Short Rules Hand-Out

Below you will find a short cheat sheet version of the rules I am using for this weekend's tournament.

Note, moving now causes avatars to become exhausted. It's a cleaner way to deal with tracking which avatars have activated during back and forth play.

Shén — Tournament Quick‑Play Handout

A fast, step‑by‑step rules summary for players at Level Up Gaming — 9/26 Tournament

1. Pre‑Game Setup

• Use an 8×8 board with 4 corner Anchor Points (default competitive setup).

• Each player will use a 24 card deck. If you run out of cards, you lose.

• Roll 2d6, high roll goes first (reroll ties).

• In turn order, each player:

  • Places their Realm Stone on an empty vertex (not next to another stone, not on anchor-adjacent vertices).

  • Places 4 Shén counters on the 4 vertices touching the Realm Stone.

• Each player draws 7 cards.

2. Turn Structure

Each player takes a full turn consisting of three phases:

Phase 1 — Recovery & Set‑Up

• Refresh all Avatars (rotate back upright).

• Draw back to 7 cards (reshuffle discard if deck is empty).

• Shén Placement Players alternate placing 3 Shén counters:

  • Place 1 at a time on any empty vertex.

  • After placement, capture opposing Shén that are fully surrounded or cut off from their Realm Stone.

  • Opponent loses 1 card for each Shén captured this way.

Phase 2 — Activation Phase

Players alternate one action at a time:

• Play 1 card

  OR

• Activate 1 Avatar

Continue alternating until both players pass.

Playing Cards

• You must have ≥ Shén counters equal to the card’s Power Cost around the targeted space/vertex.

• Avatar cards manifest onto:

  • A space if non‑Spirit, requiring 0–4 Shén.

  • A vertex if Spirit Avatar, requiring 0–5 Shén.

• Newly manifested Avatars enter Exhausted (turn 90 degrees).

• Exhausted Avatars are -1 Attack, -1 Defense, -1 Ranged Power and -1 Movement

• Item cards equip under an Avatar (max 3 items) and cannot attach to Avatars currently Walking the Spirit Path.

Avatar Activation Options

You may choose one:

1. Claim an Anchor Point

   • Must begin your activation on that Anchor.

   • Exhaust the Avatar.

   • Opponent loses cards for each additional Anchor you claim (beyond the first).

2. Attack a Realm Stone

   • Start adjacent to it.

   • Exhaust avatar.

   • Players may play 1 card or use 1 ability to effect attack if required Shén around targeted space/vertex are available.

   • Attacker wins for combat resolution; defender loses cards equal to attacker’s Attack Power + card/ability bonuses.

3. Move

   • Exhaust avatar.

   • Move up to movement value.

   • Spaces allow diagonal and orthogonal; Spirit Path allows only orthogonal vertex‑to‑vertex.

   • Spirit Avatars ending their activation on an opponent Shén vertex die instantly.

   • Cannot enter Realm Stone vertex.

4. Use Ability

   • Exhaust avatar.

   • You must have ≥ Shén counters equal to the card’s Ability Cost around the targeted space/vertex.

5. Make a Ranged Attack

   • Target 0–4 spaces away. Not allowed from Spirit Path unless card allows.

   • Exhaust avatar.

   • Players (starting with attacker) may play 1 card or use 1 ability to effect attack if required Shén around targeted space/vertex are available.

   • Roll dice = Ranged Power + card/ability bonuses.

   • Compare vs defender’s Defense Power + card/ability bonuses.

   • If higher → defender loses cards equal to attacker’s Ranged Power + card/ability bonuses. Can remove defeated Avatar to negate losing cards

   • If double → defender Avatar automatically destroyed and cards lost.

6. Make a Melee Attack

   • Initiated by entering opponent‑occupied space/vertex.

   • Both attacker and defender become Exhausted.

   • Players (starting with attacker) may play 1 card or use 1 ability to effect attack if required Shén around origin or attacked space/vertex are available.

   • Roll dice = Attack/Defense Power + Shén bonuses + card/ability bonuses.

   • Winner decided by highest roll (ties favor defender).

   • Card loss equals winner’s Attack/Defense Power + card/ability bonuses. Can remove defeated Avatar to negate losing cards.

   • If double → defeated Avatar automatically destroyed and cards lost.

   • Retreat rules apply for defeated Avatars.

Phase 3 — Check for Winning the Game

You win if:

• You claim all Anchor Points,

  OR

• You are the only player with any cards left in deck/hand/discard.