Dome Crushers
Dome Crushers Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Gameplay Overview
Beginning with identical decks, players draw 4 cards each round and take turns playing them one at a time. With each card you can Attack, building up your Strength Total, or perform a special Ability, turning the tide of battle in your favor.
At the end of the round, Attackers are removed and score for the player with the highest Strength Total; Ability cards return for the next round. The battle continues until either player cannot draw 4 cards. Carefully choose when to strike -- brute strength may win the round, but cleverness will lead to victory.
Setup
- Each player chooses a deck and places it face down off to the side. Each deck contains the same 12 cards.
- Randomly determine a start player.
Gameplay
Each round, players begin by simultaneously drawing up to a hand of 4 cards.
Beginning with the start player, each player takes a turn:
On their turn, a player must play one card from their hand face up in their play area, choosing to place it in Attack Mode or Ability Mode.
- Cards in Attack Mode at the end of the round count toward your Strength Total.
- Cards in Ability Mode are immediately active:
- Some abilities have immediate effects. These are performed right away (such as Draw a Card).
- Some abilities have ongoing effects (such as +1 Strength) that are active until the end of the round, or until the card is no longer in Ability Mode.
Gameplay continues with the next player taking their turn: playing one card, choosing its mode, etc.
Ability Mode
Cards played horizontally are in Ability Mode. At the end of the round, cards in Ability Mode will return to your deck.
The Ability card is labelled as follows:
- Ability Name - May be referenced by other cards.
- Strength Value Reminder - Note: Cards in Ability Mode don't add to your strength total.
- Ability Text - Immediate or Ongoing Effects.
- Cancellation - If listed, this card's effect is no longer active when the referenced Ability is active.
If an Ability causes a card to switch to Ability Mode, its ability is immediately active (even after the first time the card is played). Any immediate effect is performed and any ongoing effect is now active.
If the canceling Ability is no longer active, then this card's ability becomes active once again.
Attack Mode
Cards played vertically are in Attack Mode. At the end of the round, cards in Attack Mode will count toward your Strength Total, but will not be returned to your deck, whether you win or lose.
The Attack card is labelled as follows:
- Strength Value - Added to your Strength Total for the round.
Face up cards in your scoring pile add this amount to your score at the end of the game.
Round End
The round ends after each player has played 4 cards; the player with the highest Strength Total wins the round. In the case of a tie, no player is the winning player.
- The winning player places all their Attack Mode cards face up in their scoring pile.
- The losing player places all their Attack Mode cards face down in their scoring pile.
Note: The Termination Roar ability may end the round early.
Prepare for the Next Round
Simultaneously, players may choose to keep any number of cards in their hand for the next round. Then place all other cards (unkept from hand and in Ability Mode) on the bottom of their deck in any order. Do not shuffle the deck.
Simple Variant - For a simpler game, each player instead shuffles all their non-scoring pile cards together before each round.
The player with the highest sum of Strength Values from face up cards in their scoring pile becomes the new start player. If tied, the winning player is now the new start player.
If it's not the end of the game, begin the next round.
Game End
The game ends when either player cannot draw 4 cards. The player with the highest sum of Strength Values from face up cards in their scoring pile is the winner! Ties are broken by the final round start player.