Terminator: Dark Fate – The Card Game
Terminator: Dark Fate – The Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Objective of the Game
The game ends if either the Rev-9 is destroyed or a player dies. The most common way to destroy the Rev-9 is by dealing enough damage to stagger it, then using a card that allows you to finish it off. The most common way to die is by holding three wound cards in your hand at once. If one player dies, you all lose.
Components
Character Cards
Name, Power.
Rev-9 Cards
Name, Card Text, Hunt value, Stagger value, Keywords.
Damage Tokens
1 damage, 5 damage.
Wound Cards
Name, Card Text.
Starter Cards
Name, Supply, Keyword.
Fate Cards
Name, Fight, Cost, Card Text, Keywords, Supply.
Card anatomy notes, using the Pistol and Wheels fate cards and the Steel Plant and Attack fate cards as examples:
- Pistol — Fight, Cost, Card Text, Keywords ("munition, pistol").
- Wheels — Supply, Cost, Card Text, Keyword ("resource"). The supply on this card can only be spent on locations.
- Steel Plant — Cost, Card Text, Keyword ("location"). If the Rev-9 is staggered, destroy it.
- Attack — Resistance, Card Text, Keywords ("hostile, attack"). Wound the current player.
Set-Up
- Each player chooses a character, takes the appropriate character card and places it in front of them. Remove any unused characters from the game.
- Each player makes a draw deck of 10 starter cards: 5 prep cards, 4 struggle cards, and 1 unique card (which is indicated at the bottom of their character card). Each player shuffles their deck and places it to the left of their character card.
- Remove all remaining starter cards from the game.
- Take all the wound cards and place them face up on the table within reach of all players. This is the wound deck.
- Shuffle the fate cards (i.e. all remaining cards except Rev-9 cards) and place them face down to form the fate deck.
- Draw the top five cards of the fate deck and place them face up in a row. This is the reserve.
- Choose a version of the Rev-9 to face by picking a Rev-9 card, either by using the chart on the following page or randomly.
- Draw the top five cards of the fate deck and shuffle the Rev-9 into them and return them face down to the top of the fate deck.
- Each player draws five cards from their draw deck to form a hand.
- Choose a first player randomly - you are now ready to play!
Choosing a Version of the Rev-9
| Description | Card | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| A Rev-9 that has lost its liquid exoskeleton and suffered major physical damage. Hunt it down, don't let it get away. | Damaged Endo | Easy |
| The Rev-9 is a dangerous foe that needs overwhelming firepower to destroy. Flee until you are ready to take it out. | Endoskeleton | Medium |
| The liquid exoskeleton cannot be destroyed by ordinary weapons, you must find a way within the fate deck. | Liquid Exoskeleton | Medium |
| The fully operational Rev-9 uses a liquid outer shell with an armored core to split into its own teammate. | Fully Operational* | Hard |
Keep the Rev-9 Endoskeleton and Rev-9 Liquid Exoskeleton nearby.
Playing the Game
In Terminator Dark Fate, players take turns in clockwise order until either the players lose or the Rev-9 is destroyed. Turns are made up of three phases which are completed in order before passing to the next player.
1: Play phase 2: Reserve phase 3: Hunt phase 4: End of turn
1: Play Phase
During your play phase you may do one of two things: play cards or rest.
Playing Cards
Play any amount of cards from your hand by placing them in front of you. For each red bullet symbol in the top left, you have one fight, and for each green crate symbol, you have one supply. Fight and supply are used to stop the Rev-9 and gain cards; both can be spent at any point during your play phase.
For each point of fight you spend, you may place one damage on either the Rev-9 or a hostile card in the reserve. If a hostile card has damage equal to or greater than its resistance (the red number in the bottom right corner of the card), you may move the card to the bottom of the fate deck. If the Rev-9 has damage equal to or greater than its stagger value, it is staggered.
You may gain a card from the reserve by spending supply equal to its cost; gained cards go directly into any player's discard pile.
Damage stays on cards between turns, whereas to spend supply you must buy a card in full. Supply does not carry on to another player's turn.
Many cards have effects written at the bottom of the card. This text activates as well as any fight or supply on a card. If you cannot fulfill the text of a card, it cannot be played.
For example, if "pistol" was the last card in your hand, you could not play it: you would need a different card to discard.
Rest
To rest, you simply destroy a card in your hand.
End of Play Phase
After you have finished your play phase, discard all played cards and any cards remaining in your hand, then draw back up to five cards.
If your draw deck is empty when you need to draw or otherwise interact with a card in it, shuffle your discard to form a new draw deck.
Skill cards are not discarded after playing and remain in play for the rest of the game.
Specific Beats General
As a rule, any text on a card overrules any text in this rulebook. If two or more cards have conflicting rules, the current player may choose which card text to follow.
For example, the gamble card states: "...draw the next card from the fate deck and add it to the reserve..." Cards are usually drawn from your draw deck and placed into your hand, but in this case, the card specifies that you draw from a specific deck and place it in the reserve. Specific beats general, so you follow the text on the card.
Timing
If two cards resolve at the same time, the current player chooses the order in which they resolve.
2: Reserve Phase
The reserve phase consists of two steps:
1: If there are fewer than four cards in the reserve, draw a card from the fate deck and add it to the reserve. Repeat this step until there are four cards in the reserve.
2: Draw a card from the fate deck and add it to the reserve. If the Rev-9 is not on the hunt, the current player may repeat this step any number of times. The reserve may have any number of cards in it.
Drawing extra cards is dangerous; you may reveal the Rev-9!
If the Rev-9 is drawn at any point during the reserve phase, place it face up on the table near the reserve; it is now on the hunt. The reserve phase ends immediately. This only happens when the Rev-9 is drawn, not if it was already on the hunt at the beginning of the reserve phase.
Note the Rev-9 is not placed into the reserve when it goes on the hunt.
3: Hunt Phase
If the Rev-9 is not on the hunt, skip this phase.
If the Rev-9 is damaged (has damage tokens on it), the current player may choose to flee. If they are unwilling or unable to flee, the Rev-9 hunts.
Flee
Remove all damage from the Rev-9 and draw as many cards from the fate deck as damage removed. Shuffle the Rev-9 into them and place them back on top of the fate deck. End the hunt phase.
Hunt
Activate hostile cards from the reserve up to the Rev-9's hunt value in any order of your choosing. After a hostile card is activated it is placed at the bottom of the fate deck.
If there are no hostile cards remaining in the reserve, draw cards from the top of the fate deck equal to the remaining hunt value.
If a hostile card is drawn, it is activated then placed at the bottom of the fate deck.
If a location is drawn, it is placed at the bottom of the fate deck.
If any other card is drawn, it is destroyed.
4: End of Turn
Play then continues with the player to the current player's left. It is now their turn.
Multiple Rev-9s in Play
If there are multiple Rev-9s on the hunt they hunt separately (the current player may choose the order). During the hunt phase you may flee multiple Rev-9s. If you do, remove all damage from the Rev-9s and draw as many cards from the fate deck as damage removed. Shuffle the Rev-9s into the cards and place them back on top of the fate deck. End the hunt phase.
You only win if there are no Rev-9s in the fate deck or on the hunt.
Any text that refers to "the Rev-9" should be read as "a Rev-9."
If a Rev-9 card is drawn during the hunt phase it is added to the hunt, but it does not hunt this turn.
Glossary
This glossary can be used to look up terms and rules used in Rev-9 Dark Fate. Terms in red are explained within the glossary.
Action This is a keyword.
Activate When a hostile card is activated, resolve the text on the card then place it at the bottom of the fate deck.
Attack This is a keyword. Attacks are hostile cards that usually wound players.
Cards See components on page 3.
Character, Character Card See components on page 2. Character cards signify which character you are playing. Each character has a unique power and a unique starter card to start the game with.
Cost The cost of a card is the supply that must be spent in order to gain the card. It is indicated at the bottom right of most cards. Cards without a cost cannot be gained.
Damage, Damaged See components on page 2. Damage tokens represents the damage that the Rev-9 has taken and are caused by playing cards with one or more fight. Damage can stagger the Rev-9 and is also important for fleeing.
Damage may also be placed on hostile cards. If a hostile card has damage on it equal to or greater than its resistance value, it is moved to the bottom of the fate deck.
A card is damaged if it has any damage on it.
Defense Defense cards can be played normally during your play phase, ignoring the defense text. Alternatively they may be played after the Rev-9 activates an attack to ignore the effect of the attack, even if it is not your turn. When played this way, only the defense text activates.
Note that defense cards can only be used to ignore the text of attack cards, and do not affect ordinary hostile cards.
Destroy Destroyed cards are removed from the game; they will not be used again. If the Rev-9 is destroyed, you win the game.
Discard, Discard Pile Cards are discarded from your hand, placing them face-up into a pile to the right of your character card. This is your discard pile. Players may look through their discard pile at any time.
Draw, Draw Deck Cards are drawn from your draw deck and added to your hand unless otherwise specified. If you need to draw, or otherwise interact with your deck but it is empty, shuffle your discard pile to form a new draw deck. Cards are drawn one at a time.
Die If you ever have 3 wound cards in your hand at any time, you die and the game is lost. The "go on without me" optional rule on page 14 changes the game to allow for player elimination.
Fate Deck, Fate Cards See components on page 3. The main deck in the centre of the table. The fate deck is created during set-up (see page 4). All cards in the fate deck are face down.
Fight For each fight symbol (shown below) on the cards you play, you gain one fight to spend. Fight is used to put damage onto hostile cards and the Rev-9. It can be spent at any point during the play phase.
Flee Remove all damage from the Rev-9 and draw as many cards from the fate deck as damage removed. Shuffle the Rev-9 into them and place them back on top of the fate deck.
Gaining To gain a card from the reserve, you must spend supply equal to the cost of the card during your play phase. Location cards cannot be gained.
Place gained cards into any player's discard pile.
Grenade This is a keyword.
Hand A player usually has 5 cards in their hand but there is no upper limit to the number of cards that can be held. Cards are played from your hand on the play phase of your turn.
Hostile This is a keyword. Hostile cards are not gained with supply but rather removed with fight. If a hostile card has damage on it equal to or greater than its resistance value (in the bottom right of the card), it is moved to the bottom of the fate deck.
When drawn during the hunt phase, hostile cards are activated then moved to the bottom of the fate deck.
Hunt, Hunt Value If the Rev-9 is on the hunt, it is placed to one side of the reserve. During the hunt phase, the Rev-9 activates cards in the reserve and draws cards from the fate deck equal to its hunt value (as indicated in the bottom left of the Rev-9 card.)
If a hostile card is drawn, it is activated then placed at the bottom of the fate deck.
If a location is drawn, it is placed at the bottom of the fate deck.
If any other card is drawn, it is destroyed.
Hunt Phase See page 9.
Keywords Many cards have keywords which have no rule effect on their own. When keywords are specified in text, it refers to any card that has that keyword.
Leadership This is a keyword. Leadership cards can be played in another player's play phase. At the end of the play phase, it returns to its owner's discard pile.
Location This is a keyword. Locations cannot be gained. Instead, when you spend supply equal to the cost of a location, immediately play it then move it to the bottom of the fate deck.
When drawn during the hunt phase, locations are moved to the bottom of the fate deck.
Munition This is a keyword.
Pistol This is a keyword.
Play Cards are played from your hand during the play phase of your turn. Played cards provide fight and supply depending on the symbols in the top left of the card. Any text on the card also activates. If you cannot fulfill the text of a card, it cannot be played.
Play Phase See page 6.
Reserve Cards placed face up in the centre of the table form the reserve. The reserve may have any number of cards in it.
Reserve Phase See page 8.
Resistance Hostile cards do not have a cost value but rather a resistance value. If a hostile card has damage on it equal to or greater than its resistance value (in the bottom right of the card), it is moved to the bottom of the fate deck.
Resource This is a keyword.
Rev-9 The Rev-9 is a special card that is never added to the reserve. It is either in the fate deck or on the hunt.
The Rev-9 can be damaged. If the Rev-9 has damage on it equal to or greater than its stagger value, it is staggered.
Slow This is a keyword.
Skill This is a keyword. When a skill is played, it is placed in front of you. It remains active for the rest of the game. Most skills give either passive effects or once per turn abilities.
Stagger Value, Staggered If the Rev-9 has taken damage equal to or greater than the stagger value (in the bottom right of the Rev-9 card), it is staggered. Staggered is a term specified on most cards that destroy the Rev-9.
Starter This is a keyword. Each player starts with 10 starter cards. See page 4.
Supply For each supply symbol (shown below) on the cards you play, you gain one supply to spend. Supply is used to gain cards and can be spent at any point during your play phase.
Wound, Wound Deck Wounds are special cards that begin in their own deck to the side of the play area. When a player is wounded they take a wound and place it into their discard pile. Wounds cannot be played. If a player has three wounds in their hand at any time, they die and everyone loses the game. Wounds can be destroyed as normal, removing them from the game. If a player is wounded but the wound deck is empty, they die and everyone loses the game.
Optional Rules
Solo Mode
To play the game in solo mode, choose two characters instead of one at the start of the game. Add both unique starter cards to your starting deck (meaning you begin the game with 11 cards rather than 10).
At the start of each turn, choose a character card. You are playing as that character for the entire turn and get access to the power on their character card.
Go On Without Me!
When a player dies, the other players do not lose the game. The dead player still takes turns, skipping their play phase but continuing to perform the reserve and hunt phases. Any wounds gained while dead are instead gained by the player to your left. The game is lost only when all players have died.
Neural Net Processor
For extra challenge, a player can take on the mantle of the Rev-9. When setting up this game mode, remove all hostile cards from the game and shuffle them to form a separate deck - this is the Rev-9 deck. The Rev-9 player draws a hand of 5 cards into their hand.
The Rev-9 player does not get any turns; at the end of each reserve phase, the Rev-9 player may add a card from their hand into the reserve and draw a card from the Rev-9 deck.
Note that hostile cards are still moved to the bottom of the fate deck as normal when removed with fight.
Turn Summary
1: Play Phase
Choose one:
- Play cards
- Rest (destroy one card)
Then discard played cards and hand.
Draw up to five cards.
2: Reserve Phase
Draw cards from the fate deck and add them to the reserve up to four.
Draw a card from the fate deck and add it to the reserve. If the Rev-9 is not on the hunt, you may repeat this step.
If the Rev-9 is drawn, the reserve phase immediately ends.
3: Hunt
Skip if the Rev-9 is not on the hunt. Choose whether to flee, else the Rev-9 hunts.
FLEE: (only if the Rev-9 is damaged) Remove all damage from the Rev-9 and draw as many cards from the fate deck as damage removed. Shuffle the Rev-9 into them and place them back on top of the fate deck. End the hunt phase.
HUNT: Using the Rev-9's hunt value, activate hostile cards from the reserve, then draw cards from the fate deck.
If a hostile card is drawn, it is played then placed at the bottom of the fate deck.
If a location is drawn, it is placed at the bottom of the fate deck.
If any other card is drawn, it is destroyed.
4: End of Turn
Quick Reference Rules
DEFENSE: Defense cards can be played normally during your play phase, ignoring the defense text. Alternatively they may be played after the Rev-9 activates an attack to ignore the effect of the attack, even if it is not your turn. When played this way, only the defense text activates.
LOCATION: Locations cannot be gained but are instead immediately played then moved to the bottom of the fate deck. When drawn during the hunt phase, locations are moved to the bottom of the fate deck.
SKILL: When a skill is played, it is placed in front of you and remains in play for the rest of the game. Most skills give either passive effects or once per turn abilities.
HOSTILE: Hostile cards are not gained with supply but removed with fight. If a hostile card has damage on it equal to or greater than its resistance value (in the bottom right of the card), it is moved to the bottom of the fate deck. When drawn during the hunt phase, hostile cards are activated then moved to the bottom of the fate deck.