×
Rules — Decoy Patrol
Goal
Destroy the enemy Commander, or destroy all 5 enemy Decoys.
The Board
10 × 10 grid, coordinates 0–9.
Setup
Each player secretly places 12 pieces anywhere in their 3 home rows (Cyan: rows 0–2, Magenta: rows 7–9). The opponent cannot see your layout.
Your Army (12 pieces)
| Piece | Count | Move | Dmg / HP | Vision |
|---|
| ★ Commander | 1 | 1 sq, any dir | 5 / 5 | 3 |
| + Scout | 2 | up to 3 sq, orthogonal | 2 / 2 | 4 |
| ✦ Guardian | 2 | up to 2 sq, any dir | 4 / 4 | 2 |
| × Infiltrator | 2 | up to 3 sq, diagonal | 3 / 3 | 2 |
| ☆ Decoy | 5 | 1 sq, any dir | 1 / 1 | 1 |
Hidden Identity
All enemy pieces look identical — you see only a colored diamond ◆. You must deduce what each piece is by watching how it moves and how much damage it deals. The Commander (★) and Decoys (☆) move identically (1 sq, any direction) — telling them apart is the core challenge.
Movement (3 points / turn)
Each turn you spend up to 3 movement points. Each square costs 1 point. Split them however you like across your pieces, but each piece can only move up to its max range per turn.
Combat
- After moving, every piece adjacent (including diagonals) to an enemy may attack one adjacent enemy. Each piece attacks once per turn.
- Your piece deals its Damage value to the target's HP.
- If HP hits 0 → destroyed. You see "Destroyed!" but not what type it was.
- If it survives, you see "Hit!" — you won't know the enemy's type or remaining HP. Deduce from context!
- Enemies do not counter-attack — damage is one-way.
- You can skip individual attacks or end the attack phase early.
Healing
All damaged pieces regenerate 1 HP at the start of each player's turn. So a piece damaged this round will have healed 1 HP before it can be attacked again next round.
Fog of War
Each piece reveals a radius equal to its Vision stat. You cannot see enemy pieces outside your vision. Scouts have vision 4 — great for recon.
Victory
- Assassination: Destroy the enemy Commander
- Attrition: Destroy all 5 enemy Decoys
Strategy Guide
Based on AI-simulated tournament data
The #1 Lesson: Protect Your Decoys
In simulated matches, 87% of games ended by Decoy elimination — not Commander assassination. Your 5 Decoys are your biggest vulnerability. Losing them all is far more common than losing your Commander. Treat them as a resource to be carefully managed, not thrown away.
Deployment Tips
- Hide your Commander among Decoys. Since both move 1 square in any direction, your opponent can't tell them apart by movement. Place them near each other so the enemy has to guess.
- Push Guardians forward. With 4 Dmg / 4 HP, Guardians are your workhorses. Place them in your middle or front rows where they can engage quickly.
- Scouts on the flanks. Their 4-cell vision and 3-cell orthogonal range make them ideal for scouting the edges of the board. They'll reveal enemy positions early.
- Infiltrators on the wings. Diagonal movement lets them cut through gaps. Position them wide so they can slip behind enemy lines.
- Don't clump everything center. Spreading across the board forces your opponent to split their attention and prevents one big push from wiping you out.
Movement Strategy
- Lead with Scouts — their vision 4 reveals enemies early. Use your 3 move points to push a Scout deep into enemy territory for recon.
- Advance Guardians second — they're your heavy hitters (4 Dmg) with enough HP to survive a hit from anything except a Commander.
- Keep the Commander back. In simulated games, Commanders that pushed past the center of the board were frequently assassinated. Stay behind your front line.
- Decoys as a screen. Move a few Decoys forward to act as a "wall" — your opponent can't tell if they're hitting a Decoy (1 HP) or a Commander (5 HP) until they attack.
Combat Tips
- Focus fire. A Guardian (4 Dmg) + a Decoy (1 Dmg) = 5 Dmg in one turn — enough to kill any piece from full health. Coordinate multiple attackers on the same target.
- Track damage dealt. If you hit something and it doesn't die, note the damage. A piece that survives 4 Dmg has 5+ HP — it's probably the Commander.
- Watch movement patterns. Did an enemy piece move 3 squares orthogonally? It's a Scout. 3 squares diagonally? Infiltrator. 2 squares? Guardian. 1 square any direction? Commander or Decoy.
- Protect injured pieces. All pieces heal 1 HP per turn. Pull back a damaged Guardian (normally 4 HP) for a turn and it gets tougher to kill again.
Deduction — The Core Skill
- Commander vs. Decoy is the central puzzle. Both move 1 cell in any direction. The only way to tell them apart is by attacking: a Decoy dies in one hit from anything (1 HP), while a Commander survives everything except a 5-Dmg Commander hit.
- If you hit a piece and see "Hit!" (survived) — it has 2+ HP. Not a Decoy. Mark it mentally.
- If you hit a piece and see "Destroyed!" — it had low HP. Likely a Decoy or a heavily damaged unit.
- Count the Decoys. Track how many you've destroyed. Once you've killed 4, you know every remaining "unknown" 1-step piece is the Commander.
Win Condition Strategy
- Default to Attrition. Hunting all 5 Decoys is more reliable than finding the Commander. Decoys die in one hit from anything.
- Switch to Assassination if you deduce the Commander. If you've tracked damage and movement, and you're confident which piece is the Commander, send your Guardians (4 Dmg) or Commander (5 Dmg) to finish it in one or two hits.
- Games average ~18 turns. Don't rush. Spend the first few turns scouting, the middle turns eliminating Decoys, and the late game going for the kill.