Beginner Guide: Core Rules & Setup

Why This Gundam Assemble Beginner Guide Matters

If you have opened a Gundam Assemble box and felt unsure where to begin, this Gundam Assemble beginner guide is for you. The game is a tactical miniatures battle built around Mobile Suit Gundam squads, and it rewards planning more than raw dice luck. This Gundam Assemble beginner guide walks through a first match in plain American English: setup, timeline turns, unit actions, combat, and the final victory-point tally.

Gundam Assemble is not a free-form skirmish game. Most learning scenarios give each player a small squad, often three units, plus a hand of Tactics cards. You win by earning more victory points than your opponent through defeating enemy mobile suits, capturing or defending objectives, and completing scenario-specific goals. Because every scenario sets its own map, objectives, and special rules, the first step is always to read the mission before you place a single miniature.

What the Core Kit Covers

A useful Gundam Assemble beginner guide should turn that pile into a checklist rather than a treasure hunt. Separate your units, cards, tokens, and dice before anyone picks a side. That small habit prevents most first-game slowdowns.

What You Need and How Setup Works

The core components cover a standard learning game, but a scenario may also call for carriers, garrisons, additional upgrades, energy, terrain, status tokens, or objective control tokens. Put shared pieces within reach of both players. Keep your own unit cards and Tactics hand on your side of the table.

Follow the setup steps for a standard scenario in order. The sequence below is the cleanest way to avoid missing a token or card.

If two players have tokens on the same round, each rolls one attack die; the higher roll acts first, and ties are rerolled. Stack your own units in the order you prefer when they share a round. During movement, only one unit may occupy a hex. You can pass through allied units, but enemy units block your path and force a detour. You also cannot return to the hex where a unit began its move.

Timeline and Turn Order: The Core of Every Gundam Assemble Beginner Guide

The timeline is the engine of the game. Each phase is 10 rounds, and a common basic scenario runs two phases, or 20 rounds total. Units do not automatically act every round. They act when the round token reaches a round where their Timeline token sits. After acting, the unit advances along the track by the cost of its chosen action. That is why a fast, light attack and a heavy beam attack feel very different even on the same frame.

The key habit is to look at the timeline before choosing a weapon. In a supported example, a beam saber advances a unit two rounds, while a beam rifle advances it four. A rifle shot may be worth the delay at long range, but that unit will sit out longer. If you spend every activation on the biggest attack, you can hand your opponent free tempo. Mix cheap actions with powerful ones.

Use this Gundam Assemble beginner guide as a pre-turn checklist: Which unit acts now, what is its best target, what does the action cost, and where will that unit land on the timeline? Those four questions prevent most wasted activations.

Actions, Attacks, and Damage Without Guesswork

When a unit activates, it can use its available actions in any order, but it must take one Primary Action. The main options include Advance, Attack, Dash, Energize, Rescue, Command Abilities, and playing a Tactics Card. Advance lets a unit move up to three hexes in any direction. Higher ground and water can consume extra movement and end that move, so inspect the terrain before committing.

For a Gundam Assemble beginner guide, the most important habit is to read the weapon line before you move. Range tells you whether the target is legal, strength tells you how many dice to roll, and timeline cost tells you when the unit acts again.

Elevation and terrain can modify accuracy, so do not assume every shot has the same chance. A critical hit also triggers the effect printed on the unit card. Defeated units leave the board, but they can redeploy after two rounds have passed. That delay is a real cost: a unit removed early can return, but it may miss key objective turns.

Squad Building, Tactics, and Victory Points

Most scenarios let you pick units from different Gundam series and factions, up to the number allowed by the mission. You cannot include multiple copies of a unit with the same card number unless that unit is Mass Produced. For a first game, a simple three-unit squad is easier to track than a complicated all-star list.

Your Tactics deck starts with nine chosen cards. Shuffle them, draw three for your opening hand, and draw three more after the first phase ends. Normally only one copy of a Tactics card can be included, and at least one unit in your squad must meet its requirements. This is where a Gundam Assemble beginner guide can save you from a common trap: do not spend every card in the first few rounds just because it is in hand.

A Gundam Assemble beginner guide should also remind you that points come from more than kills. Objectives and scenario goals can decide a game even when one side wins more fights. Every unit has a printed victory-point value, so removing a high-value target can swing the score at once, while repeatedly defeating cheap units can add up over time.

FAQ

What is the first thing a Gundam Assemble beginner guide should teach?

Learn the timeline first. It controls when units act, how long powerful attacks delay you, and why a unit that shoots every round may still lose tempo. After that, learn the attack sequence and victory-point sources.

How many units do I need for a first game?

Use the number printed in your scenario. A basic learning setup often uses three units per player, which is enough to teach movement, timeline costs, and objective play without overwhelming a new player.

What does timeline cost mean?

Timeline cost is the number of rounds a unit advances after using an action or weapon. A cheaper weapon lets that unit act again sooner; an expensive weapon may hit harder but leaves a gap in your board presence.

How do I win my first match?

Score victory points consistently. Defeat enemy units when the value is worth it, hold objectives, and complete scenario goals. Do not chase every fight if it leaves a scoring point undefended. This Gundam Assemble beginner guide recommends checking the score before every activation in the final phase.