
- BGG rank
- BGG #10,744
- BGG rating
- 6.6
Art of War: The Card Game
- 2 players
- 15 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2015

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

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Twelve Heroes is a board game released in 2016 for 2 players, 20–30 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Masato Uesugi and Takashi Sakaue and its main mechanics are Area Movement, Area Majority / Influence, and Pick-up and Deliver.
In the two-player game Twelve Heroes, players are landlords who lead twelve units and aim to obtain land cards which are located in three regions. These land cards give you victory points, and the first player who has gained seven points wins. Before the game begins, players choose twelve unit cards to construct a deck of their own. On your turn, you execute four phases: control, maintenance, income, and military. Military is the most important phase in a turn, during which you can muster, deploy, or move your units. You can also gain food. You consume action points to execute these actions. You need food to muster units and activate them. Managing food and maximizing synergies of units are the keys to winning the game. Publisher's summary: プレイヤーは領主となり、12枚のユニットを指揮して3つの地域に配置された土地カードの獲得を目指します。 土地カードには勝利点が記述されており、先に7勝利点を獲得したプレイヤーの勝利です。 ゲームの前に、プレイヤーは12枚のユニットカードからなる自分のデッキをつくります。 ゲームはターン性で、ターンは4つのフェイズ(支配・維持・収入・軍事)からなります。 ターンのメインとなる軍事フェイズでは、ユニットを召集・地域に派遣・地域から地域へ移動、という行動がとれます。また、食糧を直接的に入れることもできます。 これらの行動はアクションポイントによって実施されます。 ユニットの招集には食糧が必要であり、また、地域でユニットが活動するためにも食糧が必要となります。 食料のマネジメントとユニットのシナジーを最大化することがゲームのカギです。
Twelve Heroes supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for Twelve Heroes is 20–30 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 Twelve Heroes 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.
Twelve Heroes has a complexity rating of 2.5 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.
Twelve Heroes belongs to these categories: Card Game, Fantasy, and Territory Building. Its main mechanics are Area Movement, Area Majority / Influence, and Pick-up and Deliver. 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 Twelve Heroes are: Masato Uesugi and Takashi Sakaue. 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 Twelve Heroes 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.