
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,406
- BGG rating
- 5.9
Dice Run
- 2–6 players
- 30 min
- Complexity 1.4/5
- 2002

2004
Rules assistance for Paladin
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Paladin is a board game released in 2004 for 3–5 players, 20 minutes per game, and ages 10 and up. It was designed by Spartaco Albertarelli and its main mechanics are Hand Management.
Theme Brave knights are gathering to plan their honourable endeavours and to find out who will be the bravest Paladin facing the most honourable missiona. Goal To collect as many honour points as possible by winning mission cards. Setup Each player gets 5 player tokens of one colour. The 18 mission cards are sorted into two stacks, according to their honour point values (1-6). Each stack is shuffled separately, then the stack with the lower value mission cards (queen's deck, values 1-3) is placed on top of the other (king's deck, values 4-6). Mission cards equal to the number of players are laid out, face up. The card dealer shuffles the 42 paladin cards and hands out 4-6 (depending on the number of players) cards to each player. Paladin cards have values from 0-9. Game play Each player, beginning with the start player, puts one of his/her paladin cards next to one of the mission cards, face down, and marks it with one of his/her player tokens. This paladin is called the leading paladin. When each mission card has a leading paladin, players continue playing cards clockwise until each player has placed a card beside each mission. Before placing a card, players may look at one of the cards another player has already placed. Each player can only play one paladin per mission. When each player has only one card left, the paladin cards are resolved, starting with the first mission and the first card that was placed there. Each player has the following options: Beat the leading paladin if your card has a higher value (or in case they are equal, if it is a red number). Take the face-down paladin card back on your hand. Discard the face-down paladin card. This continues until all cards at the first mission have been dealt with. The player whose card is the last to stay wins the mission and places it, together with the winning paladin card, in front of him/herself. The same is done for the other mission cards. The player with the fewest honour points is the dealer of the next round and hands out paladin cards until everyone has the same number of cards as in the first round. The dealer then lays out new mission cards and determines a start player. The game ends when there are not enough mission cards left for another round. Each player counts the honour points from the missions he/she won and adds bonus points for all paladin cards with red numbers that the/she has in front of him/herself. The player with the most points wins the game.
Paladin supports 3–5 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 Paladin is 20 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 Paladin for ages 10 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.
Paladin has a complexity rating of 1.3 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a 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.
Paladin belongs to these categories: Card Game. Its main mechanics are Hand Management. 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 Paladin are: Spartaco Albertarelli. 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 Paladin 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.