Greatsword Copyright JohnMStater

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GreatswordA Card Game of Medieval Hand‐to‐Hand Combat

Copyright John M. Stater, Illustration by Jon Kaufman

SUMMARY

Greatsword is a simple game that represents the back‐and‐forth, lunge‐and‐riposte and hack‐and‐hew

of medieval hand‐to‐hand combat using a standard deck of cards. The game assumes that the two

combatants are evenly matched physically and are using the same armor and weapons.

SET‐UP

Before you begin play, divide the deck of cards

into two decks. One deck is for the “black

suits” of CLUBS and SPADES, the other for the

“red suits” of HEARTS and DIAMONDS. In

Greatsword , black cards represent attacks and

red cards represent defenses. More

specifically, SPADES represent precision

cutting attacks and CLUBS forceful attacks,

while HEARTS are defenses against precision

attacks and DIAMONDS are defenses against

forceful attacks.

Once the deck is divided, shuffle each of the

smaller decks, which we call the Black Deck

and Red Deck. Each player now, in turn,

starting with the youngest, draws one card

from either deck into his hand. Each player

can choose a total of ten cards. The mix of

attack and

defense

cards

in

a person’s

hand

is

up to them, so long as the total number of

cards does not excee

d 10.

Now, each player draws one additional card

from either deck and places it face up in front

of them. The higher of the two cards



determines which player begins the game with initiative, i.e. on the attack. In Greatsword , an Ace counts

as “1”, a Jack as “11”, a Queen as “12” and a King as “13”. Thus, Ace is the lowest card and King is the

highest card.

PLAY

In play, each player will choose a card from their hand. These cards are compared and, depending on

what type of attack the attacker was attempting, one player is declared the winner of the round. The

other player is the loser and suffers the consequences.

In each round, the attacker and defender each draw one card from their hand and place it face down on

the table. The attacker then announces his attack (see below) and both players reveal their cards.

If the attacker’s card wins the round, he discards the card and draws a new card from either the Black or

Red Deck, putting it in his hand. He retains the initiative, and will attack again in the next round. The

defender discards

his

card

and

does

not

draw

a new

one.

If the defender’s card wins the round, he and the attacker both discard their cards and both re‐draw

new cards from either the Black or Red Deck. The defender now has the initiative, and will be the

attacker in the next round.

When one player runs out of cards, he has lost the match. He must immediately rise, uphold his drink

and toast his vanquisher, who then does the same, toasting the loser.

ATTACKS AND DEFENSES

There are eight possible attacks in Greatsword , and each one works a bit differently.

Attacks are classified as precise or forceful (i.e. SPADE or CLUB) and high or low.

• If an attacker is using a high attack, he must put down a card with a higher value than the

defender to win.

• If an attacker is using a low attack, he must put down a card with a lower value than the

defender to win.

• If an attacker uses a precise attack and his opponent plays a HEART, he loses the round. A

HEART always trumps a SPADE.

• If an attacker uses a forceful attack and his opponent plays a DIAMOND, he loses the round. A

DIAMOND always trumps a CLUB.



The basic attacks are as follows:

SPADE CLUB

HIGH Slice (abschneiden) Over‐Hew (oberhau)

LOW Stab (stechen) Under‐Hew (unterhau)

The game also uses four advanced attacks. To succeed with a high advanced attack, the attacker must

play a Jack, Queen or King. To succeed with a low advanced attack, the attacker must play an Ace, Two

or Three. On a successful advanced attack, the defender not only loses the card he played, but must also

discard one additional card from his hand, chosen by himself. The advanced attacks are as follows:

SPADE CLUB

HIGH Wrath‐Hew (zornhau) Squinting‐Hew (schielhau)

LOW Thwart‐Hew (zwerchhau) Crooked‐Hew (krumphau)

During play, an attacker cannot use two high attacks in a row or two low attacks in a row, he must

alternate between

high

or

low.

RED ATTACKS

A red card can be used to attack, if the attacker wishes. Red attacks are called “Bashes”, and are always

considered low, forceful attacks. If an attacker succeeds with a Bash, the defender does not lose a card

(i.e. they re‐draw a card in this round), but they must draw a red card and the attacker retains initiative.

BLACK DEFENSES

A black card can be used to defend, if the defender wishes. Black attacks are usually desperate gambits.

A black card does not trump anything, so the value of the card must beat the attack. If it does, play

proceeds as normally (i.e. both players draw new cards and initiative passes to the defender).

If the attacker, on the other hand, plays a card of the same suit as the defender, the defender’s weapon

is considered to have been sundered, and he automatically loses the match.

NOTE ON DEFENSES

The defenses

also

have

names,

though

there

is

no

need

to

use

those

names

in

play.

They

are

as

follows:

DIAMOND HEART

HIGH From‐Roof (von Tag) Ox (Ochs)

LOW Plough (Pflug) Fool ( Alber )

Greatsword Copyright JohnMStater

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