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FATAL Game Rules

It is the summer solstice, and the techno-enchanters scour the sacred woods hunting for treasures. Each enchanter hopes to gather the treasures tied to their birth-sign, while trying to obstruct the efforts of the opposing sign.

The enchanter who can bring the most fame to his birth-sign will be awarded with victory by the Enchantress Queen!


Components

  • 12 characters; front
  • 25 treasures
  • the Enchantress Queen
  • 52 vision cards
  • 18 enchantment cards
  • Instructions

Object of the Game

Each player represents a "techno-enchanter incognito" tied to one of the five birth-signs of the fairies: Flambeaux, Lichtenborn, Angbat, Aquate and Terranova.

By wise use of their magic, these enchanters try to collect the best treasures for themselves, while preventing the others from doing the same. The winner will be the enchanter with the most valuable treasures, or the first player to eliminate the enchanter from the opposing birth-sign!

Faerie magic is created through the use of vision cards. Visions are played in two rows. When a row has exactly three cards, it forms a trimagic.

The combination of the symbols in the trimagic determines the effect of the vision. Some trimagic have very powerful effects, such as acquiring more vision cards.... Or stealing another enchanter's treasures!

Vision cards are always played face up in front of you, as follows:

  • The first card in a vision is played straight
  • The second card is played reversed
  • The third card is rotated to one side

Setup

The owner of the game chooses a starting player, or you can choose at random.

Take the set of character cards that match the number of players (on the back). Shuffle those cards and deal one, face down, to each player. You may examine your own character at any time, but you should keep it secret from the other players.

Your character card shows the color of your birth-sign and the treasures you hope to collect. It also shows the color of your opposition birth-sign.

Example: This player has the red birth-sign (Flambeaux), and his opposite sign is yellow (Lichtenborn).

Take all the treasures that match the colors of the players in the game (15 treasures with 3 players; 20 treasures with 4; and 25 with 5).

Shuffle the treasures together and deal four face down. Take the

Enchantress Queen and shuffle her with the four treasures. Take the remaining deck of treasure cards and place it on top of these five cards. This is the treasure deck. Turn over the top three cards from the treasure deck and place them in a row next to the deck.

Shuffle the playing deck and deal four cards to each player. The remaining cards from the draw pile. You will also need a way to keep score, such as pen and paper.



Game Play

The game is played in turns in clockwise order. The game is played over two rounds. Each round ends when the Enchantress Queen is drawn.

During your turn, take these actions in this order:

  1. You may play one enchantment;
  2. You may steal one vision;
  3. You may play one or two visions from your hand.

Each time you play a card, draw one card from the top of the draw pile, and set it aside face down near your visions.

At the end of your turn, take these actions in this order:

  1. If the cards in your visions show 3 or more stars, take one of the three face up treasures of your choice.

  2. If any of your visions has 3 vision cards, cast the trimagic and discard all cards in that row.

  3. Add any cards you set aside earlier in the turn to your hand (up to the maximum hand size of six cards).

Your turn in detail:


1. Play One Enchantment

You may play one enchantment from your hand. The enchantment takes effect immediately. If the enchantment contradicts the rules, the enchantment takes precedence.

When the effect of the enchantment ends, the card is discarded. After you play an enchantment, draw a card from the draw pile and set it aside until the end of your turn.


Note: You may play the "Elemental Shield" enchantment when it is not your turn to cancel the effect of a trimagic that targets you.


Example: Andrew plays a trimagic that allows him to draw a random card from another player's hand, and then allows him to draw a random card from a different second player's hand.

Andrew tries to draw his first card from Bea, but she plays "Elemental Shield" and cancels this effect. Andrew then draws his second card from Carl.


Special Option: Discard a Treasure to Change Cards

Instead of playing an enchantment, you can instead exchange up to four cards from your hand. First you must discard one of your treasures valued "1", "2", or "3" to the bottom of the deck.

Then discard up to four cards from your hand. Next, draw four cards from the draw pile (even if you discarded less than four cards). Select and add to your hand as many cards as you discarded, then discard the rest.

Example: Bea has five cards in her hand. She chooses not to play an enchantment. Instead, she discards a green "1" treasure to exchange three of her cards.

She discards three cards. Then she draws four cards from the deck. Finally, she chooses three of those cards to add to her hand, and add the last one to the discard pile.


2. Steal One Vision

You may steal one vision card from in front of another player, and add it to one of your vision rows, provided the following two conditions are met:

  1. You have, at the end of one of your rows, a vision card whose symbol beats the symbol of the vision you want to steal.

    Magic stone beats multiblade, multiblades beat parchment, parchment beats magic stone.

  2. You can add the stolen vision card to one of your rows, without changing its orientation.

    Vision cards without a symbol may not be stolen, nor used to steal other visions.



Example: Thanks to his vision with a magic stone, Andrew can steal the multiblade vision card from Bea and start a second vision row.

Or, he could steal the reversed multiblade vision card from Carl and add it to the vision row with the magic stone, since it has to stay reversed.

Andrew cannot steal the parchment from Bea's vision (since he doesn't have a multiblade vision card), and he cannot steal the card from the Carl's second vision row because it has no symbol.



3. Play one or two visions from your hand

You may play one or two vision cards from your hand, adding them to your vision rows. For each vision card you play, draw a card and set it aside.

At this point your turn comes to and end, and you must:


A. If your visions show 3 or more stars:

If the cards in your vision rows show a total of 3 or more stars, then you take one of the three face-up treasures of your choice.

You can decide to keep the treasure for yourself, or you can give it any other player of your choice (who must take the gift).

Then, replace the treasure with a new one drawn from the top of the deck, turned face up.

Always keep your treasures face down in front of you. You may examine your own treasures at any time.

B. If any vision has three vision cards:

When a vision row has three vision cards, it generates a trimagic. The effect is determined by the visions:

  1. the 1st vision determines the type of trimagic:

    • Draw cards from the playing deck, look at them and add them to the hand of any player (including yourself).


    • Take treasures from the ones on display and add them to the stack of any player (including yourself).


    • Steal treasures randomly from the collection of any player, and add them to your treasures.


    • Draw cards randomly from the hand of any player, and discard these cards.


  2. the 2nd and 3rd visions determine if the trimagic involves another player, and if it affects 1 or 2 cards:

    • The trimagic affects also a second, different player, chosen by the caster of the trimagic.


    • The trimagic affects each targeted player (1 or 2), affecting 1 or 2 cards depending on the number of stars displayed.

      Note: on the third vision you only count the stars at the end of the triangle!


Once the trimagic is resolved, the three vision cards are discarded. You may play up to two trimagic effects each turn.

Example 1: Draw 1 card from the playing deck, look at it, then add it to the hand of any player; then, do this again, but awarding the card to a different player.

Su draws a Magical Swap and gives it to... himself.

Then he draws a vision and gives it to Frensisca, who has only one card left in her hands (in order to make a special victory more difficult).


Example 2: Take 2 treasures on display and add it to the stack of any player.

Albert gives an opponent a yellow "-1", then he draws a replacement from the top of the deck.

It's a green "-1". He then chooses the green "-1" as the second treasures, and gives it to the same opponent.


C. Add Any Cards You Set Aside To Your Hand:

Finally, you can add cards to your hand. Any cards you drew earlier in the turn and added to your "set aside" pile are now available. You can't have more than six cards in your hand at the end of your turn.

Draw cards from your set aside pile until you reach the hand limit of six cards. If you have more than six cards before you draw, you must discard down to six (this can only happen if you used the trimagic "draw from the deck" to add cards to your hand).

If you forget to draw cards when you are supposed to: too bad! You can't go back and draw them until the end of your turn!

After you draw cards, your turn is over and play passes to the player on your left. If the draw pile runs out, reshuffle the discard pile to create a new playing deck to draw from.



End of the Round

The first round ends immediately (even if it's the middle of a turn!) when the Enchantress Queen is revealed.

Every player turns over their treasures and the scores for the first round are tallied. You earn a number of points equal to the value of all your treasures (the number in the corner of the cards). Write down this value on your score pad.

Example: =6 Points.

After points are scored, you have a choice: you can reveal your birth- sign and earn a bonus!

Revealing your Character

Once scores are tallied, you can reveal your character in order to gain a bonus. All players must decide whether or not to reveal themselves at the same time.

Take your character card and place it face up (if you want to reveal your sign) or face down (if you want to remain incognito) on the table and cover it with your hand. When all players have decided, all hands are lifted up at the same time.

If you have revealed your character:

  • Leave your character face up for the rest of the game; and

  • Draw a card from the playing deck and add it to your hand; and

  • You may set one of the treasures of your color (if you have any), face up in front of you. Then you discard all your other treasures.

If you do not reveal your character you don't get any bonus, but your sign is still hidden. Discard all the treasures you have.

Attention: revealing your character gives you a bonus, but it exposes you to the attacks of your opposing birth-sign!


The Second Round

Gather all the treasures, including any still in the deck, that have not been set aside by players who revealed their character. Shuffle these cards and rebuild the treasure deck the same way as the beginning of the game (don't forget the Enchantress Queen!).

Turn over the top three treasures and put them on display. Now the second round begins, exactly from the point that play stopped when the Queen was revealed.

If you revealed your character at the end of the first round, then you keep any treasures you collect that match your color face up in front of you. These treasures are safe and can not be stolen in any way!

Face up treasures of your color are worth more points in the final scoring. If you did not reveal your character, then keep all your treasures face down, just like the first round.


Eliminating your Opposing Birth-sign

If you are able to reduce the number of cards in another player's hand to zero, they may be eliminated:

  • If it is the first round, that player draws one card from the deck to his hand, and the game continues.

  • If it is the second round, that player is out of the game! Your victim must reveal his character card. If that character is your opposing sign, then you win immediately!

    Example: The red player wins if he is able to reduce the yellow player to zero cards in hand.

    If your victim is not the opposing sign, then you take all of that player's treasures, and randomly distribute them among all the players still in the game, starting with the player on your left.


End of the Game

The second time the Enchantress Queen is revealed, the game immediately ends (even in the middle of a turn!). It's time to calculate your score and see who is victorious!

  • If your character is face up (i.e., you revealed yourself at the end of round one), your treasures that match your color are scored according to this chart:

    # of treasures12345
    Points1361015

    Ignore the value shown on these treasures.

  • The value of any other treasures you own (or all of your treasures if you did not reveal yourself) is equal to the number on the card, just like in the first round.

  • Each card in your hand is also worth 1 point. (Note: cards that were drawn and set aside, but are not yet in your hand, are also worth 1 point each).


Add your score from the first round to your score for the second round. The player with the highest total score is the winner!

If there is a tie for the highest score, than the tied player who holds the most treasures that match his color is the winner. If there is still a tie, then the player with the highest total value of treasures, counting only his color, wins.

Special victory! You win immediately if you eliminate the enchanter with the opposing birth-sign!


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