Video Vortex Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• What Is a Deck Building Game? ... And How This One Is Different
• Setting Up Your Game
  • Components
  • 1. Check Contents
  • 2. Meet the Mutants
  • 3. Lay Out the Game
  • 4. Choose Your Mutant
  • 5. Final Preparation (All Players)
  • Game Phases (Player Aid)
• Getting to Know Your Game: Terminology
  • Game Concepts
  • Common Terms
  • Card Types
  • Anatomy of a Card
• Playing Your Game
  • Gameplay
  • Sun Phase
  • Action Step
  • End Step
  • How to Win
  • Additional Rules
• Gameplay Examples
  • Example 1: A Full Turn (Ridgemont)
  • Example 2: Attacking a Shielded Mutant (Dahlia vs. Ridgemont)
• Super Handy Reference
  • Common Terms
  • Card Types

What Is a Deck Building Game? ... And How This One Is Different

A deck building game allows each player to draw and play cards from their own deck, which they add to strategically throughout the game. While traditional deck building games instruct players to add new cards to their Discard pile to be shuffled into their deck once it runs out, Video Vortex allows players to immediately add newly purchased cards to their hand, making them available to play right away.

Setting Up Your Game

Components

• 1 Vortex Board
• Vortex Cards: 65 cards (cards feature both a genre and price sticker in the upper right)
• Junk Shelf Cards: 19 Signal Splitter, 27 Bargain Bin, 15 Damaged Tape, 24 Head Cleaner
• Starting Hand Cards: 8 Rottentales, 4 System Shock, 18 Special Interest, 36 Staff Pick
• 4 Runtime Dials
• 4 Player Boards
• 8 Suns
• 4 Player Aids
• 12 Mutant Character Sheets
• 24 Energy
• 16 Charges
• 1 Sun Marker
• 12 Be Kind Tokens

1. Check Contents

All included components are illustrated in the rulebook.

2. Meet the Mutants

Place all 12 Mutant Character Sheets with their bio side up in view of all players.

3. Lay Out the Game

Separate Vortex Cards, Junk Shelf Cards, Starting Hand Cards, and Staff Picks/Special Interest Cards.

• A. Unfold the Vortex Board and place it in view of all players.
• B. Shuffle the Vortex Cards and place them face down on the On Deck board space. This is now referred to as your Vortex Deck.
• C. Flip the top 5 cards of the Vortex Deck and place them in the Tape 1-5 spaces to the right of the deck. This will create the current Vortex.
• D. Place your Junk Shelf Cards: Signal Splitter, Bargain Bin, Head Cleaner and Damaged Tape cards face up on their indicated spaces.
• E. Place all 8 Suns face up in an area within view of all players.
• F. Collect Player Boards and distribute them randomly to all players. Instruct players to note the letter assignment on the back of their Player Board.
• G. Give each player 3 Be Kind tokens (one of each design) to place in the Rewind zone at the top of their Player Board.
• H. Give each player a Runtime Dial.
• I. Place Energy and Charge cubes within easy reach of all players.

4. Choose Your Mutant

The player holding the first Player Board in alphabetical order will be the first to choose their Mutant. All players continue picking Mutants in alphabetical Player Board order. Pay special attention to the Mutant's complexity rating (Low is recommended for first play). The last player to choose a Mutant will be the first player for the duration of the game. The Sun marker goes to them first, and will rotate clockwise each round.

5. Final Preparation (All Players)

• J. Gain the starting cards indicated in the Supply List section of your Mutant Character Sheet.
• K. Read and understand any special rules for your Mutant.
• L. Place your Mutant Character Sheet into the hinged Player Board with the side showing the Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi Powers facing up.
• M. Place 2 Energy and 1 Charge cube in the appropriate slots on your Player Board.
• N. Shuffle your starting deck, place it on the left side of your Player Board, and draw 4 cards to form your starting hand. (Your hand should remain private throughout gameplay.)
• O. Place your Be Kind tokens in the Rewind Zone of your Player Board and set your Runtime dial to 0/0.

Game Phases (Player Aid)

Sun Phase: All players return their current Sun. The current First Player passes the First Player marker to the player to their left. Starting with the First Player and moving clockwise, each player chooses a new Sun for the current round. (May not be the Sun you controlled in the previous round.)

Action Phase: You may use your Sun for free once per turn. You may perform the following as many times as you'd like on your turn:

• Spend Energy to play cards from your hand generating their effects. Cards remain in play until the end of the Action Phase.
• Spend Charge to use your Lo-Fi and/or Hi-Fi Powers (using powers does not require Energy).
• Spend Money to Rent cards from the Vortex. Whenever you Rent a card from the Vortex, it goes straight into your hand and can be played that turn.
• Use Card Effects to "attack" and Advance an opponent's Runtime and/or Kill their LPs by using FWD; or "heal" yourself by using REW.

Getting to Know Your Game: Terminology

Game Concepts

• RUNTIME is your measure of health. Each Mutant (and LP) has a different value for their available Runtime. Your Runtime Dial indicates how much of your Mutant's Runtime has expired. Each dial has two spools. The spool on the left is the 10s value, the spool on the right is the 1s. (ex: If you're currently at 24 and you've been advanced 12 by an attack, rotate the left dial to 3 and the right dial to 6 to indicate 36 of your current available Runtime has expired). Once your Runtime has expired, you die.
  • NOTE: Death is not permanent in the Vortex, whose inhabitants deeply value the potential of sequels (see "How to Win" for more information).
• MONEY is used to rent (acquire to your hand) Standard Play (SP) and Long Play (LP) cards from the Vortex.
• FORWARD (FWD) is used to advance your opponent's Runtime, as well as Kill (Discard from play) opposing LP cards.
• REWIND (REW) rewinds your own Runtime, keeping you alive longer.
• ENERGY is a resource that allows you to play cards from your hand. Energy refreshes each turn and maximum Energy increases throughout the game, allowing for more powerful cards and combinations of effects. When you use Energy to play cards and trigger game effects, remove the spent Energy cubes from your Player Board and set them to the side (not the supply). Maximum Energy is increased at a rate of one per turn until your Energy is maxed out at 6.
• CHARGE is a resource that allows you to use your Mutant's Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi Powers. When you use Charge to pay for powers, remove the spent Charge cubes from your Player Board and return them to the supply. Charge is automatically gained at a rate of one per turn until Energy is maxed out, at which point you gain 2 Charges each turn. Other effects also allow you to gain Charges during your turn. You can never possess more than 4 Charges.

Common Terms

• EJECT: Move a card from its current location to the Drop Box.
• KILL: To advance a Mutant or LP's Runtime to its end. Killed Mutants reset their Runtime to 0/0 and resolve trophy collection. Killed LPs are placed in their owner's Discard.
• HUFF: Add a Head Cleaner to your Discard.
• TIMESHIFT: Steal Runtime from an opponent (advancing their Runtime while Rewinding yours for the same amount), bypassing any Shielded LPs.
• EXHAUST: Rotate an LP 90 degrees to resolve its effects.
• DISCARD: Add a card to your Discard pile.

NOTE: Should a game effect instruct a player to "Advance Runtime," any Shielded LPs they have in play do not protect them from that effect.

Card Types

• STANDARD PLAY (SP): Card that is played for immediate effect and placed in its owner's Discard at the end of the turn.
• LONG PLAY (LP): Card that stays in play until Killed (advanced to its indicated Runtime or Killed by another card effect) by another player, then placed in its owner's Discard.
• SHIELDED LP: Card that must be Killed before its owner's Runtime can be FWD by another player. The Shielded effect is only active if the LP is not Exhausted. Timeshift and advance Runtime effects always bypass Shielded LPs.
• STAFF PICK: Special card type attached to a particular Mutant, assigned during setup.
• SPECIAL INTEREST: Special card type attached to a particular Mutant, set aside during setup and called upon by special player powers.
• VORTEX CARDS: Any card belonging to one of the 4 Genres (Horror, Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy) that can be rented directly from the Vortex.
• JUNK SHELF CARDS: Signal Splitter, Bargain Bin, Head Cleaner, and Damaged Tape cards are considered part of the Junk Shelf. Only Signal Splitters may be rented. All other Junk Shelf Cards are acquired through various game effects.

Anatomy of a Card

• COST: Amount of Money you must spend to rent a card from the Vortex.
• GENRE: The film genre a card belongs to. Used to trigger Synced abilities on cards.
• ENERGY: Amount you must spend to play a card from your hand. Spent Energy is regained at the end of the turn.
• CARD TYPE / LP RUNTIME: Indicates whether a card is an SP or LP, if the card is Shielded, and any Runtime the card possesses.
• EFFECTS: Abilities triggered by playing or Exhausting a card. Some cards have passive abilities while most trigger immediate abilities.
• SYNCED: Bonus effects that trigger when you play an SP from hand or Exhaust an LP while a card of the same genre is already in your play area. Cards played simultaneously would trigger any Synced effects together.
• FREE W/ RENTAL: Effect triggered immediately when you rent a card from the Vortex.

NOTE: Synced effects can not be saved for later use. They trigger the moment you play an SP from hand or Exhaust an LP.

Playing Your Game

Gameplay

Video Vortex is played over a series of rounds, each comprised of one turn per player. At the start of each round, all players will resolve the Sun Phase. Then, in clockwise order, starting with the first player, turns are resolved. Turns consist of an Action Step and an End Step.

Sun Phase

During the Sun Phase each player will choose a Sun tile for the round. Each Sun has a special effect you may use for free once during your turn. Once a Sun is used, Exhaust it by turning it 90 degrees. (Some effects in the game allow Suns to be triggered multiple times and sometimes allow for opponents' or out-of-play Suns to be utilized.)

NOTE: During the first round of the game, players simply pick their Sun starting with the first player and moving clockwise. There are no Suns to return yet so skip that step.

After the Sun Phase, each player (starting with the first player) takes their turn, performing their ACTION STEP followed by their END STEP.

Action Step

During this part of your turn, you will be spending Energy to play cards, spending Charge to use powers, spending Money to rent cards, and using other actions and abilities.

You may use your Sun for free once per turn. Using a Sun does not require Energy or Charge unless stated otherwise by the Sun's effect.

You may do the following in any order as many times as you are able per turn:

• SPEND ENERGY to play cards from your hand. Cards remain in play until the end of the Action Step.
• SPEND CHARGE to use your Lo-Fi and/or Hi-Fi Powers (using powers does not require Energy).
• SPEND MONEY to rent cards from the Vortex. Whenever you rent a card from the Vortex, it goes straight into your hand and can be played that turn. Immediately fill any empty spaces in the Vortex when you rent a card by drawing the top card from the Vortex Deck.
• USE CARD EFFECTS to attack and Advance an opponent's Runtime and/or Kill their LPs by using FWD; or heal yourself by using REW.

NOTE: When you spend money to Rent cards from the Vortex, only Rent one at a time and wait for its replacement card to become available before selecting another card. The new card might be a card you want!

End Step

When you have finished taking all desired actions for your turn, you proceed to your End Step, taking the following actions:

• DISCARD all cards remaining in your hand.
• DISCARD all played SP cards (LPs stay in play until Killed).
• UN-EXHAUST any Exhausted cards.
• FLIP your current Sun and resolve end of turn actions (gaining new Energy and Charge and drawing a new hand of cards).
• REGAIN all spent Energy (set ALL spent Energy cubes back into your Player Board slots to refill for the next turn) then gain 1 additional Energy from the common supply. Once you have reached your maximum capacity of 6 Energy, you gain no additional Energy but still regain your spent Energy each turn.
• GAIN 1 Charge (or 2 Charges once you have reached your max Energy capacity). Remember, Charges are Discarded to the common supply immediately when spent. You can never possess more than 4 Charges.
• DRAW 4 cards from your personal deck.

The next player in clockwise order now begins their turn. Once all players have completed their turn, the round is over and all players return their current Sun. The player holding the Sun Marker passes it to the player on their left, and a new Sun Phase begins. The player now holding the Sun Marker chooses a new Sun for the current round, followed by the remaining players in clockwise order (cannot be the same Sun from previous round).

How to Win

When a Mutant's Runtime is met or exceeded, they are Killed (any excess Runtime advancement from that attack is ignored). When you Kill an opponent, you receive one Be Kind token of your choice from their Rewind Zone at the top of their Player Board. Place the collected token in your trophy area on your Player Board. You are only allowed to possess one of each unique token in your trophy area. To win the game, you must collect one of each of the three types of Be Kind token in your trophy area.

After being Killed, a Mutant resurrects and returns to the fight immediately. They Rewind their Runtime dial to 0/0 and continue play as normal on their next turn. The current player continues their turn and may choose a new target for attack if they wish.

Additional Rules

• Unless they are Exhausted, Shielded LPs must be Killed before you can advance the controlling opponent's Runtime with FWD abilities.
• Only one opponent may be targeted for attack during your turn until that opponent is Killed. If the attack that Killed an opponent has any remaining FWD, the additional damage is ignored. Once your opponent is Killed you may disengage and target a new opponent with any additional card plays or effects on your turn, or you may continue to attack the same opponent.
• If a game effect reads "an opponent" then the target of that effect can be any one opponent of your choosing.
• When an effect targets all players, that includes the player who triggered the effect.
• FWD abilities and gaining Money are cumulative. You may gain both through playing cards and resolving abilities in whatever order you wish.
• Runtime advanced on an LP does not carry over to your next turn. If an LP is not Killed during a turn, its Runtime resets to full value on the next player's turn. Energy not spent during a turn has no benefit for future turns. Your Energy simply replenishes during the End Phase. Unspent Charge carries over from round to round until used and Discarded to the supply.
• Should you ever run out of cards from any draw pile, dive into the Drop Box and replenish the supply for that card type.
• If the desired Be Kind token is unavailable from a Killed opponent's Rewind Zone, you may take that token directly from your opponent's trophy area. This is the only time you may steal a trophy.
• If an effect outside of an opponent's attack should ever Kill a Mutant, they must award a Be Kind token to the owner of the card responsible for the Kill. The card owner chooses which token (must be a color they do not already have in their trophy area). If no one controls the effect (ex: Damaged Tape), the token is awarded to the player with the fewest trophies. If there's a tie for least trophies, the dead Mutant chooses. Trophy restrictions still apply.

NOTE: If you ever need to draw a card from your deck, and it has no cards remaining, simply shuffle your Discards to form a fresh deck to draw from.

Gameplay Examples

Example 1: A Full Turn (Ridgemont)

1. Ridgemont has a hand of two Bargain Bin cards, a Signal Splitter, and Happily Never After.
2. They have 2 Energy and 1 Charge available.
3. They also control the "FWD: 3 or REW: 3" Sun. They use their Sun to gain 3 FWD and save it. They're not yet sure who to target this turn.
4. They play the two Bargain Bin cards for free (0 Energy), and spend 1 Energy to play Signal Splitter. These played cards gain them a total of $4.
5. They use the $4 to rent Omega Starr from the Vortex, adding it to their hand. They only have 1 Energy left so they can't play Omega Starr this turn, but can utilize the card's "Free w/ Rental" effect to use their Sun again, gaining another 3 FWD.
6. They use their last Energy to play Happily Never After for 6 FWD and target Acid Override, advancing their Runtime by a total of 12 and adding a Bargain Bin card from the Junk Shelf to their Discard.
7. Finally, they spend their 1 Charge to rent a Signal Splitter for free. Having completed all their actions, they move to their End Step.
8. For their End Step, they Discard all cards from their hand and play area (they have no LPs in play currently), regain their 2 spent Energy, gain 1 additional Energy, gain 1 Charge, and draw 4 cards.

Example 2: Attacking a Shielded Mutant (Dahlia vs. Ridgemont)

1. A few turns later, Dahlia is taking aim at Ridgemont. They have a total of 6 FWD and $4 from playing Brain Drain, a Signal Splitter and 2 Rottentales. They have spent a total of 2 Energy.
2. They use their $4 to Rent Chop Shock High and The Starbound Teen for $2 each.
3. They now play Chop Shock High and Exhaust it, gaining 6 more FWD for a total of 12. They also trigger this card's Synced effect because Brain Drain, another Horror card, was in play when Chop Shock High Exhausted (Brain Drain's Synced effect does not retroactively trigger as it was played when there were no other Horror cards in their play area). Their FWD is now up to 14.
4. With their last energy, they play The Starbound Teen and gain 4 Timeshift. They advance Ridgemont's Runtime Dial 4 (bypassing their Shielded LP) and Rewind their Runtime Dial 4. This card's Synced ability does not trigger as they have no other Sci-Fi cards in play.
5. Ridgemont was able to play Omega Starr in an earlier turn. They're currently Shielded for 12 Runtime. Dahlia must first apply 12 of their FWD to Omega Starr before they can advance Ridgemont's Runtime. They do and Kill Omega Starr, sending it to Ridgemont's Discard.
6. They apply their last 2 FWD to Ridgemont directly and push their Runtime Dial to 44, 1 below their available Runtime of 45.
7. Dahlia, realizing how close they are, decides to use a Charge to trigger their Lo-Fi Power and applies that final 4 FWD to Ridgemont's available Runtime, Killing Ridgemont.
8. Dahlia chooses Ridgemont's available red one-eyed Be Kind token as their trophy and places it in their trophy area. Ridgemont resets their Runtime dial to 0/0.

Super Handy Reference

Common Terms

• FWD: Advance an opponent's Runtime dial (or one of their LPs) by the specified amount.
• REW: Decrease your runtime dial by the specified amount.
• ENERGY: Resource used to play cards.
• CHARGE: Resource used to trigger a Mutant's powers.
• SYNCED: Bonus effects that trigger when you play an SP from hand or Exhaust an LP while a card of the same genre is already in your play area. Cards played simultaneously would trigger any Synced effects together.
• FREE W/ RENTAL: Effect triggered immediately when a card is rented from the Vortex.
• EJECT: Move a card from its current location to the Drop Box.
• KILL: To advance a Mutant or LP's Runtime to its end. Killed Mutants reset their Runtime to 0/0 and resolve trophy collection. Killed LPs are placed in their owner's Discard.
• HUFF: Add a Head Cleaner to your Discard.
• TIMESHIFT: Steal Runtime from an opponent (Advancing their Runtime while Rewinding yours for the same amount), bypassing any Shielded LPs.
• EXHAUST: Rotate an LP 90 degrees to resolve its effects.
• DISCARD: Add a card to your Discard pile.

Card Types

• STANDARD PLAY (SP): Card that is played for immediate effect and placed in its owner's Discard at the end of the turn.
• LONG PLAY (LP): Card that stays in play until Killed (Advanced to its indicated Runtime or Killed by another card effect) by another player, then placed in its owner's Discard.
• SHIELDED LP: Card that must be Killed before its owner's Runtime can be FWD by another player. Timeshift and Advance Runtime effects bypass Shielded LPs.
• STAFF PICK: Special card type attached to a particular Mutant, assigned during setup.
• SPECIAL INTEREST: Special card type attached to a particular Mutant, set aside during setup and called upon by special player powers.
• VORTEX CARDS: Any card belonging to one of the 4 Genres (Horror, Sci-Fi, Action, Comedy) that can be Rented directly from the Vortex.
• JUNK SHELF CARDS: Signal Splitter, Bargain Bin, Head Cleaner, and Damaged Tape cards are considered part of the Junk Shelf. Only Signal Splitters may be Rented. All other Junk Shelf Cards are acquired through various game effects.