Mindbug: Beyond Evolution
Mindbug: Beyond Evolution Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
In MINDBUG you will summon hybrid creatures and send them to battle against the creatures of your opponent. But be careful when you summon a creature: the opponent may use one of their own Mindbugs to take control of it. Outwit your opponent in a fascinating tactical duel, where having the best cards and playing them at the wrong time can be deadly for oneself.
Components
MINDBUG consists of the following components:
- 48 Creature Cards
- 2 Life Trackers
- 1 Rulebook
- 2 Rules Reference Cards
- 4 Mindbug Cards
Key Concepts
Resolving Effects: While resolving an effect, always resolve as much of the effect as you can, and ignore any part of the ability that cannot be resolved.
Example: If an effect asks you to discard two cards, but you only have one card in hand, you discard that card and ignore the second one.
While resolving an effect, the player who is performing the action makes any choices related to that effect unless something else is specified.
Example: If one of your cards has the effect "Defeat an enemy creature", you choose which enemy creature to defeat since you are performing the action. If another one of your cards has the effect "The opponent discards a card", they choose which card to discard since they are performing the action.
Simultaneous Effects: If more than one effect happens at the same time (e.g. when two creatures are defeated simultaneously), the active player decides the order of resolving them. Always finish resolving one effect before resolving another.
Game Setup
Step 1: Deal Mindbugs
Deal each player 2 Mindbugs and place them face up in front of them.
Additionally for the Beyond Evolution stand-alone expansion:
Step 2: Set Aside All Evolution Cards
Set aside all double-sided cards (cards with a creature on both front and back). These are not shuffled into the deck but may come into play through a special Evolve effect on certain cards.
Step 3: Shuffle and Deal Decks
Shuffle the creature cards and deal each player 10 cards face down as their draw pile. Leave a bit of room next to your draw pile for a discard pile.
Step 4: Draw Hands
Each player draws 5 cards from their personal draw pile as their starting hand.
Step 5: Set Starting Life
Each player starts the game with 3 life. To track life, each player takes a life tracker and sets it to 3.
Note: You can also use dice, tokens or 3 unused cards to track your life.
The play area layout: each player has their Mindbugs and life tracker in front of them, a play area for creatures in play, a draw pile with a discard pile next to it, and their hand of cards.
Playing the Game
Goal of the Game
You immediately win the game when the opponent's life is reduced to zero.
Life
You start the game with 3 life. Whenever you lose life, you reduce your life tracker by the corresponding number. Whenever you gain life, you increase your life tracker by the corresponding number. There is no limit to the number of life you can have.
Creature Cards
Each card represents a creature with a name and a power value. Creatures can have one or more KEYWORDS (the first line below the name) and an ABILITY (the text below the keywords).
Note: Creatures can never have a power value lower than 1, even if other effects modify their power value.
Drawing Cards
Whenever you have less than 5 cards in hand, you immediately draw cards from your draw pile until you have 5 cards in hand. Do this before any other effects occur (e.g. before a card is mindbugged or its Play effect is triggered). If your draw pile runs out of cards, you don't draw additional cards. There is no limit to the number of cards you can have in hand.
Taking Turns
To determine the starting player, each player reveals a random card from the pile of unused cards (the remaining creature cards that have not been dealt to players). Compare the power value on those cards. The player with the higher number is the starting player. On a tie repeat the process.
Players alternate taking turns. During each of your turns, you must take one of the following actions. If you are unable to do so, you lose the game.
- Play a single card
or
- Attack with a single creature
Play a Card
Choose any card from your hand and place it face up on the table. Show it clearly to your opponent by turning it temporarily towards them so that they can read it. Now they have two options:
Option 1: Your opponent refuses to use a Mindbug
Whenever you play a card from your hand, your opponent may use one of their Mindbugs to take control of that card. If they have no Mindbugs left or refuse to use one, proceed by placing the played creature card into your play area and resolve its Play effects if it has any. Then end your turn. Your opponent goes next.
Option 2: Your opponent decides to use a Mindbug
If your opponent decides to use a Mindbug, they immediately get to play that card instead of you and they lose one Mindbug. Turn that Mindbug face down to show that it has been used and put the creature card into their play area. Your opponent resolves any Play effects of the creature as if they had played it from their hand.
Then end your turn and immediately take an extra turn after this one (allowing you to either play a card or attack with a creature).
Note: If a creature comes into play in some other way than a play-from-hand action (e.g. by using a card effect), there is no option of using a Mindbug to take control of it.
Note: You cannot use a Mindbug to take control of a creature that is already in play. You also cannot use a Mindbug on a creature that has already been mindbugged by your opponent.
Note: If a creature that was mindbugged is defeated, it goes to the discard pile of the player who currently controls the creature. That player also resolves any Defeated effects of that creature.
Example: Alice plays the card Axolotl Healer from her hand and draws back to 5 cards. Bob has two Mindbugs left. He decides to use one and puts Axolotl Healer into his play area, thus activating its Play effect (to gain 2 life). Alice now ends her turn and immediately takes an extra turn after this one. She uses that extra turn to play Strange Barrel and draws back to 5 cards. Bob has one Mindbug left and he could use it to take Strange Barrel. However, he chooses to keep his Mindbug and Alice puts Strange Barrel into her play area.
Attack with a Creature
Choose a single creature in your play area (an allied creature) to attack. Your opponent may now choose a single creature from their own play area (an enemy creature) to block the attack. If they decide not to block, they lose 1 life. If they block the attack, the creature with the lower power is defeated and sent to its controller's discard pile. If they have the same power, both creatures are defeated. Any player may look at the cards in any discard pile during the game.
Example: Alice attacks with Gorillion which has power 10. Bob has Bee Bear with power 8 in play. He can block with Bee Bear. In that case, he loses no life but his Bee Bear is defeated and sent to his discard pile. He instead chooses not to block the attack. This causes him to lose 1 life.
Keywords
Creature cards can have one or more keywords. A keyword is a word or set of words that acts as a substitute for rules text that explains what the card does.
FRENZY: This creature may attack twice each turn, if it is still in play.
Example: Player 1 attacks with Luchataur. Player 2 chooses Tusked Extorter as blocker. Extorter is defeated and put to the discard pile as it has a lower power value. Luchataur can attack a second time, as it has FRENZY and is still in play. Player 2 loses 1 life as they don't have any creature to block.
HUNTER: When attacking with this creature, you may choose an enemy creature, which must block it.
Note: You are allowed to choose an enemy creature that would otherwise be unable to block this attack. Using the HUNTER keyword is optional, but if you do, you cannot use it to attack the opponent directly.
Example: Player 1 attacks with Killer Bee and forces Compost Dragon to block. Compost Dragon is defeated as it has a lower power value. Player 2 cannot choose another blocker.
POISONOUS: During combat resolution with this creature, the enemy creature is always defeated.
Note: If the enemy creature's power value is equal or higher, the creature with POISONOUS is also defeated.
Example: Player 1 attacks with Tusked Extorter. Player 2 discards a card (from Extorter's ability). Player 2 chooses Spider Owl as blocker. Extorter defeats Spider Owl as it has a higher power value, but is also defeated since Spider Owl has POISONOUS.
SNEAKY: This creature can only be blocked by creatures with SNEAKY.
Note: It still can block enemy creatures like a normal creature.
Example: Player 1 attacks with Spider Owl (a creature with SNEAKY). Player 2 has two creatures in play, but only Tiger Squirrel can be chosen as a blocker (as it requires SNEAKY).
TOUGH: If this creature would be defeated and is not exhausted, exhaust it instead of defeating it. It doesn't matter whether it would be defeated through combat or by a card effect. Exhausting means rotating the card by 90 degrees to highlight that its TOUGH keyword has been triggered already. Being exhausted doesn't affect what a creature can do (it can still attack, block and use its abilities).
Note: If a creature with POISONOUS has a power higher than or equal to the power of an enemy creature with TOUGH that it fights, that enemy creature becomes exhausted, but not defeated.
Example: Player 1 attacks with Kangasaurus Rex. Player 2 chooses to block with Elephantopus. Both creatures would be defeated since they have the same power value. Since Elephantopus has TOUGH (and is not yet exhausted), it is exhausted and not defeated. Kangasaurus Rex is defeated and put into the discard pile.
Triggers
Most creatures have a special ability that triggers at a specific moment during the game. The corresponding effect happens for the creature's controller. The following triggers can be found on cards:
Play: This effect triggers when the creature with this effect comes into play. It happens no matter how the creature comes into play, for example if another effect allows you to play that card from your discard pile. If the opponent uses a Mindbug to take control of a card you play, the Play effect happens for them and not for you.
Attack: This effect triggers when the creature with this effect attacks, but before the opponent decides whether they want to block.
Defeated: This effect triggers when the creature with this effect is defeated, that is when it is moved from the play area to its controller's discard pile. A creature can be defeated as a result of combat or a card effect. Note that it does not trigger if the opponent takes control of the creature, sends it back to your hand, if you discard it from your hand to the discard pile or if it becomes exhausted instead of being defeated.
Additionally for the Beyond Evolution stand-alone expansion:
Action: When you have a creature in play with an Action effect, you may spend your turn activating that effect instead of playing a card or attacking with a creature. If the effect doesn't do anything, you are not allowed to activate it.
Other Abilities
Constant Abilities: If a card has an ability text without a trigger word (Play, Attack, Defeated or Action), it is referred to as a constant ability that is always active as long as the card is in play and meets all conditions specified by the ability.
Additionally for the Beyond Eternity stand-alone expansion:
In Discard Pile: This is a special type of constant ability, that is always active as long as the card with this ability is in your discard pile. These cards have an additional text box in their top area. When the relevant card is put in your discard pile (because the corresponding creature is defeated or due to any game effect), let it protrude slightly from the other cards in the discard pile, to make sure that both you and your opponent are aware that its ability is active.
Game Terms
The Game Terms include a number of terms that players may encounter while playing the game.
Allied Creature / Enemy Creature: When cards are in your play area, they are called allied creatures. When they are in the opponent's play area, they are called enemy creatures. If an effect affects both allied creatures and enemy creatures, it simply refers to creatures. In your hand and your discard pile, they are simply called cards.
Discard: Discarding a card means that you put it from your hand to your discard pile. If an effect forces you to discard more cards than you have in hand, discard as many cards as possible and ignore the remaining effect.
Steal: If an effect lets you steal a card, you take the card from your opponent's hand and put it into your hand.
Take control of a creature: If a card effect lets you take control of a creature, you put it into your play area. If you take control of a creature, it remains in its current state (e.g. exhausted) and doesn't trigger Play effects.
Additionally for the Beyond Eternity stand-alone expansion:
Boost X cards to this: You may take up to X cards from any combination of discard piles and place them face down partially underneath this creature. For each boost card there, this boosted creature has +1 power. If this boosted creature leaves play (for example if it is put in your discard pile or returned to your hand), put all the boost cards that are under it in your discard pile. Any player may look at the boost cards under any creature during the game.
Boost X cards to a creature: Similar to the previous but you may place the cards under any creature.
Additionally for the Beyond Evolution stand-alone expansion:
Evolve: Some creatures have an effect allowing them to evolve. Each evolution line consists of 3 creatures. One goes into the draw pile during setup and has the normal Mindbug card back. It is called "stage 1", as recognized by the roman numeral I in the top-right corner of the card. The "stage 2" and "stage 3" forms are printed on the front and back of the same card, which is set aside during setup.
When a creature evolves from stage 1 to stage 2, take the corresponding double-sided card and place it on top of the stage 1 card, with stage 2 facing upwards.
When a creature evolves from stage 2 to stage 3, simply flip the double-sided card over to show that the stage 3 is now in play.
A creature that evolves is still considered the same creature. It remains in its current state (e.g. exhausted or boosted) even after evolving and doesn't trigger Play effects.
If a stage 2 or stage 3 creature leaves play (e.g. if it is put in your discard pile or returned to your hand), it first goes back to its stage 1 form. Set aside the double-sided card featuring stage 2 and stage 3. If the stage 1 creature comes into play again later in the game, it can evolve again normally.
Additionally for the Beyond Eternity stand-alone expansion:
Boost X cards to this: You may take up to X cards from any discard pile(s) and place them face down under this creature. For each card there, this creature has +1 power.
Essential Tips for Beginners
- Before playing a card from your hand, make sure that you will be able to protect yourself against it if your opponent decides to use a Mindbug on that card.
- When you play a card from your hand, show it clearly to your opponent by turning it temporarily towards them so that they can read it and they don't forget to decide whether to use a Mindbug or not.
- If your opponent uses a Mindbug, don't forget that you must immediately take an extra turn after this one.
- You have only 2 Mindbugs at the beginning of the game, so make sure to use them at the right time. Try not to fall for your opponent's trap or bluff as you will be more vulnerable when both your Mindbugs have been used.
- Enemy creatures with SNEAKY are not difficult to beat. You can block them by using your own creature with SNEAKY (or Sharky Crab-Dog-Mummypus). You can defeat them by using a creature with HUNTER or with a special ability (e.g. Kangasaurus Rex, Explosive Toad, Harpy Mother). You can also use a creature with FRENZY to win the race by attacking twice each turn.
Credits
Game Design: Christian Kudahl, Marvin Hegen, Richard Garfield, Skaff Elias
Illustrations: Denis Martynets (www.denism.com.ua)
Graphic Design: Maximilian Gotthold (https://maxgotthold.de)
Playtesting: Alexandre Guignard, Anders Klarskov Knudsen, Andreas Skjellerup Iversen, Baptiste Lotigier, Bo Stentebjerg-Hansen, Cheesus, Daniela Hegen, Daniel Herbert, Emil Grubak Schmalfeldt, Garrot Kole, Guksung An, Henrik Larsson, Jared Patterson, Jens Balcerek, Jeppe Due Hunsdahl, Jocelyn Mouden, Joshua Raynack, Kasper Meyer, Koni Garfield, Kristoffer Dyrgaard Sørensen, Laura Kudahl, Linus Hegen, Łukasz Włodarczyk, Manuel Smak, Marcel Auclair, Markus Peschina, Max Randall, Nicola Preda, Óliver "Nerliot" Benavente, Pascal Bogensperger, Phu Vinh Nguyen, Romain Lapostolle, Schuyler Garfield, Sebastian Nickel, Simon Dupuis, Søren Juul Larsen, Steffen Klein, Stephan Heim, Yoann Leorier
Revision of the rulebook: Alexandre Guignard
Rules Reference
Keywords
FRENZY: This creature may attack twice each turn, if it is still in play.
HUNTER: When attacking with this creature, you may choose an enemy creature, which must block it.
POISONOUS: During combat resolution with this creature, the enemy creature is always defeated.
SNEAKY: This creature can only be blocked by creatures with SNEAKY.
TOUGH: If this creature would be defeated and is not exhausted, exhaust it instead of defeating it.
Triggers & Abilities
Play: Triggers when this creature comes into play. If the opponent uses a Mindbug, the Play effect happens for them and not for you.
Attack: Triggers when this creature attacks, but before the opponent decides whether they want to block.
Defeated: Triggers when this creature is defeated, usually as a result of combat or a card effect.
Action: (only applicable for the Beyond Evolution stand-alone expansion) While this creature is in play, its Action effect can be activated instead of attacking or playing a card this turn.
In Discard Pile: (only applicable for the Beyond Eternity stand-alone expansion) While this card is in your discard pile, its effect is active.
Game Terms
Boost X cards to this: (only applicable for the Beyond Eternity stand-alone expansion) You may take up to X cards from any discard pile(s) and place them face down under this creature. For each card there, this creature has +1 power.
Boost X cards to a creature: (only applicable for the Beyond Eternity stand-alone expansion) Similar to the previous but you may place the cards under any creature.
Evolve to X: (only applicable for the Beyond Evolution stand-alone expansion) Replace this creature with X, by putting it on top for stage 2 or flipping it for stage 3. If an evolved creature leaves play, it first goes back to its stage 1 form.