If you enjoy cooperative and deck-building board games, Aeon’s End might be just what you’re looking for. Designed for one to four players, the game puts you in control of powerful mages living in the last bastion of humanity—Gravehold. But Gravehold is on the brink of collapse, and it’s your job to defend it.
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The main threat comes from terrifying boss monsters known as the Nameless, or Nemeses. Your goal is to protect Gravehold while defeating the deadly Nemesis invading your home. Luckily, you have a team of skilled mages at your side. This guide covers setup, rules, and how to play.
Objective Of The Game
Aeon’s End is a cooperative deck-building game for one to four players. One of its most unique mechanics is that the player decks is never shuffled during play. To win the game, all you need to do is defeat the Nemesis.
However, there are two ways to lose. First, if all players’ characters become exhausted. Second, if Gravehold—your homeland—loses all its HP.
This guide covers the core game’s rules. Most big box expansions of Aeon’s End follow the same rules while introducing some new mechanics. The core game includes a total of four Nemeses.
How To Set Up Aeon’s End
Player Setup
First, each player selects a player mat, which represents their chosen mage. Then, each player picks a player number token from one to four—this choice doesn’t affect gameplay.
Next, look at your player mat. Find the cards listed under ‘Starting Hand’ and ‘Starting Deck.’ Separate them—your Starting Hand cards go directly into your hand, while your Starting Deck cards must be arranged in a specific order.
In the section labeled “Starting Deck” on the Player Mat, the card with the name on the far left should be on top, while the card on the far right should be at the bottom.
Place your deck in the ‘Deck’ area on the left side of your player mat.
The cards players start with have an ‘S’ symbol in the bottom-left corner. Cards without this symbol may be placed in the supply area.
Each player also takes Breach tiles numbered one through four and arranges them on their player mat, aligning them with their matching numbers. Depending on the symbols shown, you may need to rotate or flip your Breach tiles.
If the Breach icon is a fully yellow square, it starts as an ‘Opened Breach.’ If the icon has arrows pointing in a specific direction, it starts as a ‘Closed Breach,’ and you must rotate the tile accordingly.
Additionally, each player takes ten life tokens and places them in the designated area on their player mat. Finally, set the Gravehold Life Dial to 30. One player can be in charge of adjusting the dial whenever Gravehold’s HP changes.
Turn Order Deck Setup
You also need to set up the Turn Order Deck. To do this, add Turn Order cards based on the player number tokens chosen:
|
Player Count |
Instructions |
|---|---|
|
For a 2-player game: |
Shuffle two Turn Order cards for each player into the Turn Order Deck. |
|
For a 3-player game: |
Shuffle one Turn Order card for each player and one Wild Turn Order card into the Turn Order Deck. |
|
For a 4-player game: |
Shuffle one Turn Order card for each player into the Turn Order Deck. |
After this, regardless of the number of players, add two Nemesis cards to the Turn Order Deck and shuffle it. From this point on, you are not allowed to check the Turn Order Deck. It must always remain facedown.
When the Turn Order Deck is empty and a new Turn Order card needs to be drawn or revealed, shuffle all cards in the Turn Order discard pile and recreate the Turn Order Deck.
Nemesis Setup
Choose the Nemesis you will be facing and place its Nemesis Mat in the play area. Read its rules carefully. Then, set the Nemesis Life Dial according to the HP value shown on the Nemesis Mat. This HP value is located to the left of the Nemesis’s name.
Each Nemesis has unique cards, which can be identified by their name in the bottom left corner. Set these aside. Additionally, you will need to add some Basic Nemesis Cards to the deck. The Nemesis Deck consists of three different tiers of cards, which can be identified by the numbers one, two, and three in the bottom right corner. To build the Nemesis Deck:
- Separate the Nemesis-specific cards into three different piles based on their tier.
- Add Basic Nemesis Cards to each pile based on the number of players:
|
Player Count |
Basic Cards Added |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tier 1 |
Tier 2 |
Tier 3 |
|
|
1 Player |
1 |
3 |
7 |
|
2 Players |
3 |
5 |
7 |
|
3 Players |
5 |
6 |
7 |
|
4 Players |
8 |
7 |
7 |
After you add basic cards to the piles, shuffle each tier pile separately. To finalize the Nemesis Deck, place Tier Three cards at the bottom, followed by Tier Two cards in the middle, and Tier One cards on top.
Once the Nemesis Deck is built, do not shuffle it again.
Also, follow any additional setup instructions found on the back of the Nemesis Mat. Some Nemeses have Tier Zero cards. If this applies, follow the setup instructions for them accordingly.
Supply Setup
You need to set up the Supply, also known as the Market. The Supply consists of nine different piles, each containing multiple copies of the same card.
When setting up the Supply, you have two options:
- Use Randomizer Cards to create a randomized market. This makes the game more swingy and luck-dependent.
- Manually choose the cards without using Randomizer Cards. This allows for a more strategic and controlled game.
The Supply must include:
- Three different Gem piles.
- Two different Relic piles.
- Four different Spell piles.
Each pile should contain only copies of the same card, and all Supply piles must be face-up, never face-down.
Turn Order Overview
At the start of each turn, the top card of the Turn Order Deck is revealed:
- If a Nemesis Turn Order Card is drawn, the Nemesis takes its turn.
- If a Player Turn Order Card is drawn, the player matching the number on the card takes their turn.
Once the Nemesis or a player finishes their turn, the next Turn Order Card is revealed. This continues until the Turn Order Deck is empty. When a new card needs to be drawn but the deck is empty, the discard pile is shuffled to form a new Turn Order Deck.
Player Turn Sequence
|
Phase No |
Phase Name |
|---|---|
|
1 |
Casting Phase |
|
2 |
Main Phase (Actions in this phase can be taken in any order and any number of times.)
|
|
3 |
Draw Phase |
Casting Phase
If it’s your first turn, you won’t be able to do anything during the Casting Phase. The Casting Phase is related to the spells on the player’s breaches at the time:
- If there are spells on closed breaches, they must be cast.
- If there are spells on open breaches, casting them is optional.
You can cast spells at any time during the casting phase. After casting a spell, place it in the discard pile and apply the effect listed next to the “Cast:” keyword.
Keep in mind that unless stated otherwise, the damage from spells cannot be divided.
Specifically, Third and Fourth Breaches have the “+1 damage when cast” effect. When you cast a spell from these breaches, it deals one extra damage. However, even if the spell doesn’t deal damage, you still get the right to deal one damage.
The effects of the damage depend on the target:
- If you dealt damage to a minion, it loses life tokens equal to the damage dealt. If it runs out of life tokens, the minion is discarded.
- If you dealt damage to the Nemesis, subtract the damage from its life dial. If the Nemesis’s life reaches zero, you win the game.
Main Phase
During the Main Phase, you can perform any action in any order and as many times as you wish.
|
Player Action |
Instructions |
|---|---|
|
Play a gem or relic card |
When you play a gem or relic card, you must apply all the text on the card. If the card has the word “OR” written on it, and you can only choose one of the options, you must select the one you can perform. Gem cards give you aether, the currency of the game, which has no physical component. Instead, you need to track the aether you gain from the cards you play. Even if you don’t spend it, you can choose to gain aether by playing cards. The key thing to remember about aether is that it cannot be saved after your turn ends, and it cannot be given to other players. Place all the cards you played face-up in front of you, and at the end of your turn, place them in the discard pile in the order you wish after the Main Phase ends. |
|
Gain a card |
You can spend the aether you gained from gem cards or other effects to purchase a card from the supply pile. The cost of the cards is displayed in the top-right corner of each card in the supply pile. When you buy a card from the supply pile, place the card on top of your discard pile. |
|
Gain a charge |
You can spend two aether to gain a charge during your turn. You can continue gaining charges as long as you have enough aether. When you gain a charge, place it on your player mat. You cannot gain charges for other players by spending your aether. The maximum number of charges you can have is indicated on your player mat. You cannot gain more than what is available in the charge slots. If you have enough charges, you can spend them during the phase indicated on your player mat to use your mage’s special power. |
|
Focus a breach |
One of the things you can do during your turn is to focus a closed breach. The cost to focus a breach is located above the circular arrow symbol on the closed breach. When you focus a breach, rotate it 90 degrees clockwise. Focused breaches allow you to place spells on them during that turn. You cannot place spells on unfocused breaches. As long as you have enough aether, you can focus as many breaches as you wish. When you focus a breach with the yellow portion on top, it will open the breach. |
|
Open a breach |
To open a closed breach, pay the aether cost displayed on the top of the breach. The cost to open a breach will decrease as you focus breaches. Once a breach is opened, flip it over, and it will remain open for the rest of the game. You can now place spells on open breaches at any time. |
|
Prep a spell to a breach |
To prep a spell, you can place a spell card from your hand onto an opened breach or a closed breach that has been focused during this turn. A breach can only have one spell prepped at a time. Prepped spells can then be cast during the Casting Phase at the start of your turn. |
|
Resolve a “While prepped” effect |
Any “While prepped” effects on the spells you placed during your Main Phase can be used once during each of your Main Phases. If you didn’t cast that spell, you can still use the “While prepped” effect during your following Main Phase. |
|
Resolve a “TO DISCARD:” effect |
Some Nemesis power cards have the “To DISCARD” keyword. This provides an opportunity for you to discard those cards. By resolving the effect listed next to the “To DISCARD” keyword, you can discard those power cards. |
Draw Phase
After your main phase ends, you must place all the gem and relic cards you played in any order on the discard pile. Any cards you didn’t play will remain in your hand. You should never discard a card from your hand during your turn, and at the end of your turn, the cards in your hand are not discarded.
You may look at the discard pile at any time, but you must not look at your deck. Additionally, there is no maximum hand size in the game.
Then, draw cards from the draw pile to complete your hand to five cards. If there are no cards left in the draw pile, stop and flip the discard pile to create a new draw pile. Then, draw the necessary number of cards.
Remember, while playing Aeon’s End, you must never shuffle your deck.
Nemesis Turn Sequence
When a Nemesis turn order card is drawn from the turn order deck, it means it’s the Nemesis’s turn. The Nemesis turn is divided into two phases: the main phase and the draw phase.
Main Phase
During the Nemesis’s main phase, cards are played in order from the oldest card placed on the board to the newest one. Therefore, place the cards drawn from the Nemesis deck onto the board in a specific order and do not alter this order.
If a card has a ‘Persistent’ effect, resolve it. If a Power Card is revealed, remove a power token from it. If there are no power tokens left on the Power Card, trigger its effect.
Draw Phase
During this phase, draw a card from the Nemesis deck and reveal it. If you are required to draw a card and the Nemesis deck is empty, instead, the Nemesis triggers the Unleash effect three times.
|
Card Type |
Instructions |
|---|---|
|
Attack Card |
If the card you drew is an Attack card, trigger the effect listed on the card, then place it in the Nemesis discard pile. |
|
Minion Card |
If you draw a minion card with an “IMMEDIATELY” effect, trigger it as soon as it is drawn, and then place the specified amount of life tokens on the minion. |
|
Power Card |
Similarly, if you draw a Power card with an “IMMEDIATELY” effect, trigger it when drawn, and place the specified number of power tokens on the card. |
If a card’s effect cannot be fully resolved, do as much as you can. Additionally, if you cannot perform one of the two options on a card, choose the one you can do.
Do not confuse the Draw Phase with the Main Phase. ‘PERSISTENT’ effects are not triggered in this phase.
Exhaust, Explained
If a player has no life tokens left and their total is zero, that player is considered exhausted. If all players become exhausted, the game is lost. One of the best features of Aeon’s End is the absence of player elimination. However, when a player becomes exhausted, there are certain penalties:
- First, resolve the Nemesis’s Unleash effect twice.
- The exhausted player must destroy one of their breaches and return it to the box. If there is a spell on that breach, it is discarded.
- The exhausted player discards all charge tokens.
-
The exhausted player continues playing, but with some exceptions:
- They cannot gain life.
- Effects targeting the player with the lowest life do not affect exhausted players and they are exempt. In this case, the lowest life among the non-exhausted players is chosen.
- If the exhausted player is about to take damage, instead of taking the damage themselves, double the damage and deal it to Gravehold.
If a player is going to die from damage, any excess damage is also dealt to Gravehold, doubled. For example, if a player has one life left and takes five damage, the remaining four excess damage is doubled. Eight damage is then dealt to Gravehold.
How The Game Ends
The game will immediately end if one of the following conditions is met:
|
Condition |
Instruction |
|---|---|
|
Victory |
The Nemesis deck is empty, and there are no Minion or Power cards in play. |
|
The Nemesis reaches zero life. |
|
|
Defeat |
All players become exhausted. (their life reaches zero). |
|
Gravehold reaches zero life. |
How To Play Solo Mode
In solo mode, you can control multiple mages. In this case, you should set up the game according to the standard multiplayer setup. However, if you want to play with a single mage, you must adjust the Nemesis deck accordingly during setup.
When playing with a single mage:
- The turn order deck consists of three player turn order cards and two Nemesis turn order cards.
- You can target yourself with ally effects, even though these effects are normally meant to target other players.
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