Here you can find definitions for the terms used in Nightfall. You will find these terms used in the rules and in the game text of the cards. Refer to them as needed.

Action: A subtype of order that has an instant effect when played in a chain.

Attack: To send your minions to damage another player during your combat phase.

Archive: Multiple copies of a single card type organized into a stack. Each archive starts with 7 identical cards.

Block: To defend against another player's attacking minions with your own minions.

Chain: A series of linked cards in the process of being played.

Chain Text: Game text on a card that begins with "Chain". Chain text takes effect when the card is resolved as part of a chain. See also Your Chain.

Claim: To buy a card from an archive by spending influence.

Color: Each order has a color, represented by the moon icon in the top left corner of the card.

Commons, The: The 8 central archives from which anyone can claim cards.

Deck: Your personal deck of cards that you will expand and modify during the game.

Destroyed: When a card is removed from play by taking excessive damage or by a card effect that uses the word destroy. When a card is destroyed, place it on its owner's discard pile.

Discard: To place a card on top of your discard pile, face up.

Draft Cards: Placeholders used to facilitate setup. Not used during the game.

Draw: To take the top card from your deck and add it to your hand.

Exile: To permanently remove a card from the game.

Feed: A game effect coming in the first Nightfall expansion. You heard it here first.

Friendly: A card under your control, including minions you have in play, orders you add to a chain, and your private archives.

Game Text: The effect that a card has on the game when played. There are two types: "chain" text and "in play" text.

Hand: The cards you are physically holding.

Health: How durable a minion is, represented by red slash marks around the sides of the minion's card.

Inflict: How damage gets from your fist to his face.

Influence: A resource spent for claiming cards.

In Play Text: Game text on a card that begins with "In Play", found only on minions. In Play Text takes effect the moment the minion enters play (by being resolved as part of a chain), and remains in effect until the minion leaves play (such as by being destroyed or discarded).

Keyword: Special text on minion cards that tells which race the minion is.

Kicker: Additional chain text that is only triggered if you link an order to the proper color. Link: To add a card to a chain by matching the card's color to another card's link color.

Link Color: The color(s) of cards that can be linked to an order. Most orders have two link colors.

Minion: A subtype of order that represents a follower you can bring into play and control.

Opposing: Cards under your opponents' control, including their minions, orders, and private archives.

Order: The cards that are linked to make a chain. There are two subtypes: minions and actions.

Player: One of the fleshy humans sitting at the table. See also: Prey.

Prey: Fleshy human. If they are track stars, they are termed Fast Food. See also: Player.

Private Archives: The 2 archives from which only you can claim cards.

Receive: How you get wounds from damage. When you receive a wound, transfer one wound card from the top of the wound stack to your discard pile.

Starting Deck: A 12-card deck that holds 2 each of the six starting minions. Each player starts with this same deck at the beginning of the game.

Starting Minion: One of the 6 types of starting minion cards that begin in each player's deck. All starting minions have only one link color and have a +purchase cost of zero.

Target: The chosen victim of a card's effect, or the act of choosing such a victim.

Text: The writing on a card. Could refer to in-play text, chain text, or kicker text, depending on the context.

Wound: Cards that signify damage you have endured that get shuffled into your deck.

Wound Effect: An action you can take using wound cards in your hand at the end of the turn.

Wound Stack: The stack of wound cards, which are acquired as players take damage. The wound stack contains 10 face-up cards per player, the rest being face down.

Your Chain: Chain text that only takes effect if it is your turn.

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