- BGG rating
- 6.7
Guardians: Dagger Isle (Western Expansion)
- 1996
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,709
- BGG rating
- 6.4
Guardians
1995
Rules assistance for Guardians
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–4 players
- 45 min
- 12+
- Complexity 2.7/5
For 2 players
Rules assistant for Guardians
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Guardians is a board game released in 1995 for 2–4 players, 45 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Luke Peterschmidt and Keith Parkinson and its main mechanics are Secret Unit Deployment.
Expansions
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About the game
This CCG plays more like a board game than a card game. Each player starts with a Guardian, a very powerful creature with special abilities. In front of the Guardian you place a set of 3 stronghold cards. These are locations that give you bonuses. In front of these are 3 empty spaces that terrain cards will be placed. These will match up to the other players 3 empty spaces thus creating the board. Onto your stronghold you can place creatures under a shield to keep them hidden. Only creatures under a shield can move and they can move up to 2 spaces with some restrictions. There is a limit to what can be put under the shields so you can not make your army too big. When two armies met they battle. Combat is fairly detailed. Both players pick up their cards from under the shields to make a combat hand. Each player secretly chooses one creature and they are placed down on the table. The stronger then covers the weaker. This is repeated for each creature until only one player has creatures left in his hand. He can then assign these creatures to help any of the previous creatures placed. There are many modifiers involved and each stack of creatures must be checked for a winner. All losers are discarded. After determining each battle the total strength of each army is checked. The weaker army must then retreat or the attacker in case of a tie. To win you must either control all six of the lands between the strongholds, destroy 5 of the opponents shields or destroy the opposing Guardian. After the first release, a revised edition was published ('Guardians Revised Edition'). The game has three expansions, namely Dagger Isle Drifter's Nexus Necropolis Park
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- FPG
Questions and answers
Guardians supports 2–4 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 Guardians is 45 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 Guardians for ages 12 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.
Guardians has a complexity rating of 2.7 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.
Guardians belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Fighting. Its main mechanics are Secret Unit Deployment. 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 Guardians are: Luke Peterschmidt and Keith Parkinson. 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 Guardians 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.