$ cat siege_manual.txt

// CLASSIFIED: FIELD OPERATIONS SIEGE

When two or more units storm a tile, the standard battle calculation is suspended. Instead, command plays out as a five-wave card game — a tactical duel of chips, multipliers, and gem-powered jokers. Win three waves, seize the land.

5 Waves Card Game Gem Jokers Event Cards Between-Wave Shop
//

OVERVIEW

Core rules at a glance

siege_rules.cfg
Parameter Value Notes
Trigger 2+ attacking units Single-unit attacks resolve immediately as normal combat
Waves per run 5 Each wave is a separate card play
Waves to win 3 of 5 Best of five — first to 3 wave wins captures the tile
Units per wave Up to 3 Choose which of your units to commit each wave
Shop stops After waves 1, 2, 4 Buy gem jokers and power cards between these waves
Event cards 2 drawn per wave Random modifiers applied to attacker and/or defender
Outcome (win) Tile captured All attacking units survive at full health
Outcome (loss) Attack repelled All attacking units survive at 1 HP — barely retreat
//

WAVE FLOW

What happens each wave

W1
Wave 1
2 event cards
drawn & revealed
▶
SHOP
S
Shop Stop
Buy jokers
& power cards
▶
W2
Wave 2
Trump affinity
revealed
▶
SHOP
S
Shop Stop
Restock may
vary by ante
▶
W3
Wave 3
Midpoint
no shop
▶
W4
Wave 4
Difficulty
scaling peaks
▶
SHOP
S
Shop Stop
Final chance
to buy
▶
W5
Wave 5
Hardest wave
+12 base chips
Win condition
3 wave wins required to capture the tile
Each wave step: Event cards are revealed → trump affinity is shown → you pick up to 3 units to commit → scores are calculated → result is shown → damage applied to losing units.
//

UNIT CARDS

Each unit maps to a card suit and base chip value

♦
Scout
Diamonds
3
base chips
Low base chips but shines with event synergies. Favorable Winds multiplies scout chips ×3. Best used when event cards favor speed over brute force.
♣
Spearman
Clubs
8
base chips
Reliable mid-tier. Gains bonus chips via Battle Rally (+3 per spearman in hand). Solid foundation for any wave composition.
♠
Swordsman
Spades
12
base chips
Highest raw chip value. Sharpened Steel shop card adds +10 chips to all swordsman plays. Your primary damage dealer.
♥
Ranger
Hearts
10
base chips
Second-highest chips. Mountain Fog doubles ranger chips while halving all others. Deadly in specific event conditions.
Trump Affinity: Each wave has a randomly selected gem affinity (ruby / emerald / sapphire). If you own a gem joker that matches the trump, that joker's chip value is multiplied by ×1.5. Plan your joker purchases around expected trump patterns.
//

GEM JOKERS

Persistent power-ups purchased in the shop — scale with rarity

💎
Ruby
Multiplier
Multiplies your final wave score. Applied after all chip additions — this is your biggest scaling lever for late-wave power spikes.
Common+25% mult
Rare+30% mult
Epic+37.5% mult
Legendary+50% mult
💚
Emerald
Flat Chips
Adds flat chips before the multiplier is applied. Consistent and reliable — best early purchases when you need a stable chip floor.
Common+10 chips
Rare+12 chips
Epic+15 chips
Legendary+20 chips
🔷
Sapphire
Initiative
Reveals one of the defender's cards before you commit your units. Information advantage — lets you counter-pick the optimal unit lineup.
CommonTier 1 reveal
RareTier 1.2 reveal
EpicTier 1.5 reveal
LegendaryTier 2 reveal
Stacking: You can own multiple gem jokers of the same or different types. Ruby multipliers are applied after all emerald chips are summed — stack both for explosive late-wave scores. The Wildfire event card doubles all ruby multiplier triggers for that wave.
//

SCORING

How attacker and defender chip scores are calculated

score_engine.py

Attacker Score

chips = sum(unit.base_chips)
+ emerald_jokers.flat_chips
+ event_card_modifiers
final = chips × ruby_joker.mult
> trump match adds ×1.5 to joker chips

Defender Score

base = 15
+ tile_level × 4
+ wall_level × 12
+ city_level × 10
+ defending_units.chips
+ wave_num × 3
final = base × terrain_mult
terrain_multipliers
Mountain×1.3
Forest×1.2
Water×1.1
Grassland×1.0
Desert×0.9
wave_damage_on_loss
Score gap ≤ 5 (close) −10 HP
Score gap 6–15 −30 HP
Score gap > 15 (crushed) −60 HP
Damage only applies to units you played in the lost wave. Held units take no damage.
//

EVENT CARDS

2 are drawn each wave — visible to you before you commit units

Attacker
Bread Morale
+10% to your wave score
Defender
Ambush
+8 chips to defender score
Modifier
Mountain Fog
Ranger chips ×2, all other unit chips ×0.5
Defender
Reinforced Wall
Wall bonus to defender ×1.5
Intel
Scouted Path
Defender score revealed before you choose units
Attacker
Siege Ladder
Wall defense negated entirely this wave
Modifier
Cold Night
Sapphire joker initiative doubled this wave
Hazard
Treachery
Your lowest-chip card plays for the defender instead
Attacker
Alliance Aid
+20 flat chips to your score
Modifier
Wildfire
Ruby mult jokers trigger twice this wave
Neutral
Clear Skies
No special conditions — pure skill
Attacker
Favorable Winds
Scout chips ×3 this wave
Hazard
Dark Omen
−5 chips from your score (minimum 1)
Attacker
Battle Rally
+3 chips per Spearman in your hand
Key insight: Event cards are revealed before you pick your units. Adapt your squad each wave — field heavy swordsmen on Clear Skies, pivot to rangers when Mountain Fog drops, and always consider benching your weakest unit when Treachery is active.
//

ANTE MODIFIERS

0 to 2 antes roll at siege start — persistent run-wide conditions

Standard Siege
No special conditions. The baseline run.
Fortified Target
Defender score +20% each wave. Walled or city tiles become significantly harder.
Hungry Troops
Played units lose 5 HP each wave regardless of outcome. Manage your unit health carefully.
Gem Rush
Shop offers epic gems at half price. A strong incentive to invest in jokers early.
The Long March
All units start at 70% health. You're already damaged — avoid playing low-HP units in risky waves.
Moonlit Siege
Sapphire is trump every wave. A sapphire joker becomes extremely powerful in this run.
Warlord's Blessing
Your Warfare tech bonus is doubled. Tech investment pays off doubly here.
Pyrrhic
Must win 4/5 waves to capture — but gold reward is doubled. High risk, high reward.
//

BETWEEN-WAVE SHOP

Opens after waves 1, 2, and 4 — spend 🪙 gold to buy power

Gem Joker Costs
Common 60 🪙
Rare 100 🪙
Epic 160 🪙
Legendary 280 🪙
Power Cards (one-time use)
Sharpened Steel
75 🪙
+10 chips to all Swordsman cards in the next wave. High-value if you have swordsmen in your lineup.
Signal Arrow
50 🪙
Reveals the defender's score before the next wave. Cheapest way to gain information advantage.
Rally Cry
100 🪙
All units recover 30 HP. Critical under Hungry Troops or The Long March antes.
Sabotage
150 🪙
Permanently removes 1 wall level from the defender for the rest of the run. Devastating against fortified tiles.
//

TACTICS

Field notes from the front

protect_your_units.txt
Protect Your Units

Units that die inside SIEGE respawn at 1 HP and can't fight for a while. Concede a wave rather than commit a wounded unit to certain death. A 2-3 wave loss is recoverable; losing your best swordsman is not.

read_the_events.txt
Read Events First

Events are revealed before unit selection. Never commit before reading them. Treachery is the most punishing — your weakest unit flips sides. On Treachery waves, bench your lowest-chip unit entirely and field your 3 strongest.

spend_early.txt
Spend Early, Win Late

Jokers carry over all 5 waves. A common emerald bought at wave 1 adds +10 chips in every subsequent wave. The shop after wave 4 is your last chance — if you have gold, use it. Hoarding gold during a SIEGE has no reward.