Syniad POC - Game Rules

Overview

Syniad POC is a turn-based hexagonal grid strategy game where players command military units across a tactical battlefield. Each turn consists of two phases: Movement and Combat.

Turn Structure

The game follows this phase order:

1. Player 1 Movement Phase - Player 1 moves their units
2. Player 1 Combat Phase - Player 1 conducts attacks
3. Player 2 Movement Phase - Player 2 moves their units
4. Player 2 Combat Phase - Player 2 conducts attacks
5. Turn Increment - Turn number increases, cycle repeats

Movement Phase

Phase Start

• All units of the active player are set to "available" status
• Each unit's current position is recorded as its startingColumn and startingRow

Unit Selection

• Click on a hex containing your units to select the topmost unit (last unit in the array)
• Selected units have "selected" status and show their movement range
• If a unit with "moved" status is selected, it immediately returns to its starting position and becomes "available"

Movement

• Click a valid destination hex within the movement range
• Movement range is calculated based on terrain, rivers, roads, and enemy positions
• After moving, the unit has "moved" status
• Units cannot move to hexes with enemy units
• Units cannot move to hexes that already contain 10 units (maximum stack size)

Stack Rotation

• Right-click on a hex with multiple units to rotate the stack
• The top unit (last in array) moves to the bottom (first position)

Combat Phase

Phase Start

• All units of the active player are set to "available" status
• Each unit's current position is recorded as its starting position
• Action starts as "selectTarget"

Select Target

• Click on a hex containing enemy units to select it as the target
• The target hex is marked with an orange border
• Action changes to "selectAttacker"

Select Attacking Units

• Select units with "available" status that are adjacent to the target hex
• Units cannot attack if separated from the target by an unbridged river (river without a road)
• Selected attacking units have "attacking" status with orange borders and text
• Click the target hex again to transition to "resolveAttack" action

Resolve Attack

• Review combat details in the Control Panel
• Click Resolve to execute the attack, or Cancel to abort
• Cancel resets all attacking units to "available" and clears the target

Combat Resolution

Combat Point Calculation

• Attacking Units: Contribute double their combat strength (e.g., 7-point unit = 14 attacking points)
• Defending Units: Contribute their base combat strength (e.g., 7-point unit = 7 defending points)

Winner Determination

• Attacker wins if attackingPoints > defendingPoints
• Defender wins if defendingPoints >= attackingPoints (defender wins on tie)

Casualties (Probabilistic)

• Winning Side: 20% chance per combat point to be reduced
• Losing Side: 30% chance per combat point to be reduced
• Casualties are applied to each unit individually
• For each combat point, roll the appropriate chance - if successful, that point is lost
• Units with combatStrength < 1 after casualties are eliminated and removed from the game

Defender Retreat (when attacker wins)

If the attacker wins and defenders survive, defenders must retreat:

• Priority 1: Hex not adjacent to any enemy (except by unbridged river hexside)
• Priority 2: Hex adjacent to enemy (only used if no Priority 1 hexes available)
• If multiple hexes qualify at the same priority, one is randomly selected
• If no valid retreat hexes exist, all defending units are eliminated

Priority 2 Retreat Casualties

• Units retreating to Priority 2 hexes suffer double probabilistic reduction
• For each remaining combat point, roll twice with 30% chance each
• If either roll succeeds, that point is lost (outcome: 0 or 1 per point)
• Units may be eliminated during Priority 2 retreats

Attacking Unit Pursuit

• If attacker forces a retreat OR eliminates all defending units, surviving attacking units move into the target hex
• If 10 or fewer attacking units survive: All move into target hex
• If more than 10 attacking units survive: 10 units are randomly selected to move into target hex
• Remaining attacking units (if any) stay in their original positions
• Maximum stack size of 10 units is enforced

Unit Status After Combat

• All attacking units are set to "attacked" status (ineligible for further attacks this phase)
• Attacked units have black borders and text
• Defending units either retreat (if attacker wins) or remain at target hex (if defender wins)

Unit Stacking

• Maximum 10 units per hex
• Units cannot move to hexes that already contain 10 units
• Hexes with 10 units can still be used for pathfinding (as intermediate steps) but cannot be destination hexes
• Natural array order: index 0 = bottom of stack, last index = top of stack

Unit Status

Status	Description	Visual Indicator
available	Unit can be selected for movement or attack	White border and text
selected	Unit is selected (movement phase)	Yellow border and text
moved	Unit has moved this phase	Dark gray/black border and text
attacking	Unit is selected as an attacker	Orange border and text
attacked	Unit has attacked this phase (ineligible for further attacks)	Black border and text
unavailable	Unit belongs to inactive player	Dark gray/black border and text

Movement Range

• Movement range is calculated using pathfinding algorithms
• Terrain affects movement cost:
  • Clear or Town: 1 point
  • Mountain or Forest: 2 points
  • Swamp or Desert: 3 points
  • Water: Not allowed
• River crossing: +1 point (or +2 for Artillery)
• Road entry: Always 1 point regardless of terrain
• Units must stop when adjacent to enemy units (unless all enemies are separated by rivers)
• Enemy-occupied hexes are never valid destinations

Combat Details Panel

The Combat Details panel shows:

• Target Hex: Coordinates of the target
• Attacking Points: Total combat points from attacking units (doubled)
• Defending Points: Total combat points from defending units
• Combat Result (after resolution):
  • Winner (Attacker or Defender)
  • Attacker casualties and eliminated units
  • Defender casualties and eliminated units
  • Retreat information (if applicable)