V-Virus
V-Virus Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup
Before starting the game:
- Separate the Virus cards (virus icon), Glove cards (glove icon), Vaccine cards (syringe icon), and Life Energy cards (heart icon) out of the box entirely.
- Form all the remaining cards into a draw deck.
- Take the number of Glove cards shown in the player count table, add them to the draw deck, and shuffle the deck thoroughly.
- Take 1 Virus card and shuffle it at random into the first 15 cards of the deck.
- Insert the Vaccine card at random into the bottom 15 cards of the deck.
- Each player takes a Life Energy card and places it face up in front of themselves. Starting energy is 4.
- Deal Virus cards to all players, two each. Then draw cards according to the number in the player count table. The player who has 3 Virus cards is the first to be infected and must pass the infection on to other players.
Player count table
The table gives, for each player count, the starting hand (cards drawn, in addition to the 2 Virus cards from step 7) and the number of Glove cards to add to the deck in step 3.
| Players | Starting hand + Virus | Glove cards in the game |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 4 + 2 | 8 |
| 5 | 3 + 2 | 10 |
| 6 | 3 + 2 | 12 |
| 7-8 | 2 + 2 | 12 |
Card Descriptions
Virus card (17): Every player receives two of these cards. Normally, a player who has not been infected cannot trade this card away. If a player trades cards with another player and ends up receiving this card, they become infected immediately and join the same side as the infected players.
Glove card (12): This card is the only item that can prevent infection. When trading, if you choose to trade a Glove card for a Virus card, the player who gave the Glove card will not become infected.
Vaccine card (1): When a player receives this card, that player must place all Virus cards in their hand face up in front of themselves and discard them. The player then returns the Vaccine card to the deck and shuffles the deck at random. That player now has immunity to the virus and can no longer become infected.
Gun card (15): A gun can shoot 1 player. Any number of these cards may be used at once. The shot player loses 1 Life Energy for each card used against them.
Knife card (15): A knife can stab the player on your left or the player on your right. The stabbed player loses 1 Life Energy.
Shield card (8): Can block an attack once, used at any time. If shot 3 times, you can use 3 Shield cards to protect against losing 3 Life Energy.
Pill card (9): Can increase your own Life Energy by 1.
Supply card (9): Draw 2 additional cards.
X-ray camera card (5): Can ask to view all the cards in the hand of one other player.
Game Components
- 91 cards in total (Virus 17, Glove 12, Vaccine 1, Gun 15, Knife 15, Shield 8, Pill 9, Supply 9, X-ray camera 5).
- 8 Life Energy cards (blood level).
- 2 rulebooks (the printed copy this transcription follows is in Thai; the second copy in the box is in English).
Start of Game
Whoever opened the box is the first player to take the first turn.
Turn Structure
- Each time you enter your turn, draw 1 card from the central deck.
- Then choose ONE of the following three actions. You must choose exactly one of A, B, or C.
- A. Attack: Attack another player with a Knife or a Gun. Only one of the two may be used per attack: a Knife card may be used with one card only, while a Gun may be used with any number of cards, with no limit on the number of times.
- B. X-ray: Use an X-ray camera card to view all the cards in one other player's hand.
- C. Trade: Trade 1 card with one other player. Trading Virus cards is strictly forbidden, except when you are the one who becomes infected.
*Special case: if a player has no cards in hand other than Virus cards and is not infected, that player may skip their turn as a special case, and other players cannot trade with that player.
- Before ending your turn, check how many cards you hold. If you have more than 7 cards, discard down to 7 cards face up. Virus cards may not be discarded.
Pills and Supplies
Players may play Pill cards and Supply cards at any time, during their own turn.
Card Symbols
Each card shows its symbols as follows. The example card shown on page 9 is the Knife card.
- Target range 1: only the player on your left or your right.
- Target range 2: the player two seats to your left or your right.
- Target range infinity: anyone.
- Decrease (heart with minus sign): lose 1 Life Energy.
- Increase (heart with plus sign): gain 1 Life Energy.
Seating Rotation
Every time a player's Life Energy decreases, rotate the card to the left. The printed diagram shows a circle of numbered player positions (1 to 4) before and after one leftward rotation.
Elimination
If a player's Life Energy falls below 0, that player leaves the game immediately. All of their cards are placed face down.
- If the player who leaves the game is the last infected player, the game ends immediately and the Virus side loses at once.
- The player who leaves the game is the one who says whether any infected players remain in the game. (The last words of this line are cut off at the edge of the printed page; the wording here is reconstructed from the visible text.)
Game Objective
The uninfected team: must find a vaccine. If at least 50% of the players in the game have immunity, they win the game. They also win by eliminating all infected players.
The infected team: must spread the virus to every player who is still alive. If every player still alive is infected, they must announce victory, and they win the game immediately.
- If an announcement is wrong, the game continues, but the other team will immediately know the situation.
- Victory may be announced in any round. The infected team wins immediately once every player is infected.