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Rules - 2nd edition
This is a collectible card game for 2 or more
players, set in the Dr. Who universe. Being a CCG, each player may
build his or her deck any way they wish, with whatever cards they
want (or can), as long as there are no more than 4 copies of any
one card (including those played during Set-Up). No two decks will
be the same, so no two games will be the same. You may play the
Doctor and his allies, his most evil enemies or a combination of
both. Using your Characters, you will visit many different
locations in space and time where they will attempt to Reach Goals
and score points before your opponents score them first. First
player to 10 points wins.
Card types
There are 8 different types of cards in the game:
Spacetime cards are
locations in time and space to which your Characters can travel.
The title contains information relevant to Nativity (see below).
Under the picture, each Spacetime card has the following bar: 
. In the middle is the location and era represented
by the card, which is also relevant to Nativity (again, see
below). On the right end is a number, which is the Cost of the
card. Then follows a text box, which features gameplay
instructions, along with the types of Goal card that can be
played there.
In italics is a quote from the episode. Most cards
follow this pattern, with the few exceptions explained below.
Goals are cards that play on Spacetime cards, allow you
to score more points from Spacetime cards, and eventually win a
game. In the middle bar is the type of Goal (Spacetime cards
list which types may be played on them). On the right end is a
number, the Cost of the card, just like for any other card type.
Then follows the text box:
Game text for Goals is really split in two. The first
part explains how to Reach the Goal and thus score points (and
gain other advantages) - this can only be done by your Characters.
The second part tells you how your opponent can Oppose the Goal
and score those points - this can only be done by an opponent's
Characters. (See Scoring Points, below.) You may only play Goals
on your own Spacetime cards during Set-Up, and only one Goal may
be played on any given Spacetime card during the game (unless two
players played the same Spacetime card during Set-Up, in which
case, both these players can play a Goal there). The same player
cannot play more than one copy of the same Goal card during a
game.
There are three types of Characters:
Allies include the Doctor, his Companions, Sarah Jane's
Adventurers, UNIT personnel, many Torchwood operatives, and any
others who would align themselves with the Doctor. These can all
work together regardless of their Faction (see Factions, below).
Enemies are Characters on the side of evil and include
Daleks, Cybermen, Sontarans, Nestenes, and any others - alien or
not - who would align themselves against the Doctor and his
friends. These all work together regardless of their Faction
(see Factions, below).
Neutrals are Characters who can work either with Allies or
with Enemies, depending on the circumstances or their mood. They
may even work with both on the same turn so long as they have
not been as yet frozen.
All Characters are similarly built. On top is the title bar: 
. The diamond icon is the number of copies of the
Character that can be put in play by any given player. Then
follows the title of the card, and then, when the Character is
unique (one diamond), its subtitle. The bar is preceded by
Character type (Ally/Enemy/Neutral).
Under the picture is the following bar: 
. On the left end is the Character's faction, if any
(see Factions, below). In the middle is the Character's
Nativity. On the right end is the Character’s Cost. Note that
some Characters (like Time Lords) have a slight difference: The left end of the bar has a Roman numeral
indicating the character’s "generation". Some cards will make
use of this. Characters may also be native to a Base card such
as "TARDIS". You may play these to whichever Spacetime card that
card currently sits.
The text box on all Characters will
look something like this:
First is list of Traits, each preceded by a Trait
icon (
). Some Traits will be followed by a
number in parentheses - such as Science (2) - which means that
Character has that amount of that Trait (when counting the total
number of Traits a Character has, a Trait with a number only
counts as 1 trait. When determining how much of a specific
trait a Character has, the number next to the Trait is used). In
this list, you may also find card titles that may be Vortexed,
preceded by the icon ( 
); see below. This list is then possibly followed by a
special ability that the Character may use. In italics, as
usual, is the lore - some quote from the show. Finally, in the
coloured bar, we have the Character’s three Qualities:
-Brains: The Character’s IQ, intuition and cunning.
-Brawn: The Character’s fighting ability, physical strength and
toughness.
-Bravery: The Character’s determination, courage and guts.
Most Qualities will range between 1 and 10 though more or less
is possible in extreme cases.
Artefacts are
pieces of equipment that can help Characters in some way, and
include everything from laser guns to the TARDIS to the Doctor's
scarf. Each has a listed User, at whose location the Artefact
must be played. Artefacts can then be used by that User or your
other Characters, and can be moved with the TARDIS or other
means. Artefacts left unattended can be picked up by another
player’s potential User. If this occurs, the Artefact is under
that player's control. Unique Artefacts may have subtitles;
these work just like the subtitles on Characters.
Conditions represent effects that usually have some lasting
power in the game. These may be played on a Character or on a
Spacetime card, or be placed in your Danger Deck (see below).
They are sometimes played on table, in a section of the playing
mat reserved for such cards, on the other side from the draw
deck.
Bang! cards represent effects that
interrupt play and usually have no ongoing effect. They are
usually destroyed upon being played.
Note that cards may all have keywords like Attack, Defense,
Temporal, etc., which places them in the same subset of cards.
For example, a card that allowed you to destroy an Attack card
could affect any Condition (or other card) with that keyword.
Set-up
Each player has 25 Cost to play with during Set-Up. The total
number of cards he or she plays during Set-Up cannot exceed 25
Cost, or 10 cards. These must
include no more or less than 3 Spacetime cards, 1 Goal and 1
card with the Base keyword. These initial Set-Up cards will allow you to play other
cards during Set-Up, in addition to any card that specifically
indicates it may do so.
Spacetime cards are simply placed down on the table one next to
the other between the players in a line. If two (or more)
players play the same Spacetime card, place them one on top of
the other. No player may play more than one copy of the same
Spacetime card.
Going in the order opposite Initiative (see below), players must
then play a Goal card on one of their Spacetime cards.
All other cards are shuffled together into either your face-down
draw deck, which must contain at least 50 cards (there is no
maximum), or your face-down Danger Deck (you may only include
cards with the 
icon under its Cost in this
pile). Each player draws a hand of 8 cards. Next to the draw
deck will be the discard pile, where destroyed cards are placed
face up.
The lay-out may look something like this. (Assumes a 2-player
game.) Still to come.
Initiative
The player whose starting (Set-Up) Characters’ total Qualities
(Brains, Brawn and Bravery) are highest starts, play then going in
a clockwise direction. In case of a tie, the one whose starting
Characters’ total Cost is lowest. If there is a further tie, just
flip a coin, roll dice, or use whatever number generator is on
hand.
A Turn
Each turn proceeds through the following phases:
1) Action phase : The player’s cards are put into action, either
trying to Reach a Goal at the Spacetime card where they are
located, trying to Oppose at the Spacetime card where they are
located, using their game text, or doing something allowed by
another card (such as fight).
2) Movement phase: The player may now move his or her Characters
to another Spacetime card using a card with the Move keyword.
3) Play phase: Each card (except Bang! cards, which are free) has
a Cost. At the start of the turn, a player may spend up to 6 Cost
by playing Characters, Artefacts, Goals, Conditions and even
Spacetime cards (there is no limit to the number that you can have
in play by the end of the game) at this time. You may play these
cards simultaneously (in which case they are considered to come
into play simultaneously) or sequentially, in any combination or
order you choose.
4) Draw phase: To signal the end of his or her turn, a player may
discard one card from hand and then must replenish his or her hand
back to 8 cards from the top of the draw deck. Play passes to the
next player.
5) Bang! cards have no Cost and can be played at any time during
the turn, or during another player’s turn, according to each one’s
game text.
6) The game ends when a player reaches or surpasses 10 points.
Scoring Points
Players score points by meeting requirements on Spacetime cards
and Goals. Spacetime cards will often have game text that allows
you to score a small number of points. Any player that meets those
requirements scores those points. If a Goal is on that Spacetime
card, it takes precedence. The Goal's owner must meet the
requirements listed under "Reach", while that player's opponents
must meet those listed under "Oppose". Points may not be scored
more than once at any given Spacetime card (you would not, for
example, play a Goal where points have already been scored from
meeting the Spacetime card's own requirements because that Goal
could not possibly score you points.) There is no limit to the
number of Goals in play at the same time, so a player can work on
multiple Goals simultaneously. Losing points does not count as
"scoring". If you lose more points than you score, it is possible
to have negative points.
Danger Deck
Whenever you attempt to meet either a Spacetime card or Goal's
requirements, you must face an opponent's Danger Deck. In games
with more than 2 players, face the pile of the opponent who either
(in order of priority) played the Goal, played this Spacetime
card, has the most Characters at that Spacetime card, or if none
of these apply, who is sitting on your left. The Danger Deck's
owner takes its top ? cards (where ? = the points to be scored +
the number of Characters he or she has here). Without revealing
the cards drawn, the Pile's owner chooses ? cards (where ? = the
number of points to be scored) with a total Cost of no more than
double the points to be scored, and plays them one by one (in his
or her preferred order) against the attempting player. If at any
time, all of the attempting player's Characters are frozen OR he
or she scores points, the attempt ends. Any cards used during the
attempt (except Characters cards) are placed under the Spacetime
card as a reminder. All unused cards go to the bottom of their
Danger Deck. On every subsequent attempt, the Danger Deck's owner
must deduct the number of cards previously faced from the number
of cards drawn from the Danger Deck and the total cost of cards
that may be played during the attempt. Each player has his or her
own running total of cards faced. If the Danger Deck runs out of
cards, players facing it will simply face no more dangers.
Ex.: A player (let's call him Adric) is attempting to meet
requirements worth 5 points where an opponent (let's call her
Nyssa) has 3 opposing Characters. Nyssa takes 8 cards from her
Danger Deck and chooses 5, setting the other 3 aside. One by
one, Nyssa plays her 5 cards against Adric's Characters. After
the third, all his Characters are frozen and can no longer do
anything. His attempt is over; Nyssa puts the 3 used cards under
the Spacetime card and all 5 unused cards under her Danger Deck.
On the next turn, Adric attempts to score points here again.
Let's say Nyssa played another Character here during her turn
(she now has 4). She now draws 6 cards from the Danger Deck (the
5 points to be scored + her 4 Characters - the 3 used cards
showing under the Spacetime card) and makes Adric face 2 of them
(the 5 points to be scored - the 3 used cards). If Nyssa
attempted to score points here during her turn, the cards faced
by Adric would NOT be deducted from the number she must face. as
they have separate running totals.
Playing Characters: A Matter of Nativity
Characters may only be played at a card that matches their
Nativity (either a Spacetime card that matches both the location
and era listed on the Character, or an Artefact or Condition
specifically listed as the Character's Nativity, such as the
TARDIS).
Nativity is really split into three components. First is a
location (such as Earth), then comes an era (Past, Present or
Future), and finally a specific date. A Character may be played at
any Spacetime card that corresponds to their location and era
(ignoring the date). If a Character has only a location listed,
then it may report to any Spacetime card listing that location.
Similarly, if only an era is listed, it may be played at any
location with that era listed. (For example, a Character native to
the Present, may be played at such locations as Earth/Present,
Traken/Present and Skaro/Present.)
The date will only be used in combination with other cards, and/or
for when it may be useful figure out the chronological order of
Spacetime cards. Thus, if a card mentions the date rather than the
era, only cards with a date may interact with that card. For that
purpose, the modern Terran dating system is used throughout. Note
that a date without either B.C. or A.D. refers to an A.D. date.
Some cards will be native of a span of time. When a Character is
Native of a span of time - say, Earth Past to Present - it may be
played at any Spacetime card representing, in this case, Earth in
the two mentioned eras and those in between. Cards without a note
on Nativity may be played anywhere and anywhen.
Playing Cards: Number of Copies
Each diamond-shaped icon represents the number of copies of that
particular card can be placed in play by a single player. A player
can only have one copy of a card with a single diamond (a “unique”
Character, for example), 2 copies of a card with 2 [diamond], and
so on. Any number of copies of card without any such icon can be
played. Cards in the discard pile are not considered in play, so a
player can play a second copy of a card that has been discarded,
of course.
A player can have only one copy of a unique card with the same
title, even if the subtitle may differ. For example, if you have
The Doctor - Interfering Time Lord, you cannot then play a card
called The Doctor - Disarming Clown. This does not affect other
players’ ability to play a card with the same title. Uniqueness is
per each player only.
Factions
Factions are particular groupings of Characters that tend to
follow a certain theme. In the Basic Set, for example, you will
discover Companions, Torchwood, Daleks and Cybermen. Expansion
sets will introduce more, from UNIT to Sarah Jane's Adventurers,
as well as the Sontarans, Nestene and Ice Warriors. Each of these
has an icon to represent it, and many cards will only work if you
have the proper number of Faction members in play. Being part of a
Faction does not prevent you from working with members of another
faction (or a Factionless Character), so long as all Characters
working together and either Allies and Neutrals, or Enemies and
Neutrals. It should also be said that all Faction members cannot
necessarily work together. Torchwood, for example, might feature
both Allies and Enemies.
Swapping
If you have a card in hand that has the same title as one in play,
but a different subtitle, you may play it (at regular Cost) to the
copy in play's location, regardless of that card's Nativity. The
copy in play is discarded (but does not count as "destroyed" for
purposes of other cards). Any cards played on a Character remain
in play and on the Character it is swapped with if the
requirements for playing that card are still being met.
Movement
Many cards in the game, from vehicles like the TARDIS itself,
temporal rifts and such everyday things as walking or getting
older, will allow your Characters to move to a different Spacetime
card, usually during the Movement phase. Such cards will be marked
with the keyword Movement and will describe the conditions under
which moving is accomplished.
Fights
Fights with "opposing Characters": Some cards allow your
Characters to fight an opponent’s Characters. Enemies can only
fight Allies and Neutrals. Allies can only fight Enemies and
Neutrals.
Fights with "facing Characters": These cards are triggered out of
the Danger Deck and will allow Allies to fight Allies or Enemies
to fight Enemies. You will still need to decide which group of
Characters you want attacking, since your Enemies and Allies
cannot work together.
In both cases, your cards can only fight an opponent’s cards. Who
wins and what happens then is dictated by each card. Normally,
players must group their cards as Enemies+Neutrals and
Allies+Neutrals, and it is these groups that must be compared.
Attack cards usually require a specific Character to be involved
(this Character must be in an appropriate group, and its entire
group is used in the fight).
Capturing
Some cards allow you to capture opposing Characters. When you
successfully do this, the Character is frozen until freed (by a
card that can free captives). Other cards may allow you to use
captives for various ends.
Frozen Characters
A frozen Character is a Character that has used up its actions and
can no longer do anything, such as fight, move or attempt to. It
also cannot use a special ability, unless that ability is an
ongoing effect (for example, “Your Allies here are +1 Bravery”,
which is always on and does not require some kind of trigger).
Characters are unfrozen at the start of the next player's turn
unless a card has specifically frozen then for longer (say, "until
the start of your next turn"). Of course, it now being an
opponent's turn, those Characters are inactive, though they may,
for example, participate in fights initiated by an opponent.
A Character is automatically frozen in the following
circumstances:
-After attempting to score points and failing.
-If any card specifically freezes a Character.
Vortex Icon
Whenever the Vortex icon precedes the title of a
card (or designates a larger subset of cards), it means that a
player may use it, once per game to look for that card in his or
her draw deck and place it into his or her hand, then
reshuffling the remaining cards of the deck. A player cannot
look for a card that he or she has not stocked (i.e. just to
reshuffle their deck). A card with this icon allows a Vortex
only once per game, no matter how many copies of that card you
use during the game. When a card allows another to be Vortexed
directly into play, that card may come from your hand instead of
your deck.
Appendix I - Complete list of Character Traits
Aware
Blades
Bureaucrat
Charisma
Computers
Creature
Demolitions
Domination
Engineering
Gloating
“God”
History
Machine
Madman
Marksman
Medicine
Minion
Music
Pilot
Poison
Psychology
Running
Science
Screamer
Thief
Tracking
Troop
Victim
Youth
Game and all game materials TM Michel M. Albert
. Dr. Who and all related concepts and
characters TM BBC. Comments, corrections or criticism? Write me!