At the start of each Round, the first Conflict Region and Succession Region must be marked with tokens (Round I and II each have different ways of doing this. For Round II, see Phase 3: Cleanup):

1. The player with the lowest Initiative (the number in the top left of the Leader Mat) chooses any one of the 5 Regions on the board and places the Conflict Token there. This marks where the first Conflict will occur.

2. Immediately set the Strength Markers of the Danes and Saxons on the Conflict Region Track at the bottom of the board, based on each faction’s Strength in the Conflict Region (see Resolve the Conflict). This marks which side is currently winning the Conflict.

3. Then, the player with the second lowest Initiative chooses one of the 4 remaining Regions (not with the Conflict Token) and places the Succession Token there. This marks the next region to have a Conflict.

4. The player with the third lowest Initiative takes the first turn.

• In a 2-player game, the player who placed the Succession Token takes the first turn.