What Scenarios Ask You to Do

Gundam Assemble ships with scenarios rather than a single game mode. A scenario tells you where terrain goes, which objectives are on the board, how many units each side brings, and what earns VP. Getting good at the game means reading the scenario before you deploy, not after.

What a scenario defines

Every scenario sheet covers the same five things:

1. Map and terrain - which map, and where terrain tokens are placed.
2. Objectives and garrisons - the tokens that create scoring opportunities.
3. Unit count - three per side in the starter scenarios, five in deluxe games.
4. Special rules - scenario-specific conditions that award additional VP.
5. End condition - normally the end of Phase two, with VP deciding the winner.

Objective control

Objectives are the heart of most scenarios. The rule is precise: a unit that ends its activation on or adjacent to an Objective contests it. If the number of allied units on or adjacent to that Objective is greater than the number of enemy units in the same position, the contest succeeds.

• If the Objective is neutral, you capture it and gain control.
• If an opponent controls it, it returns to neutral.
• Objectives you control award VP as the scenario instructs.

Two consequences follow, and both are easy to miss. First, contesting happens at the end of an activation, so you can move onto an objective and contest it in the same activation - you do not need to survive a full round standing there. Second, capturing an enemy objective does not flip it to you; it resets to neutral, and you need another activation to take it.

Garrisons: two VP either way

A friendly garrison token can be rescued by an allied unit adjacent to it, spending two timeline as a Primary Action (B-4). Remove the token and score two VP.

An enemy garrison can be destroyed by attacking it and dealing one or more damage. Remove the token and score two VP.

Same value, different risk. Rescue costs you an activation and two timeline but cannot fail. Destroying costs an attack, which means dice and a timeline cost, but it denies your opponent the same two points. In close games the swing is four points: two you gain, two they do not.

Scenario objectives

Some scenarios place Scenario Objective cards in the play space. These add conditions that award VP when fulfilled, and they are usually the difference between a grindy game and a decisive one.

Because the conditions are printed on the card rather than in the rulebook, there is no universal list to memorise. What you can do is read them at setup and decide, before deployment, which one your squad can actually achieve. A squad of slow heavies should not plan around a condition that rewards reaching the far side of the map.

The two starter scenarios

Starter Set 01 includes two Scenario Objective cards, described by Bandai as "scenarios that are perfect for understanding the game". They are teaching scenarios: small boards, few tokens, and objectives that force both players to move rather than trade shots from deployment.

Playing the objective, not the kill

New groups almost always over-value kills. The maths argues against it: killing a 15 HP unit with a three-dice weapon is roughly seven attacks, while two garrison actions are worth four VP and cost two activations.

A practical priority order for your first ten games:

• Score garrisons when they are free. Two VP for one activation is the best rate in the game.
• Contest objectives you can win this activation, not next.
• Only commit to a kill when the target's VP value is high relative to its remaining hit points.
• Read scenario conditions at setup and pick one to chase.

What the scenario does not tell you

Deployment order, target priority and when to spend Energy are all yours. The scenario sets the board and the win condition; the timeline decides who gets to act on it. If you want the tempo side of that equation, read the timeline page, and for the scoring rules in full see victory points.