Teach the Game

Build a two-Fighter team, then program a deck that plays itself in order.

How you win

“Two Fighters join forces, but only one card acts at a time. Predict the opponent’s sequence, insert cards where they will matter, and knock out a Fighter before your own team falls.” Each player controls two Fighters. You win when an opposing Fighter reaches the KO space at the end of a Turn, unless opposing Fighters are both knocked out during that same Turn, which is a draw.

The boards

Each Fighter has a board with a Health track, starting Power, and any special track or token they use. Their ten-card deck has a star-marked Starting Card and nine cards that enter the shared Build Deck.

A round

1. Fight! Both players reveal the top card of their Fight Deck at once. The revealed Fighter is active for this Turn; its teammate is the Partner. Resolve the cards together, following any special timing printed on a card.
2. Keep revealing cards in order until both Fight Decks run out or a Fighter is knocked out. Do not shuffle or reorder either deck.
3. Build! If the Fight continues, draw three cards from your Build Deck, secretly choose one, and insert it anywhere in your Fight Deck without changing the order of the cards already there. Put the other two on the bottom of your Build Deck in either order.

See Fight and Build for the full timing and Card Actions for what attacks, blocks, damage and track icons do.

How the game ends

The Fight ends when a Fighter reaches KO at the end of a Turn. If Fighters on opposing teams reach KO in that same Turn, the match is a draw. If a player cannot draw three Build cards at the start of a Build step, the match is also a draw. Fighter-specific effects can change what KO means, so check each Fighter’s entry before playing.

The icons on a card

Icon	What it does
Attack	The target loses HP equal to your Power at the start of the Turn (Card Actions)
Block	Cancels the Attacks against your team this Turn; not Direct Damage
Heal	Moves the Health marker up by the value shown
Direct Damage	HP loss that is not an Attack, so a Block can’t stop it
Power gain or loss	Add or remove Power cubes; it counts from next Turn
Transfer	Move Power (or an item) to another Fighter, as much as you have
Cancel	The opposing card is ignored completely
Success	A bonus that happens only if the card’s main action worked
Partner · Opponent’s Partner	The action involves your teammate, or targets the other team’s waiting Fighter
Stop	A Health-track space where the marker stops moving

Ways to score

There is no point scoring. The result is a win, loss or draw.

What each resource is for

Resource	Why it matters	How to get it	How it is used
Health	Keeps a Fighter in the match.	Start at the board’s indicated space; card effects may heal.	Attacks and Direct Damage move the marker down; healing moves it up, stopping at printed Stops.
Power	Sets the strength of that Fighter’s Attacks.	Start at Base Power; some effects add or remove cubes.	Attack strength uses Power at the start of that Turn. Power is not spent.
Fight cards	Determine the fixed order of each team’s Turns.	Start with each Fighter’s Starting Card, then add one card each Build step.	Reveal from the top; new cards may be inserted anywhere without moving the others.
Build cards	Give you future options for programming your Fight Deck.	The other nine cards from both Fighters are shuffled together.	Draw three, insert one, and return the others under the deck.
Fighter tokens and special markers	Track an individual Fighter’s ability.	Set up as each Fighter’s guide entry directs.	Apply only the rule described for that token or track.

Teaching tips

• Start with the recommended first matchup: Joan and Ching Shih versus Bödvar and Wong Fei-Hung.
• Explain that each card reveal sets the active Fighter for that Turn; the other teammate is the Partner.
• Emphasize that the Fight Deck is never shuffled. The main decision is where to insert the card you chose.
• Before teaching a new Fighter, read its setup and Gameplay notes in the Fighters’ Guide.