Each player starts with a deck of 4 Adventurer cards and draws all 4 into their hand. The shop deck is shuffled and 8 cards are dealt face-up into a shared shop — both players buy from the same 8 slots.
Whoever goes first starts at 8 HP (a handicap for the first-turn advantage); the second player starts at 10 HP. Reduce your opponent to 0 HP to win.
1. Buy (optional, 1 card max) — Spend cards from your hand with total value (💰, bottom-left) equal to or greater than a shop card's cost (💰, top-right). Spent cards go to your discard pile, then the purchased card goes on top. The empty shop slot refills from the shop deck.
2. Attack — Play a card to attack for its attack value (⚔, top-left). Your opponent may block using cards from their hand — block value (🛡) reduces the damage. Any damage that gets through is dealt to their HP.
3. Draw — Draw back up to 4 cards. Unused cards can stay in hand or be discarded, your choice. If you ever need to draw and your deck is empty, your discard pile is shuffled back into a new deck.
Individual cards (weapons, armor, magic, and the jungle expansion's card set) each explain their own effect right on the card — this covers the core loop everything else builds on.