Mindburners Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Components
• Goal
• Setup
• Gameplay
  • Phase 1: Preparation
  • Phase 2: Running the Void
• Other Important Notes
  • Leaving the Void (Alive)
  • Dying in the Void
  • Clearing All 10 Void Event Cards (Alive)
  • Playing Ability Cards
• Winning the Game
• Solo Mode Rules
  • Solo Setup
  • Solo Gameplay
  • Winning the Game (Solo Mode)

Game Components

• 24 Ability Cards
• 12 Roll Event Cards
• 10 Void Event Cards
• 4 HP/Stored Energy Tracking Cards
• 4 Victory Point/Overcharge Tracking Cards
• 4 Player Tokens
• 4 Red HP Tracking Cubes
• 4 Yellow Stored Energy Tracking Cubes
• 4 Orange Victory Point Tracking Cubes
• 1 Black Six-sided Dice

Goal

Be the first void runner to collect 10 Victory Points (VP), closing the breach and sealing off the void.

Setup

1. Give each player a HP/Stored Energy tracking card, a Victory Point (VP) tracking card, 1 tracking cube of each color (red, yellow, orange), and a player token.
2. Slide the Victory Point card beneath the HP/Stored Energy card, so the Victory Point tracking section is revealed but the "Overcharged" square and text is covered.
3. Each player begins every run with 5 HP (unless they are Overcharged). They also begin the game with 0 VP and 5 Stored Energy. Place the corresponding colored tracking cubes on each tracking card accordingly.
4. Shuffle the 12 Roll Event cards and set them aside to create the Roll Event Deck (leaving room for a discard pile).
5. Shuffle the 10 Void Event cards to create the Void Event Deck. Place this face down between all players.
6. Shuffle the 24 Ability cards and create the Ability Deck (leaving room for a discard pile). Deal each player 3 ability cards to form their starting hand of abilities for the first run.

Gameplay

The game plays out across multiple "Void Runs" where each player attempts to strategize, push their luck, and survive as long as possible, ideally reaching the end of the void run (complete all 10 void cards) alive to gain extra victory points. Each round has 2 phases.

Phase 1: Preparation

Before the start of each void run:

• Reset each player's starting HP to 5 (6 HP if they are Overcharged).
• Deal ability cards to each player, so they have a 3-card hand total (4 cards if they are Overcharged).

Then each player may take any of the following actions, if they choose:

1. Temporarily increase your HP - by spending 2 stored energy for each 1 HP gained, up to a max of 10 HP. This boost only lasts for the current run.
2. Draw an additional ability card - by spending 1 HP per card drawn (up to 2 additional cards).
3. Overcharge - by spending 10 stored energy (see Overcharging below).
4. Play any ability cards that have a (P) symbol below their ability cost (if you have the required stored energy to do so).

Overcharging: When you Overcharge, slide the Victory Point card upwards to reveal the orange "Overcharged!" benefits text.

While Overcharged, players start the Preparation Phase of each run with 6 HP instead of 5 HP. They also draw a 4th card during the Preparation Phase when players refresh their hands. Overcharging lasts until a player dies. If you die while Overcharged, you lose those benefits: slide the Victory Point card down to cover the "Overcharged!" text.

Note: preparation phase icons/reminders are printed on the bottom of the HP/Stored Energy cards.

When preparations are complete, and all players are ready, the first void run begins.

Phase 2: Running the Void

Draw the top card from the Void Event Deck and place it face down between all players. Place each player's token next to this card, indicating their position in the void.

1. Flip over and reveal the first Void Event card. All players must resolve this card before proceeding. There are three types of cards in the 10-card Void Event Deck:
   • Void Beacon (2): All players immediately gain 1 Victory Point.
   • Creature (6): When a creature is revealed, all players immediately take the indicated damage (unless it can be prevented by abilities). The creature is then considered defeated.
   • Chance Matrix (2): A Roll Event card is drawn, and each player rolls 1d6 to determine how they are affected by the event. Remove these cards to the Roll Event Card discard pile once they have been resolved.

Once the first Void Card is resolved:

2. Draw a new Void Event card and place it face down next to the previous one. Play continues:
3. Before the next void card is revealed: Each player that is still alive must then decide if they want to push their luck and continue the run or leave the void (more on this below). Players that choose to leave the void must keep their tokens next to the current void event card. Players that choose to continue the run must move their tokens next to the new card about to be revealed. Once all players have made their decision, the next void card is revealed and resolved.
4. This process continues until all players are either dead, have left the void, or have successfully survived (and resolved) the entire 10-card Void Event deck.
5. Once the current void run is over, and all living players have banked their energy (see below), remove all player tokens, reshuffle the Void Event deck and return to the Preparation Phase to begin a new run. Keep running the void until a player reaches 10 Victory Points, triggering the end of the game.

Note: the Ability and Roll Event Decks are not reshuffled every run. Only reshuffle these decks when they run out.

Other Important Notes

Leaving the Void (Alive)

If a player exits the void while they remain alive, they leave their token on the current void event card.

Note: they CAN still be affected by player abilities or trigger counter abilities BEFORE the next void card is revealed. However: once all other players lock in their choices and the next card is revealed, anyone who chose to leave the void can no longer be targeted by other players' abilities or play further abilities during that run.

Once the rest of the void run is complete, any player who chose to leave the void while still alive gains 1 Stored Energy for every card they successfully cleared during that run, including the card their token is on. This also applies if a player is forcibly ejected from the void (while alive).

If you have any ability cards left in your hand at this time, you may choose to keep one card to carry over into the next run. The rest must be discarded.

Additionally: You also gain extra Stored Energy equal to the ability cost of ALL cards you choose to discard at the end of a run (only if you are alive).

Dying in the Void

Any player whose HP drops to zero dies. Their body re-materializes outside of the void (unless they can play an ability that allows them to prevent damage or remain alive).

When a player dies and death cannot be prevented, immediately remove their token from the void. They do NOT gain any Stored Energy for that run and must discard any remaining ability cards in their hand. These discarded cards also do not gain them any additional Stored Energy. Overcharge is removed on death as well.

However, they do keep any Victory Points they've accumulated during that run.

Clearing All 10 Void Event Cards (Alive)

Any players that successfully clear and resolve all 10 void event cards in a given run (without dying) gain an additional 2 Victory Points.

They also gain the card carryover and stored energy benefits of Leaving the Void Alive (see above).

Playing Ability Cards

Ability cards marked with the (P) symbol can be played during the Preparation Phase OR while Running the Void. All other abilities can ONLY be played during the Void Run phase.

A player must have enough Stored Energy to trigger their ability unless that ability card has no cost to play. Once triggered/used and resolved, ability cards are discarded (1 use only per run).

Note: Abilities are resolved in the reverse order they are played in. This is important when opponents play counter abilities that would negate or impact another ability being played.

Players who have left the void alive cannot play or trigger abilities remaining in their hand, and they cannot be targeted by other players' abilities.

Winning the Game

The first player to collect 10 Victory Points closes the void and wins the game. In the case of a tie, the player with the most remaining HP and Stored Energy combined is the winner.

Solo Mode Rules

Solo Setup

Setup the game as you would a multiplayer match, except as follows:

1. Remove the 11 Ability cards that impact or reference opponents/other players. Return these to the box: they will not be used in a solo game.
2. Shuffle the remaining 13 Ability cards. At the start of a solo game, remove 5 of these ability cards at random (return them to the box for the current session). Place the remaining Ability cards face down to form the Ability Deck.
3. Shuffle the Roll Event cards and remove 5 cards at random (return them to the box for the current session). The remaining cards will form the Roll Event Deck for the game.
4. Remove all player tokens and return them to the box. The Void Event cards themselves will be used to indicate your position in the void.
5. Take the 3 remaining HP/Stored Energy tracking cards and 3 remaining Victory Point tracking cards and combine them into a 6-card pile. This is now the Time Tracking Deck for the solo mode: set it face down nearby. When the last card is removed from this Tracking Deck, the game ends.
6. Otherwise, follow the normal setup processes.

Solo Gameplay

In a SOLO game, regular gameplay rules are observed, EXCEPT as follows:

1. Overcharging is not used in solo play.
2. You do not gain stored energy for cards discarded from your hand (when leaving the void alive), however you do gain stored energy for each Void Event card you successfully clear (when leaving the void alive).
3. You MAY still keep 1 unused Ability card to carry over if you survive a run or leave the void alive.
4. At the end of each void run, remove one card from the Time Tracking Deck and place aside.
5. Otherwise, follow the same gameplay rules as a multiplayer match.

Winning the Game (Solo Mode)

You have 6 runs to gather 10 VP and close the void. The Time Tracking deck is used to track remaining turns. You win the game if you gain 10 VP before the 6th and final card is removed from the Time Tracking Deck. You lose the game if the Time Tracking Deck completely runs out (after 6 runs) before you can gain 10 VP.