Resident Evil Deck Building Game: Mercenaries Rulebook

Table of Contents

Chapter I. Game Concept
Chapter II. Card Analysis
Chapter III. Things You Need to Play
Chapter IV. Field Layout
Chapter V. Basic Game Setup
- (1) Decide who goes First!
- (2) Pick a Character!
Chapter VI. Game Modes
Chapter VII. Terminology
Chapter VIII. FAQ
Credits
Card List & Organization

Chapter I. Game Concept

Welcome to the Resident Evil™ Deck Building Game. This is a game where you build up a deck from meager beginnings. The deck you build represents your Inventory, whether that includes Items, Weapons, or Ammunition. Your deck will be your lifeline to survival.

Chapter II. Card Analysis

(1) Character Card

Character cards are used to battle against the Infected you encounter throughout the game. Each Character has special effects that could change the game when used. All Characters have a base Damage of 0 (see the New Base Damage Rule on Pg 14).

Card Type
Starting and Maximum Health: Shows the starting Health of this Character. This also represents the starting Maximum Health of this Character.
Character Name
Levels & Decoration Requirements: Shows the Decorations required to be the Level indicated (see Level Up! on Pg 15).
Effects: These are the special effects of this Character. Character effects which use the word "can" in them may only be used once during their noted timing.

(2) Ammunition Card

Ammunition serves as the Basic Resource Players need to use their Weapons and to gain Gold to Buy other Resources.

Card Type
Cost to Buy
Name
Effect
Bonus Icons: Show any additional bonuses the Ammunition gives. In the example, this Ammunition gives +10 Ammo and +10 Gold.

(3) Weapon Card

Weapon cards are used in battle to deal Damage to the Infected. Most Weapons have an Ammo Requirement that you need to fulfill in order to deal Damage. Weapons will be your primary Resource used to deal Damage to the Infected.

Card Type
Cost to Buy
Weapon Name
Weapon Type
Ammo Requirement: This shows how much Ammo is needed to use the Weapon.
Damage: This shows how much Damage this Weapon deals when used.
Weapon Effect: The special effect the Weapon provides, if any. Weapon effects are activated when the Weapon is used.

(4) Infected Card

Infected cards are only in the Mansion (see Pg 07 for Mansion). As Players Explore the Mansion, they have a high chance of encountering the Infected. When they do, they must Battle and Defeat them using whatever Weapon cards they have, lest they be permanently incapacitated.

Card Type
Infected Name
Health
Effect: This shows the special effects this Infected has, if any.
Damage: This shows how much Damage it deals to the Exploring Character if it is not Defeated in battle.
Decoration Reward: This shows how many Decorations the Infected provides once Defeated. The stronger the Infected is, the more Decorations your Character earns.

(5) Item Card

Item cards have useful effects like healing or increasing the Maximum Health of Characters. Certain Items can only be found in the Mansion.

Card Type
Cost to Buy
Item Name
Effect: The special effect it gives to the Player.

(6) Action Card

Action cards have powerful effects that provide bonuses that Players will need in their quest to defeat the Infected.

Card Type
Cost to Buy
Action Name
Effect: The special effect it gives to the Player.
Bonus Icons: The extra bonuses you are getting during the turn the card is played. Apply these Bonus Icons before applying the effect.

Chapter III. Things You Need to Play

1-4 Players
Game counters (dice, loose change, etc) or a pen and paper to keep track of the Health of the Characters.

Chapter IV. Field Layout

Each Player has their own Play Area, Discard Pile and Inventory Area. Whenever a Player plays a card from their Hand, it is placed in their Play Area face up. At the end of a Player's turn, that Player discards all cards in their Play Area that are not attached to their Character, and moves any cards left in their Hand to their Discard Pile. Whenever a Player Buys or Gains a card, it is also moved to their Discard Pile.

Another area called the Mansion Area is added next to the Resource Area. The Mansion includes powerful Weapons, Items, and various Events, along with the vicious Infected.

The area in the center is referred to as the Resource Area, and 18 different card piles (known as Resource Piles) are placed here, face up. All the cards in this area are referred to as Resources in the game. Players may Buy these cards by paying their cost. For example, the cost of the "First Aid Spray" is 50.

Depending on which Scenario you play, different Resources are placed in the Resource Area (see Pg 23 for Scenarios). However, there are certain cards you need in every game, called [Basic Resources]. The following cards are the [Basic Resources] and are placed in the Resource Area for every game. The Basic Resources are:

Basic Resource Piles:

"Ammo x10"
"Ammo x20"
"Ammo x30"
"First Aid Spray"
"Custom Standard Sidearm"
"Reliable Blade"

Chapter V. Basic Game Setup

(1) Decide who goes First!

Randomly determine the first Player. If you are playing multiple games in a row, randomly determine the starting Player from all Players that lost the previous game. Play continues clockwise from the Player who went first.

(2) Pick a Character!

Randomly pass out 2 Character cards to each Player. Each Player chooses 1 of these Characters to play as and removes the other Character card from the game.

Chapter VI. Game Modes

Game Mode 1: Story Mode

Players needed: 1 to 4 Players Estimated Play Time: 45 min to 1 hour

A deadly virus is causing the recently deceased to arise again in a suburb. Moving under the cover of night, you attempted to infiltrate the epicenter, an old, decrepit mansion. However, monstrous animals and abominations, created by the virus infecting living beings, gave chase.

Fleeing to the mansion, you are now trapped, and must find an exit by other means. Will you bravely step forward into the abyss and find a way out, or will you fall victim to one of the Infected?

Step 1: Set up the "Neophyte" Scenario!

Story Mode is meant to be played with any combination of cards. You may play with as few as 18 Resource Piles, or as many as you want. For the first time you play, start with the "Neophyte" Scenario:

"Neophyte" Resources:

[Basic Resources]
Custom Bolt-Action Rifle
Hunting Bow
Custom Lightning Hawk
Custom Pump-Action Shotgun
Ibex Standard
Tear Gas
Boundless Battlefield
Melee
Fight or Flight
The Mercenaries
Anticipation
Battle Hardened

Take all of the Resources and add them to the Resource Area.

Step 2: Create the Starting Inventory and draw your starting Hand!

Each Player takes the following cards from the Resource Area. Leave the remainder in the Resource Area, if there are any: 7x "Ammo x10", 1x "Custom Standard Sidearm", 2x "Reliable blade".

Each Player shuffles these 10 cards together and places the pile face down in their Inventory area. These cards are referred to as the "Inventory". Then, each Player draws 5 cards from the top of their Inventory as their starting Hand.

Step 3: Build the Mansion!

"Resident Evil™: Mercenaries" features up to 3 different Mansions for Players to use, with each Mansion providing a different experience altogether! After trying the 3 pre-built Mansions, try to build your own to match your play style.

Each Mansion's difficulty is a measure of how hard it will be for Players to continuously Defeat the Infected.

Easy Mansion: "The Cult"

3x Los Ganados (Female), 3x Los Ganados (Handscythe), 3x Los Ganados (Male), 3x Los Ganados (Pitchfork), 3x Los Illuminados (Scythe), 3x Los Illuminados (Bow), 3x Los Illuminados (Shield), 1x Red Executioner, 1x Chicken.

The more Infected that appear, the more difficult this Mansion becomes.

Normal Mansion: "Tribal Technology"

1x Chicken, 3x Venomous Snake, 3x Tribal Majini (Bow), 3x Tribal Majini (Shield), 3x Tribal Majini (Oil Pot), 3x Crocodile, 2x Giant Majini, 3x Militia (Bow), 3x Base Majini (Shield), 3x Base Majini (Gun), 2x J.J., 1x Red Executioner.

Instead of going directly for you, this Mansion aspires to destroy the Resource Area.

Hard Mansion: "Majini Rock"

1x Chicken, 3x Town Majini, 3x Base Majini (Gun), 3x Town Majini (Shovel), 3x Militia (Bow), 3x Adjule, 3x Town Majini (Motorcycle), 3x Base Majini (Shield), 3x Big Man Majini, 2x Chainsaw Majini, 1x Red Executioner, 2x J.J.

The more bad cards that Players Trash, the more they will find coming back to them.

Take all of the cards for the Mansion you chose and shuffle them together. Then place the newly created deck in the Mansion Area.

(A) Game End and Victory Condition: Earn the most Decorations before "Red Executioner" is defeated!

The game ends as soon as a Character Defeats the most powerful Infected in the Mansion. In this expansion, the most powerful Infected is "Red Executioner".

Once "Red Executioner" has been Defeated, each Player will total up their Decorations. The Player with the most Decorations is the winner. If Players are tied for most Decorations, then the Player with less Damage on their Character at the moment the game ended is declared the winner. If they are tied, then all of the tying Players are the winners.

If every Player's Character is Permanently Defeated, have all Players total up their Decorations to determine the winner as if "Red Executioner" had been Defeated. If there is ever only 1 Player with a Character that isn't Permanently Defeated, then that Player wins automatically.

(B) Game Flow: 1 Action, 1 Buy, 1 Explore, discard everything and draw 5 at the end!

Each Player begins their turn with the following: 1 Action, 1 Buy, 1 Explore.

The Player may do any of the following 5 options in any order they wish. Players do NOT have to perform any of these options if they do not want to:

Play an Action(s)
Play an Item(s) and/or Ammunition(s)
Activate a Character's Effect(s)
Explore the Mansion
Buy a Resource(s)

(1) Playing Action(s)

Each Player begins their turn with 1 Action. Playing an Action card uses 1 Action, but some cards or effects allow a Player to get more Actions during their turn, allowing for more Actions to be played in a single turn.

To play an Action, place the card from your Hand face up in your Play Area, then apply the Bonus Icons on the bottom of the card first, then the written effect(s), if any. A Player must finish all effects of the current Action before another card can be played. If a Player cannot perform all of the listed effects, then the Player does as much as they can. Any Action played remains in the Player's Play Area until the end of their turn.

(2) Playing Item(s) & Ammunition

Playing Items or Ammunition does not require any Actions to play. To play an Item, place the card from your Hand face up in your Play Area, then do any effects that are listed on the Item, starting with the Bonus Icons first (if any). If a Player cannot perform all of the listed effects, then the Player does as much as they can. When you play Ammunition, apply the bonus effects first, then the written effects (if any). Remember that Gold and Ammo are a total that disappears at the end of the turn, so using all of your Ammunition is usually a good idea.

Any Items and Ammunition played remains in that player's Play Area until the end of the turn.

(3) Activating a Character's Effect(s)

To activate a Character's effect, the timing needs to be correct. If it is, you can activate it. There are some effects that are active as long as you are meeting certain conditions. For the timing of the effects, read each effect carefully to determine when you may activate them.

A Character's effect with the word "can" in it may only be activated once during its noted timing per turn.

If, at any time, a non-Infected card effect and an Infected card effect have the same timing, the Infected effect must be applied first.

All Characters & Infected Characters have a base Damage of 0 if not shown otherwise. Some effects in the game increase a Character's base Damage, allowing for a Character to deal Damage without using any Weapons.

(4) Exploring the Mansion

When a Character Explores the Mansion, do the following:

Announce that you are Exploring.
Play any Weapons your Character will be using. Each Weapon can only be used once, unless stated otherwise.
Pay the Ammo Requirement on the Weapons being used. Add up your Ammo from all of the cards in your Play Area and assign any amount of that Ammo to each Weapon being used.
Total up the amount of Damage that your Character is dealing by adding up your Weapon's Damage, Character's Damage, and any effects provided by other cards.
If any Weapons being used have any effects, they must be used at this moment. Other effects that occur when your Character Explores must be used here as well.

Then, Reveal the top card of the Mansion. If an Infected is Revealed and it has an effect, apply it when the effect says so. If a non-Infected and an Infected effect share the same timing, the Infected effect must be applied first.

If the Character's total Damage meets or exceeds the Infected's Health, then the Infected is Defeated. The Infected itself is attached to the Player's Character, and its Decoration Reward value is added to that Character's total.

Should a Character fail to Defeat the Revealed Infected, the Infected lashes out and damages the Character, dealing the indicated Damage amount (plus any modifiers) to the Character. The Revealed Infected is moved to the bottom of the Mansion afterwards. Note that some Infected have effects when they are NOT Defeated. These effects are applied before the Infected deals Damage.

Level up!

When a Character has obtained a certain amount (or more) of the indicated Decorations, that Character "levels up", giving you access to more powerful effects to aid you in your escape. When a Character becomes Level 2, that Character has all of the effects of Level 1 as well as Level 2.

Penalty for Losing all your Character's Health

If your Character's Health is reduced to 0 or less, then that Character has been fatally injured in their conquest. Turn the Character face down and shuffle together all the cards in your Hand, Player Area and Discard Pile into your Inventory. Then, place your Inventory face down in front of you. All cards currently attached to your Character remain attached to your Character.

A face down Character is considered to not exist, and neither does their Player, meaning that neither can be targeted or affected by effects.

When your turn comes around, flip your Character face up. Reduce the maximum Health of your Character by 20, Heal your Character to your new Maximum Health amount, draw 5 new cards from your Inventory, and end your turn. If your Character's Maximum Health is 0 or less at this point, your Character is Permanently Defeated and your game is over. Keep all cards you have Gained throughout the game in front of you until the game is over.

Extra Explore

Some Weapons, like Shotguns, allow a Character to Explore multiple times in a turn. If a Player has multiple Explores, they may use 1 Explore at a time, or all at once.

If multiple Infected are Revealed all at once, the Player's total Damage must exceed or equal the Revealed Infected's combined Health. If it does not, then the Character receives the total Damage of all the Revealed Infected. Afterwards, all Revealed Infected that were not Defeated are moved to the bottom of the Mansion in a random order.

Players may also choose to Explore 1 at a time. While this way is much safer, you also require more weaponry this way, since Weapons apply their whole Damage only on the Explore when they are used and can only be used once per turn. When doing this, repeat all steps under EXPLORING THE MANSION (Pg 14) for each instance of Exploring.

(5) Buying Resources

When Buying, a Player may spend their Gold gained for the turn to Buy Resources in order to aid them in upcoming battles. The cost of each card is located in the upper right hand corner.

When a Player Buys a card, they move that card from the Resource Area to their Discard Pile. When a Resource Pile is empty, Players cannot Buy any more of that Resource.

If the Player has multiple Buys, they combine the total amount of Gold they have for the turn before Buying. This total amount is used to pay for everything they Buy this turn. Buys are done one at a time.

End of Turn

At the end of a Player's turn, that Player Discards all cards in their Play Area that aren't attached to their Character(s) and all remaining cards in their Hand. Then they draw 5 new cards from their Inventory.

Once a Player has completed drawing a new Hand of 5, play is passed to the Player to the left.

Anytime a Player needs to draw cards but cannot because of an insufficient amount of cards in their Inventory, they draw as many as they can, then shuffle their Discard Pile, then place it in their Inventory Area face down, and draw the rest.

Additional Story Mode Scenarios

Try out the following Scenarios after you have tried the "Neophyte" Scenario (Pg 08).

"Standard Play" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Hunting Bow, Custom Lightning Hawk, Ibex Standard, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Resuscitate, Anticipation, Melee, Tear Gas, Boundless Battlefield, The Mercenaries.

Use this Scenario when your looking for something that helps any play style.

"Easy Actions" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Hunting Bow, Custom Lightning Hawk, Ibex Standard, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Battle Hardened, Anticipation, Melee, Fight or Flight, Boundless Battlefield, Resuscitate.

Cheap Actions are abound in this Scenario, giving players plenty of time to get their Inventory ready.

Resident Evil™: The Deck Building Game with Mercenaries

Use the following Scenarios if you have the Resident Evil™: The Deck Building Game along with Resident Evil™: Mercenaries.

"Giveaway" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Hunting Bow, Custom Lightning Hawk, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Ibex Standard, Grenade, Tear Gas, The Mercenaries, Fight or Flight, Shattered Memories, Boundless Battlefield, Item Management.

Steal, Trash, and give your worst cards to your opponents.

"Golden Standard" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Hunting Bow, Six Shooter, Pump-Action Shotgun & Automatic Shotgun*, Ibex Standard, Escape From the Dead City, Fight or Flight, Reload, Ominous Battle, Shattered Memories, Boundless Battlefield, Umbrella Corporation.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

Play with the best of the best from Sets 1 & 5.

Resident Evil™: Alliance with Mercenaries

Use the following Scenarios if you have the Resident Evil™: Alliance game along with Resident Evil™: Mercenaries.

"Interaction" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Telescopic Sight Rifle, Hunting Bow, Custom Lightning Hawk, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Ibex Standard, Fight or Flight, Russian Assault Rifle & Signature Special*, Uroboros Injection, The Mercenaries, Anticipation, Boundless Battlefield, Fierce Battle.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

Slowing your opponents down is never a bad thing.

"Buying Spree" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Telescopic Sight Rifle, Hunting Bow, Custom Lightning Hawk, Riot Shotgun & Triple Barreled Shotgun*, Blowback Pistol, Fight or Flight, Russian Assault Rifle & Signature Special*, Tear Gas, Gathering Forces, Anticipation, Star-Crossed Duo, Desperate Escape.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

Buy multiple cards a turn to ensure the greatest chance of survival!

Advanced Note 1: Custom Resources

As Players become more experienced, they may wish to try their own combination of Resources. Allow each Player to pick one of the Resource Piles one at a time, until you have 18 Resource piles total. It is advised that you always play with the Basic Resources.

Advanced Note 2: Alternate Play Difficulty

Use the below if you feel that the above setups are not suitable enough to meet your demands:

Easy Difficulty: All Infected get -10 Health, -10 Damage, and their effects are not active.
Hard Difficulty: All Infected get +10 Health, +10 Damage, and apply their effects twice.
Professional Difficulty: Hard Difficulty & Player's must Explore at least once on their turn.

Advanced Note 3: Custom Starting Inventories

Players can also play with the Custom Starting Inventories in order to enhance the flavor of the game even more. You can find these Custom Starting Inventories under the MERCENARY MODE section (Pg 28).

Advanced Note 4: Resident Evil™ Expanded

Own every expansion of the Resident Evil™: Deck Building Game? Try out these Scenarios for a more diverse gaming experience!

"Control" Resources:

[Basic Resources], HE Grenade, Russian Assault Rifle & Signature Special*, Single Shot Rifle w/ Scope & Special Ops Rifle*, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Six Shooter, Silver Ghost & Punisher*, Anticipation, Fight or Flight, The Mercenaries, Uroboros Injection, Master of Unlocking, Mind Control.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

Most cards in this scenario can be used against your opponents while also giving you a benefit.

"Big Inventory Wins" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Six Shooter, Flamethrower, Hunting Bow, Russian Assault Rifle & Signature Special*, Treasure, Mine Thrower, Toe to Toe, Raccoon City Police Department, Fierce Battle, Parting Ways, Lonewolf.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

The bigger the Inventory, the better the benefits.

"Every Way Out" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Custom Lightning Hawk, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Mine Thrower, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Grenade, Tear Gas, Silver Ghost & Punisher*, Boundless Battlefield, Toe to Toe, Parting Ways.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

With multiple ways to play, choosing the best one is the key to victory.

Game Mode 2: Mercenary Mode

Players needed: 2 to 4 Players Estimated Game Time: 30 min to 45 min

You and your Team have been dropped into the middle of a huge mob of Infected. Your mission: destroy everything around you in a quick and timely manner. For every Infected Defeated, you have been promised a greater reward for your bravery.

New Card! For MERCENARY MODE, a new card type is introduced, exclusive to this mode: the Bonus Card. Bonus cards are used only in MERCENARY MODE. This card can only be found in the Mansion.

Card Type
Card Name
Effect: When this card is Revealed from the Mansion and the Player decides to Gain it, perform this effect.

Step 1: Pick a Scenario!

Any Scenario from STORY MODE can be used for this game mode, or you can choose from one of the below:

Resident Evil™: The Deck Building Game & Mercenaries Scenarios:

"Quick Tactics" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Ibex Standard, Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Grenade, Pump-Action Shotgun & Automatic Shotgun*, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Fight or Flight, Bolt-Action Rifle & Semi-Automatic Rifle*, Melee, Deadly Aim, Struggle for Survival, Reload.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

With everything on the cheap, setting up your Inventory could never be easier!

"Weapon Club" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Ibex Standard, Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Grenade, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Pump-Action Shotgun & Automatic Shotgun*, Hunting Bow, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Bolt-Action Rifle & Semi-Automatic Rifle*, Six Shooter, Custom Lightning Hawk, Submission, Shattered Memories.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

Ever wanted to play with almost nothing but Weapons? This Scenario is for you!

Resident Evil™: Alliance & Mercenaries Scenarios:

"Draw Power" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Riot Shotgun & Triple Barreled Shotgun*, Blowback Pistol, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Nautilus Pump-Action, Ibex Standard, Russian Assault Rifle & Signature Special*, Fight or Flight, Great Ambition, Melee, Boundless Battlefield, Quirk of Fate, Fierce Battle.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

Every Action in this Scenario will net you more cards.

"Different Methods" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Blowback Pistol, Custom Lightning Hawk, Flamethrower, Riot Shotgun & Triple Barreled Shotgun*, Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Telescopic Sight Rifle, The Mercenaries, Anticipation, Melee, Resuscitate, Boundless Battlefield, Tear Gas.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

Every Weapon in this Scenario can end the game in its own way.

Step 2: Build the Mansion!

Build one of the Mansions detailed on Pg 10-11. After building a Mansion, add the Bonus cards to it. Shuffle up the entire Mansion, and place it in the Mansion Area.

Step 3: Prepare the Custom Starting Inventory!

Each Character card has a Custom Starting Inventory that they start with. Custom Inventories are detailed below:

Albert Wesker: 2x Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, 1x Ammo x20, 7x Ammo x10
Barry Burton: 1x Ibex Standard, 1x Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, 1x Ammo x20, 7x Ammo x10
Chris Redfield: 1x Ibex Standard, 1x Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, 1x Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, 7x Ammo x10
Claire Redfield: 1x Ibex Standard, 2x Melee, 1x Ammo x20, 6x Ammo x10
Hunk: 1x Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, 1x Ibex Standard, 1x Backstab, 1x Battle Hardened, 6x Ammo x10
Jack Krauser: 1x Hunting Bow, 1x Melee, 4x Reliable Blade, 4x Ammo x10
Jill Valentine: 1x Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, 2x Reliable Blade, 1x Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, 1x Ammo x20, 5x Ammo x10
Rebecca Chambers: 2x Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, 1x Tear Gas, 1x Resuscitate, 1x Ammo x20, 5x Ammo x10

Step 4: Have something ready to keep track of turns!

Have game counters of some kind or paper and a pen ready to keep track of the remaining turns of the game.

(A) Game End & Victory Condition

The game will start with 15 turns, but more time can be added with the "Time Bonus" cards drawn from the Mansion, or with the "Melee" Action card (AC-046). After all turns have been depleted, or only 1 Team is not Permanent Defeated, the Team with the most Decorations is declared the winner. If Teams are tied in Decorations, then the Team with the Character who has the most Health at the time the game ended is the winner.

(B) Game Flow

Mercenary Mode is played in Teams. Every Player can either be on a Team by themselves (1 vs. 1 vs. 1 vs. 1, known as free for all), Teams of 2 (2 vs. 2 max) or, if one Player is more experienced than the others, 1 vs. 3.

MERCENARY MODE follows all the rules of STORY MODE, except that when an Infected is Defeated, it begins or continues a Combo that the Team which Defeated it has started (see the next section for "Combos").

Each game starts with 15 turns. Every time each Team has had a turn, 1 turn is subtracted from the remaining turns. By adding more time, you can increase your score dramatically by extending your combo.

(C) Other Rules To Remember

Combos

A combo is a string of Defeated Infected that a Team has created as their Characters Explore the Mansion. When Exploring, follow the Instructions under "EXPLORING THE MANSION" in the STORY MODE section (see Pg 14). In order to keep a Combo going, the Team must Defeat an Infected every turn in succession. For every Infected the Team Defeats, more Decorations can be earned.

When an Infected is Defeated, it is moved into the Team's Combo Pile. If, at the end of the Team's turn, they have a Combo Pile and did not Defeat any Infected that turn, the Decorations are determined and are written down and added to their total.

To determine the total Decorations in the Combo Pile, add up the printed Decoration amount on each Infected card ("Zombie (Male)", for instance, is worth 1) in the Combo Pile, then multiply that amount by the number of cards in the Combo Pile. After determining the total, write down the total Decorations your Team just earned, and move all of the cards in your Combo Pile to the bottom of the Mansion in any order your Team wishes. Note that the "Combo Bonus" card is not worth any Decorations on its own.

Example: Failing to Defeat an Infected this turn, the Blue Team starts to total their Decorations up, with Zombie (Male) being worth 1 Decoration, Kipepeo worth 1, and the Licker β worth 3. This totals up to 5, but is then multiplied by the total number of cards in the Blue Team's Combo pile, which was 3, giving them a total of 15 Decorations for this Combo.

Leveling Up

Unlike the STORY MODE, Character's Levels are determined by how many Decorations the Team currently has. In other words, the Team members share the Decorations they earn.

Penalty for Losing all your Character's Health

When a Character's Health is reduced to 0 or lower in MERCENARY MODE, that Player is eliminated from the game. If the Health of all the Character's in a Team is reduced to 0 or less, that Team loses the game.

Game Modification: Skill System

Players needed: 2 to 4 Players Estimated Game Time: 30 min to 45 min

With every step you take, with every enemy you defeat, you begin to realize how to combat a situation accordingly. Soon fighting a score of Infected is a joke to you, teaching yourself how to remain cool under pressure, and to take the necessary steps to survival. Using the skills you have learned, you can turn any unfavorable situation into a favorable one.

The Skill System can be applied to any game mode in any Resident Evil™: Deck Building Game set. This system will deepen your gameplay experience by introducing an XP system that rewards players the more that they explore, allowing them to put their experience into a skill that will better their Character in different ways.

New Card! With the Skill System, a new card type is introduced, exclusive to this modification: the Skill Card. Skill cards are only used only with the Skill System. Players will receive Skill cards at the beginning of the game, and will use XP to activate them.

Card Type
Skill XP Requirement: This is the amount of XP that needs to be on the Skill for its effect to be used.
Skill Name
Effect: Skill effects follow the same rules as Character cards: Some require activation, others are activated at all times. A Skill effect with the word "can" in it may only be used once per turn.

A Skill card is not considered activated or usable until the indicated amount of XP has been moved onto it.

Step 1: Pick a Scenario!

Any Scenario from a previous game mode may be used with the Skill System. You may also choose a of the below scenarios, specifically designed to introduce the Skill System.

Resident Evil™: Mercenaries Scenarios:

"Additional Benefits" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Ibex Standard, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Custom Lightning Hawk, Hunting Bow, Coup De Grâce, Battle Hardened, Anticipation, Backstab, Tear Gas, Boundless Battlefield.

Your introduction to the Skill System gives additional benefits to new cards.

"Hand to Hand" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Ibex Standard, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Custom Lightning Hawk, Hunting Bow, Coup De Grâce, Tear Gas, Anticipation, Backstab, Melee, The Mercenaries.

Using Actions to win the game may be quicker than going the standard route with this Scenario.

Resident Evil™: The Deck Building Game & Mercenaries Scenarios:

"Law of Thieves" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Escape From the Dead City, Backstab, Shattered Memories, Battle Hardened, Reload, The Mercenaries, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Custom Lightning Hawk, Ibex Standard, Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Grenade.

Stealing what you need from your opponents will boost you up and push them down.

Resident Evil™: Alliance & Mercenaries Scenarios:

"Old Meets New" Resources:

[Basic Resources], Great Ambition, Uroboros Injection, Quirk of Fate, Fight or Flight, Backstab, Tear Gas, Telescopic Sight Rifle, Blowback Pistol, Riot Shotgun & Triple Barreled Shotgun*, Custom Bolt-Action Rifle, Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun.

*Combine and shuffle them into a pile.

This Scenario has an equal amount of old cards with a mix of new cards to provide players with disruptive opportunities.

Step 2: Build the Mansion!

Choose one of the Mansions on Pg 10-11, or build one of your own out of the Infected in the Resident Evil™: Mercenaries expansion.

Step 3: Choose your Skill Cards!

After each Player has a Character, randomly pass out 5 Skill cards to each Player, then set the remaining Skills to the side. Each Player will look at their 5 Skill cards, choose one, place it face down in front of them, then pass the remaining 4 Skill cards to the Player to their left. Repeat this process until there are no more Skill cards to pass.

Afterwards, each Player will choose 3 of the 5 Skill cards they chose previously to keep and will remove the other 2 Skill cards from the game. Then each Player will turn their Skill cards face up and place them in the Skill Area (just above your Character, which only exists when using the Skill System).

Additional Rules

(A): Experience (XP)

As Characters Explore the Mansion, they will get XP. This XP is used to either activate additional effects on Weapons or Actions, or to activate Skills. When a Character Explores, the controlling Player places 1 XP on that Character, which can be denoted with coins, slips of paper, or counters of any kind.

A Player may move any amount of XP from their Character to their Skills at any time during their turn while their Character is NOT Exploring. However, once XP has been moved to a Skill, it cannot be moved from that Skill to another Skill or back to the Character, except due to an effect.

(B): Exploring the Mansion

When Players Explore the Mansion while using the Skill System, a few new steps are introduced:

Announce that you are Exploring.
Play any Weapons your Character will be using. Each Weapon can only be used once, unless otherwise stated.
Pay the Ammo Requirement on the Weapons being used. Add up your Ammo from all of the cards in your Play Area and assign any amount of that Ammo to each Weapon being used.
Total up the amount of Damage that your Character is dealing by adding up your Weapon's Damage, Character's Damage, and any effects provided by other cards.
Skill, Character, and Weapon effects all activate here, in any order the Exploring Character's Player wishes.
The Exploring Character's Player places 1 XP on their Character.

Continue to Explore from here as normal, which is detailed on Pg 14.

(C): Skill System with Partner Modification

While playing with the Skill System and the Partner Modification* together, each Character a Player controls can only have 1 Skill. When Players are choosing which Skills to keep, then choose 2 Skills instead of 3. If your Partner dies at any time, Remove the Skill and any XP that Partner had from the Game.

Partner Modification is found in the "Alliance" rulebook, which can be found at bandai.com/residentevil/play.html

(D): Penalty For Losing All Of Your Character's Health

When a Character's Health is reduced to 0 or less, that Character keeps all XP currently on them, as well as all XP on their Skills, and is turned face down as normal. From here, follow all rules as detailed in the original section on Pg 18.

(Game Mode 3) Speed Mini-Game

Players needed: 2 Players Estimated Game Time: 2 min to 5 min

Your eye catches the glint of flame in its periphery. You spin your gun around to face an awkward being. With the majority of its face covered, you suspect this person to be different from the others.

"Got a challenge for ya, stranger," he says in his raspy voice. Pulling out a few small bottle caps, you see the cloth covering his face move slightly as he grins. The man points down the hallway to a few targets, waiting expectantly to see your skill.

This mini-game will require an Inventory Area and a Play Area for each Player, as well as a Mansion Area in the middle.

Step 1: Build the Mansion!

The following cards will form the Mansion for this mini-game: 3x Venomous Snake, 3x Town Majini, 3x Los Ganados (Female), 2x Town Majini (Shovel), 3x Los Ganados (Handscythe), 3x Los Illuminados (Bow), 1x Los Illuminados (Shield), 2x Big Man Majini.

Shuffle these 20 cards together, then create two separate Mansions with 10 cards each, then place them face down in the middle of the table, with space in between them.

Step 2: Build each Player's Inventory!

Each Player needs the following cards for their starting Inventory: 5x Ammo x10, 4x Ammo x20, 2x Ammo x30, 2x Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun, 4x Custom Standard Sidearm, 2x Custom Pump-Action Shotgun, 1x Custom Lightning Hawk.

Each Player will take their 20 cards and shuffle them together, then place them in their Inventory Area. Players will also require counters of any kind. These can be any type of coin, token, or a distinguishable card.

Victory Condition

When a Player plays every card in their Inventory and Hand, the game is over. Each Infected they Defeated throughout the game is worth 1 Decoration for every 10 Health that Infected has. Every "Reload Counter" is worth -1 Decoration, and every card in your Hand and Inventory at the end of the game is worth -1 Decoration. The Player with the most Decorations at the end of the game wins!

Game Flow

Each Player will draw 5 cards from the top of their Inventory. In this mini-game, Players will perform their turns simultaneously. If at any time, a Player has a Hand of Ammunition or Weapons only, that Player can reveal their hand and take a "mulligan" (shuffle all of their cards in their Hand and Discard Pile into their Inventory, then draw a new Hand of 5 cards).

When both Players are ready, they will each flip over the top card of each of the Mansions. Players will ignore all effects for this Game Mode.

Defeating the Infected

In order to Defeat the Infected, a Player needs to play the Ammunition cards required to use the Weapons in their Hand to Defeat 1 of the Revealed Infected (Players can "overpay" and play too much Ammunition if they wish). As soon as a Player has done this, they can take that Infected from the middle of the table and move it to the side of their Play Area. Afterwards, turn over the next Infected in the same Mansion, then that Player draws cards from their Inventory until they have 5 cards in their Hand.

When a Player is using 1 Weapon, their Damage may exceed the Health of the Infected. However, a Player may not play a 2nd Weapon unless it is required to Defeat that Infected.

If at any time, a Player cannot play any Weapons due to insufficient ammo, they Gain 1 "Reload Counter". A Reload Counter gives a Player +30 Ammo for their next Weapon. Ammo does not carry over. When you Defeat an Infected, any extra Ammo you have does not carry over, meaning you will have to play Ammunition cards to generate new Ammo.

Chapter VII. Terminology

These are the special terms used throughout the game.

Gain: Moving a card from Resource Area, Mansion Area, or from outside the game into a Player's Discard Pile.
Attach: Taking a card and placing it under your Character or Partner.
Reveal: Show the indicated card to all Players.
Trash: Moving a card to the bottom of its Resource Pile in the original Resource Area.
Heal: Increasing the Health of the Character card by indicated amount. However, it cannot exceed its Maximum Health.
Remove from the Game: Move the card out of the game. It is no longer in the current game.
Explore: Following the procedures designated on pgs 14-15.
Defeat: When your Damage is greater than or equal to the Health of the Revealed Infected.
Permanently Defeated: When a Characters Maximum Health is reduced to 0 or less.
+X Card(s): As soon as the Player plays a card stating this, Draw X cards from your Inventory. If there are not enough cards in the Player's Inventory, that Player draws as many as they can, shuffles their Discard Pile, places the shuffled cards in their Inventory Area, then draws the rest. If the Player still does not have enough cards, then they draw as many as they can.
+X Explore: The Player may Explore X times more during this turn.
+X Action(s): The Player gets X additional Actions during this turn. The instructions on the current Action card must be completed before the Player can play another Action card or moves on to an additional step.
+X Buy(s): The Player may Buy an additional X Resources during their turn. The extra Buy adds to the Players overall Buying amount and does not require a Player to immediately Buy.
+X Gold: The Player has an additional X Gold for the turn to Buy Resources with.
+X Ammo: The Player has an additional X Ammo for the turn to use Weapons with.
Attack: A Player using 1 Explore to have their Character deal Damage to another Character.

Chapter VIII. FAQ

Q: For Barry Burton (CH-051), if I instantly Defeat an Infected with his effect, does his effect activate again? A: Yes it does.

Q: How does the Chicken's (MA-077) effect work in Story Mode? A: The effect doesn't function at all in Story Mode.

You can find the latest information, upcoming events, updated rules, and erratas at our official website: http://www.bandai.com/residentevil

Credits

Game Design: Tylar Allinder Graphic Design: Cloud 88 Design Game Development: Anh Duc Do, Alex Bykov, Justin Kho, & James Takenaka Special Thanks to our Game Testers: Austen Galentin, Ashlea Glaser, Aaron Taylor, Andrew Vansickle, & Nicholas Glaser

Card List & Organization

Remove the cards and dividers from their wrappings, then organize them based on the card names on the dividers.

Card no.	Card name	Total amount
CH-044	Jack Krauser	1
CH-045	Hunk	1
CH-046	Claire Redfield	1
CH-047	Chris Redfield	1
CH-048	Jill Valentine	1
CH-049	Albert Wesker	1
CH-050	Rebecca Chambers	1
CH-051	Barry Burton	1
IT-005	First Aid Spray	5
WE-043	Ibex Standard	5
WE-044	Custom Pump-Action Shotgun	5
WE-045	Custom Full-Bore Machine Gun	5
WE-046	Custom Lightning Hawk	5
WE-047	Custom Bolt-Action Rifle	5
WE-048	Hunting Bow	5
WE-049	Custom Standard Sidearm	10
WE-050	Reliable Blade	10
AC-042	Fight or Flight	5
AC-043	The Mercenaries	5
AC-044	Boundless Battlefield	8
AC-045	Coup De Grâce	5
AC-046	Melee	5
AC-047	Anticipation	5
AC-048	Backstab	5
AC-049	Battle Hardened	5
AC-050	Resuscitate	5
AC-051	Tear Gas	5
SK-001	Extension LV. 1	1
SK-002	Extension LV. 2	1
SK-003	Extension LV. 3	1
SK-004	Medic LV. 1