Battlecards: World Conflict was designed from its inception to be played in more than one theatre of battle at a time. We have produced 4 separate 2-player games including the Western European Theatre, the Pacific Theatre, the Russian Front, and the North African Campaign. All 4 sets may be combined for a 4, 6, or 8 player game involving 2, 3, or 4 of the sets. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th set tell basically how combined theatre play works in their rules sheets, but below you will find more specific rules detailing this process.

Some battles call for forces from more than one party on one side. Such battles, like the Invasion of Normandy, the Battle for France, and others will state which parties are supposed to participate. During such battles treat all forces that are called into battle on one side as if they were part of the same army. For example, in the Invasion of Normandy, the US and British are called in as the aggressors by the card. So, the US and British players will flip over their Ground, Air, & Sea forces. This particular battle requires that at least one attacking non-artillery ground unit be deployed in order to execute the battle. This non-artillery ground unit can be from either the US or the British. In the event that one party called in as the aggressor wishes to execute the battle and the other does not, the party who wishes to attack, may act alone if they meet the prerequisites.
If you are playing with the Western European Theatre and the Russian Front, there are 2 German Players. In all battles calling for the "German" Player, only the German Player for the theatre that the Battlecard came from may participate. The only exception to this rule is the Battle for Germany. In that specific battle, both German Players participate and, in the event of a loss, both German Players will be eliminated from the game.
Firing order is not important, in that you do not have to fire all British phase 1 units before firing all US phase 1 units. As a matter of fact units from the allies may support each other if their specials allow it. In the example of the Invasion of Normandy, the Germans can win if they destroy or force to withdraw all attacking Ground Units. Obviously, this means all US AND all British Ground Units.
If called into battle together as the defenders, all forces called for by the card must participate. For instance if the Germans play a Counterattack card on the Battle for France (simulating the real life Battle of the Bulge), the US cannot opt out of the battle and let the British defend on their own. The only exceptions are Generals and Admirals who are subject to Rule E below.

When two allies are called into battle together as in Rule D, any deployed leaders of all players participating in the battle execute their special ability. However, GENERALS & ADMIRALS are another matter. The rule of thumb is that Generals & Admirals cannot participate in COMBINED FORCES attacks or defenses unless it is in their primary theatre. The only exception to this rule is if the General or Admiral in question is sent as Aid (See Rule C above) to the party who is primary for that theatre. Therefore, in the Invasion of Normandy, if the US has MacArthur deployed, he will sit out the battle. If the US player wishes to involve MacArthur in that battle, they would have to have previously sent him as part of an aid package to the British. Real life examples of this are Rommel being sent to the Afrika Corps, Monte being sent to the Army of the Nile, and Patton being sent to the Western European Theatre.

Hitler is in both German players' arsenal decks. In a multi-theatre game, the two German players must decide (prior to the game), which deck to remove Hitler from. When he is deployed however, he will affect both German Players, regardless of who has him deployed. Similarly, Mussolini (an expansion card to the Western European Theatre, and a primary in the North African campaign) will be removed from the Western European Theatre if the North African Campaign is being used. Mussolini's special ability will be triggered when a battle comes up for the Western European Theatre or North African Campaign.

To determine how many points it takes to win a Standard Victory in a multi-theatre game, simply add up the victory totals for the starter sets of the theatres in play. In the Western European Theatre + Pacific Theatre this total will be 78. Note: Battles found in the expansion packs are not considered when figuring the point totals. Therefore, the Western European Theatre is worth 38 points (half of 76) not 43 (half of 86) even if you are playing with the expansion battles Battle for the Mediterranean and Battle of Taranto. All Battlecards won by the allies go into a common stack and all won by the axis go in their common stack.

To get a TOTAL VICTORY in a multi-theatre game, you must satisfy the Total Victory conditions of all theatres involved. For example, in a game involving the Western European Theatre and the Pacific Theatre, that means invading Australia and Britain for the Axis, or Germany & Japan for the Allies.

What happens if the Germans invade Britain, but there is still fight in the US? Good question. And there is not a short answer. Here is the skinny. If the conditions for a total victory are achieved in any theatre of a multi-theatre game, the loser of that theatre places all the Battlecards he has won for that theatre back into the discard stack of the conflict deck. The victor in that theatre continues to take turns as normal but the loser does not. In fact the loser must also surrender all remaining deployed forces to the player that won the battle that eliminated him. There is however one exception. If the Japanese eliminate the US from the Pacific theatre, the US still continues to take turns as normal, and does not surrender his deployed forces. This is because the US was not invaded, and therefore, though eliminated from the Pacific Theatre, they can continue to play in the other theatres. However, until the Invasion of Australia is successfully counterattacked (see Rule H below), the US will not be able to participate in Pacific Theatre battles.

In all cases, when a theatre is won during a multi-theatre game, the Battlecards for that theatre, which were previously won by the losing player, are placed back in the discard stack of the conflict deck. When they are drawn, the player who won the theatre may either claim the card (thus racking up more victory points toward an Overall Standard Win as in Rule F) OR they can make a "raid" on the deployed forces of the vanquished enemy's allies. These raids are merely battles for no victory points against the deployed forces of an enemy. The raiding party is always the aggressor.

To make such a raid, simply name your opponent and declare if it is a Ground and Air raid or an Air and Sea raid. Both sides flip over thier appropriate forces and conduct the battle as usual. The battle does not have to be resolved in a single round, but since there are no victory points to be awarded, someone is likely to withdraw at their earliest opportunity. The Battlecard that initiated this raid opportunity is always discarded when such a raid is made.

Once a player has been vanquished from a theatre, they can be resurrected by their allies. Counterattacks can be used by any ally to re-fight the battle which eliminated the player from the theatre. Ignore all prerequisites when doing this. The Counterattacking player is the aggressor, and the occupying force (the player or players who originally invaded) need only destroy or force to withdraw all attacking ground units to repel the invasion force. NOTE: Counterattacks MAY NOT be used by an ally to re-fight any other battle that they were not originally involved in. Each entity has different conditions under which this may be done.

BRITISH: May be liberated by the successful US, Soviet, or Army of the Nile Counterattack of the Invasion of Britain. Once this is done, immediately draw 6 arsenal cards and deploy 3. Then, take up your normal turn order as if you had never been conquered.

US: May be thrust back into the Pacific Theatre by the successful British, Army of the Nile, or US Counterattack of the Invasion of Australia. The USSR may not liberate Australia. Since the US was never actually conquered, they do not draw and deploy forces when this is done, they merely are allowed again to play in the battles from the Pacific Theatre as they come up. On the other hand, they are the one power that can liberate themselves.

GERMANY: May be liberated by the successful Japanese or Afrka Corps Counterattack of the Battle for Germany. For the Japanese to be the liberator, is a bit trickier however. The Japanese may only attempt this AFTER they have vanquished the US from the Pacific theatre by successfully invading Australia. Once this condition is met, and the Battle for Germany is successfully taken back, BOTH German players immediately draw 6 arsenal cards and deploy 3, resuming their previous spots in the turn order. Also, if the Allies hold BOTH Battle for Germany Battlecards, and 1 is successfully Counterattacked to liberate the Germans (placing it in the hands of the Axis), place the remaining Battle for Germany Battlecard back in the conflict deck from which it came.

JAPAN: May be liberated by the successful German Counterattack of the Invasion of Japan. Like their own liberation conditions, the oceans between the Axis powers dictates that the Germans attempt such a liberation of Japan only AFTER they have successfully eliminated thier in-theatre opponent. Thus, the German (Barbarossa) player may attempt to liberate Japan only after defeating the Soviet Union in the Battle for Moscow, and the Western European Theatre German Player may only liberate Japan after eliminating the British in the Invasion of Britain.

USSR: The Soviet Union may be liberated automatically by the US and British players if they can win the Battle for Germany. This is a serious problem for the Axis when this occurs, because in one fell swoop, the Allies will eliminate both German Players and resurrect the Soviet player.

AFRIKA CORPS: The Afrika Corps player may be resurrected by the successful Japanese or German counterattack of the Invasion of Italy. This can be performed by either German player without any pre-requisites, but the Japanese player can only attempt this action if they first successfully invade Australia.

ARMY OF THE NILE: The Army of the Nile may be liberated by a successful US or British counterattack of the Battle for Casablanca. The Soviet Player may not liberate the Army of the Nile player.