Eter
Eter Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Play Modes
Eter provides 4 different ways to play!
- TRAINING - a clash of minds! Quick and precise. You win by your wits and cunning alone. This mode is perfect to master the key mechanics of the game.
- MAGE DUEL - try it after your training is complete. Time to use your full powers!
- ELEMENTAL BATTLE - for when a single elemental power is not enough. Access the full might of all four elements! As your power grows so does the playing field and the rules.
- TOURNAMENT - assert your dominance over 5 rounds! Go above and beyond the playing field. Fight on the Arena, win in the Land Above the Moon!
To ensure your best experience and to ease you into the world of Eter, please follow the below steps. Every player should start with the Training Mode, which is a fast-paced duel perfect for learning the basic rules.
IMPORTANT: Tournament should be attempted with a couple of Training games under your belt. It can also be used in combination with the other game modes - Mage Duel and Elemental Battle. Additionally, no matter the mode, you can add two special effects to your game: Illusion and Power Explosion - their use is described in the Training Mode rules.
Training Mode
Please return the following components back into the box:
- per player: one card of value '2' and one card of value '3'
- the ETER cards
These elements will not be used in the Training Mode.
The Training Mode is intended to show you the basic rules, used in all other game modes. Each player should have a deck of 7 combat cards [values: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4]. This will be that player's hand for the game.
The Mages send scores of minions to fight in their name. They can send between 1 and 4 minions at the same time, which is represented by the value of the cards they play.
After selecting the first player (in any way you see fit), the players alternate playing one combat card from their hand onto the spaces on the playing field to create a line. The line can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal.
Combat Card Placement Rules
- A combat card on the playing field must always (during the whole game) touch at least one other card (corner to corner is ok).
- A card of a higher value (power) may cover cards of lower value (do not remove the covered cards from the playing field - they create a stack). You may cover both yours and your enemy's cards!
- The playing field cannot extend beyond a grid of 3 x 3 cards (horizontally and vertically), however the players' moves will determine its actual shape and location.
Depending on the placement of the next card, the playing field will achieve its final form. For example, a player may be able to define the final form of the 3 x 3 grid (by setting the horizontal and vertical boundary).
End of the Game
The game ends immediately after one of the players manages to create a horizontal, vertical or diagonal line consisting only of his cards (can include stacks but with the winning player's card on top). That player is the winner!
If players fail to win by creating an unbroken line, the game continues until:
- The whole playing field (3x3 or 4x4 grid) is filled
- One player plays his last card.
In both cases the opponent can then play one more card.
In case of a draw, we sum the value of all visible cards in a given color (the number of minions) on the playing field. We count only the visible cards. All Illusions are worth '1'. The Player with the highest total wins.
When using the Training Mode please play until a player achieves 2 wins (i.e. after 2 or 3 plays). In case of a draw during the third play - have an additional tie-breaking play.
These are all the basic rules. When you know them well you can advance to the remaining Modes of Play.
Special Plays
You can use the below Special Plays in all game Modes.
Illusion
Mages are quite sneaky and sometimes they hide their true intentions.
Once per play, a player may play his card face down (the Illusion), without revealing its value. Illusion cannot be used to cover any other card. You cannot cover your own face down card with any of your other cards.
Such a face-down card is still considered a combat card, i.e. it forms a valid part of a winning line.
If the opponent tries to cover your face-down card, reveal the face-down card. If the opponent's card is higher than the (till-recently) face-down card, cover the newly revealed card. If the opponent's card is of equal value or weaker, the opponent loses his turn and removes the card from the game (he cannot use it again in this game). When you reveal your face down card, it stays revealed.
Example: a combat card is played as an Illusion (face-down). The Blue Mage tries to cover the Illusion using a '2' card. The Illusion is revealed. It's a '3'! The blue player loses his card and his turn is over.
IMPORTANT: Different Mage and Elemental Powers (described in other sections) impact the Illusion (the face-down card). The Illusion may be discarded from the playing field, returned to its owner's hand, moved or sometimes even covered (some Powers will give you that option).
Power Explosion
Power Explosion is a giant shift of the playing field, resulting in retreat (cards are returned to their owner's hands) or loss of minions (cards are removed from play). They can really turn the situation around and create new strategies! You have to consider their pros and cons before using them. Or you can just shake things up!
To include Power Explosions in your game take the Power Explosion Cards, turn all of them to the appropriate side (for the Training Mode: 3x3 grid visible; for all the other modes: 4x4 grid visible). Shuffle them and put them in a stack next to the playing field. The top card will be visible! After every game the top card of the Power Explosion deck should be removed from the game.
The Power Explosion cards will change the playing field when activated. They may be activated when one of the Mages fills a second full line on the playing field. Depending on the game Mode, it can be a second line of 3 or 4 cards. The lines may be horizontal or vertical.
The Player who fills the second line decides if he wants to cause a Power Explosion. He also chooses how the Power Explosion will be oriented on the Playing Field, i.e. he can freely rotate the Power Explosion card to choose which spaces on the playing field will be impacted.
A single Power Explosion Card can be used per game (this can be modified by Elemental Powers). This means that the player who fills the second line can choose if the explosion happens or not and then removes the Power Explosion Card from the game. If the condition for Power Explosion is fulfilled for the second time during one game there is no second explosion.
The explosion impacts cards in two ways:
- it returns cards to their owners' hands
- or removes them from play
When the cards are returned to their owners' hands, they first should be moved next to the playing field. Only after one played turn of a given player can it be taken into the hand and used in a further game. The card that is 'removed from the game' is removed from the game until the end of the current game.
The explosion cannot result in a situation that breaks the 'always touching' rule related to cards on the playing field. If Power Explosion would result in a card not touching any other card, such effect of Power Explosion is ignored (the 'connecting' card is not removed from the game nor returned to its owner's hand). All the other fields impacted by Power Explosion should be resolved normally.
Do you like a bit of unpredictability? If so, you can play with the rule that a Power Explosion always happens when the conditions that trigger it are met. This means that the player who caused the explosion does not decide about launching it, and only chooses a card layout that shows which places on the playing field it will apply to.
In case of:
- Stacks of combat cards - Power Explosion impacts only the topmost card. All the cards below the topmost card remain in place.
- Decreasing the size of the playing field (removal of the only combat card on the edge of the playing field), the Players may extend the playing field as they see fit (following the 3x3 or 4x4 grid rule).
3 Special Power Explosions
There are 3 Power Explosion cards in the set that use the 'hole' special rule. They create a unique space on the playing field (the titular 'hole'). Use the 'hole' marker to mark that space on the playing field. If there are any cards there, remove them from play. Until the end of the game, no Player can play any cards onto the 'hole' space. The 'hole' space can not be affected by Mage Powers, Elemental Powers, or Power Explosions.
Mage Duel Mode
This mode extends the rules of the Training Mode in the following ways:
- The playing field is larger - you use the 4x4 grid.
- The winning condition is different - the winning line needs to be 4 cards long.
- Additional cards are added - each Player adds to his cards:
- one '2' and one '3' card (final hand composition: 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 4)
- One ETER Marker Card - it is a combat card but it cannot be covered, cannot be used to cover other cards, it is not impacted by Mage or Elemental Powers and its value for ties is '1'.
- Before every game, Players randomly draw one of the 4 double-sided Mage Cards. Every card represents a different Element and its sides have different Mage Powers.
- We recommend that at the beginning of exploring the game, Players choose one of the two Mages of a given element (each card is double-sided = has two different powers, i.e. they choose the side of the drawn card). In time you will get to randomly draw your Powers (do not flip the drawn card over).
- IMPORTANT: The Mage Power can be used once per game (i.e. 2-3 plays or 5 plays in the Tournament Mode).
- The remaining rules stay the same - including the option to use Special Powers - Illusion and Power Explosion.
Each Mage may utilize his special power once per play. Using a Mage Power takes a whole turn (i.e. no card is played if a Mage decides to use his power unless his ability says otherwise).
Meet the Mages
Each element has two Mages (the two sides of its card).
Masters of Fire - Burn!
- Remove from play an opponent's card that covers one of your cards.
- Remove from play a row or column of 3 or more cards. The removed row or column must contain at least one of your cards. The power impacts single cards and stacks.
Masters of Earth - Bury!
- Cover an opponent's card with your card of a lower value.
- The chosen empty space on the playing field becomes a 'hole'. No Mage can play any cards there, no Mage Powers or Power Explosions may affect that space. Mark it with this Mage Power card or the 'hole' marker used in Power Explosions.
Masters of Air - Blow away!
- On his turn, the player may move his card (or a stack of cards with his card on top) to a different, empty space.
- Use your Mage Power card as an additional ETER card - place it on an empty space on the playing field with your marker.
Masters of Water - Boat!
- On his turn, a Mage may move an opponent's card (or a stack of cards with an opponent's card) to a different, empty space.
- Take any row or column of 3 or more cards at the edge of the playing field and move it to a different edge. This redefines the shape of the playing field.
General notes on using Mage Powers
- Cannot break the 'must always be touching' rule for cards on the playing field.
- May be used as long as you have any cards left in your hand - if you have no cards it triggers final scoring.
- Do not affect the ETER card and can be used once per play.
Elemental Battle Mode
The rules of this mode include the rules introduced in the Mage Duel mode (hand of cards, playing field size). In this Mode, players will use Elemental Powers instead of Mage Powers.
- Shuffle all Elemental Power cards and draw two of them.
- Place these cards next to the playing field, in easy reach of the players.
- These cards are available to be used once per play as an action.
- After using a given Elemental Card it should be placed face-down - it is no longer available during that play. Use them quickly before your opponent does!
- IMPORTANT: You should draw two new Elemental Powers for every play and remove the old ones from the game.
General notes on using Elemental Powers
- Using Elemental Powers cannot break the 'must always be touching' rule for cards on the playing field.
- When the cards are returned to their owners' hands, they first should be moved next to the playing field. Only after one played turn of a given player can it be taken into the hand and used in a further game.
- The card that is 'removed from the game' is removed from the game until the end of the current game.
- When using an Elemental Power the effect is immediate - i.e. if it says 'play a card' you have to play the card immediately. If using a Power is impossible, you cannot use that card.
- The ETER card is not impacted by Elemental Powers.
- Some Elemental Cards allow you to place an additional card.
Full list of Elemental Cards - see the Elemental Power Cards list below.
Tournament Mode
This mode is different from the other modes because it uses a special Battle Arena board. The main game follows the rules of the chosen other mode (Training, Mage Duel, Elemental Battle), but includes 5 subsequent plays.
Every time one of Players creates a winning line, the last card placed (the winning card), indicates the space on the Battle Arena where the winning player places his marker.
- If you have any markers on that space, just add it to the previous ones.
- If there is one opponent's marker on that space, replace it with your marker.
- If there are more than one opponent's markers on that space, replace one of them with your marker.
The placement of the card that finishes a winning line is extremely important as it will determine the Battle Arena space where the marker will be placed. Sometimes you have more than one option to create a winning line.
If the hit occurs before the playing field is determined (so it is impossible to decide which space he hit exactly), the winning player decides what the final layout of the playing field would be.
In case of a draw, calculate the total value of your visible cards and the Player with the higher total wins. In such a case, the winner chooses the space on the Battle Arena where he places his marker. If there is a tie in the values of cards, no marker is placed. If there is a tie during the last fifth play of a Tournament, an additional tie-breaker game.
The Tournament is won by the player who:
- creates a line of 3 markers (horizontal, vertical or diagonal). 3 markers are enough, even if playing Mage Duel or Elemental Battle. This ends the Tournament.
or
- has more markers on the Battle Arena at the end of the Tournament.
Play Recommendations
Once you get to know the game, we suggest you play as follows:
- Pure Tournament - play using the Training Mode rules, i.e. 3x3 playing field, hands of 7 cards, no additional powers. This is a purely logical game with no randomized elements.
- Total Brawl - combine the Mage Duel and Elemental Battle. This means that a player will have a chance to use either his Mage Power or Elemental Power once per play. There are no additional rule changes. Remember that you have one Mage Power for the whole game and that two new Elemental Powers will be drawn for each play.
Want to play with a child below 8 years of age? Even kids of 5-6 y.o. can start with the Training Mode. In time you should add Illusions and later Power Explosions. After that you can run a Tournament. We recommend to leave Mage Duel and Elemental Battle for last, when playing with children.
Elemental Power Cards - List
I. CONTROLLED EXPLOSION - Cause a Power Explosion. This will be the only Power Explosion for that play. If you have a 'normal' Power Explosion before using this Elemental Power, draw a new Power Explosion to be used with this power.
II. DESTRUCTION - Remove from play the last card played by the opponent.
III. FLAME - Reveal an opponent's Illusion and next place your card on any space on the playing field.
IV. FIRE - Return to their owners' hands all visible cards of the same value (at least 2 of them) chosen by you - also yours! In case of stacks remove only the top card.
V. ASH - Rise like a Phoenix! If one of your cards was removed from play, you can immediately play it again.
VI. SPARK - Take any of your cards that is covered by an opponent's cards and play it onto a different space. In case of stacks, you can choose any of your covered cards.
VII. SQUALL - Return to the opponent's hand any one of his visible cards on the playing field.
VIII. GALE - Remove any cards that are covered by others (yours as well) - they are returned to their owners' hands.
IX. HURRICANE - Move any one full row / column by one card so that the first card/stack is moved off the playing field. Cards moved outside the playing field return to their owners' hands.
X. GUST - Move any card on the playing field horizontally or vertically onto a neighboring card of a lower value. Affects individual cards not stacks.
XI. MIRAGE - Exchange your Illusion (face-down card) with a different card from your hand (face-down).
XII. STORM - Remove from play any stack of minimum 2 cards.
XIII. TIDE - Change positions of 2 different cards or stacks of cards.
XIV. MIST - Play an Illusion again. You cannot have 2 Illusions at the same time.
XV. WAVE - Move any card/stack to the adjacent empty space, then play a card from your hand to this now empty space.
XVI. WHIRLPOOL - Move onto empty space two cards from different adjacent spaces in a straight line. The card of lower value goes to the bottom of the stack. If the cards are of equal values, you choose which one will be on top. Affects individual cards not stacks.
XVII. BLIZZARD - Place this card onto any space and choose a row or column that it will impact. The opponent cannot play any cards onto the chosen row/column during his next turn. Condition - your opponent must have a free space to play a card. Remove this card from play after the next opponent turn.
XVIII. WATERFALL - Move all cards in a chosen column into one stack at the bottom of that column, placing them on top of each other, regardless of their values. The card that was visible on the top of the chosen column stays at the top of the new stack. Condition - the chosen column must contain of minimum 3 cards.
XIX. SUPPORT - Value of a chosen card is increased by +1 (cannot be used on a '4' card). Place your marker on the card. If the chosen card is ever covered or returned to your hand, the marker is removed. In case of a tie, the marker (if present on the playing field), is worth +1 point.
XX. EARTHQUAKE - Remove from play all visible '1' cards.
XXI. CRUMBLE - Value of a card is decreased by 1 (cannot be used on a '1' card). Place your marker on the card. If the chosen card is ever covered or returned to your hand, the marker is removed. In case of a tie, the marker (if present on the playing field), is worth -1 point.
XXII. BORDER - Place this card in any empty space on the playing field to establish the border of the play area. Next, play your normal card. Any player may replace the Border card with any of their cards (it does not block the space). Condition - when played, this card must define one of the borders of the playing area.
XXIII. AVALANCHE - Move two neighboring cards/stacks by one space horizontally or vertically. The space that the first card moves onto must be empty.
XXIV. ROCK - Cover any Illusion card with your card, without revealing the value of the Illusion.