Black Star Saga

FULL USER GUIDE

For those seeking a detailed rulebook for the Black Star Saga card game, the full user guide can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the link above or HERE.

QUICK-START TUTORIAL

This tutorial should take about 3-5 minutes to read through and will cover the basic gameplay mechanics of Black Star Saga.

Once you have completed the tutorial you will be able to play Black Star Saga but you will most likely have a better grasp on the game after you have played a game or two.

Contents

Objective

Phases

Resource Phase
- 1. Collect Resources

Player Phase
- 2. Turning
- 3. Effects & Crises
- 4. Draw Card
- 5. Play Cards

Combat Phase
- 6. Order of Combat
- 7. Attacking
- 8. Return Fire
- 9. Damage

Card Types

Winning / Losing

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the game is to destroy your opponent's Mother Ship. In order to attack your opponent's Mother Ship, they must have no defenses available. This means to accomplish your objective you must get your ships out first and do damage immediatley or fight through your opponent's fleet with enough firepower to last through the defenses and strike at the Mother Ship.

PHASES

Each round of play in Black Star Saga is broken into several phases, some of which repeat. These phases are broken into steps which the phase progresses through before restarting (if applicable).

Resource Phase - Both players collect resources from the Storyline.
Player Phase - Each player goes through the Player Phase in turn, once per player.
Combat Phase - This phase repeats until every ship has had an option to attack.

RESOURCE PHASE

The Resource Phase gives resources from the top Storyline card to both players at the same time.

1. Collecting Resources

Every turn you are also given resources which you use to pay for cards that you wish to use. The amount of resources you are given is determined by the current Storyline card (this will be explained in just a moment) and how your Mother Ship is setup (also explained in just a moment).

The Storyline is a deck of cards that determine how many resources each player gets every turn. The Storyline deck is displayed on the right of the game screen. There will be three cards from the Storyline deck displayed. The top card is the active one meaning it is showing how many resources each player gets. The card below it is the Storyline card for the next turn and so forth. Each turn the top card is discarded, the two cards below it are moved up and a new card is drawn and placed on the bottom of the stack.

Your Mother Ship multiplies the amount of resources you receive. As an example, if the Storyline is showing 2 yellow resources and your Mothership has a 3x blue resource modifier you will recieve 6 blue resources to spend.

PLAYER PHASE

The Player Phase is the order of events that make up a player's turn. Both player's must go through their Player Phase before the game moves onto combat. Once combat is complete if no player has won then the player's go through their Player Phase, etc.

2. Unturning

When a card has been used or is disabled it is turned sideways to indicate it can't be used again. After collecting resources all turned cards are reset so that they can be played again.

3. Drawing Cards

When the game begins you are dealt 7 cards from your deck. Every turn thereafter you are dealt 1 card.

4. Effects & Crises

Before the player can play any cards, if their are any effects or crises on their side of the table the effects of those cards must be applied. This will be elaborated on below.

5. Playing Cards

To play a card you must be able to pay for the card in full with your resources available. Select a card, pay the resources and the card will be placed on the table.

The exception to this rule is Vessels which can be paid for partially. When a Vessel is paid for partially it is considered 'Under Construction' meaning it can't be used for offense or defense. It also cannot be targetted by your opponent. You can pay for a Vessel of the course of one turn or many turns. When the Vessel is paid off in full it immediatley becomes available for offense and defense.

COMBAT PHASE

When both players have completed their Player Turn the game moves onto combat if any ship is in play and capable of attacking.

6. Order of Combat

If there are multiple ships order of combat is determined by allowing the ship with the highest speed ranking to go first. If there is a tie, a die roll at the begining of combat determines who wins ties.

Each ship, in turn, is given the option to attack. Once it attacks it's target is given the option to return fire. Once return fire has been completed destroyed items are removed and the next ship in turn is given the option to attack, etc.

7. Attacking

To attack another ship the player selects the ship they wish to attack with, the weapon they wish to fire and the target. The damage of the weapon is applied (weapon's offense subtracted from the target's defense). The attacked ship is then given the option to return fire.

8. Returning Fire

When a ship is attacked it has the option to return fire. This allows the attacked ship to shoot it's weapons (destroyed or not) back at the ship that attacked it. The ship is unable to attack any other ship other than the one that attacked it.

9. Damage

Once return fire has been completed all items on both ships that have no defense left are removed. If the hull of a ship has no defense left, the entire ship and all add-ons and characters are considered destroyed.

CARD TYPES

There are 7 types of cards. Below is a brief explanation of how they differ.

1. Effects

Effect cards are cards that (usually) benefit you. You play them during your 'Play Cards' phase and you can immediatley use their beneficial effects.

2. Crises

Crisis cards are cards that usually harm your opponent. When a crisis is played it is put on the opponent's side of the table. The Crisis card has a negative effect on the opponent and a task which must be completed by the opponent to destroy the card.

3. Vessels

Vessels are the actual hull of a ship. The card displays the Vessel's defense and how much room it has for add-on cards. It also displays how fast the ship is which determines it's order in combat.

4. Characters

Characters are special cards that attach to Vessels and give their beneficial effect to the Vessel. Characters cannot be deployed anywhere but onto a ship. There is no limit to how many characters can be placed on a ship.

5. Add-Ons

Add-Ons are special cards that attack to vessels and give some kind of combat capability to the vessel. The Add-On card displays how much room must be free on the vessel to attach it. If the space is unavailable the card cannot be attached.

6. Instants

instants can be played at any time if the resources are available.

7. Storylines

Storyline cards cannot be held in the player's hand and are used to distribute resources to the players every round. Additionally, the Storyline cards can cause effects described on the individual Storyline cards. These effects, positive and negative, affect each player equally.

WINNING / LOSING

There are two ways to end the game:

Mother Ship Destroyed

When a player's Mother Ship is destoryed, by any cause, their opponent wins.

Player Deck Exhausted

If a player draws every card in their deck they have lost the game.


		FULL USER GUIDE For those seeking a detailed rulebook for the Black Star Saga card game, the full user guide can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking on the link above or HERE. QUICK-START TUTORIAL This tutorial should take about 3-5 minutes to read through and will cover the basic gameplay mechanics of Black Star Saga. Once you have completed the tutorial you will be able to play Black Star Saga but you will most likely have a better grasp on the game after you have played a game or two. Contents Objective Phases Resource Phase - 1. Collect Resources Player Phase - 2. Turning - 3. Effects & Crises - 4. Draw Card - 5. Play Cards Combat Phase - 6. Order of Combat - 7. Attacking - 8. Return Fire - 9. Damage Card Types Winning / Losing OBJECTIVE The objective of the game is to destroy your opponent's Mother Ship. In order to attack your opponent's Mother Ship, they must have no defenses available. This means to accomplish your objective you must get your ships out first and do damage immediatley or fight through your opponent's fleet with enough firepower to last through the defenses and strike at the Mother Ship. PHASES Each round of play in Black Star Saga is broken into several phases, some of which repeat. These phases are broken into steps which the phase progresses through before restarting (if applicable). Resource Phase - Both players collect resources from the Storyline. Player Phase - Each player goes through the Player Phase in turn, once per player. Combat Phase - This phase repeats until every ship has had an option to attack. RESOURCE PHASE The Resource Phase gives resources from the top Storyline card to both players at the same time. 1. Collecting Resources Every turn you are also given resources which you use to pay for cards that you wish to use. The amount of resources you are given is determined by the current Storyline card (this will be explained in just a moment) and how your Mother Ship is setup (also explained in just a moment). The Storyline is a deck of cards that determine how many resources each player gets every turn. The Storyline deck is displayed on the right of the game screen. There will be three cards from the Storyline deck displayed. The top card is the active one meaning it is showing how many resources each player gets. The card below it is the Storyline card for the next turn and so forth. Each turn the top card is discarded, the two cards below it are moved up and a new card is drawn and placed on the bottom of the stack. Your Mother Ship multiplies the amount of resources you receive. As an example, if the Storyline is showing 2 yellow resources and your Mothership has a 3x blue resource modifier you will recieve 6 blue resources to spend. PLAYER PHASE The Player Phase is the order of events that make up a player's turn. Both player's must go through their Player Phase before the game moves onto combat. Once combat is complete if no player has won then the player's go through their Player Phase, etc. 2. Unturning When a card has been used or is disabled it is turned sideways to indicate it can't be used again. After collecting resources all turned cards are reset so that they can be played again. 3. Drawing Cards When the game begins you are dealt 7 cards from your deck. Every turn thereafter you are dealt 1 card. 4. Effects & Crises Before the player can play any cards, if their are any effects or crises on their side of the table the effects of those cards must be applied. This will be elaborated on below. 5. Playing Cards To play a card you must be able to pay for the card in full with your resources available. Select a card, pay the resources and the card will be placed on the table. The exception to this rule is Vessels which can be paid for partially. When a Vessel is paid for partially it is considered 'Under Construction' meaning it can't be used for offense or defense. It also cannot be targetted by your opponent. You can pay for a Vessel of the course of one turn or many turns. When the Vessel is paid off in full it immediatley becomes available for offense and defense. COMBAT PHASE When both players have completed their Player Turn the game moves onto combat if any ship is in play and capable of attacking. 6. Order of Combat If there are multiple ships order of combat is determined by allowing the ship with the highest speed ranking to go first. If there is a tie, a die roll at the begining of combat determines who wins ties. Each ship, in turn, is given the option to attack. Once it attacks it's target is given the option to return fire. Once return fire has been completed destroyed items are removed and the next ship in turn is given the option to attack, etc. 7. Attacking To attack another ship the player selects the ship they wish to attack with, the weapon they wish to fire and the target. The damage of the weapon is applied (weapon's offense subtracted from the target's defense). The attacked ship is then given the option to return fire. 8. Returning Fire When a ship is attacked it has the option to return fire. This allows the attacked ship to shoot it's weapons (destroyed or not) back at the ship that attacked it. The ship is unable to attack any other ship other than the one that attacked it. 9. Damage Once return fire has been completed all items on both ships that have no defense left are removed. If the hull of a ship has no defense left, the entire ship and all add-ons and characters are considered destroyed. CARD TYPES There are 7 types of cards. Below is a brief explanation of how they differ. 1. Effects Effect cards are cards that (usually) benefit you. You play them during your 'Play Cards' phase and you can immediatley use their beneficial effects. 2. Crises Crisis cards are cards that usually harm your opponent. When a crisis is played it is put on the opponent's side of the table. The Crisis card has a negative effect on the opponent and a task which must be completed by the opponent to destroy the card. 3. Vessels Vessels are the actual hull of a ship. The card displays the Vessel's defense and how much room it has for add-on cards. It also displays how fast the ship is which determines it's order in combat. 4. Characters Characters are special cards that attach to Vessels and give their beneficial effect to the Vessel. Characters cannot be deployed anywhere but onto a ship. There is no limit to how many characters can be placed on a ship. 5. Add-Ons Add-Ons are special cards that attack to vessels and give some kind of combat capability to the vessel. The Add-On card displays how much room must be free on the vessel to attach it. If the space is unavailable the card cannot be attached. 6. Instants instants can be played at any time if the resources are available. 7. Storylines Storyline cards cannot be held in the player's hand and are used to distribute resources to the players every round. Additionally, the Storyline cards can cause effects described on the individual Storyline cards. These effects, positive and negative, affect each player equally. WINNING / LOSING There are two ways to end the game: Mother Ship Destroyed When a player's Mother Ship is destoryed, by any cause, their opponent wins. Player Deck Exhausted If a player draws every card in their deck they have lost the game.