Gamehelpmicroforge

Overview & Goal

MicroForge is a strategic hex-based game of robotic armies, resource extraction, and expansion for 2 to 6 commanders. The objective is to be the first commander to reach 5 Victory Points . Victory Points are earned by fulfilling conditions and purchasing Mission cards .

Components & Units

Component	Visual	Power / Cost	Description
Bot		Power 1	Light robotic infantry. Transports and escorts raw resources. Starts with 3 on home tile (20 in supply).
Mech		Power 5	Heavy armored combat unit. Dominates battlefield combat (5 in supply).
Iron		Resource	Industrial metal ingot. Used to construct buildings and fabricate units.
Crystal		Resource	High-energy crystal. Combined with Iron to construct heavy Mechs.
Credit		Currency	Financial currency. Used for movement, operating buildings, trading, and buying Missions.
Victory Point		5 to win	Scored immediately when claiming completed Mission cards.
Extractor		1 Iron	Shared building (pool of 3 per player): placed on a tile with a deposit. Pay 1 Credit once per turn to extract 1 Iron or Crystal token.
Factory		2 Iron	Shared building (pool of 3 per player): placed in an open building socket. Pay 1 Credit once per turn to manufacture units.
Mission Card		5+ Credits	Objectives yielding 1 VP (Level 1) or 2 VP (Level 2) when claimed while conditions are met.
Port / Dock		Facility	Trading facility. Home Dock trades Bots & Iron; coastal Ports trade goods at market prices.

Setup & Board

• Board Size: The modular hexagon board uses 19 land tiles (radius 2) for 2–3 players, or 37 land tiles (radius 3) for 4–6 players.
• Home Tile: Each player starts on their designated colored home tile with 3 Bots, 2 Iron, and a Home Dock.
• Control: A player controls a hex only while one or more of their units (Bots or Mechs) occupy it. Buildings and trade access require current control.

Turn Sequence

At the start of your turn:

1. Collect Income: You receive 3 base Credits plus 1 additional Credit for every land hex you control.
2. Refresh Buildings: All buildings on hexes you control refresh and become ready for use this turn.

During your turn, you may perform any of the following actions in any order:

1. Movement & Transport

• Movement Cost: Moving any group of pieces costs 1 Credit per step , regardless of the number of pieces moving together.
• Paths: Units travel along connected roads across tile borders. Movement cannot cross blocked borders or pass through enemy units.
• Resource Transport: Raw resources (Iron and Crystal ) cannot move alone: you must have at least 1 Bot at the origin hex, and at least 1 Bot at the destination hex (or moving with the resources as an escort).
• Attacking: Moving Bots or Mechs into an enemy-controlled hex declares an attack. Attackers occupy the target hex with combat resolved at the end of your turn.

2. Operate Buildings

• Build: Spend Iron tokens standing on the target hex to construct a building from the shared pool into an open socket:
  • Extractor : Costs 1 Iron. Can only be built on a hex with a resource deposit.
  • Factory : Costs 2 Iron.
• Scrap Building: You may scrap an Extractor or Factory on a hex you control to return it to the supply and refund its Iron cost minus 1 (Factory refunds 1 Iron; Extractor refunds 0).
• Extract (Produce): Pay 1 Credit on a ready Extractor to produce 1 token of that hex's resource (Iron or Crystal ). Tokens appear on the hex.
• Manufacture: Pay 1 Credit on a ready Factory consuming goods on its hex to synthesize:
  • 1 Iron → 2 Bots , OR
  • 1 Iron + 1 Crystal → 1 Mech .

3. Market Trading

Trade at your Home Dock or at any coastal Port adjacent to a hex you control:

• Buy: Pay Credits to purchase goods, placing them on your trading hex.
• Sell: Sell units or resource tokens from your trading hex for Credits.
• Rules Variant (Option 100):
  • Basic (default): Fixed prices (Iron: 3, Crystal: 4, Bot: 5, Mech: 10 Credits). Every Port trades all 4 goods.
  • Advanced: Dynamic moving prices. Each trade shifts the item price by 1 (+1 when bought, -1 when sold) within min/max boundaries. Each Port only trades two specific goods.

4. Claim Mission Cards

• At most 1 Mission card may be bought per turn from the 5 face-up cards.
• Fee: Costs 5 Credits base plus 1 Credit for each Mission you have previously bought (5, 6, 7...).
• Fulfillment: If the mission's condition is met at the moment of purchase, it awards its Victory Points immediately (Level 1 cards award 1 VP, Level 2 cards award 2 VP) and is replaced from the deck.
• If the condition is not met, the Credits are spent and wasted with no reward.

5. Combat Resolution (End Turn)

When you click End turn, all attacks you declared are resolved target-by-target:

• Attack Power: Each Bot provides 1 Power; each Mech provides 5 Power.
• Targeting Order: Combat resolves against defending units from lightest to heaviest (Bots first, then Mechs).
• Pushing: Allocating 2× a defending unit's power pushes it back (e.g. 2 power pushes a Bot, 10 power pushes a Mech). The defender chooses an open or friendly adjacent hex for each pushed piece to retreat to. If no retreat path exists, the piece is destroyed.
• Destroying (Kill): Allocating 3× a defending unit's power completely destroys and removes that piece from the game.
• Outcome: If all defending units are eliminated or pushed away, your attacking units conquer and hold the hex. If any defending units remain, the attack fails and surviving attackers retreat back to their origin hexes.

Undo & Controls

• Undo: You can undo your actions during your turn using the Undo (one action) or Undo all (entire turn) action buttons before clicking End turn.

Winning the Game

• As soon as any commander reaches 5 Victory Points , the game concludes immediately!
• Tie-Breaker: Most remaining Credits breaks any tie (tracked in auxiliary score), followed by total manufactured mechs and bots.

Options & Preferences

• Rules (Option 100):
  • Basic (default): Fixed market prices; every Port opens all four goods.
  • Advanced: Market prices shift by 1 per item traded; every Port opens only two specific goods.
• Sound Effects (Preference 101): On (default) or Off.
• Player Panels & Tooltips: Hovering over panel statistics displays tooltips for Credits, completed Missions, Army size (Bots & Mechs), and expected income next turn.