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How to play
Grounded in Shadows Over Camelot's rulebook — cite-checked answers, not guesses.
Get a straight answer with the exact rulebook passage to back it up.
The easy-to-forget bits, straight from the rulebook.
Game end trigger
The game ends immediately if there are 12 Siege Engines surrounding Camelot, or 7 or more Black Swords on the Round Table, or all Loyal Knights (Traitor excepted) are dead.
12th Sword trigger
The game stops immediately after the first Action in which a 12th Sword is laid on the Round Table.
Ties
All ties in the game are always resolved in favor of the forces of Evil and the Traitor.
Sacrifice to zero Life
If sacrificing brings you down to zero Life points, you can perform one final Action but will die immediately thereafter, regardless of the Action's outcome.
Special Power use
With the exception of Percival and Kay, all other Knights may only use their Special Power during their respective Heroic Action phase.
First player
King Arthur begins the game; if he is not in play, the Knight played by the youngest player starts.
Card value revelation
You must never reveal or discuss the explicit values of cards in your hand, or volunteer any other specific game information not readily available to your fellow players.
To set up Shadows Over Camelot, follow these steps: **Board and Components:** * Place the Master gameboard of Camelot in the center of the table. * Punch out and lay out the Quests for Excalibur, the Holy Grail, and Lancelot & the Dragon next to the gameboard, with Lancelot's side face up. * Place the miniatures of Excalibur, the Holy Grail, and Lancelot's Armor on their respective spots on these Quests. * Place the 12 Siege Engines, 4 Saxons, 4 Picts, and 16 double-sided Swords in a Reserve next to the gameboard. **Player Setup:** * Randomly deal a Coat of Arms to each player. Each player introduces their Knight and its Special Power to the group. * Place your Coat of Arms face up next to you. * Place a six-sided die showing "4" on the spot reserved for it; this tracks your Knight's Life points. * Place your Knight's miniature on its designated seat at the Round Table. **Card Setup:** * Separate the cards into three piles: White, Black, and Loyalty. * Shuffle the Black cards into a draw pile and place them on the designated spot in Camelot. * From the White cards, give one Merlin card to each player. Then, shuffle the remaining White cards (including any remaining Merlin cards). Deal 5 White cards to each player, and place the remaining White cards in a draw pile on the designated spot in Camelot. * Shuffle all 8 Loyalty cards. Randomly give one Loyalty card to each player. Players secretly peek at their Loyalty card to discover their allegiance, then slide it face-down under their Coat of Arms. Any unused Loyalty cards are put face-down in the game's box, unseen. * *Note:* If you are playing with 3 players, refer to page 19 of the rulebook. **Beginning the Game:** * Each player selects one White card from their hand and places it face up on the Round Table. Players then discuss how to share these cards; a Knight may voluntarily take none, while others may pick up several. If there's a disagreement, the cards are shuffled and redistributed randomly. * King Arthur begins the game. If he is not in play, the Knight played by the youngest player starts.
On your turn, you must perform two steps: 1. **Progression of Evil:** You must choose one of the following three actions: * Draw a Black card and apply its effect. * Add a Siege Engine around Camelot. * Lose a Life point. After this step, check if the End of Game conditions have been reached. 2. **Heroic Actions:** You must perform one of five possible Heroic Actions. You may occasionally perform more, such as by sacrificing a Life point for a second Heroic Action, but you can never perform the same Heroic Action twice in the same turn. The available Heroic Actions are: * Move to a new Quest. * Perform an action related to the Quest you are on. * Play a Special White card. * Heal yourself. * Accuse another Knight (when permitted). After your Heroic Action(s), check if the End of Game conditions have been reached. If not, the game moves to the next player.
Rules summaries are AI-generated from the official rulebook and may contain mistakes — check the manual for anything critical.
The game can end in a few ways, determining different victors: **Loyal Knights Win** * If the game ends after a 12th Sword is laid on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table, the Loyal Knights win if the number of White Swords laid is strictly greater than the number of Black Swords. * Any Knight, including the Traitor, who dies during the game wins posthumously if their side ultimately wins. **Forces of Evil (and the Traitor) Win** The forces of Evil win if the Loyal Knights do not win. This can happen in a few ways: 1. **Premature Loss for Loyal Knights:** The game ends immediately with a loss for all Loyal Knights (meaning Evil wins) if any of the following conditions are met: * 12 [SIEGE ENGINE] Siege Engines surround Camelot [2a][4a]. * 7 or more Black Swords are on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table [2b][4b]. * All Loyal Knights (the Traitor excepted) are dead [2c][4c]. 2. **At 12th Sword Tally:** If the game ends after a 12th Sword is laid on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table, and the number of White Swords is not strictly greater than the number of Black Swords, then the forces of Evil win. * If the Traitor is alive and undetected when the 12th Sword is laid, they reveal their Loyalty card, and two White Swords on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table are turned to their Black side. The Traitor wins if the forces of Evil defeat the other Knights.
In Shadows Over Camelot, "scoring" (or determining victory/defeat) primarily depends on the Swords laid on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table when the game ends. Here's how it works: * **Game End Conditions** The game ends immediately if any of these conditions are met: * There are 12 [SIEGE ENGINE] Siege Engines surrounding Camelot. * There are 7 or more Black Swords on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table. * All loyal Knights (excluding the Traitor) are dead. * A 12th Sword is laid on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table. The game stops immediately after the first action in which the 12th Sword is laid. * **Tallying Swords** At the end of the game, the Black and White Swords on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table are tallied separately. * **Traitor's Influence** If the Traitor is still alive and undetected when the game stops after a 12th Sword is laid, they reveal their Loyalty card, and two White Swords on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table are then turned to their Black side. * **Determining Victory** * If the number of White Swords laid is strictly greater than the number of Black Swords, the loyal Knights win the game. * Otherwise, the forces of Evil win, along with their treacherous friend, if any. * **Posthumous Victory** Any Knight (including the Traitor) who dies during the game is considered to win a posthumous victory if the side they had pledged allegiance to wins the game.
The game can end in several ways: **When the game ends:** * The game ends immediately with a loss for all Loyal Knights if any of these conditions are met: * There are 12 [SIEGE ENGINE] Siege Engines surrounding Camelot. * There are 7 or more Black Swords on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table. * All Loyal Knights (except the Traitor) are dead. * The game also stops immediately after the first Action in which a 12th Sword is laid on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table. * A verification check for game end occurs between the two phases of each game turn. **How the game ends (determining victory or defeat):** * If the Traitor is still alive and undetected when the game stops due to the 12th Sword being laid, they reveal their Loyalty card, and two White Swords on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table are turned over to their Black side. * After the game ends, the Black and White Swords on the [ROUND TABLE SYMBOL] Round Table are tallied separately. * If the number of White Swords is strictly greater than the number of Black Swords, the Loyal Knights win. * Otherwise, the forces of Evil win, along with any treacherous friend. * Any Knight, including the Traitor, who died during the game is considered to win a posthumous victory if their pledged side wins the game.