Components
- 2 people sets (the Vulca and the Hoax)
- 60 cards
- two leaders
- 3 dragons
- 1 game board
- 2 overview cards
- Instructions
Setup
Lay out the game board. Pace the three dragons onto the (neutral) middle of the game board.
When playing the base game, one player takes the people set of the Vulca, the other the people set of the Hoax. d Each player displays the leader of his people face up next to the game board as indicated
Each player displays one of the overview cards next to him.
The remaining 30 cards of each player form his deck. Each player shuffles his deck and places it as his face down draw deck next to the game board as indicated.
The players randomly determine who becomes the starting player of the first fight. Then each player draws the top six cards from his draw deck into his hand.
Overview
The game consists of independent consecutive fights. The starting player begins the first fight. Each fight is contested in one of two elements, either fire or earth, as announced by the starting player of the fight.
During each fight, players take alternate turns to play their cards building up power in their combat and support areas.
Basically, each turn the players play a character card and possibly some additional cards to at least match the total power of their opponent, who must then, in turn, match his opponent's power; and so on. - If a player is unable to do this, he must retreat from the fight.
A fight ends when one of the players retreats. The other player is the winner of the fight and attracts a number of dragons. Both players remove all their cards from their combat and support areas and place them onto their face-up discard pile.
The retreating player then starts the next fight.
Usually, the game ends when one player runs out of cards and retreats from the last fight. Then the player with dragons on his side is the victor and scores some victory points (crystals).
A player wins the game instantly if he has all three dragons on his side and then attracts further dragons.
The Cards
Most of the cards originate from the eight peoples in the Blue Moon world. Each people is characterized by a different color bar containing the card name.
The name of the people (together with an identification number) is printed in the lower left-hand corner of each card. Some cards (e.g. mutants) do not belong to any people.
Each deck represents the forces of one of the peoples involved in the struggle for the throne. Most cards in the deck originate from that people. But each deck also contains cards from other peoples and one mutant.
In the lower left- hand corner, all cards are marked with the first letter of the deck in which they appear, which allows you to reconstruct the original people sets.
Each people set contains one leader and a deck of 30 cards consisting of four principal card types which are stated on the left side of the card: leadership cards, character cards, booster cards and support cards.
Many cards have values in fire and earth. Some cards contain special power texts (under the color name bar). When a card with a special power is played, the text is read out to the opponent: "I" referring to the player of the card and "you" to the opponent.
Furthermore, many cards show one or more moons indicating their cost when you build your own decks in the advanced game.
The text at the bottom of each card gives you some background information about the Blue Moon world.
Mutants: Mutants are special character cards that may only be played under certain conditions. They change the contested element of the fight, from fire to earth or from earth to fire.
Turn Phases
The players take alternate turns during a fight. Each turn consists of a number of steps executed in the following order:
- Beginning of Turn
- LEADERSHIP - The player may play one leadership card.
- Retreat from Fight?
- CHARACTER - The player must play one character card.
- BOOSTER or Support
- Announce Power
- Refresh Hand
- End of Turn
1. Beginning of Turn
Some cards, when already displayed, may allow you to act at the beginning of your turn. - Usually, nothing happens during this phase.
2. Leadership
You may play one leadership card. Place the leadership card face up partially overlapping your leader card and read out the special power text.
The effects of most leadership cards are implemented immediately, some remain active for your entire turn, but never beyond the current turn.
Subsequent leadership cards are played on top of earlier ones. - It is quite normal that no card is played during this phase.
3. Retreat From Fight
When you cannot or do not want to continue the current fight you announce your retreat. This ends the fight and your turn concludes without any further obligations or activities. Your opponent wins the fight. If the current fight continues, nothing happens during this phase.
4. Character
In order to continue the current fight, you must play a character card. - Very often, playing a character card is your first activity during your turn.
Play a character card from your hand face up into your combat area. All cards in the combat area from your previous turn are pushed together under your new character card and are no longer active.
Only the most recent character cards played into your combat area are active until they are covered by new character cards on your subsequent turn.
As a general rule, you may only play one character card on your turn, unless your cards specifically allow you to play more. If you do play more than one character card, stagger the cards partially on top of each other, so that all their values, icons and special power texts are visible.
5. Booster or Support
You may play either one booster card or one support card.
You may play a booster card from your hand face up into your combat area on top of your character cards, partially overlapping the last character card so that all values, icons and special power texts are visible.
If the cards allow you to play more than one booster card, stagger the booster cards partially on top of each other, so that all their values, icons and special power texts are visible.
Only the most recent booster cards played into your combat area are active until they are covered by a new character card on your subsequent turn.
Alternatively, you may play a support card from your hand face up into your support area. All cards displayed in your support area are active and should remain visible during the entire fight.
As a general rule, you may only play either one booster card or one support card on your turn, unless your cards specifically allow you to play more than one. - The most common card play during a turn consists of one character card, possibly followed by one booster card or one support card.
Exception: On the first turn of each fight, the starting player is restricted to playing neither a booster nor a support card, unless his cards specifically allow him to play additional booster cards or support cards.
The most common card play during a starting turn of a fight consists of one character card.
6. Announce Power
Each fight is contested in one of two elements, either fire or earth. The player who starts a fight chooses the element of the fight when announcing his power on his starting turn. This element then remains fixed for the entire fight (unless changed by a mutant).
When you announce your power, always state your total power in the respective element that results from all your active cards, adding "in fire" or "in earth" as appropriate. Your opponent's active cards can influence your total power.
The total power you announce on your turn must at least equal that of your opponent at this time.
This is usually the power announced previously by your opponent, but may have been altered as a consequence of your card play.
If you cannot at least match your opponent's total power, you must retreat during the "Retreat from Fight" phase and may not play character, booster or support cards. Note: Leadership cards may be played before declaring a retreat.
Zero Power: An attack with "zero" power is possible, provided that your opponent's total power is also "zero".
7. Refresh Hand
Refresh your hand by drawing from your draw deck.
As a general rule, you refresh your hand to six cards. However, some cards influence the number of cards that you refresh. If you already have more cards in your hand, you keep the additional cards.
8. End of the Turn
Some cards allow you to act at the end of your turn. Usually, nothing happens during this phase, and your turn ends by announcing your power and refreshing your hand.
Winning a Fight
If your opponent retreats, his turn ends immediately and you win the fight.
As a consequence, you attract one dragon. If you have a total of six or more cards (not necessarily all active) in your combat and support areas you attract one additional dragon.
The active cards can influence the number of dragons attracted. For each dragon attracted, select one of the dragons from the game board and place it in front of you.
However, if your opponent has dragons (from previous fights) in front of him, select the respective number of dragons from your opponent and place them on the game board instead. At one time, dragons may only be located in front of one of the two players.
Example: You attract two dragons. Your opponent has one dragon in front of him, the other two dragons are on the game board.
Return your opponent's dragon to the game board (first dragon movement), then select one of the three dragons from the game board and place it in front of you (second dragon movement).
Both players now remove all their cards from their combat and support areas and place them face-up on their respective discard piles.
At the end of any fight, both players refresh their hands to six cards by drawing from their draw decks.
If you already have six or more cards in your hand, you keep those cards rather than refreshing your hand. Then the retreating player starts the next fight.
Declining to Start a Fight
The starting player of a fight cannot retreat on his starting turn. However, instead of starting a fight, a player may decide to discard one, two, or three cards from his hand during the "Retreat from Fight" phase.
Then the player refreshes his hand to six cards. The other player now becomes the starting player (and has the choice of starting the next fight or discarding). - You are forced to discard if you have no character card to play. You may play a leadership card as usual before declining the fight.
Discarding Cards
When discarding, the cards are placed face-up onto the discard pile (so that the opponent can see each one of them before they are piled together).
Exception: When discarding leadership cards, these are always placed face up in one separate stack partially overlapping the leader card (on top of any previously played leadership cards).
Leadership cards are never placed on the discard pile!
Some special powers allow you to recover cards from your discard pile, however, leadership cards are gone forever.
Shields and Icons
Note: Only shields and the icons STOP and RETRIEVE are relevant for the base game.
Shield 
You do not have to match your opponent's total power when announcing your power.
Cards depicting a shield behind their fire or earth value defend against your opponent's total power in this element, irrespective of the size of his power.
The number in the shield contributes towards your own announced total power as usual. - Shields allow you to reduce the total power in the fight.
Stop 
Playing a card with a STOP icon prevents you from playing any further cards during your turn.
Your turn continues with the announcement of your total power that must at least match your opponent's power.
Retrieve 
If you have active cards depicting the RETRIEVE icon at the very beginning of your turn, you may return any of these cards into your undisclosed hand. - You may keep these cards in your hand or replay them this turn.
Exception: To prevent both players from continuously playing the same cards, the following exception applies.
If your opponent's combat area contains active character cards depicting the RETRIEVE icon then you may not apply the RETRIEVE function depicted on your character cards.
The following icons do not appear in the base set. (The single PAIR icon in the Vulca set does not function). The following rules become relevant when other people sets are involved.
Protected 
Some cards in the AQUA people set depict the PROTECTED icon. When these cards are active in the combat or support areas, they are protected from any opposing effects.
The cards cannot be ignored or discarded by the opponent, and their values cannot be reduced by the opponent. When protected cards are not active, all general rules apply.
Free 
Cards depicting the FREE icon do not count towards your limit of one character card and either one booster or one support card expressed in the rules. Free cards must be played during their appropriate phase.
Free cards (character, booster, support cards) may also be played on the starting turn of a fight.
However, you may not play free cards (e.g. support cards) if a card instruction specifically disallows the play of the respective card type (e.g. support cards).
It is possible to play a free character card as the first or only character card on your turn.
Pair 
If you have two character cards in your hand with identical first words in their names and both depicting the PAIR icon, you may play the pair together instead of a single character card.
Stagger the two cards partially on top of each other, so that all their values, icons and special power texts are visible.
Similarly, you may play a pair of booster cards with identical first words and PAIR icons instead of a single booster card.
Gang 
The Khind character cards are divided into four gangs indicated by different color GANG icons. All members of a gang have identical prefixes to their names.
You may play any number of character cards from the same gang instead of a single character card at the beginning of your CHARACTER phase. And you may add more character cards to the gang in later turns.
If you already played one or more character cards of the same gang on your previous turns, and there are no other active cards in your combat area (character cards not belonging to the gang or booster cards), then at the beginning of the CHARACTER phase of your subsequent turn you can add one or more character cards of the same gang from your hand without pushing the other cards under it.
Stagger the cards partially on top of each other, so that all their values, icons, and special power texts are visible. To keep the gang active, you must add at least one more character card from the gang each turn.
End of the Game
When a player has used up his draw deck he cannot draw any more cards. The fight nevertheless continues.
When one player has played or discarded all his cards from his draw deck and from his hand then no new fights may be started. The game ends as soon as the current fight is over. The game also ends when a player declines to start a fight and discards his last one, two or three cards instead.At the end of the game, the player with dragons on his side is the victor and scores some victory points: one crystal for winning the game and one crystal for each dragon on his side. The loser does not score. When playing more than one game, the victory points (crystals) are recorded on a piece of paper.
If the game ends with all three dragons on the (neutral) game board, then the player who ran out of cards (first) loses, and his opponent scores one crystal.
A player wins the game instantly if he has all three dragons on his side and then attracts further dragons. This player is the victor and scores four victory points: one crystal for winning the game and three crystals for the three dragons on his side.
More Games
If you are playing more than one game, you may decide to swap the people sets after each game.
The loser of the previous game always starts the next. The player who first reaches a total of at least five crystals becomes the final victor.
There are other Blue Moon people sets available. With more than two people sets at your disposal, you should mutually agree which set each player will use or you shuffle the corresponding leader cards and draw one each to randomly determine your set. In this way, the final victory can be achieved using a variety of different people sets.
If both players possess their own people sets, the players may choose to each select one leader card of their sets and reveal them simultaneously before each game to determine which people they play.
Each of the available people sets is preassembled and ready to play. The advanced rules at the end of this booklet explain how you can build your own decks to take full control of your destiny.
Continue Reading
