Learn to Play Event: Rules & Tips

What Happens at a Gundam Assemble Learn to Play Event

A Gundam Assemble learn to play event is the fastest route from curious to table-ready. You get a prepared map, a squad of mobile suits, and a demo scenario that teaches the core rules while the dice are already moving. Reading a rulebook in isolation hides how the timeline actually feels in motion, which is why a Gundam Assemble learn to play event is worth the signup even if you have never touched a hex-based skirmish game.

These sessions are structured as guided demos rather than tournaments. A host walks two players through a shortened game using 3D hex terrain, base tokens, garrison tokens, neutral objective tokens, and face-down upgrade tokens. The starter set's teaching scenario, Sleeping Leviathan, is a useful preview of the flow: it specifies where the map goes, where terrain and objectives sit, and which special rules apply.

You will not be handed a wall of text. The demo concentrates on the loop that decides games: pick a scenario, deploy, advance, take a primary action, attack, score, and reset for the next phase. The event format and demo scenario materials are published ahead of time if you prefer to skim before you sit down.

What you walk away knowing:

• How victory points are earned: defeating enemy mobile suits, destroying enemy garrisons, rescuing allied garrisons, and completing scenario objectives.
• Why elevation matters: light-colored terrain is level one, dark-colored terrain is level two, and climbing costs extra movement.
• How the timeline orders every activation, so nobody argues about who goes first.

Dates, Registration, and What You Get

Applications for the Gundam Assemble learn to play event open on September 14, 2026, and trial sessions run from September 26 through November 30, 2026 at authorized stores and exhibition events. Entry is handled through an advance lottery application, so applying early matters far more than arriving early.

A few practical notes worth planning around:

• You need a free Bandai Tabletop Games account to register, and results appear under My Events → Event Details.
• If you miss the lottery, same-day entry is sometimes possible depending on crowd conditions, so ask the store directly.
• Start dates and locations vary by region, and events can change or be canceled without notice.
• The participation card is still in development, so the final print may differ from early images.

Setup: Scenario, Squad, and Tactics Deck

Every Gundam Assemble learn to play event starts the same way — with the scenario. The scenario dictates map placement, terrain layout, objective and token positions, and any special rules. After the map, you place level-one and level-two terrain, then base tokens for both players, then garrison tokens, then neutral objectives, and finally the upgrade tokens, which are shuffled and kept face down so neither player knows what is underneath.

Squad building is where new players expect complexity and find almost none.

That last row catches people out. A card like War Edge only works if Gundam Epyon is in your squad, so build the deck around the units you actually brought instead of collecting nine standalone effects.

Victory points come from four sources, and knowing them before deployment shapes every decision you make:

The Timeline: Movement and Primary Actions

The timeline is the engine of the game and the part most likely to confuse a first-timer. Each unit card lists a starting timeline number; you place your unit tokens on the track accordingly. If two of your units share a number, stack them in any order — the top unit activates first when that slot arrives. The lowest timeline number goes first at the start of the game, and if both players share that slot on turn one, roll a die to break the tie. After that, players alternate within the same slot based on who acted last.

Advance and act in either order

On a unit's turn you may advance and take a primary action in whichever order you prefer. Advancing moves up to three hexes, and stepping up to a higher terrain level costs an additional point of movement. Moving downhill is treated as normal movement.

Primary actions cost timeline

Every primary action except attacking costs two timeline, and you pay by pushing the unit's token forward along the track before resolving the effect.

Wrapping past round 10

Costs push tokens up the track, and sometimes past round 10. When that happens, keep counting from one — a cost of three from timeline nine ends on timeline two. Once every unit has passed round 10, the phase ends: score objectives per the scenario, draw three tactics cards, and begin phase two. When phase two ends, score objectives one more time and total up victory points.

Combat, Status Effects, and Board Control

Attacks are the most satisfying part of a Gundam Assemble learn to play event, and they follow a strict checklist. Measure range on the attack ability, confirm line of sight, pay the timeline cost, then roll.

Higher-level terrain and enemy units both block line of sight, so a target can be inside your range number and still be untouchable. When you do roll, fours and up are hits. Attacking from high ground adds one to every die, while firing uphill subtracts one. Any nine or ten triggers a critical attack, unlocking that specific attack's critical ability — a beam sword, for example, deals one extra point of damage on a critical.

Damage, defeat, and respawn

When a unit takes damage equal to or greater than its HP, it is defeated. Remove it from the board, clear all damage and status effects from its card, and advance its timeline token two spaces to represent repair time. It returns at its base. Your opponent immediately gains victory points equal to that unit's printed VP value, so trading a high-value suit for a cheap kill is usually a losing bargain. Garrisons are simpler: one point of damage destroys one, and it is worth two victory points.

Upgrades and status effects

Finish a move on an upgrade token, reveal it, and attach it to the unit card for the rest of the game.

Engagement, pushing, and objectives

Two adjacent enemy units are engaged, and engagement comes with a movement penalty: starting a move next to an enemy reduces that movement by one. Units on different elevations are not engaged, so elevation doubles as an escape hatch.

Push and pull effects reshape the board. A pushed unit must be moved farther away with each step, and if it would be pushed into higher terrain it stops immediately and takes two damage. Push it into another unit and both take two. Pulling works the same way in reverse.

To contest an objective, end your unit on or adjacent to it. With no enemies present, drop your control marker on it. If your opponent already controls it, removing their token returns the objective to neutral — but when enemy units are also on or adjacent, you need a majority of units there to flip it.

Habits That Decide Demo Games

• Read the VP values before you deploy. Trading a 5-VP suit for a 2-VP garrison is a bad deal no matter how good the attack felt.
• Climb early. The accuracy swing between high and low ground is worth more than a single extra hex of movement.
• Rescue garrisons. Two victory points for an adjacent, two-timeline action is one of the most efficient plays on the board.
• Energize before you need it. Holding an energy token keeps a powerful ability available at the exact moment the timeline hands you a good attack.
• Track the timeline, not the board. Knowing which of your units activates next prevents you from overcommitting to a fight you cannot finish.

FAQ

Do I need to own miniatures to attend a Gundam Assemble learn to play event? No. Admission is free and the session is designed around learning the rules while playing, so you are not expected to bring a collection or buy anything first.

How do I secure a spot? Submit the advance lottery application through the Bandai Tabletop Games form and check your results up to three days before the event. Same-day participation is sometimes possible depending on crowd conditions, so it is worth asking the store.

What should I know before my first session? Learn the four victory point sources and the two-timeline cost of primary actions. Those two facts make the demo click immediately, and everything else — range, line of sight, status effects — follows naturally from playing.

Is the event suitable for younger players? The product is intended for ages 15 and older, so plan accordingly when bringing family members.