Using the En Garde Module

Module version 1.04. VASSAL version 1.3.4.3. This file last updated by Richard Wein, 18 April 2004.

En Garde is a fencing game designed by Reiner Knizia and published by AbacusSpiele.

The En Garde module for VASSAL is a fairly simple one. In mid-game the board will look like something like this:

Deck of Cards. The deck consists of 25 cards. At the start of a round, each player draws 5 cards from the deck to his hand. Draw a card by dragging it from the deck. Draws are always random, so there's no need to shuffle the deck. While a card remains face down, its owner can see the face of the card as an "inset" picture; the opponent does not see this.

Hands. Each player keeps his cards on one side of the board. There's no stacking. Just spread your cards out however you like, overlapping or not. To play a card, drag it to the middle of the board and then flip it over (right-click and select "Flip over"). Then drag it to the discard pile (next to to the deck).

Pieces. Each player has two pieces: one to represent a fencer on the piste and one to record his score (0 to 5). The pieces are black (on a white background) or white (on a black background). When moved these pieces snap to a grid, and their movement is reported in the chat window.

"New Round" button. Press this button to start a new round. All cards will be returned to the deck, and the fencers to their starting positions.