How to Play – Basic Game (Trumps)
• Shuffle and deal all of the cards to the players. Players may only look at the card at the top of his pack.
• The youngest player goes first. The starting player chooses a category (Strength, Skill, Magic, Terror or Value). The player reads his score.
• The other players read their scores for the category. The player with the highest score wins all of the cards and places them at the bottom of his pack.
• If more than one player have the same score, they place their cards in the centre. The winner of the next round wins all of these cards.
• The round winner chooses the category to contest in the next round.
• The winner of the game is the player who has collected all the cards.
How to play – Battle Mode
1. Drafting Phase
• Arrange all cards face up in the middle, visible to both players. It is useful to arrange in order of ‘Value’.
• The youngest player goes first. The two players take it in turns to pick cards for their ‘squad’ of 6 cards. Squads should be kept face up in front of the players until both are complete.
• The total value of the squad must not exceed 30 ‘Value’ points.
• Once squads are complete, the remaining cards are shuffled and placed in a pile, face down, forming the draw deck. Each player takes an extra card from the draw deck without revealing it to their opponent.
2. Battle Phase
• The battle is made up of 5 rounds. Each round is contested on a single category (Strength, Skill, Magic, or Terror)
• Turn over the top card on the draw deck – the first round’s category is the highest scoring category on this card. Put this card on the bottom of the draw deck.
• Players choose 5 cards each and place them, face down, opposite the oponent’s 5 cards, next to the draw deck.
• The cards are revealed one by one from the draw deck, and the scores for the round’s chosen category are compared for each match-up.
• Ties are resolved by comparing Size –B (Big) beats M (Medium), M beats S (Small), and S beats B.
• As soon as one player has won 3 match-ups, the round ends immediately.
• Any cards winning a match-up are returned to their owner’s squad. All cards that have lost a match-up are placed on the bottom of the draw deck. Any unturned cards are returned to their owner’s squad.
• Both players take cards from the top of the draw deck until they have 7 cards again.
• The loser picks the category for the next round.
• The first player to win 3 rounds is the winner of the battle.
Battle Cards is also playable with 3 or 4 players.
Cards are drafted in the same way as for 2 players
If two players both win 2 match-ups in a round, they then play a sudden-death decider using one of the unused cards in their hand, on the same category as the round.
If more than one player is tied last in the round, then the player picking the next round’s category is likewise decided by a sudden death decider, as above.
After each round, once losing cards have been added to the draw deck, the draw deck should be shuffled well before players draw their new cards.
Any match-up ties which are not resolvable by size are resolved by comparing Value, with the greater value winning.
Coming soon: Alternative gameplay instructions for: War Mode, Adventure Mode, Tournament Mode and more!
