Breakers Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Monster Card Anatomy
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Winning the game
  • Rounds
  • End of Round
  • Starting next round
  • Tie-breaker
• Additional Rules
• Monster Clarifications
• Game Variants
  • 2 Player Game
  • 2v2 Teams

Components

• 22 Monster cards
• Tracker card
• 14 Equipment cubes
• Tie-breaker token
• Lead player token
• Suit deck: a set of 12 cards in four different suits

Monster Card Anatomy

The monster card is numbered as follows:

1. Trump suit of monster. The four suit symbols shown on the anatomy diagram are Melee, Ranged, Traps and Magic.
2. Monster name.
3. Monster ability: rules for how tricks are played for the current round. For timing of any effects not otherwise specified, start with the lead player and resolve in turn order.
4. Win condition: the requirement needed to defeat the monster at the end of the round.
5. Monster trophy: available to the player who defeated the monster. During each round, a player can only use one trophy by flipping the card over and resolving its effect. The trophy refreshes at the end of each round. Unless otherwise indicated on the card, trophies can only be used during the Action Phase.

Setup

Suit deck

The suit deck is constructed as follows, depending on the number of players:

• 3 players: Remove all 11s and 12s from the suit deck.
• 4 players: Use every card in each suit.
• 2 players or 2v2 teams: Refer to the Game Variants section.

Starting the game

1. Randomly decide who plays first as the lead player. Play then continues clockwise. The Lead player token is used to track the starting player for each trick.
2. If this is your first time playing, we recommend revealing the monsters in the following order: Phoenix, Fates, Kraken, Wendigo, and Vampire.
3. Shuffle Monster cards. Place them face down in a pile, forming the monster deck in front of all players.
4. Place the Tracker card to the left of the monster deck, using spare Equipment cubes to track information on the card as needed.
5. Shuffle the suit deck and place it face down to the right of the monster deck.
6. Reveal a monster and perform any specified instructions indicated on the Monster ability.
7. Each player is dealt 12 cards. Place any remaining suit cards back to the right of the revealed monster; referred to as the suit deck. All cards are dealt in a 4 player game.
8. Unless otherwise notified, always follow the specific instructions on the Monster card. These supersede standard rules.

Players are not allowed to discuss or share information about cards in their respective hand with other players during the game.

Gameplay

Winning the game

The game ends when a player defeats 3 monsters.

Rounds

The game is played in rounds, each consisting of 10 tricks. Players compete to meet the monster's win condition in order to defeat it and claim its trophy.

A trick is defined when all players take a turn playing a card and a winner is determined.

Each trick in a round has 3 phases:

1. Trick Phase

The lead player plays a card of any suit from their hand. A suit is defined as a set of cards sharing the same symbol and corresponding color. In clockwise order, each player, in turn, must then play a card of the matching suit. If a player cannot match suit, they have two options:

• A. Play a Trump suit: The Trump suit is a special suit that beats any other suit, including the lead suit. The Trump suit for the round is predetermined by the monster card. Playing a card from the Trump suit can beat even higher cards played from the lead suit.
• B. Trash a card: If a player does not have a card from the lead suit and does not want to play a card from the Trump suit, they can "trash" a card. These off suit cards will not typically win any tricks.

2. Action Phase

This phase occurs after all cards are played and revealed, including any face down cards in the trick. Starting with the lead player, in turn order, a player may take any number of the available actions:

• A. Place Equipment: Equipment is represented by a cube and immediately adds +1 to the card's value. It can be placed on any card played in the trick. Each card can only hold one Equipment cube at a time. A player may use any or all acquired equipment cubes.
• B. Activate a Monster trophy, if not already used this round.
• C. Pass one's turn and take no actions. (Printed as "Pass ones turn"; apostrophe added.)

After the last player has completed their actions, the trick immediately proceeds to the resolution phase.

3. Resolution Phase

The winner of each trick is determined in this phase. The highest-ranking value of the led suit wins the trick. If a Trump suit is played, the highest-ranking Trump value wins. The Trump suit outranks any led suit in the trick. Unless altered by game effects, off-suit/non-trump cards played are not considered for scoring. The winner of the trick collects all the cards played in a face down pile and leads the next trick.

Collected tricks are kept facedown and off to the side from the play area. They should be staggered and easily countable. Once collected facedown, a player can no longer view the cards.

Tricks that do not count toward the Win condition can be stacked next to monster deck out of play.

End of Round

• Place the Monster card in front of the player who defeated it. The trophy can be used in future rounds.
• Gather and shuffle suited cards.
• Turn faceup any used Monster trophies. These can be used during the next round.
• Deal one Equipment cube to players who did not defeat the monster.

Starting next round

The player who defeated the previous monster leads the next round. Reveal a monster and perform any specified instructions indicated on the Monster ability. Each player is dealt 12 cards.

Tie-breaker

In a tie between trick cards: The last card action that causes a tie (defined by the last card played or the last card modified) breaks the tie.

In a tie between trick totals: The last player to reach the tied trick total that satisfies the Win condition breaks the tie. During play, trick total ties are tracked by the Tie-breaker token. If a winner is not determined by a trick total tie-breaker, then a winner is determined by the lowest sum of remaining cards in hand. If the tied players have no cards remaining, no one wins the Monster card.

Additional Rules

• Discarding cards: Remove cards from a player's hand, placing them faceup for all players to see.
• Discarding Equipment cubes: Remove equipment from the specified area and return it to the general supply.
• Disqualify: Remove the card from the trick or specified area.
• Hand: Cards held by players that remain private. Cards in other areas defined by monster abilities are not considered in hand. Examples: Phoenix, The Fates and Unseelie Court.
• "When you play" effects: Effects triggered by cards played during a trick from the player's hand or other specified areas.
• Card number: The printed number on a suit card.
• Card value can be changed by equipment, Monster trophy and Monster abilities. Value = Card number + any equipment +/- abilities and or trophy effects. When an effect changes a value, it is changed immediately. Value has no maximum and can also be below zero.
• If a monster is not won by any player, discard it and start the next round. All players receive Equipment cubes.
• If a player is out of cards before end of the round, they do not participate in the trick.
• If two effects occur at the same time, they are resolved in player turn order.
• Lead player is unchanged if an entire trick is disqualified or is not won by any player.
• The Monster ability is only active during the round in which it is revealed. Once the Monster card is defeated, the trophy can be used but the ability text is no longer active.
• If a player accidentally plays an illegal card, the playgroup may decide how to correct the error.
• Player: Human impacted by any game effects. Monsters are not considered players.
• Opponents: Any player that is not on your team.

Monster Clarifications

Devil

• Monster trophy clarification: if a number 6 is not drawn, return cards to the correct players and complete the remaining phases of the game.

Dragon

• If the last card played in the trick triggers Ignite, that player wins.

Dybbuk

• Monster trophy clarification: This trophy cannot be used when Ghost Ship is the active monster.

Fates

• Monster trophy clarification: Turn order is not altered for any player except the one who activated the Monster Trophy.

Ghost Ship

• When the Ghost Ship forces players to discard tricks, it must be resolved in player order.

Glawackus

• Monster trophy clarification: Does not reshuffle The Fates faceup cards or Phoenix's facedown pile. Only reshuffles cards in hand and remaining cards in the deck.

Kraken

• If multiple values are disqualified and only off-suit cards remain, they are not scored. No one would win that trick. The ability checks highest value not rank of suits played. If players are tied for most tricks, they all would lose. If players are tied for second most tricks, normal game tie-breaker rules apply.

Skunk Ape

• The monster position does not reset to lead player for each trick. If the movement of the monster triggers a tie at the end of the action phase, it would be considered the last card action and therefore break the tie.
• Trophy: "replace" does not trigger "played" abilities. Any new off suit card including trump does not score but still remains in the trick for other game effects.

Slide-Rock Bolter

• Monster ability and Monster trophy clarification: Suits are no longer active for other game effects. Suits are treated as if they do not exist.

Unseelie Court

• A Player can look through their personal pile at anytime. If they play a card for the trick and do not have any cards in their personal pile, they cannot take the disqualify or draw actions.

Wendigo

• Monster trophy clarification: When a card becomes a copy of the led suit it takes on all characteristics of the suit for all other game effects. (Printed as "for or all other game effects"; read as "for all".) It does not retain any knowledge of its printed suit. The printed card number remains the same.

Game Variants

2 Player Game

• Remove Phoenix and Yeti monster cards from deck.
• Remove 11 and 12 of each suit from suit deck.
• Randomly select the first player.
• Reveal Monster card.
• Each player is dealt 10 cards from the suit deck.
• Proceed play with the number of trick totals and game phases from a 3/4 player game.
• Each player alternates leading the next trick.
• Prior to Trick phase and starting with the lead player, draw back up to 10 cards.
  • Drawn cards replace the original location of played cards.
  • If a player is required to discard the redraw does not take effect until the start of the next trick.
• The player who defeats the last Monster card leads the next round.
• The winner is the first person to defeat 3 Monster cards.

2v2 Teams

• Follow original game setup for 4 players.
• Teammates sit across the table from each other.
• Players cannot discuss respective hands with each other.
• After each round, an Equipment cube is provided only to the players on the team who did not defeat the Monster card.
• Winner is the first team to defeat a combined 4 Monster cards.