Rules and Gameplay
Academy is West Point in board game form. To recreate the experience of surviving the academy, players manage their limited training time and determine which of the three pillars (Academic, Military, or Physical) they should prioritize.
Objective
In Academy, each player plays through four years (rounds) as a cadet at West Point. During the game, players compete to earn Military, Academic, and Physical points. At the end of Firstie Year (4 rounds), each player’s points are added together the player with the most points is declared the “Valedictorian” and wins the game.
Setup
At the beginning of the game, each player receives a starting hand of Training cards, grabs 4 cadet pawns, and starts with 0 points in each of the three pillars. At the beginning of each year, Competitions are placed at several locations on the board.
Cadet Placement
One at a time, each player places their four cadet pieces on the board to determine where their cadet spent the most time. Some locations (e.g. Cadet Barracks, Jefferson Hall) let players draw Training cards. At other locations (e.g. Camp Buckner, Arvin Gymnasium), players enter Competitions.
Competitions
After all players have placed their cadets on the board, Competitions occur. In a Competition, all players simultaneously play between 1-3 Training cards from their hands. The player with the highest total of Training cards wins the Competition, receiving the most points while the losing players receive smaller bonuses. Since Training cards each have different values and bonuses and are discarded when played, players must carefully decide when to spend the precious cards they trained for.
Events
Each year, a special Event temporarily alters the rules of the game. For example, Post Night makes locations more difficult to secure, and the Cadet Barracks and Jefferson Hall are closed on 100th Night. There are thousands of permutations of Event cards, so each game of Academy requires a different strategy.
Just like at the real West Point, players must carefully manage their Competitions (e.g., IOCT or Term End Exams) with their Training (e.g., studying or doing duties). Drawing Training cards doesn’t score points, but players need Training cards to win Competitions. Remember that the most successful cadets play their cards well to graduate at the top of their class!