Heroes for Sale
Heroes for Sale Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Idea and Goal of the Game
In Heroes for Sale, you try to use your Supernaturals to destroy your opponent's Bases. However, the Supernaturals do not simply work for you without further ado. When you play a Supernatural, the two of you bid on it with Credits. Whoever bids the most controls the Supernatural. Whoever manages to destroy all 4 of their opponent's Bases wins.
Game Material
- 44 Supernatural cards
- 2 Credit Trackers
- 2 markers (red and blue)
- 1 rulebook
Card Layout
Front — Supernatural: card name, Strength, and Ability.
Example: Strength 3 — Zu'ul Omnivore. Ability: "Whenever you perform an Action, destroy one of the opponent's Bases afterward."
Back — Base: card name, Strength, and Ability, plus a Bodyguard symbol if the card is a Bodyguard.
Example: Strength 3 — Percival Amphibio (Bodyguard). Ability: "Whenever you overpower one of the opponent's Supernaturals, the opponent discards 2 random cards from their hand."
Preparation and Setup
- Shuffle all 44 Supernatural cards.
- Deal each person 7 Supernatural cards and take these into your hand. Keep them hidden from the other person.
- Each person receives 4 more face-down cards. Lay these cards side by side in front of you with the back facing up (they may not be looked at yet). These 4 cards each represent one of your Bases.
- Place the remaining cards as a face-down draw pile to the side. These cards form the deck, from which cards can be drawn when required.
- Each person takes a Credit Tracker and places a marker on 20.
- Next to your Bases is the discard pile. When cards are removed from the game or discarded, place them here face up (each person has their own discard pile). These cards may be looked at by both people.
- The area above your Bases is the display. This is where you place your cards.
- Agree on who starts the game, or let chance decide.
The play area is arranged with each person's discard pile, Bases, and Credit Tracker in a row, the shared deck between the two rows, and each person's display directly above their own Bases.
Credit Tracker
During the game you pay with Credits. You may receive Credits, or you may have to pay Credits to use an ability. You can never have more than 20 Credits, and never fewer than 0. When you pay Credits, the other person does not receive the amount — it is simply deducted from your own Credit Tracker. To do this, set the marker to the corresponding number on the Credit Tracker.
Bases
You each start with 4 face-down cards in front of you. These cards represent your Bases. When one of your Bases is destroyed, you just barely manage to escape with a Supernatural and take the card of the just-destroyed Base into your hand. If an ability requires you to take new Bases from your hand or the deck, shuffle the new Base(s) together with your old Bases and lay all the Bases back down side by side in your display. When all of a person's Bases have been destroyed, the game ends immediately.
Supernaturals
The front of every card shows a powerful supernatural being created in your laboratories and workshops. Some of these Supernaturals are Bodyguards (shown by the Bodyguard symbol). All Supernaturals have a Strength and an Ability. A Supernatural always belongs to the person in whose display it lies. The person you are playing against is referred to as the opponent.
Example: Strength 4 — Leona Enigma. Ability: "HIRE: Take the top card from the deck and place it as an additional Base in your display."
Abilities
Hire
If a Supernatural has the "Hire" ability, carry out the instruction on the card immediately when you place the Supernatural into your display. Also carry out the Hire ability when the card enters your display from somewhere other than your hand (for example, when the card moves from the discard pile into your display).
Example: Strength 3 — Liliana Clouddancer. Ability: "HIRE: Destroy one of the opponent's Bases."
Action
Supernaturals with the "Action" ability must actively be triggered before they take effect in the game. On your turn, you may trigger the Action of a card in your display. Simply follow the instructions on the card (a maximum of 1 Action per turn, even if you have several cards with the "Action" ability in your display). You may choose when to trigger the Action: before or after the two phases of your turn (not during them). Some Actions have a requirement that must be met to trigger them (for example, paying Credits). If you cannot meet the requirement to trigger the Action, you cannot trigger the Action.
Example: Strength 2 — Caius Aurelion. Ability: "ACTION: Discard a random card from your hand. You receive 3 Credits."
Permanent Effects
Permanent Effects affect the game for as long as the Supernatural with that ability lies in a display. Permanent Effects are not explicitly labeled again on the cards.
Example: Strength 3 — Helena Moon. Ability: "Your Supernaturals with Strength 3 or less cannot be overpowered."
Overpower
Some abilities let you overpower Supernaturals. When you overpower a Supernatural, you choose a Supernatural in the opponent's display. It is then removed from the game and placed on the corresponding discard pile.
Example: Strength 4 — Battlebot Fury. Ability: "HIRE: Overpower an opponent's Supernatural with Strength 3."
Game Play
Heroes for Sale is played over several rounds. In each round, both people take one turn. A turn always consists of the two phases Attack and Bidding. After you have carried out these two phases, your turn ends and the other person takes their turn.
1. Attack
During the Attack, you attack the opponent's Bases with your Supernaturals. To do this, add up the Strength of all the Supernaturals in your display. Once you have calculated the combined Strength value of your Supernaturals, the opponent may decide to fend off the attack with a Bodyguard. If the opponent does not fend off the attack, one Base is destroyed for every 5 Strength. Whenever a Base is destroyed, the person whose Base was destroyed takes that card into their hand. Any excess damage that is not enough to destroy another Base is lost (for example, with a Strength of 12, 2 Bases would be destroyed and 2 Strength points would be lost).
Bodyguard
During the Attack phase, the opponent may decide whether to fend off the attack with a Bodyguard, provided they have a Bodyguard in play. Bodyguards are marked with a Bodyguard symbol. To fend off an attack, the Bodyguard is placed on the discard pile and the destruction of all Bases is prevented. Bodyguards can only fend off the destruction of Bases during the Attack.
Example 1: During the Attack, Person A has a Strength value of 12 from Kharzoth Orax (4), Viktor Ferrum (4), and Stella Lightforce (4). 2 of Person B's Bases would be destroyed. However, Person B has a Bodyguard. Person B decides to fend off the attack with this Bodyguard and places it on the discard pile.
- Kharzoth Orax (Strength 4): "Kharzoth Demonheart gains +3 Strength for every card in your discard pile."
- Viktor Ferrum (Strength 4): "A maximum of one of your Bases can be destroyed per turn."
- Stella Lightforce (Strength 4): "HIRE: Overpower an opponent's Supernatural with Strength 4 or more."
Example 2: During the Attack, Person A has a Strength value of 10 from Kharzoth Orax (4), Percival Amphibio (3), and Jenny & Robotron (3). 2 of Person B's Bases would be destroyed. Person B has no Bodyguard, and 2 Bases are destroyed. Person B takes these two cards into their hand.
- Percival Amphibio (Strength 3): "Whenever you overpower an opponent's Supernatural, the opponent discards 2 random cards from their hand."
- Jenny & Robotron (Strength 3): "ACTION: Perform an attack (in addition to your regular attack)."
Also shown: Ava Wonder (Strength 4). Ability: "HIRE: Take your entire discard pile into your hand. You receive 1 Credit for each of these cards."
2. Bidding
During Bidding, you choose a card from your hand, and both of you bid on this card with your Credits.
Proceed as follows:
- Required: Place a card from your hand face up on the table.
- The opponent may now either let you have the card for free, or make a bid of at least 1 Credit or more (up to their current maximum on their own Credit Tracker).
- If the opponent has made a bid of at least 1 Credit, you may decide whether to make a higher bid. If you cannot or do not want to bid higher, you must let the opponent have the card.
- The person who bid the higher Credit amount after this one round of bidding deducts the corresponding amount from their Credit Tracker and places the Supernatural in their own display. If the opponent let you have the card for free, the Supernatural is simply placed in your display.
If, at the start of Bidding, the person whose turn it is has no cards left in hand (and so cannot fulfill step 1), one of their Bases is destroyed and they receive a card in hand this way. They must now place this card face up on the table for Bidding.
Example: Person A places "Lyra Harmony" on the table. Person B bids 4 Credits. Person A bids 5 Credits. "Lyra Harmony" is placed in Person A's display. Person A deducts the amount from their Credit Tracker.
- Lyra Harmony (Strength 2): "The opponent can no longer perform Actions."
End of Game
The game ends immediately when all of a person's Bases have been destroyed. That person immediately loses, and the other person wins.