
- BGG rating
- 6.5
Orcs Must Die!: Unchained Edition – Hero Pack
- 1–4 players
- 90 min
- 2016

2016
Rules assistance for Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 1 player

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition is a board game released in 2016 for 1–4 players, 60–150 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Sandy Petersen and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Role Playing, and Modular Board.
The award winning game Orcs Must Die has made its way to the table top! Orcs Must Die: The Boardgame dares you to preserve your stronghold sieged by orcs. You have traps & weapons galore, and can team up with your friends to obliterate the nasty orcs and their grotesque allies. Orcs Must Die: The Boardgame includes scores of figures of favorite heroes, plus hordes of orcs, crossbow orcs, kobolds, gnolls, trolls, ogres, and more. Build an exciting fortress using a tile-based system, then watch as swarms of baddies plunge through your defenses to abolish your Rift. Orcs Must Die: The Boardgame actually consists of TWO separate games! One is based on the heroic Order, while the other is for the Unchained. Both are complete stand-alone games. In Order, you’ll play heroes such as Maximilian the War Mage, Gabriella the Redeemed Sorceress, and others, while fending off the villainous orc onslaught. In Unchained, you play opposing heroes, such as the Kobold King or Midnight the assassin, facing down assaults by human soldiers, lions, elves, bears, dwarfs, and the like. How Is It Played? First, you and your friends choose your heroes – each individual game supports 1-4 players, who must co-operate to survive the enemy onslaught. Each hero has his own individual sheet, with his unique characteristics, special ability, and his secret superpower, that he needs to save for just the right moment. He also comes with his own special figure and his own weapon cards that no one else has access to. When you think you are ready to go, choose a difficulty level, and a map – you can select one of the maps we’ve included, or create one of your own! A typical map is made up of from 4 to as many as 13 tiles (or even more, if you are inventing your own design). The game has a lot of pieces to play with, but the map itself is reasonably tight, and will fit just fine on a typical gaming (or dining room) table. Finally, the fight begins! Each turn, waves of orcs and other monsters move pitilessly through the map, relentlessly aiming for your poor Guardian, trying to destroy him and your Rift. You and your allies run around the map, placing traps in the various parts of your map, battling the invaders, and performing a host of other actions. You earn trophy skulls for killing your enemies, and these act as the game’s “cash” – spend them to buy new weapons, magic amulets, and a host of other items. You also can spend skulls to place traps, and to upgrade your Guardian, making him better-able to hold off the orcs, gnolls, and other enemies. But over time your enemies accrue in strength, too! You have to face three Onslaughts, and with each Onslaught, your foes increase in might. If you do not lay a solid groundwork for your defenses with upgrades and trap placements in the early part of the game, you may face doom later on! Combat is straightforward and fast – you roll various colored dice depending on what type of weapons and upgrades you own. Remove “killed” enemies from the map, only to see them replaced by new waves each turn. The fun continues. The game builds up over time to a crescendo of doom, in which the last few turns see you frantically try to finish off the final waves of the onslaught before your crippled Guardian is destroyed! Head-to-head play? If you or your friends own both the Order and Unchained versions of Orcs Must Die: The Boardgame , you can go head-to-head, pitting the regimented Order against the legions of the Unchained in an epic conflict. You and your friends will split into two teams – one side fights for the Order, and the other will control the Unchained. Each side has its own heroes, its own armies, its own Items, and its own traps. Your hero can defend your own citadel, or seek to lead your armies to victory inside the enemy lair. With friends to help, your faction can station heroes at both tasks, and even switch off duties. The game supports up to 4 players per side.
Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition supports 1–4 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 Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition is 60–150 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 Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition 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.
Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition has a complexity rating of 2.0 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.
Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition belongs to these categories: Fantasy, Fighting, and Video Game Theme. Its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Role Playing, and Modular Board. 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 Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition are: Sandy Petersen. 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 Orcs Must Die! The Board Game: Unchained Edition 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.