. End Turn

After completing actions, the player ends their turn and the opponent begins theirs.

7. Movement Rules

Units remain on their tile until a player chooses to move them during their turn.

Basic movement rules:

• Units move according to the movement value listed on their card
• A unit may normally move once per turn
• Units move to adjacent tiles

Movement Direction

Units may move:

• Forward (toward the enemy side of the battlefield)
• Left
• Right

Units cannot move backward unless a card ability specifically allows it.

This rule represents troops advancing across the battlefield toward the enemy General while shifting lanes to engage threats.

Movement and Attacking

A unit cannot attack during the same turn that it moved.

If a unit moves, it must wait until the next turn before it can attack, unless a card ability or effect allows it to attack after moving.

8. Stacking

Normally, only one unit may occupy a tile.

Units cannot stack unless one of the following conditions is met:

• The units are inside the opponent’s Front Line, or
• A card ability specifically allows stacking

9. Combat

Units attack only when a player commands them to attack during their turn.

Units do not attack automatically.

Important combat rules:

• Only the active player may attack during their turn
• Units attack from the tile they currently occupy
• Units remain on the battlefield until destroyed

Damage

When a unit attacks:

1. Determine the unit’s attack value
2. Apply that damage to the target’s health

If a unit’s health reaches 0, it is destroyed and placed in the discard pile.

10. Front Line Combat Rule

If a unit reaches the opponent’s Front Line, it may remain there without attacking.

However, if the defending player deploys a unit into that Front Line, the attacking unit must follow this rule:

• The attacking unit must target the enemy unit first
• The General cannot be targeted while an enemy unit occupies that Front Line space

Once the defending unit is destroyed or removed, the attacking unit may target the General again on a future attack.

Stacked Front Line Defense

If multiple enemy units are stacked in the same Front Line tile, the attacking player must:

• Choose one unit to attack

Only the selected unit receives damage, and the remaining stacked units are not affected by that attack unless card says otherwise.

11. Running Out of Cards

If a player cannot draw a card because their deck is empty:

• They do not lose the game
• They simply skip their draw phase and continue playing

12. End of Game

The game ends when:

• A General is defeated, or
• Both players have no units remaining on the battlefield

When the game ends:

• The General with the most remaining health wins

If both Generals have the same remaining health, the match ends in a stalemate (draw).

13. Quick Turn Summary

Each player’s turn follows this order:

1. Draw Phase – draw 1 card
2. Deploy Phase – spend Energy to deploy units
3. Move / Attack Phase – move units and attack
4. Tactical Phase – optionally deploy additional units or move units that have not moved yet
5. End Turn

War Time: Generals is currently in prototype testing. Rules may evolve as the game develops.

Play Field & Card Diagrams

War Time: Generals Card Layout

This diagram shows the key elements of a card.
Each card displays its name, rarity, health, energy values (for Generals), artwork, and abilities.
The sword icon identifies General cards, while cards without the sword represent units that can be deployed onto the battlefield.

Battlefield Setup

Players battle across a 3×3 battlefield grid while managing their deck, discard pile, and hand.
Units are deployed onto the grid and move forward, left, or right toward the enemy side. The objective is to break through the front lines and defeat the opposing General.

Alpha Version Notice

Thank you for taking the time to learn and play War Time: Generals.

This rule set represents Version Alpha 0.0.1 of the game. As the game continues to develop through testing and player feedback, rules, mechanics, and card designs may change in future versions.

Your support and playtesting help shape the future of the battlefield. Thank you for being part of the early stages of War Time: Generals, and we hope you enjoy commanding your forces and leading your General to victory.