B-Grid: Fortress Run

B-GRID FORTRESS RUNS

A Solo Card-Driven Wargame | 1 Player | 30–45 Minutes | Ages 14+

The flak is thick and the mountains are close. You are the pilot, bombardier, and navigator of a lone bomber threading through hostile terrain to destroy enemy fortifications. Every card in your hand is a decision — climb to safety or dive for the kill shot. Strafe the guns that are tracking you or save your ammunition for the bombing run. The deck is your fuel. When it runs out, so does your mission. One standard deck of 54 cards. One sheet of paper. One pencil. That is all you need.

COMPONENTS

• 1 standard deck of 54 playing cards (52 cards + 2 Jokers)
• 1 sheet of graph paper or blank paper
• 1 pencil
• 1 bomber token — any small object with a clearly defined front, such as a corner torn from your sheet of paper, a chess piece, a meeple, or an arrowhead folded from scrap. The pointed end represents your nose and indicates the direction you are facing.

SETUP

Draw the Board Draw a 10×10 grid. Label columns A–J (left to right). Label rows 1–10 (top to bottom). Row 1 is the northern edge. Row 10 is the southern edge.

Make Your Bomber

Tear a small triangle from the corner of your paper. This is your bomber. The pointed end is your nose — it shows which direction you are facing. Any small object with an obvious front side works.

Track Your Status

In the margin of your paper, write

• ALT: 4 (your current altitude)
• DMG: 0 (your current damage)

Update these with your pencil as they change during play.

Column Mapping

Cards map to columns using this system

• Ace = Column A
• 2–10 = Columns B–J
• Face cards and Jokers = Special (see Entry rules)

A player aid with this mapping is recommended.

Place Mountains

Draw two cards from the deck. Map each to a cell using the column mapping above and the card's rank for the row (Ace = row 1, 2–10 = rows 2–10, Face = redraw). These two cells are the start and end points of a mountain ridge. Draw a straight line between the centers of these two cells. Any cell the line passes through is a mountain. Mark those cells with a triangle or "M." For a harder game, draw additional pairs of cards to create multiple ridgelines. Return all cards used for mountain placement to the deck.

Place Targets

Bunkers (6): Draw 6 cards. Map each to a cell. Mark with "B." If a card maps to an occupied cell or a mountain, place the bunker in the nearest open cell (ties shift left, then up). Artillery (4): Draw 4 cards. Map each to a cell. Mark with "A." Same placement rules as bunkers. Return all cards used for target placement to the deck.

Prepare the Deck

Shuffle all 54 cards to form the draw deck. Place it face down.

Choose Difficulty

Record your starting health on paper.

TURN STRUCTURE

Each round consists of two phases:

1. Player Phase — Draw cards, take actions. 2. Automa Phase — Enemy artillery fires and repositions.

Player Phase

Draw up to a hand of 5 cards from the deck. Play up to 2 cards from your hand as actions. Then discard played cards. Exception: The King (Resupply) does not count as an action. The 9 (Throttle) paired with a movement or altitude card counts as both of your actions — your turn ends immediately after resolving it.

Automa Phase

See Enemy Phase below.

CARD ACTIONS

Movement — 2, 3, 4, 5 The card's value equals your movement points for that action.

• 1 point = 1 cell forward in the direction you are facing. Move your bomber token forward one cell.
• 1 point = 1 turn (90°) in place. Rotate your bomber token left or right.
• You may spend points in any combination of moves and turns.
• No diagonal movement. No backward movement. No lateral movement without turning first.
• You must move at least 1 cell forward when playing a movement card.

Mountain collision: You cannot enter a mountain cell below altitude 4. If your path is blocked, stop in the cell before the mountain. Remaining movement points are lost.

Guns — 6

Strafe one artillery target.

• Target must be in your row or column (Line of Sight), within 3 cells.
• You must be at altitude 0–4.
• Reveal the top card of the deck:
• Red (hearts/diamonds): Destroy the artillery (altitude 0–3) or suppress it (altitude 4).
• Black (clubs/spades): Miss.
• Discard the revealed card.
• Guns have no effect on bunkers.

Bombs — 7, 8

Bomb one target directly below you.

• Your bomber token must be on the same cell as the target.
• Reveal the top card of the deck:

Low altitude (0–2)

• Red = Hit. Target destroyed.
• Black = Near miss. Target survives. Mark the cell with a crater.

High altitude (3–5)

• Hearts = Hit. Target destroyed.
• Diamonds = Near miss. Mark crater.
• Clubs/Spades = Miss. No effect.

Chain Bonus: If the target cell is adjacent (orthogonal) to a previously destroyed target, improve the result by one band (miss becomes near miss, near miss becomes hit). Crater Bonus: If the target cell already has a crater, improve the result by one band. Chain and crater bonuses do not stack. Maximum one improvement per reveal. Discard the revealed card.

Throttle — 9

Boost a movement or altitude card.

• Play the 9 paired with one movement card (2–5) or one altitude card (10, J, Q).
• Add +2 to the paired card's effect.
• Playing a Throttle ends your turn immediately. No second action.

Altitude — 10, Jack

Change altitude by 1.

• Red (hearts/diamonds): Climb +1.
• Black (clubs/spades): Descend -1.
• Color locks direction. No choice.
• Altitude range is 0–5. If the card would push you past either limit, the card cannot be played.

Altitude — Queen

Change altitude by 2.

• Red: Climb +2.
• Black: Descend -2.
• Same rules as 10/J. Cannot exceed altitude 0 or 5.

Resupply — King

Cycle your hand.

• Discard the King. Draw 1 card from the deck.
• The King does not count as an action. Play it before, during, or after your actions.
• You may play multiple Kings in a single turn.

Precision Bomb — Ace

A perfect bombing run.

• Your bomber token must be on the same cell as the target.
• Works at any altitude (0–5).
• Reveal the top card of the deck:
• Red: Hit. Target destroyed.
• Black: Near miss. Mark crater.
• Chain and crater bonuses apply.
• Discard the revealed card.

Wild Card — Joker

The Joker is truly wild.

• When you play a Joker, choose any card value and any color (red or black). The Joker becomes that card for all purposes.
• When the Automa reveals a Joker: miss, no artillery movement. Discard it.

ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY

The same procedure is used every time the bomber enters the board, including the very first time.

Reveal the top card of the deck

• Ace through 10: Enter row 1 of the corresponding column (Ace = A, 2 = B, ... 10 = J). Place your bomber token in that cell pointing south.
• Face card or Joker: Choose any column. Place your bomber token in row 1 of that column pointing south. Take 1 damage.

Mountain check: If your entry cell contains a mountain and your altitude is below 4, shift to the nearest column whose row 1 cell has no mountain. Ties shift left. Starting altitude: 4 on your first entry. On re-entry, your altitude is whatever it was when you exited. Discard the revealed card.

EXIT

Moving forward off any edge of the board exits the map. Remove your bomber token from the grid. Your movement ends. Unspent movement points are lost. While off-map, you cannot be targeted and cannot take actions. You re-enter on a future turn using the Entry procedure.

ALTITUDE

Altitude ranges from 0 (ground level) to 5 (maximum ceiling). Update your ALT tracker in the margin when altitude changes. Altitude

Ceiling. Cannot fire guns. Artillery can only hit if adjacent.

LINE OF SIGHT (LOS)

• LOS exists along shared rows and columns only. No diagonal LOS.
• Range = number of cells between shooter and target (not counting either occupied cell).
• Mountains block LOS. Any mountain cell in the path breaks the line. Altitude does not matter.
• Same cell = automatic LOS. Range 0.

ENEMY PHASE (AUTOMA)

After the Player Phase, resolve the Automa Phase. If the bomber is off-map (token removed from grid), skip the Automa Phase entirely.

Step 1 — Reveal

Reveal the top card of the deck. This is the Automa card. Joker: Miss. No movement. Discard. Phase ends.

Step 2 — Fire

Check if any Ready (non-suppressed) artillery has LOS to the bomber and is within range. Artillery range = 4 minus the bomber's current altitude. Minimum range is 1. At altitude 5, artillery can only fire if adjacent (range 1). Bomber Altitude

Saturation cap: The bomber takes a maximum of 1 damage per Automa Phase, regardless of how many artillery have LOS.

Step 3 — Move

Any Ready artillery that did NOT have LOS or range moves using the same Automa card: Suit

• If the direct step toward the target is a mountain, hold position instead.
• If tied for nearest bunker, move toward the one in the lower column letter. Same column, lower row number.
• When all bunkers are destroyed, Spades = hold position.

Step 4 — Suppression Recovery

Any suppressed artillery returns to Ready status. They took no action this phase.

Step 5 — Discard

Discard the Automa card.

SUPPRESSION

When guns (6) score a red result against artillery at altitude 4, the artillery is suppressed instead of destroyed. Suppressed artillery skips all firing and movement during the next Automa Phase. It returns to Ready at the end of that phase. Suppression has no lasting effects beyond one Automa Phase.

DECK AND RESHUFFLE

The deck is your fuel. When the draw deck is exhausted:

• Shuffle the discard pile to form a new draw deck.
• Take 1 damage.

If the deck is exhausted a second time, the mission is lost. You are out of fuel.

WINNING AND LOSING

Victory: All bunkers on the map are destroyed.

Defeat

• Your damage equals or exceeds your health threshold.
• The deck is exhausted a second time (out of fuel).
• You fly into a mountain cell below altitude 4 (crash).

Artillery does not need to be destroyed to win. They are obstacles, not objectives.

SCORING

After the mission (win or lose), calculate your score:

• +2 per bunker destroyed
• +1 per artillery destroyed
• -1 per damage taken

GLOSSARY

Altitude: The bomber's current height (0–5). Affects bombing accuracy, artillery range, mountain clearance, and gun effectiveness. Automa: The automated enemy system. Resolves all artillery actions using a single card draw. Bomber Token: Any small object with a clear front side used to track the bomber's position and facing on the grid. Chain Bonus: Bombing improvement when the target is adjacent to a previously destroyed target. Crater: Marked on a cell after a near miss. Provides a bombing improvement on future attempts against that cell. LOS (Line of Sight): A clear path along a shared row or column with no mountains between shooter and target. Manhattan Path: Movement counted in orthogonal steps only (no diagonals). Near Miss: A bombing result that does not destroy the target but marks the cell with a crater. Saturation Cap: Maximum 1 damage per Automa Phase regardless of how many artillery fire. Suppression: A temporary status on artillery caused by guns at altitude 4. Skips one Automa Phase.