Instructions
Contents: Basic Rules | Shortcuts | Interface Descriptions | Network Games | FAQs & Tips
Basic Rules
• Capture all the enemy HQs on the map to win! (or Flags in CTF maps)

• Pawns are better for defence (and cheap cannon fodder).

• Knights are better for attacks, and can move 2 distance.

• Recruit new units each turn into your HQ(s).

• Bonuses button reveals the value of each territory. Conquer more territories to earn more income.

Teams
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 Many maps in Lux Alliance are team maps. You can view who is on your team by looking at the symbol column of the Player Info (PI) display. Players with the same symbol are on the same team.

Team mates can coordinate attacks and can co-occupy the same spaces and continents. But you can not build units in a teammates HQ.

Player Info (PI) Display

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The Player Info display shows columns as follows:
- player color and team (same team symbol on the same team)
- scenario character
- player name or AI name
- territories owned
- armies (total § value of all armies)
- income (how much § earned per turn)
TIP: Click and drag the PI display to move it.
TIP: Right click the AI name in the PI display to change AIs during single-player games.
§ Money & Economy
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Each territory on the map has a bonus value. Owning a territory will give you § money equal to the bonus value of that space.

Some spaces are grouped together to form "continents" with an extra bonus value. Occupying every territory of a continent will give you § equal to the bonus value of the continent.

You use § money to recruit more units. You can see the bonus values of each territory and continent by clicking the "Bonuses" button at the bottom of the game window. Beside each value on the bonuses screen is the team symbol that currently owns said space or continent.
TIP: If you and your teammates share an entire continent, you will share the continent bonus!
Units
In most Lux Alliance maps there are 3 units: Pawn, Knight, and HQ.

HQ
HQs allow you to recruit new units into their territory. HQs also provide an extra defensive bonus. Captured HQs are not destroyed, they can be used by the new owner. In order to build a new HQ, a space must have a minimum of 5 units. The HQ is the most expensive unit, costing §80 each.

Pawn
Pawns have a strong defensive value, but a weak attack. They are still useful cannon fodder to support knights in attacks. Each pawn can move one space per turn. Pawns cost §3 each.

Knight
Knights have a strong attack, but a weak defence. Each knight can move 2 spaces per turn, provided the first space is friendly or empty. Knights cost §5 each.

Gameplay
Each turn is comprised of moving your units, and recruiting new units. Every player takes their turn at the same time, independently of each other.
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Recruiting
You may recruit new units anytime during your turn. Click on one of your HQs or press the "Recruit" button at the bottom of the map to open the recruit panel. This panel shows you how much § money you currently have.

Click on the unit you want to recruit, then click the space on the map where you want to place that unit. Remember, pawns and knights can only be recruited to spaces with a HQ, and a HQ can only be recruited to spaces with at least 5 units occupying it.

WARNING: Newly recruited units will not become active in your HQ space until the beginning of the next turn.
If your HQ gets conquered, any units being recruited there are lost forever.

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Moving and Attacking
Click on the unit you want to move, then click the space you want to move them to, and a single unit will be ordered there.

TIP: Right-click to move all of the current selected units at once.

TIP: Hold the control key to move 5 units, or the option key for 10.

A red movement arrow indicates an attack. A green arrow indicates a friendly or defensive move.

To undo a move or attack, right-click on the movement arrow.
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Conflict Resolution
Click the "Finished" button at the bottom of the game window when you have finished your moves and recruiting for the round.

When every player is finished, it will trigger the conflict resolution phase. Battles are resolved by the game according to the attack/defend values of the units involved.

When all battles have been resolved, a new turn will begin again. This continues until one team owns all the HQs on the map, wherein they win the game!


 

Shortcuts

• Right-click order arrows to undo orders
This includes both movement arrows and recruit arrows.

• Control-click to order 5 units

• Option-click to order 10 units

• Control-Option-click to order 50 units

• Shift-click to order all selected units

• Z-click to order all-but-one-unit

• `-click to order all-but-one-unit

• When ordering large army groups, hold a number key (2-9) and click on countries to divide your armies into equal parts. For example, after selecting an army, holding the 3 key and clicking on a country will move 1/3 of your army to that country.

• Command-B to show/hide map bonuses

• Command-R to show/hide the recruit panel

• Command-E to finish your moves
TIP: Look under the Map and Game menus for more commands and shortcuts.

Main Menu Interface
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1: Select the map to play on.

2: Open the map manager, where you can install new maps.

3: Select your desired player, and the difficulty setting. Choosing a difficulty heading such as "Hard" will randomly distribute all the hard AIs to fill the remaining player slots on the map. If you choose a particular AI such as "polymath" then all remaining player slots will be the "polymath" AI.

4: The Achievements window tracks all of your wins, losses, and current rank.

5: Open the preferences window.

6: The Map Editor allows you to create and edit maps.

7: Open the Online Game Tracker where you can join multi-player games.

8: Start a new game!
Map Manager
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The Map Manager gives access to over 100 maps available to download into the game. Use the map sets drop down to browse particular categories or use the search field if you are looking for something specific.

To install or update a map simply select it and press the "Install" button at the bottom of the window.

To remove a map, select it and the install button will turn to a "Remove" button. Click it and the selected map will be removed from Lux Alliance.

You can also rate maps here to tell those hard working cartographers what you like and don't like.
Preferences
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The preferences window provides several settings to optimize the Lux Alliance experience for your liking.

If you have the "Allow network players to join" box checked then starting a new game will start a multi-player "host" where other users can join. You may need to configure your internet and port forwarding settings.

If you have the "Advertise network games internet-wide" box checked then your "host" will appear in the Online Game Tracker and anyone from around the world can join. If it is unchecked then only people you provide your IP address to will be able to join your host.

The battle speed slider effects how fast the conflict resolution phase of the game takes.

 
Network Games Listing
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This is the Online Game Tracker.

The main table displays all the online games currently being advertised. To join a game, select it in the table and click "Join Game."

The first column of the table will display a little icon if you are already a player in that room.

The "Connected" column shows how many users are currently in the room at the moment.

The "Humans" column shows how many of the maps player slots are being played by humans. For example if the Humans column reads "2/5" it means that of the 5 available players slots on the map, 2 have been occupied by human players, the other 3 are currently AIs and could be filled by other humans at any time.

The "Turn Time" column shows the round length. A display reading "10/16 hours" means that the room has rounds that last up to 16 hours and there are 10 hours left in the current round. If all players finish their moves before the 16 hours is up, then the round moves on and the clock is reset. A turn time reading of "1.5 minutes" means each round only lasts a minute and a half.

A room in red means that you are a player in that room and you have moves to make for the current round.

A room that is in green means that there are available player slots open.

To join a private game, type the IP address in the "Private game address" box then press "Join Game."

WARNING: In order to join an advertised game the Private Game box must be empty.

Playing Online
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When you join or launch an online network game you will be provided with 2 chat boxes beside the map.

The first chat area is for public chat between all players. The second chat are is for team-chat, and con only be seen by your team-mates. Team chat is shown in green.

To join an open slot you can type /play (optionally followed by the name of the open position you would like to play). This will replace the AI player with yourself. Typing only /play will randomly assign you to one of the open positions available.
TIP: Use the ESCAPE key to autocomplete player names.

After you have made all your moves press the "Finished moves" button. If the game has a long turn timer, such as 16 hours, then you can leave the game and come back later. When you close the window to leave the room a message will pop up asking "what should happen to your player?" Click the "I'll be Back" button if you plan on returning. Click "Bot Takeover" button if you don't plan on returning and you want the position to be reassigned to an AI player.

If you are playing in the current game and feel as if there's no way you can win, type /surrender to raise the white flag and give the win to your opponent(s).
TIP: Type / and then press the ESCAPE key on your keyboard to explore other available chat commands.

FAQs & Tips

• When a HQ gets attacked, do the units being recruited there take part in the defense?
No. Units only get recruited into HQs after all battles have been resolved. If a HQ gets conquered any units recruiting there that turn are lost forever.

• Can my Knights use their attack value when traveling into a battle in a friendly country?
No. If your team owns the country at the start of the round, your units can only defend there. Knights only use their attack value when moving into a country that is owned by the enemy.

• When 2 allies attack the same country in the same move how is the battle run, and who controls the country after the battle?
The attacking allies will be grouped together and collectively fight the defenders. The player with the most surviving units will take ownership of the country after the battle.

• If there is no defender in a country and 3 separate teams attack it, does one get designated as the 'defender'?
No, they will all use attack values.

• If enemy players A and B both attack a country owned by player C, how are the battles figured?
A and B will both attack the defender to start with, with the defender fighting against both of them at the same time. If the defender gets eliminated then A and B attack each others forces until only 1 player is left.

• Can I give-up and see the end graph of the game?
Under the Game menu you have the option to Surrender.

• Can I preview the results of a battle?
The Battle Odds Calculator can help you judge battle results. Watch out though, it will only be accurate if the enemy moves as you expect him to. Even then, there's some randomness in every battle

• If I attack an enemy country at the same time he attacks me, will we meet in the middle?
No. If you attack an enemy country with all of your armies and your enemy attacks your country with all their armies, you will not meet in battle. Instead, you will swap places and essentially trade countries. Plan for this when doing battle, it's usually good to leave forces behind just in case an enemy tries to slip behind your front lines to wreak havoc.

• Can I secretly chat with my teammates?
Yes. Use the /t command to send secret team-chat to your allies. Team-chats are always shown in green text. Colloborating with your teammates is the best way for your team to win.

• Can I change my moves after I click Finished Moves?
During online multi-player games, you can change your moves after you've clicked "Finished Moves" as long as the game is still waiting for other players. It is not until every player has clicked the "Finished Moves" button that your moves will become finalized.

• If I lose my HQ am I dead?
 All hope may not be lost, provided you have at least 5 units remaining in play. You can save money round to round until you have enough to buy a new HQ, which can be placed in a teammates land. However, even if you build a HQ in a teammates land, you will be the only one that can recruit there.

• Where can I find out more?
Discuss strategy and more in the Lux Alliance Forums.