Core Rules
Turf war for control of NeoLondon - 2 to 4 players
NeoWars is an elimination game. Reduce an opponent's active Overlord to 0 Health to score an Assassination - that player is immediately eliminated.
The last faction standing wins control of NeoLondon.
There are no alternate scoring victories (Turf percentage, points, etc.) in the current ruleset.
Seven syndicates contest NeoLondon. Each brings a distinct archetype and economic profile. Choose one faction deck of 45 cards before the game begins.
| Faction | Archetype | Playstyle |
|---|---|---|
| The Corp-Vamps | Vampires / Lords | Control and Taxing - manipulate resources, siphon life-energy, hide behind Subsidized Shields. |
| The Wire-Ghouls | Ghosts / Specters / Banshees | Disruption and Hacking - phase through defenses, force discards, glitch enemy cards. |
| Chrono-Elves | High Elves | Speed and Combo - extra actions, turn-order manipulation, high-precision strikes. |
| Mecha-Orks | Orcs / Goblins | Overwhelm and Momentum - massive attack, pierce shields, gain power from damage taken. |
| Code-Shamans | Cyber-Psychics / Puppeteers | Summons and Buffs - AI Totems, mind control, battlefield alteration. |
| Bio-Druids | Druids / Biohackers | Healing and Shapeshifting - massive HP, regeneration, Adaptation stat shifts. |
| Synth-Sirens | Sirens / Harpies / Changelings | Mind Control and Trickery - redirect attacks, copy abilities, temporary sway. |
Every faction balances three capital pools:
Resources - raw materials, bio-matter, chrome, hardware. Used for Buildings and Cyber-Mods.
Influence - social capital, street cred, Net presence. Used for Champions, Events, and hiring leverage.
Currency - digital credits and hard cash. Used for Edge-Runners, Mercenaries, ability payments, and upkeep.
Secretly select one of your three Overlords as your starting leader. Starting pools depend on Overlord type:
Production Overlord: 5 Resources / 2 Influence / 2 Currency.
Political Overlord: 2 Resources / 5 Influence / 2 Currency.
Capital Overlord: 2 Resources / 2 Influence / 5 Currency.
The other two Overlords are shuffled into your 45-card deck for mid-game swaps.
Maximum hand size is 5 cards.
Data-Scrapping (Burn): At any point on your turn, discard a card from hand to gain 1 Currency immediately.
Standard deck size is 45 cards:
Overlords (3) - 1 starts active; 2 in deck.
Champions (4-6) - unique elite lieutenants.
Edge-Runners (12-15) - non-unique backbone units.
Mercenaries (4-6) - shared neutral specialists (standard kits include 4).
Buildings (6-8) - Turf infrastructure.
Events & Incidents (8-10 combined) - typically 5 Events and 3 Incidents.
Cyber-Mods (4-5) - permanent unit upgrades.
Incidents - no cost; auto-resolve on draw.
Events - Influence; played from hand on your turn.
Buildings - Resources; constructed on your Turf.
Mercenaries - Currency.
Champions - Influence + Currency.
Edge-Runners - Currency.
Cyber-Mods - Resources; attach to Overlord, Champion, or Edge-Runner.
Overlord - free at start; mid-game swap by playing a drawn Overlord and discarding the active one.
Creatures (Champions, Edge-Runners, Mercenaries) die at 0 Health and go to the discard pile.
Buildings have structural Health; at 0 they are demolished and their benefits end.
The Overlord is a high-value field piece. At 0 Health, Assassination eliminates that player.
Confrontations are dice-based: Attack sets dice pools/modifiers; defense dice mitigate; net damage reduces Health.
Design TBD: exact dice mapping formulas and Turf/board adjacency layout are not fully specified in the core document.
Production - Resource income multiplier at Upkeep.
Political - Influence income multiplier at Upkeep.
Capital - Currency income multiplier at Upkeep.
Only one Overlord is active. Drawing and deploying a backup forces discard of the current Overlord and shifts your economic engine for the rest of the game.
1. Upkeep - Overlord passive income; building extortion/passives fire.
2. Draw - Draw 1 card. Incidents auto-resolve immediately.
3. Market & Deployment (Main 1) - Deploy units/buildings/mods; Black Market trades; Data-Scrap.
4. Confrontation - Attacks, Events, Raids (steal Resources/Influence/Currency after breaking defenses).
5. Tactical (Main 2) - Post-combat deploy/trade.
6. End Step - End-of-turn effects; enforce hand size 5; pass turn.
Overlord - commander and elimination target.
Champions - unique high-impact lieutenants (limited board presence).
Edge-Runners - cheap non-unique fodder, blockers, and building crew.
Mercenaries - neutral freelancers shared across factions.
Buildings - Turf structures with continuous benefits.
Events - player-timed tactical plays.
Incidents - automatic volatile draws.
Cyber-Mods - permanent attachments that boost stats or grant keywords.
Raids - after breaking defenses in Confrontation, steal from an opponent's pools.
Passive Extortion - buildings that drain neighbors each Upkeep; require dedicated Edge-Runners locked to the structure.
Partnership / Joint Venture - co-produce with an ally; also requires dedicated Edge-Runners.
Black Market - open trading of Resources, Influence, and Currency during turns.
Passive Extortion - Espionage Depots (Influence drain) and Theft Networks (Resource drain).
Black Marketplace - trade hubs that also reduce deploy costs.
Joint Venture - partnership co-production.
Booster - self-only production amplifiers.
Compliance Hub - movement/control restriction and local siphon.
Supports 2, 3, or 4 players.
Each player uses one faction deck (45 cards) including 4 shared Mercenaries.
Design TBD: first-player determination, starting Turf placement, and exact Overlord income multiplier values.