Quick Start

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Introduction · Gameplay Rules · Factions · Cards · Checklist

Source: rules/01-engine-spec.md (Demo/Tutorial format), world-bible/codex/01-gameplay-rules.md

Play Your First Game in Five Minutes

You don't need the full 60-card Constructed rules to open your Preview Pack and start playing. Here's the fastest path to a first game.

What you need

  • Your Preview Pack cards (9 Agents/Schemas) plus any Signal cards you have — for a first game, borrow or proxy extra Signal if you're short, one per Agent you want to power.
  • An opponent with their own small pool of cards.
  • Something to track damage (counters, dice, or a notepad) and Integrity (start both players at 25).

The whole game, in order

  1. Sync — untap; damage stays.
  2. Uplink — draw one card.
  3. Deploy — attach one Signal to an Agent; play any Agents/Protocols/Schemas you want (one Protocol, one Schema per turn).
  4. Clash — attack with charged, Ready Agents; opponent blocks; damage happens.
  5. Relay — last chance for a Protocol this turn.
  6. Purge — discard down to 7; pass the turn.

Repeat. First player to 0 Integrity loses.

The one thing every new player asks

"Do I have to fight the Singularity Clock too?" Not on your first few games — play the Demo format: no Clock, no die roll, just Agents and Signal deciding the fight. Once that feels natural, add the Clock (Spark Starter: 10 Surge threshold, d6, 3 simplified events) before moving to full Constructed rules (20 Surge threshold, 6 core events) — see the Singularity Clock section for the full table.

Reading your first card

Every Agent card tells you, top to bottom: its name and Resilience (how much damage it takes before it's defeated), its Designation and faction (Human/AI/Hybrid, and which of the seven factions), any Deploy effect (fires once, when it enters), its moves (cost in ● / ○ symbols, damage, and Surge value), and — once you're past the Demo format — its faction Strong/Weak matchup and Withdraw cost.

Next steps

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