
- BGG rating
- 7.4
Conan: Baal-pteor
- 2–5 players
- 60 min
- 2016

2016
Rules assistance for Conan
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Conan is a board game released in 2016 for 2–5 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Antoine Bauza, Frédéric Henry, Bruno Cathala, Ludovic Maublanc, Laurent Pouchain, Pascal Bernard, and Croc and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Player Elimination, and Area Movement.
Conan, based on the Conan universe by Robert E. Howard, is a scenario-based semi-cooperative asymmetric miniatures board game. One player is the Overlord, playing the opposition forces, and the other players play Conan and his companions: Shevatas the thief, Hadrathus the Priest/Sorcerer, Belit the pirate queen, Valeria the warrior, etc. The game is based purely on Robert E. Howard's novels and short stories. Each game is a scenario, played on a map. There are 4 maps included in the retail copy of the game, and each map can have several scenarios set on it. The game is fast, one hour approximately. It's possible to play several scenarios in a campaign, but you can also play each scenario individually. There are 9 scenarios in the base box. At the beginning of a scenario, players choose their team (Conan and two or three other heroes). The Overlord gathers all the miniatures (picts, Necromancer, skeleton warriors, monsters, etc.), tokens, and cards from the chosen scenario. The game usually plays in a limited number of turns (ten, for instance). Each scenario can have very different objectives. During their turn, the heroes can activate or rest. If they activate, they can spend "gems" from their energy pool to do all sorts of actions: move, fight (melee or distance), defend, pick a lock, reroll, etc. If they rest, they can move a lot of gems from their "spent" pool box to their "available" pool box. The Overlord plays differently. He uses a board with eight slidable tiles, plus his own Energy gems. Each tile corresponds to one unit (1 to 3 miniatures) on the game mat, and all of the miniature abilities are written on this tile (movement, armor, attack, special abilities). The tile position on the board corresponds to the numbers 1-8. The Overlord has a pool of energy gems and each time he activates one unit, he needs to spend a number of gems matching the tile placement. In a typical scenario, the heroes need to accomplish something and the Overlord wins if the heroes fail to reach their objective — but in some scenarios, the Overlord has his own objectives and the Heroes win if they prevent him from accomplishing his goal.
Conan supports 2–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Conan is 90 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Conan for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Conan has a complexity rating of 2.8 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Conan belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Adventure. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Player Elimination, and Area Movement. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Conan are: Antoine Bauza, Frédéric Henry, Bruno Cathala, Ludovic Maublanc, Laurent Pouchain, Pascal Bernard, and Croc. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Conan as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.