Unofficial guide by Ien Cheng (ghopper21 on BGG).

A GAME OF THRONES: MOTHER OF DRAGONS Exp - illustrated tutorial & cheat sheet Hi-res graphics version by Cristian Plesh
(SLO_Fila on BGG).

Your role:
Artwork © FFG, used with permission.
One of the great houses from the Game of Thrones vying for control of Westeros
Stark Greyjoy Lannister Tyrell Martell Baratheon Arryn Targaryen

Your goal: Targaryen: Claim a total of 7 Loyalty Tokens.

Others: Be first to control 7 strongholds and/or castles through combat – and cunning
… or have the most strongholds/castles/tokens after 10 rounds, with the number of
total land areas controlled, then supply limits then Iron Throne track being tiebreakers.
Orders: Each round, all houses secretly place at the same time one order for each area with their units Sea-Only orders:
March(*) (or sail) Defend area, Support battles Consolidate power Raid 1 adjacent area, i.e. - in addition to the basic ones. Only
into adjacent areas. i.e. add to in all adjacent i.e. get 1 power cancel enemy support, raid, valid in sea/port areas only.
Only one combat defense areas token plus 1 extra or power order. If raiding
per order. strength for each crown in power order, you get - and
Dragons can fly to area enemy loses - 1 power token
any land area. NOTE[*]: May not move into own Vassal’s area or viceversa. Vassal cannot move into another vassal’s area controlled by same player.
You can place special orders up to the number of stars you have on the Raven influence track
Muster in a
Can cancel
Extra attack Extra defense Extra support stronghold/castle Iron Bank Order is used to purchase a
enemy defense
strength strength strength area, or gain loan from the Iron Bank during “Resolve
order as well
power token(s) as Consolidate Power Order” step. Can be
normal raided but not pillaged. Cannot be used
NOTE: - Units from the same area can march their separate ways. If a move results in combat then first the non-combat move(s) is resolved, THEN the combat move. to consolidate power.
- Land raid orders cannot raid sea. Sea raid orders CAN raid land. Regular raid orders can raid special orders.

Combat(***): In any given battle, higher combat strength wins, with ties broken by position on the Sword
influence track. Combat strength is determined by
1. UNITS IN AREA: 2. ANY SUPPORT? 3. HOUSE CARD (you choose*): 4. TIDES OF BATTLE CARD (random**): 5. VALYRIAN STEEL BLADE?
Footman +1 Owner of supporting Character strength If a vassal battle: The unpredictability of war. Attacker then
on land units must declare - shuffle Vassal House defender draws a card. They add up to 3
which side (if any) to Cards, randomly pick 3. strength – often 0, rarely 3!
support. - play 1 of the chosen 3 They also can add swords,
Knight +2
on land cards. and even
Ships can support Either redraw Tides of
- end of battle reshuffle all (rarely) a skull icon
adjacent sea or land Battle card (before they
Ship +1 cards. that destroys one enemy
at sea areas. are revealed)
- if both vassal: Attacker unit even in defeat.
picks first 3, then defender. Or get +1 strength after all
Siege engine +4 when Land units can only Vassal battles do not use combat info revealed
attacking area with stronghold support land areas. ToB cards. Or get +1 strength for Vassal
or castle; otherwise 0
Players can gift Power after all combat info revealed
Dragon +X where The holder of blade can use
Tokens (during this
X depends on the
combat step only). it only once per round.
Dragon Strength marker
Order strength + or - In victory, each sword icon destroys one In defeat, each House characters often have unique
enemy unit (chosen by defeated player) icon negates one sword icon text abilities instead of icons.

Retreating: Mustering new units: Adjusting supply limits: [*] REUSING HOUSE CARDS
when defeated in combat when triggered by Westeros cards when triggered by Westeros cards After using a card, discard it.
Strongholds provide When all are discarded, recover
Some units may be destroyed by sword
2 mustering points all except the last one you used.
or skull icons (see above). Any defeated
units that are not destroyed are routed: You can inspect enemy’s house
Castles provide
Defender must retreat to a single adjacent 1 mustering point cards before either chooses.
controlled or empty area but not to
where the attack began from. Destroy Vassals can only muster in [**] USE TIDES OF BATTLE?
units if needed to make move legal. home area only.
Attacker must retreat to the area Decide together before the game
where it marched from. A new footman costs 1 point whether to play with Tides of
They are inactive (turned on their Your position on the supply track limits the number Battle cards. You can also lower
sides, with zero combat strength) for and size of armies you can have at any time. An army unpredictability, e.g. by removing
A new knight costs 2 points is 2 or more units in the same area. Each numbered flag the +3 and half of the +2 cards.
the rest of the round.
(1 to upgrade from footman) represents one army with that number of units (or less).
If there is nowhere for them to retreat, If you play with Tides of Battle
they are destroyed. A new ship costs 1 points Solitary units forage and do not count against limits. cards, always have the attacker
Routed units cannot be chosen as (muster to adjacent sea or port)
reshuffle the entire deck after a
casualties and they cannot move. The number of supply icons you control
A new seige engine costs 2 pts battle to ensure randomness.
Siege engines are automatically destroyed determines your new position on the supply
(1 to upgrade from footman) track when supply adjustment is triggered. [***] VASSAL WINS A BATTLE?
in defeat. Cannot be target for sword/skull.
Dragon units follow exact same retreat Note: - At no point in time is a player allowed to make an intentional action that would cause him to exceed the When a Vassal wins a battle, the
and routed rules. supply limit. If exceeding happens because of readjustment, immediately destroy extra units. player controlling the Vassal receives
- Dragon units cannot be mustered. a power token.
Ship transport: Ports: Rivers and islands: Garrisons:
to move land units across sea areas for using special tactics with ships i.e. special features of land areas for extra defense at home
Ports are separate areas in
Rivers can’t be
between sea and land areas
crossed…
that can hold up to three ships
(and no land units).

Ports interact with adjacent sea and land areas Each house starts with a
… unless there is
according to special rules: a bridge. garrison that provides extra
defensive combat strength in
Ships in port can always “go out” – i.e. march its home area.
into, support, or raid the sea area.
Islands function If you are ever defeated in
Ships in port cannot support or raid any land area. your home area, your garrison
as a single land
Ships in the sea area can only “go in” – i.e. unit within the is destroyed. You can never
Land units can move from one land area to another march into a port – if you control the land area. white lines. get it back!
land area that is connected only by sea via ship You can raid but not directly attack a port.
transport – as long as you have ships in each of
the connecting sea areas. Instead, when you take over the land area
Independent houses:
next to a port, you can destroy or convert (into To take over an independent area, attack with enough
Ship transport can be used for march orders and your own ship) any enemy ship in that port. strength to at least match that house’s printed strength.
retreats, not for support.
You can consolidate power in a controlled port Don’t use house cards or Tides of Battle cards. Can’t use
All you need is one ship in each sea area – even a if you also control the sea area (i.e. free trade). blade. Support for the independent house not allowed.
routed ship – to transport one or more land units.
Ports must get order tokens like any other area.

At unpredictable moments, you must bid for position on the three Maintaining control:
In land areas you vacate
tracks: using your power tokens to gain When you vacate a land area, you can
political, military, and logistical power in the realm. Vassals do not bid. leave behind a power token (if you have
one), allowing you to maintain control.
Dominance tokens always go to highest Vassals automatically leave a power token.
When influence bidding is triggered by a Westeros card, everyone,
active player. Vassals are skipped.
including Targaryen, must bid on the Throne, Blade, and Raven You never get the token back. If an enemy
The Throne track determines turn order tracks, in order of the tracks. Vassals do not bid. marches in, the token is discarded.
i.e. higher goes first. Top bidder also gets To bid, hold zero or more power tokens in a closed hand, then all When attacking with all units, you must decide
the Throne token which means you reveal at once. Targaryen now chooses who to give (can split) their whether to leave a token behind before combat.
break all power token ties, i.e. when power to. May also choose any Vassal. Discard any tokens you bid
bidding for influence and Wildling attacks. and reorder houses on the relevant track based on who bid the most. Fighting off the Wildlings:
when attacks are triggered by Westeros cards
The Blade track determines combat ties, To beat the Wildlings, players must collectively
i.e. higher wins. Top bidder also gets the contribute enough power tokens to at least match
Blade token which you can use once the current number on the Wildling track .
per round for +1 combat strength or to
redraw your Tides of Battle card before
they are revealed.

The Raven track determines available Players should announce the number of power tokens they have Bid with closed fists, then all reveal. Then the group
special orders, i.e. one per star each before secretly bidding. draws the top Wildling card to see what happens.
round. Top bidder also gets the Raven
Ties for the Throne track are broken by the existing holder of the
token which you can use once per If the Wildlings are beaten (enough tokens):
round to swap in an unused order token throne token, not the new one about to be crowned. Ties for the
other tracks are broken by the new Throne token holder. The highest contributor gets the printed benefit
when orders are revealed, or to peek at the
top Wildling card and optionally bury it at Once used, the blade and raven tokens are flipped over to indicate The Wildling track is reset to 0
the bottom of the deck. they are unavailable for the rest of the current game round.
If the Wildlings are not beaten (not enough tokens):

Game The game last up to 10 rounds. Here’s what happens each round: First, the lowest bidder suffers an extra painful
consequence, as printed on the card.
rounds: 1. DRAW WESTEROS CARDS: 2. PLACE ORDER TOKENS:
Everyone else also suffers a bad consequence.
The Wildling track is moved back by 2 spaces
This step is skipped on the first round. At the same time, all players secretly place (i.e. face down) one
order token for each area that has at least one of their units. As with influence track bidding, when fighting
The top card from the 4 Westeros decks
Wildlings players should announce the number of
(I, II, III, IV) is drawn and resolved, in order. 3. RESOLVE ORDER TOKENS: power tokens they have before secretly bidding.
Immediately resolve Winter Is Coming card. All players reveal their orders, i.e. turn them face up. Vassals do not bid. Cannot receive penalties or rewards.
After each Westeros card is
revealed, the Wildling track is
As a special move, the raven token holder either replaces an Setting up:
order or peeks-at-and-optionally-buries the top Wildling card.
advanced one spot for each card Players choose or randomly pick houses
that has a Wildling icon. Then resolve all raid orders…
Follow setup instructions inside player/vassal screens
These cards trigger key events, including … then all march orders…
Every player starts with 7 power tokens
mustering, supply limit adjustment, … and finally all consolidate power orders.
Place King’s Landing independent token.
bidding for influence, placing Targaryen loyalty Resolve 1 token per player in throne track turn order and then cycle
tokens and Wildling attacks. Shuffle the Westeros, Wildling, and (if used) Tides
through again as needed. Players can ignore their own orders.
of Battle decks
Whenever the Wildling track reaches the Keep track of who’s winning with the victory track. Keep track of
highest position (12), a Wildling attack Consult rule book for claiming and commanding Vassals
game rounds with the hourglass token on the game round track. and how to use Iron Bank.
automatically happens!

Further Outside of combat, players can gift Power Tokens at any moment. In this case, player giving away puts his token(s) in the discard pool and the player receiving grabs an equal amount
of his own. (Players can refuse).
notes: While land areas connected by ship are considered adjacent for purposes of marching and retreating, they are not considered adjacent for any other purpose (raid or support).
If a player chooses not to, or cannot, leave a Power token behind when vacating an enemy player's home area, control of that home area immediately reverts back to its original House.