Glyfts: Rules for Glyfts

Mechanics | Rules for Glyfts | Creature Deck | Sorcery Deck

Components

The Glyfts game comes with two decks of cards – one deck of hex-shaped Creature cards and one deck of rectangular-shaped Sorcery cards. Also included are two six-sided dice (D6) and this instruction booklet. No board is required.

Creature Cards

Each Creature Card has the following elements (as seen on the example below):

Name – The name of the Creature.
Glyft – The Glyft with which the Creature is affiliated.
Attack – The number of points the Creature inflicts on its opponent.
Health – The number of points the Creature can be dealt before being captured.
Roll – The number of points necessary to permit the Creature to enter the battlefield, based on a single D6 role. For example, Top Messenger (pictured here) has “Role 5,” meaning that it can be moved from the player’s reserve to the Combat Circle only on a role of 5 or 6.
Skill – The number of points a Creature is worth to the opponent when captured. When a player captures ten Skill Points-worth of opponents’ Creatures, that player wins the game.
Special abilities – If the Creature has any special abilities, they are listed on the bottom of the card.

Sorcery Cards

There are six types of Sorcery Cards.

Setting Cards – These affect all Creatures in the Combat Circle. They provide special powers to Creatures affiliated with that Glyft or reduce the abilities of Creatures not affiliated with that Glyft.
Specialty Cards – These cards create a temporary change in the ability of the particular associated with the card. If the Specialty Card and the Creature holding it are associated with the same Glyft, the card may designate an additional, special ability.
Spirit Cards (Permanent) – These are permanent spells that change the interaction of the Characters or the game play (such as allowing additional cards to be drawn).
Spirit Cards (Temporary) – These are one-time spells that may be cast to hinder an opponent or assist one’s Creature.
Treasure Cards – These are objects, held by a Creature, that provide it additional powers.
Glyft Cards – The Glyft card is used to help summon a Creature to the Combat Circle. For each Glyft Card played, the player may reduce the summoning cost of any Creature affiliated with that Glyft.

Setup

At the beginning of the game, the two decks of cards should be shuffled separately. The Creature cards are first dealt in equal numbers to all players (2-4 per game) so that all Creature cards are distributed. Next, each player is dealt seven Sorcery cards. The remaining Sorcery cards are placed on the table in the Sorcery Deck so that each player can draw a card at the beginning of that player’s turn.

Prior to the first round of the game, each player selects two of his or her Creatures and places them in the Combat Circle. Each player then rolls a D6. The player who rolled highest goes first. Play continues clockwise around the group.

Playing the Game

At the beginning of each player’s turn, that player (the active player) draws the top card from the Sorcery Deck. That player can then place up to two cards face-down below Creatures that are under that player’s control in the Combat Circle.

The active player may then designate any of his or her Creatures as attacking opponents’ Creatures. Each battle includes only one pair of Creatures; they cannot team up to attack or defend. Battles are acted out sequentially.

First, all Sorcery Cards that have been under the combating Creatures are revealed. All cards activate simultaneously. For example, if the defending player’s card grants the power to capture opponent’s Creature but the attacking player’s card cancels all special abilities, then the card canceling special abilities would stop the card’s effect of capturing the Creature. The abilities of the cards are described at the end of the rules.

For each pair of combating Creatures, the attacking player roles one D6 and adds that number to the Attack of the Creature. The defending player roles a D6 and adds that number to the Health of the Creature being attacked. If the final Attack value of one Creature is greater than the final Health value of the other Creature, the latter Creature is captured. If both Creatures would be able to capture the other, the battle is a stalemate and neither is captured.

After the combat phase is complete, the active player may try to summon an additional Creature to the Combat Circle. The active player selects a Creature from his or her reserve. The player may play any number of Glyft cards of the same affiliation as the Creature being summoned; each Glyft card reduces the Roll cost for the Creature by 1. Once the Creature has been chosen and all Glyft cards played, the player rolls a D6. If the roll is equal to or greater than the Roll cost, that Creature has been successfully summoned. The active player places the newly summoned Creature in the Combat Circle.

Once the player has attempted to summon a Creature to the Combat Circle (whether successfully or not), that player’s turn is completed. Play continues to the next player until the game is over.

Winning or Losing

If a player no longer has any Creatures in either the player’s reserve or in the Combat Circle, that player is eliminated from the game. A player may win the game in one of two ways. The first player to collect ten Skill points from captured Creatures wins the game. Alternatively, if only one player remains in the game, that player wins the game.

Standard Abilities

Although the cards summarize the abilities and specialties provided by the cards, this list provides a greater explanation of these attributes:

Agility – A Creature with agility captures a Creature without agility during a stalemate due to its greater speed, so if both Creatures would be able to capture the other, instead the Creature with agility wins. If both Creatures have agility, it remains a stalemate.
Fear X – When a Creature with fear attacks, its controller rolls a D6. If that player rolls a number greater than or equal to that Creature’s fear number, the defending Creature cannot mount a defense. This prevents all damage that the defending Creature would deal to the Creature with fear during that combat and causes any cards on the defending Creature to remain face-down.
Fly – Creatures with fly cannot be engaged by Creatures without fly. Prevent all damage that attacking Creatures without fly would deal to Creatures with fly.
Help – Creatures afflicted with help cannot attack alone. They cannot attack unless another Creature has already attacked that turn.
Indestructible – An indestructible Creature is not captured as the result of having its health reduced to zero, due to either damage or other means.
Lithe – Creatures with lithe are too agile to be defended against. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to attacking Creatures with lithe.
Rebound – Once this card has its effect, return it to its owner’s hand. He or she may play it again another turn.
Sacrifice – The player in control of this card may select one of his or her Creatures and force an attacking opponent to capture the sacrificed Creature. The sacrifice of the Creature ends all combat for the turn.
Safe – Creatures with safe have specified abilities on the card. At any point during game play, the player in control of this card may sacrifice a Creature with safe to utilize the specified ability. When that player uses a Creature’s safe ability, select an opponent. That opponent captures the Creature after the ability completes.
Swim – Creatures with swim cannot be engaged by Creatures without swim. Prevent all damage that attacking Creatures without swim would deal to Creatures with swim.

Credits

The following people made this game possible.

Game Concept: Noah Garon

Artwork: Noah Garon and Jon Garon

Rules and Design: Noah Garon and Avery Garon

Instructions: Jon Garon

Copyright

Find Out More

For more information about this game or our other great games, check out our web sites at:

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/glyfts

https://www.thegamecrafter.com/designers/garon-s-games

Updated on 26 Aug 2012 by dude1818