Gameplay.

Fight Klub™ Lead Designer, Tim Ellington, releases gameplay spoilers each Friday on the forums. A compilation is below.

Gameplay Overview

Thanks for the interest you all have shown in Fight Klub™. It's great to see the enthusiasm and speculation around the gameplay of Decipher's new TCG. I know you guys have been asking questions about game mechanics, rules and preview cards, and I'm posting this to give you a brief overview of what the game is about.

What I can tell you currently is that Fight Klub™, as you might gather by the name, is a fighting game that pits one character against another. Characters have individual stats that tell you how much life they have, how many cards they can hold onto at the end of a turn and what their hand size is at the start of each turn. Character stats vary, so different characters offer different strategies for the game. One character may have more life, but a small hand size. Another character may have less life, but is balanced by your hand size.

An important component of the game is the Fight card. I won't explain all the characteristics of these cards and the matrix of deck possibilities they provide just yet, but characters "fight" each other through Fight cards, most of which have three skirmish numbers at the top of the card. You match these numbers against the numbers on your opponent's Fight cards, and the player who can win 2 of the three skirmishes "scores" that fight. Scored Fight cards amass damage against your opponent's life. Run out of life, and you lose the game. But remember, characters have different levels of life available.

Of course, just matching numbers would be boring, so there are many ways to modify skirmish numbers and manipulate Fight cards using other cards in the game. (There are some Fight cards that have no numbers at all, but provide an alternate win condition. I'll have to save those for later, too.) There are times you might sacrifice one skirmish to help you win the other two. There are even times when losing a Fight card might give you a strategic advantage. It's all about strategy. Deck building is a key component to winning in Fight Klub™, but so is the ability to figure out your opponent's strategy and disrupt what they are trying to do.

There are no dice in Fight Klub™, but one way we are making cards from different properties work together and yet preserve the "character" of the hero or villain who is fighting revolves around the concept of "energy." Energy is a resource represented in the game by various stones. You earn energy throughout the game and you spend energy to play additonal cards and perform actions. It's a dynamic pool that alternately grows and recedes, grows and recedes.

This gives us the ability to have characters use very different kinds of energy. For example, blue may represent a "magic" energy for a character who happens to be a wizard, while the same color represents a "mutant power" energy for a character who happens to be a superhero. The cool thing about this system is that on support cards this energy is represented by a blue icon so it can effectively work for different characters where the hero or villain keys off of that color energy. There are three colors for energy (as mentioned, each labeled as a different characteristic appropriate to a character) so this creates an enormous matrix of combinations and possibilities. Also, sometimes energy is actually "printed" on a card and can be used for spotting and various forms of resource manipulation. Now imagine how this translates for hundreds of different characters. You may have seen the glass stones we've used in the past for games like Pente and Lord of the Rings. We have implemented this in a way we think is quite elegant. You will learn more about this as we move forward.

There's a lot more to talk about with Fight Klub™, but the focus at the moment is the Founding Mentor process (both publicly and internally). Also, many things cannot be made public because of the current approvals processes. With each new TCG Decipher has produced, the requirements and processes for approvals change. It's the nature of licensing. After the first couple of sets, it will be easier for us to predict schedules. At the moment, we want to stay focused on the tasks at hand. We will talk a bit more about rules over time. But, be patient. There are other tasks happening at the moment. One of the very important purposes of this site is for us to be able to listen to your needs and desires. We are already seeing wonderful discussions on the forums.

I hope this at least gives you guys a rough idea of what the game is about. When we can show some other material, I'll be able to elaborate more. I look forward to being able to show cards and talk about the design elements of the game.

Thanks again for your interest. It's always a designer's goal to create a game that's "accessible, yet strategic." I like what we've been able to do with Fight Klub™.

The Drop

Timing issues in a TCG are usually a point of frustration. In Decipher's history of games and even across the game industry, it is a prevalent issue for designers/developers/players. Here is how we are dealing with that issue in Fight Klub™.

In Fight Klub™, turns are played out over the course of the game with both players taking actions within a particular phase. This is true for each phase of every turn in the game. Fight Klub's design has allowed us to dictate priority for a player on any given turn with an element that we call "The Drop."

This means that in a turn, you have priority if you have The Drop. The game begins with a player being assigned The Drop randomly. From the second turn forward, The Drop alternates between the two players. Functionally, the last thing done each turn is the movement of The Drop to the opponent's side of the table. It is not possible to predict the exact number of turns that any one game will have, but in general, both players will see an equal number of turns with this gameplay element in their favor.

The Drop is represented physically by a card. Every player that buys a copy of One will have this card as part of their 121 cards. It should be a part of every player's collection, because all players are encouraged to start their purchases with One. One will always be available, so this card will never be unattainable. I don't imagine that it will have any significant secondary market value, but one never knows...

Let's assume that in a phase of a turn (any phase) there are a number of actions available for each player to take. The player with The Drop has the ability (on that turn) to decide which player takes their actions first. For each action sequence in a phase of a turn, the player with The Drop decides the order of resolution.

We hope this element of the game helps clear up a lot of historical timing issues, and makes Fight Klub™ a great game to play and an easier game to teach :-)

Rarity and Gameplay

Card rarity has always had an impact on TCG gameplay.

No matter the number of cards in a set, the rarity (availability) of each card has implications on both collecting a set and building a deck. Buying enough cards to get one of everything doesn't always mean you'll have enough of all the cards you want to build various decks. In many cases, the power cards are rare and you have to buy (or trade) more cards than you needed for your "complete set" in order to get all the copies you want for deck-building.

If you played Star Trek CCG or Star Wars CCG, you know that there was no card limit, and some decks could be abusive with high numbers of the same card. If such a card was rare, it made it difficult for the average player to build competitive decks. Conversely, if you played The Lord of the Rings TCG you know that the 4-card limit in that game hindered some of the above problems, but still left the threshold for a "play-set" measurably higher than a "collection."

Fight Klub™ wants to do better than that. Much better.

In the Fight Klub™ TCG there is a structure to deck limits called 1-3-3, meaning one copy of any rare, three copies of any uncommon, and three copies of any common.

While it's true that limiting rares to one per deck may make drawing a particular rare card into your hand during a game more difficult, note that the number of cards in a Fight Klub™ draw deck is only 27, less than many other TCGs. (Deck structures will be covered in a future post.) And since you can have up to three copies of any uncommon or common card, Fight Klub™ does something no other TCG has ever done as far as we know: it makes a play-set almost the same purchase point as a "collection." In other words, this ratio means that if you buy enough cards for a full collection of any expansion set (30 rares, 30 uncommons and 40 commons), you will have roughly the same amount of cards you need for a play-set from that expansion.

Each Kilo has 10 rares and an assortment of uncommons and commons, so that over the course of a 3-Kilo or 4-Kilo purchase, you should get pretty close to a full set. Random assortment of cards within Kilos means some duplication, but with some trading or splitting of a 4th Kilo with friends, you should be able to put together a complete set/full play-set. A play-set in the neighborhood of $100 is extremely player-friendly compared to other TCGs.

How does limiting rares to a single copy of each card impact gameplay? Fight Klub™ is designed to harmonize rare gameplay with cards that minimize the need for multiple copies. Character cards, cards that would otherwise be marked "unique" for gameplay purposes, and strong gameplay functions that need a natural restriction are all targets for rare designation.

There are two other things to consider with the 1-3-3 deck structure: (1) Because there is a 1-rare limit, when you get multiple copies of a rare card it's easier to trade because anyone else with two copies of another rare can only use one at a time in a deck, and (2) We have a plan to address the possibility of making certain "rare gameplay" more available in future expansion sets, if necessary. Players will without question be a part of determining which cards see their gameplay repeated.

Playing Fight Klub™ TCG should not be a "rich get richer" experience. We want all players to have reasonable access to full playsets and the breadth of gameplay and strategy offered in this exciting new product.

So what about people who want to break the rules by playing with more than one copy of a rare card? Well, this is the players' game after all. Decipher will officially support the 1-3-3 rule and a 40-card deck for competitions, but we will also have a section on the web to support, "street rules," where the playing community will determine from time-to-time everything from the number of copies of a card to the size of the deck limit.

Fight cards

A strategic component in Fight Klub™ is the use of Fight cards and the Fight card stack. Heroes and Villains battle one another through a series of Fights to determine the winner of the game.

In most cases, Fight cards have a set of 3 skirmish numbers across the top of the card. Those numbers are compared against the skirmish numbers on the opponent's Fight card, and whoever wins the most skirmishes wins that fight and scores their Fight card. There are many ways to enhance these numbers and there are many deck building strategies in constructing your Fight stack depending on the Hero or Villain you have chosen for your deck. This is important because Fight cards cause damage to the opponent, reducing the opponent's Life. When you reduce your opponent's Life to zero, you win the game. (And we do have a way to count damage in the game without dice or keeping score on paper.)

So, while there are many ways to manipulate the skirmish numbers on your Fight card to give you better fighting ability, what I want to talk about today is two types of Fight cards. We call them "global" Fight cards and "Signature" Fight cards. There's a big difference between the two types. Global Fight cards can be used by any character (although only Heroes can use Hero Fight cards and only Villains can use Villain Fight cards). Which cards you choose to use will depend on which Hero or Villain you select and your deck strategy. Fight cards have a variety of choices in the mix of skirmish numbers, in which of the three slots the different skirmish types are located, and what type of bonuses they can provide. All of these come into play when selecting the Fight cards for your Fight stack. Obviously, with a large pool of Heroes and Villains there are many options in terms of how individual Heroes or Villains fight.

For example, a Hero strong in one Energy type might want to use different kinds of Fight cards than, say, a Hero strong in another Energy type. Specific Heroes and Villains tend to fight with characteristics that match their identity. Thus, for them to fight effectively, the player has to build a deck that maximizes the characters unique "character." As such, there are natural strategies for building decks around a character's skill and the type(s) of Energy they generate in the game.

Signature Fight cards, however, are limited to one specific character. Only the Hero or Villain whose icon appears on the Fight card can use it. Each character gets a Signature Fight card. You don't "have" to use your Hero's or Villain's signature card, but you will probably want to. Signature Fight cards give extra bonuses and usually provide twice the damage of a global Fight card. And in keeping with the player-friendly goals in Fight Klub™, these strong Fight cards are not rare, they are uncommon, which means you can use up to 3 of them in your Fight stack (and you should get three copies for each of your Heroes and Villains with the purchase of a playset).

The cards in your Fight stack are a central mechanism for the game, and will really drive the card choices for the rest of your deck. (Oh yeah... there's one other variation of Fight cards to talk about, but that's the subject of another post.)

Okay, so now you know some Fight card basics. Here's some "behind the curtain" information about Fight Klub™, and a chance to participate in the game's development :-)

Signature Fight cards will have an image of the Hero or Villain they represent, and a card title that fits that character (or some special ability for that character). But what about the global Fight cards? What kind of names should they get?

Well, before we go to press (hint: which won't be too long), we thought it would be a good idea to see if FMs had suggestions on how these "global" Fight cards should be titled. It's an opportunity for you to participate in the game development and see your naming system and suggestions incorporated on the very first cards of the game.

Think of most fights as having three types of characteristics for a Hero or Villain, which covers their mental ability, physical ability and spiritual ability. Fight cards contain an elegant and expansive matrix of skirmish numbers, reward tabs, damage markers and game text. But the global cards will be "available" to be used by many characters (albeit, in a manner where you want to build your deck to take advantage of a character's unique personality). We want the titles of these global cards to emphasize their flexibility and the difference between the heavily character-oriented signature cards which carry titles from the films. We have placeholder titles on the global cards for development purposes, but we want a cool naming convention for these cards, and we'd like your input.

With several such cards in the universe from day one, and more coming in future expansions, we want a naming convention that won't get repetitive (or boring) for the global fight cards. Titles are an important part of immersing players in the universe of Fight Klub™. Since we don't want global Fight cards to be linked to any particular character per se, we need a system that has a broad range but still captures the essence of Fight Klub™ and its large cast of potential combatants. Something that has the ability to expand as the game grows and we add more and more Fight cards to the playing universe.

Got any ideas? Here's your chance to have some influence in a design element that will be with the game forever. Let us know what you're thinking.

Game text as a commodity

A critical component of gameplay, "the game text", is often one of the most overlooked aspects of game design. How text is written, the terminology that is used, and the amount of real estate on a given card template all play an important role in how well a game "works". Confusing wording and overly complex functions can bog down the pace of your game and reduce the overall quality of the play experience.

In Fight Klub™, we want to make game text as clear and concise as possible. One of the ways to accomplish that is by introducing a wording convention that reduces the number of game terms one has to remember and at the same time clarifies game function without unneeded exposition. Here's a look at how we are approaching game text in Fight Klub™.

The default rule for Fight Klub™ (with respect to game text) is that all game text refers to "you", the owner/user of the card, unless otherwise indicated. So a card that reads "Draw 1" means you draw 1 card from your Draw deck. If the game text was supposed to tell your opponent to draw a card, it would be stated as "Opponent Draw 1." However, we don't want to be forced to repeat the word "opponent" over and over in game text. It gets repetitive and takes up space (which is at a premium on cards, and we'll talk about that in a bit). It also limits exactly "where" you can put game functions outside the normal card text box, and space can really be limited in those cases.

To make this work better, we are introducing the "Opponent symbol": .

So the example of "Opponent Draw 1" would be expressed in game text as " Draw 1." Simple and short. "Draw" always means to draw a card from your draw deck, and take it into hand. It has only one meaning so that we can keep those functions as short and clear as possible. "Draw 1" is easier to read and doesn't clutter the card as much as a full sentence instruction of "Draw 1 card from your Draw deck." In the same way, " Draw 1." is better than "Opponent must draw one card from his or her Draw deck."

Take the following card text:

This means that the game text is a "Cooldown" action and can be taken during the Cooldown phase. You Burn 1 Blue and 1 Yellow Energy token to force the opponent to Destroy (remove from play and place in the discard pile) one of their Conditions in play. Our new convention for game text makes this simpler to read and also to write. And by using the same terms consistently for both owner and opponent, we hope to make Fight Klub™ easier to understand as well as more enjoyable.

Phases of a Turn

The turn sequence is always an interesting part of any game. Different games have different styles. Some are very rigid in structure, and some are more free-flowing. In Fight Klub™, we want to keep the "rules" part simple while making the game as strategically deep as possible.

An old game design axiom is "it's like chess... easy to learn, a lifetime to master." Chess has relatively few rules. Each piece can do a limited number of movements, and you get one "action" per turn. With the exception of castling, there's not a lot of "special rules" you have to know. Fight Klub™ isn't exactly like chess, but the goal is the same. Make it easy to learn, but strategic to play and challenging to master.

In order to make the basic game "movements" as easy to understand as possible, we have created a turn sequence that tries to minimize confusion and timing issues that can plague some games.

There are three Phases in a turn. Setup, Fight and Cooldown. Eash phase has a few actions that can be taken, and it's set up in the following steps.

The Setup Phase is easy as 1-2-3.

• Do this once - First Setup action.
• Do this twice - Play one Condition OR one Gear OR one Instant - Setup OR take one Setup action.
• Do this three times - Flip a Fight card from the Fight stack.

Now you're ready to fight :-)

Each of your three Fight cards constitutes a fight. The Fight Phase follows these steps:

The Cooldown Phase contains end-of-the turn mechanics as follows:

• Play one Instant-Cooldown OR take one Cooldown action.
• Discard to Hold number, THEN Draw to Hand number.
• Exchange The Drop.

Keep in mind, the player with The Drop determines which player takes their actions first in each phase of the turn. They also determine the order in which the Fight cards are resolved.

By having an easy-to-understand structure for the turns, we want the learning curve for Fight Klub™ to be quick and easy, so you can spend more time playing and learning the deeper strategies involved.

Skirmishes - The Heart of the Fight Card

To win at Fight Klub™, you have to win skirmishes and damage your opponent by scoring Fight cards. The skirmish lies at the heart of the Fight card mechanic. Master the nuances of the skirmish and you control the secret to winning.

Fight cards typically have three skirmish numbers at the top of the card, which, when placed "head-to-head" against an opponent's Fight card create three skirmish match-ups. This can be true for global Fight cards and signature Fight cards. Unless some other card overrides the outcome, you win a skirmish by having a higher total in that skirmish than your opponent. The player who wins the majority of the three skirmishes on a Fight card scores that fight, and the number of damage markers printed on the scored Fight card count against your opponent's life. When one player has no life remaining, the game is over.

In addition to the numbers printed on the Fight cards themselves, there are ways to boost your skirmish numbers; directly, through cards such as Effects and indirectly, through other cards in play that can impact skirmish totals. Executing the best combos of Fight cards, Effects and other skirmish-boosting actions will give you the advantage over your opponent.

Now, winning the skirmishes are the way to damage your opponent, but skirmish strategy runs much deeper. Many Fight cards have "result tabs" associated with specific skirmishes. Win that skirmish, and you get the reward listed - even if you lose the fight and don't score the Fight card. It's just like in the movies where someone is getting thrown out a window, but happens to find a tool or weapon they can use when they hit the ground. This function is extremely important in the ebb and flow of the game. Result tabs can do several things, such as adding Energy, Drawing cards, Destroying opponent's resources, etc. So managing your fight strategy well will pay big dividends.

Suppose you look at the three Fight cards and believe you can win one, maybe two of them, but will probably lose the third. But the one you will probably lose has a reward tab on one skirmish that gives you a bonus of drawing a card if you win that skirmish. Drawing a card will give you a better chance of winning the other two fights. You have The Drop this turn, so you choose the Fight card you stand to lose first. You concentrate your resources on the one skirmish you want to win, sacrificing the other two, and that Fight card. But, you win that single skirmish, draw your card and now you're better equipped for the next two fights in this turn. So even though your opponent scores that Fight card, you're putting yourself in a better position for winning the next two, and ultimately the game.

Since result tabs give many strategic bonuses, there are lots of ways to help yourself and hurt your opponent in addition to the actual scoring of the Fight cards and doing damage to your opponent's life. Suppose you win a result tab that lets you add a specific Energy token to your Energy pool, and that token is what you need to pay for one of your other cards in hand that can help you in the next fight. It's all a matter of creating and executing a deck with good synergy between your resources and your strategy. There are many, many possible combos and outcomes to keep the game interesting and challenging.

An additional bonus for the skirmishes is built into the characters themselves. Each character will have a number of colored "fist" icons in the top center of the character card. This bonus tends to match the "character" of the Hero or Villain. For example, a physically strong character would likely have fist icons that enhance "physical" centered Fight cards. A character who is a magician would likely have fist icons that enhance "spiritual" centered Fight cards, and so on. When you place your character card on the Fight card to initiate a fight, if the color of the fist(s) matches the color of the center tab on the Fight card, you get a +1 bonus in that skirmish for each matching fist. As you can imagine, deckbuilding around your character's personality and these bonuses is an important feature of playing Fight Klub™.

Manipulating the skirmish numbers is at the heart of Fight Klub™. There are so many different possibilities that deck-building strategies abound. There are a few more details to reveal about Fight cards, but those will have to wait for the next post. :-)

Clash of the Titans

We’ve talked about how you win at Fight Klub™ by having your character battle an opponent through Fight cards. You score Fight cards by winning the most skirmishes on that card.

Most of the time :-)

There is another way. There is another type of Fight card we haven’t talked about yet – the Clash card. It doesn’t have skirmish numbers. Instead, it requires that players check certain conditions within the game to determine a winner. For instance, a Clash card might have text like, “The player with the most cards in hand scores this Fight card.” Clash cards provide a different win condition than Power cards (the name for Fight cards with skirmish numbers along the top). Clash cards provide a bit of a twist in your Fight stack strategy. A little variation to keep your opponent guessing throughout the game.

Just like Power cards, Clash cards can come in two flavors: Global and Signature. Clash cards have a special marking in the card-type icon which means you can only have a total of three Clash cards in your Fight stack. Maybe you want to use three of the same Clash card. Or maybe you want three different Clash cards. You may want to splash in just one or two. It’s all in how you want to build your Fight stack.

Various Clash cards work well in some decks, and not so well in others :-) Take the example above. If you’re playing a character who gives you a high Hand size, you may want to use a couple of copies of that Clash card to see if you can score a few wins because of your Hand advantage. If you play a character who has a low Hand size, you probably would not like to see that Clash card in play. Other Clash cards have different “conditions” to compare against the opponent. It means managing the in-game situations so that the conditions are right when your Clash cards are played. Do you really want to play that Gear from hand this turn?

So what happens when a Clash card is paired against a Power card? Simple. Clash cards always take precedence. So in a case where you have a Clash card against a Power card, just default to the gametext on the Clash card to determine who scores that fight.

What about when two Clash cards pair against each other. Another simple answer. The player with The Drop decides which card’s gametext to use. So beware you don’t get bitten by your own Clash cards. ;-) No matter whose text is used, however, you may only score your own Fight card if you win the fight.

Clash cards give you the ability to put a little “flavor” into your deck building. Something to catch the opponent off guard, or just a supplement to your Fight stack strategy. The way you build your deck and Fight stack can help you win in more ways that one.

There’s no telling what types of Clash cards a player may want to use. Or what impact they will have on the game. Just when you think you have your opponent’s strategy figured out, you may end up surprised by having to guard in-game against another type of attack.

Remember, though, you can only use three in your Fight stack. Or none. Or one. Keep your opponent guessing…

The Scoop on Scoring

By now, you know that scoring Fight cards does damage to your opponent, and when your opponent’s character has no Life remaining, you win the game. Win the Fight, inflict damage, and count the Life remaining. Simple enough, right? Well, as you have seen thus far with other game functions, we like to add a few twists and turns.

Fight cards have “blood spot” markers that count as 1 damage against an opponent’s Life total. Most Global Fight cards have one blood spot, while most Signature Fight cards (those that can only be used by a specific character), have two blood spots.

But there’s more to scoring Fight cards than that. :-)

For example, there are cards that allow you to inflict “double damage.” The scoring bonus is indicated by turning your scored Fight card at a 90-degree angle in the scoring area. Score double damage with a Signature Fight card, and you can cause 4 damage in a single fight.

And of course, we wouldn’t leave you without a couple of ways to remove damage, right?

Winning and scoring fights is pretty straight forward, but happens when a fight ends in a tie?

When a tie occurs, it’s time to “raise the stakes.” Each player places his or her Fight card from the tie off to the side. And the stakes are raised for the next fight! If there is another tie, the stakes are raised even higher, and so on. When one player wins a fight at the end of such a sequence, that player scores not only the winning Fight card, but all of his or her Fight cards that “tied” along the way. You can end up scoring 2, 3, 4 or more damage if the stakes get high enough. And the loser gets nothing. :-(

So when you find yourself in a spot where neither player wins a fight, the strategy escalates. Who has The Drop, and the choice of the next fight? How many resources can you throw at the next fight since it’s worth more? Can you win? Force another tie? Mathematically, it’s possible to win the game in a single, winner-takes-all “showdown,” although we haven’t seen that happen in actual play – yet. :-)

Oh yeah. Just to keep things interesting, we threw in a few non-Fight cards that can cause damage too. ;-)

So, now you know what happens to your scored Fight cards. They are placed in the scoring area, and when the blood count exceeds your opponent’s Life, the game ends. But what happens to your Fight card when you lose a fight? Losing Fight cards are placed on the bottom of your Fight stack. This becomes an important facet of the game, because if no one wins the game by the end of the fourth turn (there are 12 cards in your Fight stack to start the game, and four turns total 12 fights), the game continues until there is a winner. It’s a fight to the finish.

This means some Fight cards may get used more than once. In fact, some game functions may cause the Fight stack to be shuffled during the game, meaning previously used Fight cards can come back again. There may even be cards that have you “count your Fight stack,” so that being behind can sometimes turn into an advantage.

All this has an impact on Fight stack strategy, as a recycled Fight card generally, but not always, means it was a losing Fight card earlier in the game. Does that mean it’s a weak Fight card against this opponent? Well, maybe not. Perhaps a Signature card was “overruled” by a Clash gametext? Perhaps you had a bad draw at the time? Can you make it work better this time around?

Fight Klub™ is designed to provide many in-game decisions that can generate multiple outcomes, and a high replay value. The more you play, the more you will see the strategic depth Fight Klub™ has to offer.

A More Comprehensive Look

We’ve talked about some of the cards, functions and design goals of Fight Klub™, but how exactly does the game work? What are the components of the game, and how does it all come together?

In a nutshell, here’s how it plays out.

There are 6 types of cards in Fight Klub:

A deck consists of 40 cards:

• 1 Hero or Villain
• 
12 Fight cards in a Fight stack
• 
27 cards in your Draw deck.

You build your deck around your character and the Energy they generate (one or more of the three “colors” of Energy). You choose Fight cards that work in combination with Effects and other cards to win skirmishes and score damage against your opponent’s life. Your Draw deck consists of cards that help you create a synergistic balance between executing your gameplan and disrupting your opponent’s strategy.

A typical character may have 8 Life, 5 Hand and 1 Hold. It takes 8 damage to knock you out of the game, and you get to start each turn with 5 cards in hand and can keep (Hold) 1 card at the end of each turn before you Even up (Discard down to your Hold number, then Draw up to your Hand number).

At the start of the game (and at the start of each turn), your character generates Energy, marked by colored tokens. This Energy pool is used as a bank of resources to pay the cost of playing cards from your 27-card Draw deck. Fight cards, which are drawn from a separate Fight stack, have no cost to play.

A turn has three Phases: Setup, Fight and Cooldown.

The Setup Phase starts with each player getting their Energy allocation, and then each player gets two Setup actions. A Setup action can be used to play a Condition or Gear to the table, play an Instant card with the Setup keyword, or execute a Setup gameplay function from a card in play.The player with The Drop determines which player takes BOTH their Setup actions first. Then the other player plays their Setup actions. Then each player turns over three Fight cards, creating three random “fights.”

The Fight Phase begins when the player with The Drop decides which fight to resolve first. Once the fight is chosen, each player gets one Enhance action. An Enhance action can be used to play an Effect card on a player’s current Fight card, play an Instant card with the Enhance keyword, or execute an Enhance gameplay function from a card in play. The player with The Drop determines which player takes their Enhance action first.
The fight is then resolved by determining who wins the most skirmishes on the Fight card, or who has the winning condition if the fight is being resolved with Clash gametext. After the fight is resolved, and any rewards or bonuses are awarded, each player gets one Score action. The player with The Drop determines which player takes their Score action first. The player with The Drop then chooses the next fight, and the steps are repeated until all three fights are resolved.

After the final fight of the turn, there is a Cooldown Phase. Each player gets one Cooldown action. A Cooldown action can be used to play an Instant card with the Cooldown keyword, or execute a Cooldown gameplay function from a card in play. The player with The Drop determines which player takes their Cooldown action first.

Both players then Even up by discarding to their Hold number, and then drawing to their Hand number. The Drop is exchanged, signalling the end of the turn, and the next turn begins, with the player with The Drop determining action priority.

As you can see, the game is not mechanically complex, but the variations you can create with your choices of Fight cards and Effects, as well as the way you can manipulate the table with your other cards creates a play environment thats fast, fun and has tons of in-game decisions to keep you on your toes.

So, an example might be:

A fight card with skirmish numbers of 3-4-5.

Your character provides a bonus for the center skirmish of, say 2. You play an Effect that gives you a 2-0-1 boost, and now your skirmish totals are 5-6-6. What can your opponent muster? Let’s say you win the center and right skirmishes, so you score the Fight card. The right skirmish had a reward tab of Add 1 Yellow Energy. So you get to score 1 damage to your opponent and Add 1 Yellow Energy for winning the reward tab.

But your opponent plays an Instant for his Score action, which awards him 2 of any energy if he loses the previous fight. Now he has 5 Yellow Energy tokens, to your 3, and the next Fight card has clash text which scores the fight for the player with the most Yellow Energy! But for your Enhance action in that fight you activate an Enhance function on one of your Conditions that forces your opponent to Burn 2 Energy… now what options does your opponent have? :-)

He can’t change the outcome, so you managed to tie that Fight card. This “raises the stakes” and the two tied cards are set aside, waiting for the outcome of the next fight, the final one of the turn. Which, because you had The Drop, you waited to do last because….

Multiplayer? You bet!

One of the questions most frequently asked about Fight Klub™ is "will there be multiplayer rules?" The answer?

Absolutely. :-)

We realize having a multiplayer option makes the game more appealing, because it allows groups and odd numbers of players to enjoy the game together. Some of the most enjoyable games I have ever played were multiplayer variants of Star Trek CCG.

But it was just a variant. There were no consistent rules from game to game, and many cards didn't work the same, or just didn't work at all.

Star Trek 2nd Edition was designed with multiplayer games in mind, and it made the multiplayer experience better. The Lord of the Rings was designed to have a multiplayer interface, which many players enjoyed. Fight Klub, is also designed to accommodate multiplayer, so that you don't have to exclude certain cards or make up rules for how they are treated.

So the goal with Fight Klub was to build the game in a way that allowed head to head matchups as well as multiple players with a minimum amount of "rules" variations between the two. I think we have been able to do that in a way that both keeps the integrity of the cards and gameplay intact, but that allows for new ways to use cards and provides different strategies in the game.

The multiplayer format takes on more of a "melee" style of fighting, where you can fight just about anyone from turn to turn, with the goal of being the last player who has Life remaining. So you have, say The Terminator, Mr. Blond, Rambo and Magneto at the table (just an example folks... this isn't a character spoiler) :-) Magneto fights The Terminator, but instead of Retaliating against Magneto, The Terminator decides to take a stab at Mr. Blond. Rambo waits patiently for his chance to pounce, and gets it when Mr. Blond comes after him. Mr. Blond doesn't take that well, and retaliates against Rambo the very next fight. It's a free-for-all, and nobody is safe!

Here is a preliminary draft of the multiplayer rules - we will be looking for more input on this in a short while from you guys. Keep in mind there are some strategic nuances that result from having more than 2 players. :-)

One player (randomly) starts with The Drop.

All players, starting with the player with The Drop and going clockwise, get their Energy tokens and play their Setup actions. The player with The Drop can choose to "pass" and go last if they wish.

All players flip over 3 Fight cards.

The player with The Drop challenges any other player to a fight by placing one of his or her Fight cards across from one of any other player's Fight cards. This is a major distinction between 2-player and multi-player, in that you have more choice in your fight matchups. You can look around and pick the fight you want to engage in - it's not predetermined as in the 2-player rules. The fight is resolved as normal, with Enhance actions, Score actions, etc. If it is a tie, neither player scores, and both Fight cards are returned to the bottom of the owner's Fight stack (there is no "raise the stakes" in this format).

Tracking damage is treated a bit differently in multiplayer, and a "damage tracker" will be available online to be printed and used for scoring in this format.

Then the player who was "attacked" chooses one of their remaining Fight cards, and challenges any player to a fight, following the same process. This continues until no fights remain. If the player just "attacked" has no Fight cards left (the previous fight being their third), the choice of fights goes back to the player with The Drop OR the player to the right, if the player with The Drop has no Fight cards left.

Since there will be many times when the player with The Drop is not involved in a fight in multiplayer, the "attacking" player gets to choose the action priority for Enhance and Score actions. Having The Drop is much more random than in a 2-player game. Use it wisely :-)

If there is an even number of players, all the fight cards should be used. If there are an odd number of players, there will be 1 Fight card remaining. This becomes the "last man standing," and that Fight card scores as if it won all three skirmishes (if it is a power Fight card). The players themselves are determining who gets that benefit from turn to turn by their fight selections! It is possible for one player to be "ignored" and have two or more of their Fight cards remain, but do you really want do that and let someone score multiple Fight cards for free? :-)

Cards that reference "opponent" work in the following way. If the action is "fight-specific," that is, an Enhance action, fight or Score action, you must direct that to the player you are currently fighting. Setup and Cooldown actions are "global," and can impact any player of your choice. Cards referencing The Drop work the same way as in a two-player game. You either have it, or you don't :-)

After all fights are done for the turn, The Drop goes to the player who scored the last Fight card. The game continues until all players but one have been knocked out.

As you can see, there are a few variances between the 2-player and multiplayer formats. But we think the differences are minimal, and the ones that are there open up new strategic avenues for enjoying the game.

Questions that need answers

"Questions that need answers" was a Q&A session on the fourms. Check it out.

Distribution... and more Questions?

We have talked about the distribution model for Fight Klub™ and how it is designed to be a player-friendly purchase. In addition to selling direct to customers and offering the same shipping costs no matter where you live, we have a production model that sets the price range for a complete set (and complete play set) at around $100.00.

That model also includes the 1-3-3 rule, which limits decks to one copy of any rare card, and 3 copies each of any uncommon or common card.

Everything from the size of the sets (100 unique cards in each set) to the way cards are printed and distributed is designed to bring maximum efficiency to the production process and keep costs down. Getting a complete play set of an expansion for about $100 is a benchmark for TCGs that we are proud of.

The size of the sets are 100 cards. 30 rares, 30 uncommons and 40 commons. "One" ships as a fixed set, so you get one each of the 100 cards, plus The Drop, as a 121-card kilo. Three kilos gives you a complete play set. Only the characters in "One" will be marked as rare (since you can only use one character at a time anyway), so you aren't stuck with extra copies of 20 other rares if you purchase three kilos.

The distribution for "Two" and beyond is different. Each of those sets will have 100 unique cards as well, but will ship in a 120-card kilo that contains 10 rares, 30 uncommons and 80 commons. Another unique feature for Fight Klub™ is that each kilo will contain exactly 1 copy of each uncommon in the set and 2 copies of each common. This does several things.

It guarantees you will get a full 3 copies of every uncommon and 6 copies of every common in a 3-kilo purchase. We chose to do this for a couple of reasons. Our production method made it possible, so we wanted to make sure we could control the number of certain cards. Signature cards are an important feature of the game, and they are all uncommon, so we want to make sure you get your full complement of 3 in a three-kilo purchase. Also, for players who buy only one or two kilos of a set, we want you to have as many deck-building options as possible, so you get mulitple copies of commons in a set. But even with the extra copies, a play set equivalent purchase means you will only have 3 extra copies of any common card. That's far better than most other TCGs. And no wasted uncommon slots!

The rares are randomized, and you get 10 of the 30 rares in each Kilo. There may be some duplication due to the randomization process, but with the 1-3-3 rule, trading for rares shouldn't be difficult. Or you can split a 4th kilo with someone in your playgroup. And if you didn't get every character in your 3-kilo purchase (8 of the 30 rares are characters), you are at least guaranteed to have gotten a full allotment of signature cards for each character you did get.

This "three-tiered" system balances the need for playability in a one-Kilo purchase with the two-Kilo purchase advantage of getting a full set of common cards and the three-Kilo purchase of getting all the uncommon cards and enough rares to trade. And it all has far less duplication than a traditional TCG.

Also, over time, we will try to "design in" a use for duplication for our three-Kilo players by being able to use those extra commons in combination with other extras (like characters from a three-Kilo purchase of "One") to be able to make "give-away" decks to get other players interested in Fight Klub™.

One thing we are aware of with the kilo model of distribution, and the guaranteed mix of uncommon and common cards is the loss of the feeling of "discovery" of the old model of opening booster packs. One thing we are working on to help overcome that is a bonus feature we have dubbed the "Black Beauty". The Black Beauty is a special package of 11 cards that will always be FREE with the purchase of a third Kilo of a given expansion set. This special package may contain unique gameplay cards, viral marketing elements, cards that work only in alternate formats, etc. Over time we even have plans for players to influence the cards in the Black Beauties via a dream cards section of the website.

Even though the Black Beauty cards are unique, and don't come with every kilo, if you have purchased 3 kilos of a set (which is a full set/full play set equivalent), you automatically get the Black Beauty package. So if you bought into a set in the quantity we've said should get you all the cards, you get them. Since we sell direct, we can track your purchases and will send your Black Beauty with your 3rd kilo purchase.

We obviously place a lot of emphasis on the 3-kilo purchase. We have designed Fight Klub™ to be very collectable, and while you can certainly buy a single kilo of any expansion, the game is optimized for players to have 3 kilos. This model allows us to give up $300 to $900 in revenue for an expansion set because we are designing Fight Klub™ to have a broad appeal and non-threatening to other primary TCGs.

Designers Note:

Last week's Q & A worked pretty well, so I'd like to give it another shot. Last time the questions were fairly open-ended, with no particular focus to the questions, other than the no "when will we get to see stuff" rule.

This week I'll put out a couple of primers to see if it gives you guys something to think about :-)

(The no "when will we get to see stuff" rule still applies, I'm afraid.)

I mentioned before that there is at least one card that has two of the same skirmish types on it. Let's say it has two Physical skimrishes. There might be a card that gives Physical +2....

Signature Fight cards give an energy bonus in addition to built-in double damage. Many signature cards also have a reward tab on one of the skirmishes that gives a different energy color as the reward...

Effect cards generally boost skirmish numbers based on the physical location of the skirmish (left, center, right). Other actions can affect the skirmish numbers by type (Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Fate)....

Managing energy flow and actions will be very important in Fight Klub™. You are given limited resources to magnify in-game decisions as well as deck construction. It's almost like being given a turn budget...

In addition to the above, later posts including sample card text, can been seen on the forums. Your comments are also welcome there.