Doctor Who: Time Clash – Starter Set

Doctor Who: Time Clash – Starter Set Rulebook

Table of Contents

Setup

Match Set-up

Doctor Who Time Clash is played in multi-game matches. Decide whether to play best-of-three or best-of-five before the match begins.

Then…

Divide into two teams, and sit alternately around the table. In two-player games, each player is a whole team. See "Three-Player Games" if you have three players.
Decide which team will be the Doctor's Team and which will be the Enemy Team.
The Doctor's team chooses a Time arc for this match.
The Enemy team chooses any Enemy arc for this match.
The Doctor's team chooses a Companion arc for this match. For your first match: instead of choosing arcs, use Enemy: Davros, Time: Skaro and Companion: Clara. NOTE: The game will be most even if the number of Dalek icons on the arcs matches the number of Tardis icons on them. Balanced games are best for newer players. However, a balancing mechanism lets players freely choose sets of arcs that aren't balanced, if they want to. See "Balancing Uneven Arcs by Changing the Doctor's Endgame Target."
Start the first game!

Game Set-up

At the beginning of each game in a match…

Set the Vortex Disk to "Build-Up," place it in the center of the table, and arrange the chosen arcs around it. The order doesn't matter. Get the Doctor pawn out, but don't place it on any of the arcs yet. Put a value track marker on each arc's score track, pointed at zero, with either side up.
Shuffle each team's deck separately.
Each player takes two cards from their team's deck to form their starting hand.
In the first game of a match, the Doctor's team takes the first turn. In subsequent games, the loser of the last game takes the first turn. The members of the team taking the first turn decide which of them will go first, and can pick after looking at their starting hands.

Sample table layout: "Here's how the table might look in the middle of a game." The rulebook's diagram labels the Vortex Disk, the Enemy Arc, the Companion Arc, the Companion Stack, the Enemy Stack, each team's Draw Pile and Discard Pile, a Value Track Marker, a Stack's Open Card, and the six-sided die.

On Your Turn

The core of each player's turn is very simple: Draw a card, then play a card.

Optionally, instead of playing a card, a player may discard a card to move the Doctor.

After a player draws and plays, the third step of a player's turn depends on which phase of the game it was when the turn began (Build-up or Endgame) and which team that player is on.

In the Build-Up, the third step is to check whether the Endgame begins.
In the Endgame, on Doctor's Team turns, the Doctor attempts a Gambit to win the game as the third step.
In the Endgame, on Enemy Team turns, the third step is for the players to see if the Enemy wins by the overwhelming force of the cards they've played.

After one turn is over, play passes clockwise to the next player until the game ends.

Turn Outline Summary

Draw a card.
Play a card.
Check for Endgame (both teams, during the Build-up), or attempt a Gambit to win (Doctor turns only, during the Endgame), or check to see if the Enemy wins (Enemy turns only, during the Endgame).

Drawing Cards

Players draw cards from their own team's deck. If a deck runs out, shuffle its discards to form a new deck. If a deck runs out and there are no discards, that team loses.

Playing Cards

There are two types of cards: NUMBERED cards and SPECIAL cards.

NUMBERED CARDS have a suit and a value. They're played to the three stacks that radiate from the three arcs. Suits are Threat, Quip, Tech, or Plan. Values are positive for the Doctor's team, negative for the Enemy team.
SPECIAL CARDS have specific instructions. Most offer two options. Once played for either option, they're discarded unless some other card or rule specifies something else.
COUNTER CARDS: Special card instructions that begin with the word "counter" (e.g., "Counter a Quip") are played as interruptions during the opposing team's turn, rather than on their owner's turn. See "Cards that Counter" for more information.

Playing Numbered Cards

Numbered cards are played to the three stacks that radiate from the three arcs. All of the cards in each stack remain visible in the course of play, so they're staggered when played as shown in the "Sample Table Layout" photo.

When a new card is played on a stack, it's played on the top of that stack. The top of a stack is sometimes called the "outside," because the stacks are staggered moving away from the Vortex Disk and its surrounding arcs. The card at the top of a stack is sometimes called an "open" card.

A numbered card's suit determines which stack(s) it can be played on. Reminders are printed on the arcs.

THREATS: Enemy arc's stack only.
QUIPS: Companion arc's stack only.
TECH: Time or Companion arc's stacks.
PLANS: Any stack.

Plans and Tech each have a special rule when played: See "Special Effects of Numbered Cards" below.

Special Effects of Numbered Cards

FOILING PLANS: When one team plays a Plan directly on top of the other team's Plan, and the older Plan's absolute value is equal to or less than the absolute value of the newer Plan, the older Plan is discarded. So, if the Enemy plays a –300 Plan directly on top of a +200 Plan, the +200 Plan is discarded.

USING TECH: When a Tech is played, its player may push or pull any other card in the same stack whose absolute value is equal to or less than the Tech's absolute value. A pushed card is placed at the bottom of its stack. A pulled card is placed at the top of its stack, even above the Tech that triggered the move.

Playing Special Cards

When playing special cards, players simply carry out the instructions and discard them.

Most special cards have two options; only one can be chosen when the card is played.

Using the Value Track Markers

Each arc has a number track along the outside edge. These are used to track the current total of that arc's stack of cards. This avoids the need for players to constantly recalculate these totals in their heads.

Each marker should always point at the total of all positive cards minus the total of all negative cards for that stack, with the marker flipped to its positive or negative side to show whether the current total is positive or negative.

Typo corrected: the source reads "minus to the total of all negative cards."

The tracks and markers are a convenience, and should be updated any time a stack's value changes. If any marker is found to be out of sync with its stack, simply update the token when the discrepancy is noticed.

Discarding to Move the Doctor

Instead of playing a card, a player may discard any card from their hand to move the Doctor to any of the three arcs. Simply place the Doctor pawn on that arc. This almost always activates a special ability for that arc. See "Arc Abilities" below.

Players can discard a card to move the Doctor any time they have the opportunity to play a card, except during a Doctor's Gambit.

The Doctor begins each game off the arcs, so his first move of the game moves him onto one of them. After that, the Doctor never leaves the arcs entirely, he only moves between them.

Discarding to Pass

Instead of playing a card, a player may discard a card to pass and do nothing. In certain circumstances, such as when a player has only counter cards in their hand, this might even be that player's only option.

Arc Abilities

Each game has three arcs, one of each type. Every arc has at least one special ability, and some have more than one.

Each special ability begins by indicating when it's relevant.

DOCTOR PRESENT: These abilities are only in effect when the Doctor pawn is present on that arc. Most arc abilities are this way.
ALWAYS: These abilities are always in effect when this arc is being used in a game.

The rulebook illustrates the arc-ability layout with three sample arcs:

Companion: Paternoster Gang (Plan • Tech • Quip). Doctor Present: Double the value of Quips on this stack.
Enemy: Supreme Dalek (Threat • Plan). Doctor Present: This arc has –200 innate Threat value. (This value can't be used in a Gambit.)
Time: Skaro is pictured on the page 18 illustration, but its ability text there is too small and blurred to transcribe reliably, so it is not reproduced here.

Note: The full ability text for every arc in the Starter Set is printed on the arc components themselves; the rulebook reproduces only the sample arcs above.

The Endgame

Eventually, the game will transition from the Build-up to the Endgame. Each team triggers the Endgame differently.

A game's transition from Build-up to Endgame is one-way. The game never returns to Build-up once the Endgame has begun.

How the Enemy Team Triggers the Endgame

The Enemy team automatically triggers the Endgame whenever the Enemy arc has –1,000 total Threats on it. (Do not include cards other than Threats in this total.)

Turn the Vortex Disk from Build-up to Endgame automatically as the third step of any Enemy turn during the Build-up where this condition is met.

How the Doctor's Team Triggers the Endgame

The Doctor's team has a 50% chance of triggering the Endgame at the end of any Doctor's Build-Up turn where two things are true:

A positive numbered card was played to any arc, and
That same arc's total value is +800 or more. (But: This value changes if the arcs are uneven. See "Balancing Uneven Arcs by Changing the Doctor's Endgame Target" below.)

Typo corrected: the source reads "This value change if the arcs are uneven."

To calculate an arc's total value, just add the positive and subtract the negative values of all numbered cards in that arc.

When both conditions are met…

The Doctor's team decides whether they want to try to trigger the Endgame.
If they want to, they flip the Vortex Disk (like a coin).
If the flip yields "Build-up," the Build-up continues. If the flip comes up "Endgame," the Endgame arrives.
IMPORTANT BENEFIT: If the Doctor's team manages to trigger the Endgame with their flip, they may immediately discard any Threat card in play!

Typo corrected: the source reads "they Endgame" in this step.

Balancing Uneven Arcs by Changing the Doctor's Endgame Target

If the number of Tardis icons and Dalek icons among the game's arcs are not equal, the +800 target that the Doctor's team must match or beat to flip for the Endgame is modified. It's more difficult for the Doctor's team to enter the Endgame if they have an advantage, and less difficult if the Enemy has the advantage.

MORE DALEK ICONS: Subtract the difference in icon types from +800. That's the new threshold. For example, if there are five Dalek icons and three Tardis icons, the target is +600.
MORE TARDIS ICONS: Add the difference in icon types to +800. That's the new threshold. For example, if there are three Dalek icons and four Tardis icons, the target is +900.

Winning

Neither side can win during the Build-Up, nor on the turn when the game transitions from Build-Up to Endgame. Once the Endgame is underway, either team can win, and each tries to win differently.

The Enemy wins implacably, mathematically, and somewhat inevitably: If the Doctor's team doesn't stop them, their victory is all but assured.

The Doctor's team wins by attempting Gambits. Each Gambit requires a series of decisions from each team, and then hinges on the roll of a die.

Victory for the Enemy's Team

The Enemy's team wins, very simply, if the third step of an Enemy Endgame turn is reached and the sum of all cards in all three stacks is less than zero. (That is, if adding all the positive cards in play and subtracting all the negative cards in play gives a negative number.)

Victory for the Doctor's Team

The Doctor's team wins when a Doctor's Gambit is successful.

As the third step in every Doctor's turn in the Endgame, the Doctor's team may try a Gambit. If they do, they follow these steps…

The Doctor's team may use any or all of the three open cards that have positive values for this Gambit. Each card they want to use is turned 90 degrees on its stack, as a reminder.
The Enemy's team may use any or all of the three open cards that have negative values to oppose the Gambit. Each card they want to use is likewise turned sideways.
Starting with the player whose turn it is and going clockwise around the table, each player has the option to play one numbered card from their hand to contribute to the Gambit's result.
The Doctor's team rolls the die. They add all positive values contributed to the Gambit, and subtract all negative values.
If the modified result is +800 or more, the Doctor's team wins. If not, play continues. Note that one side of the die says "Fail." If that side comes up, the Gambit fails no matter the totals.

If a Gambit fails, all cards that contributed to it are discarded. (That is, all cards from the stacks that were turned sideways and all cards contributed from players' hands.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Players do not draw new cards to replenish those that they contributed to a Gambit from their hands. Playing cards from your hand to support or oppose a Gambit effectively reduces your hand size for the rest of the game.

Cards That "Counter"

Some special cards counteract other cards or actions. These cards have effects that begin with, or use, the word "counter."

Counter effects are played only in response to whatever it is that they counter, whether it's the card holder's turn or not. They're discarded after they're used.

When a card play or an effect is countered, none of its effects occur. If a card play or effect was countered, that card is discarded. However, the opportunity to act has been expended. That is, the countered player doesn't get a chance to do something else instead.

EXAMPLE: On an Enemy turn, an Enemy player plays a Threat –300 to the Enemy arc that would bring the total value of Threats there to –1,100. In response, a Doctor player plays Regroup, which has the ability, "Counter a Threat that would trigger the Endgame, then draw a card." The Regroup is discarded (as special cards usually are when played), the Doctor player draws a card (because that's what Regroup says), the Threat is placed in the Enemy discard pile (because countered cards are discarded), and play continues with the Enemy player's check-for-Endgame turn step (because that's what comes after the Enemy player's "play a card" step during the Build-up).

When a card effect is countered, but other effects of that card are not explicitly countered, the non-countered effects are carried out normally. As above, the opportunity to act has been fully expended.

EXAMPLE: On an Enemy turn, an Enemy player plays Lure, which says "Move the Doctor, play another card, and draw." A Doctor player counters with Refocus, which says "Counter an Enemy Doctor move, then draw a card." Although the Enemy does not move the Doctor, the Enemy does still play another card and draw, at which point the Enemy's "play a card" step is fully complete.

The rulebook's illustration of counter cards (page 19) shows three examples:

Remove a Tech from the game OR Counter a Quip, then draw a card. (You can even counter Quips played during a Gambit.)
Remove a Quip from the game OR Counter any Doctor's card play, but do not draw, and remove this card from the game. (I.e., decrease your hand size.)
Move the Doctor, play another card, and draw OR Counter an Enemy Doctor move, then draw a card.

Discards Can't be Countered

Sometimes, cards are discarded in order to make something else happen. For example, the Doctor player can discard a card in order to move the Doctor.

A discard can't be countered as if it were a card play, in order to counteract whatever action the discard is fueling.

EXAMPLE: A Doctor player discards a Quip card in order to move the Doctor from the Enemy arc to the Companion arc. An Enemy player can't play Rebut for its "Counter a Quip" effect, because the Quip isn't being played, it's being discarded as fuel for something else.

Countering in the Endgame

In the Endgame, players use cards from the arcs, and play cards from their hands, to affect the success of a Doctor's Gambit. Both of these can be countered.

EXAMPLE: The Doctor's team uses a Quip from the Companion arc to contribute to an Endgame Gambit, turning it sideways. An Enemy player plays Rebut, which says, "Counter a Quip." That Quip's value is not added to the Gambit score, and that Quip is discarded from the table. The Doctor's team may not add a different Companion arc card to their Gambit; that opportunity to act has been expended.

Three-Player Games

In three-player games, the teams are imbalanced. One team has two players, and the other has only one player. The following changes are made to even things out…

Three-Player Turn Order

Rather than playing in order around the table, the outnumbered player in a three-player game takes a turn after each of their opponents does. For example, if two Doctor's team players (A and B) square off against one Enemy's team player (X), the turn order would be A, X, B, X, A, X, and so on.

In a three-player game where the outnumbered team goes first, the outnumbering team decides which of its players goes second.

Three-Player Doctor's Gambits

In three-player games, the process for playing numbered cards to support or oppose a Doctor's Gambit changes in two ways.

First, rather than playing cards clockwise around the table, cards are played until each team has had the same number of chances to play. The first chance lies with the player whose turn it is (as usual), but the opportunity then passes in the modified three-player turn order (e.g., A, X, B, X).

Second, the outnumbered player may draw a replacement for the first card he plays in a given Gambit, although not for the second, if he plays two cards to support that Gambit. Note, though, that the replacement is drawn at the end of the Gambit, after the roll. That is, the replacement isn't available as a second Gambit play.

No Secret Communications

Players on the same team may communicate in as much detail as they wish. They can say what's in their hands, for example, or what they plan to do. However, they may not communicate in secret, so (for example) revealing one's cards to one's teammates also reveals them to the opposition.

Order of Discards

Cards are discarded in the order they were played. There is one exception: All of the cards played from arcs and player hands during the same Gambit are sent to the discard pile only after the Gambit has been resolved, and in the order their side chooses.

Components

9 Arcs
1 Die
3 Scoring Counters
3 Alternate Vortex Disks
24 Dalek Cards
24 Doctor Cards
1 TARDIS Base
3 Alternate TARDIS Pawns