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[The Setting][The Action][Overview][About the Cards][Playing the Game][Combat][Credits][FAQ][Optional Rules]

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Playing the Game

Certain card rules refer to effects as lasting until the end of the turn. This always refers to the end of the player's turn in progress at the time the card was played.

An abbreviated version of the sequence of play appears on the rules card included in each starter deck.

BEGINNING THE GAME
Separate your Objective cards from the rest of your deck. Shuffle them and place them face down on the table. This is your Objective pile.

Shuffle the rest of your deck, have an opposing player cut the cards, and place them face down next to your Objective pile. This is your draw pile.

Draw seven cards from the top of your draw pile and place 4¥ in your Credstick. You are ready to begin the game. Randomly determine who will play first. Play continues around the table in clockwise order.

The Bad Shuffle
If a player begins the game without a Challenge card in his hand, he may declare a Bad Shuffle (though he may also choose to start the game with no Challenges in his hand). The player must show his cards to his opponents (to prove he has no Challenge cards) and then trash them. The player then reshuffles his draw pile and draws a new hand. Other players in the game do not have to redraw their hands, but may do so if they wish. Every player who chooses to take advantage of the Bad Shuffle must follow the procedure above.

A Bad Shuffle can only be declared once and only at the beginning of the game. After the player has discarded and redrawn his hand, he must begin the game with those cards.

1. OBJECTIVE PHASE: The Setup
Place an Objective card from your Objective pile face down in front of you. The Objective will remain face down until the beginning of your next turn, when it will be turned face up (referred to as revealed). Because players may only attempt a shadowrun against a revealed Objective, playing the Objective face down gives each player a chance to play Challenges to defend his Objective.

Each player may only have one Objective in play at a time. If an Objective is taken in a shadowrun, trashed or otherwise removed from play, the owner of the Objective must wait until the beginning of his next Objective phase to play a new Objective.

2. CREDSTICK PHASE: Payday
Add 4¥ to your Credstick (your pile of tokens). Players begin the game with 4¥ AND receive 4¥ during the first Credstick phase. Also during this phase, add any additional nuyen allowed by specific cards you have in play (Runners with Fame, certain Contacts and so on).

Pay any Upkeep costs for Prime Runners, Specials, or other cards that may require Upkeep. If you cannot pay the full Upkeep cost of a card, trash the card.

Rather than collecting nuyen during this phase, you may choose to draw enough cards to fill your hand back up to 7 cards. Players who do this must still pay any necessary Upkeep costs.

3. REFRESH PHASE: Unturn and Draw
Unturn any turned cards that you control.

Draw one card.

Heal Runners and Gear
Turn damaged Runners to heal all damage taken in previous turns.

Gear cards with Threat Ratings, such as Drones and Spirits, also can take damage during combat. To heal or repair a Gear card, turn the Gear card and the Runner holding it and remove all damage counters on the Gear card. A Runner may not remove damage from himself and a Gear card he is holding in the same turn.

4. LEGWORK PHASE: Playing Your Cards
During the Legwork phase, you may perform any of the following options as many times as you like and in any order. Remember to pay the deployment cost of cards before bringing them into play.

· Play a Challenge on an Objective
· Deploy a Runner, Contact or Location
· Swap Gear between Runners
· Place Gear on an unturned Runner you control
· Use a Contact or Location
· Play a Special card

Play Challenges
Challenge cards are deployed onto any Objective in play. Each player should create a stack of Challenges by playing his Challenge cards on the side of the Objective nearest him (see Diagram of Play).

In a two-player game, each player can play up to 3 Challenges on an Objective. In a three-player game, players may play 2 Challenges on each Objective. In a game with four or more players, players may play only 1 Challenge on each Objective.

In each Challenge stack, play each new Challenge on top of the previous Challenge so that the Runner team faces the last Challenge played as its first Challenge on a shadowrun.

Certain Challenges may not be played on some Objectives. If a Challenge played on a face-down Objective cannot be played on that particular Objective because of certain restrictions (which can only be determined after the Objective is revealed)-for example, No Indoor Challenges-the Challenge remains as a bluff (see Bluffing).

Players may look at Challenges they have deployed, but may not rearrange them. Once a Challenge is played on an Objective, it remains there until sleazed, defeated in combat or removed by a Special card or special trait.

Bluffing
A player may choose to play a non-Challenge card on an Objective as if it were a Challenge. Such a bluff can discourage other players from attacking an Objective.

Bluffs count toward the maximum number of Challenges per Objective. Trash any Challenges played as bluffs when they are encountered during a shadowrun.

Deploy Cards
Place any number of Runners, Contacts and Locations from your hand into your safehouse (the area in front of you) by paying the nuyen deployment cost. These cards come into play unturned and may be used as soon as they are deployed.

Gear cards are played on unturned Runners and may be used immediately.

Gear cards can only be played on Runners who possess the required skills. For example, only a Shaman or other Runner with the Conjure skill can hold a Gear/Spirit card; a Decker cannot hold a Gear/Spirit card because he doesn't possess the Conjure skill.

Swapping Gear
You may swap Gear between Runners if both Runners possess the necessary skills to use the Gear. To swap Gear, turn both Runners and move the Gear.

Use Cards
You may use Runners, Locations, Contacts and some Gear cards during the Legwork phase.

Some Locations may require you to turn a Runner in order to use the Location.

Deckers with the Recon skill may turn to perform a Recon.

Deckers may use a Gear/Program card and Mages and other Runners with Sorcery may use a Gear/Spell card. This action does not cause the user to turn, but the Program or Spell card is turned and cannot be used in the Shadowrun phase.

Unless otherwise stated, Locations and Contacts can be used any number of times during the Legwork phase.

Play Special Cards
You may play Special cards at any time during the Legwork phase. Special cards take effect immediately.

5. SHADOWRUN PHASE: The Action Begins!
Each player may attempt one shadowrun per turn. You may choose not to send your Runners on shadowruns, but it's much more difficult to win Reputation (and the game) if you don't make runs against Objectives.

At least one Runner must survive the run in order for the shadowrunning player to take the Objective, even if the Objective has no Requirements. If the last or only Runner dies on the final Challenge or in the attempt to fulfill the requirements on the Objective, you cannot take the Objective.

At the end of the Shadowrun phase (regardless of success or failure), the player must immediately move on to the End phase.

To go on a shadowrun, perform the following steps in the order given.

Step 1: Choose an Objective
Declare a revealed Objective as the target of your shadowrun. Depending on your resources-the Runners and Gear in your safehouse, any tricks you have up your sleeve-some Objectives will make more appealing targets than others. A player may make a run against his own Objective, but does not face his own Challenge stack.

Step 2: Select Runners
Designate up to six unturned Runners as your shadowrunning team (or Runner team). Spirits and Drones do not count toward this total. Turn those Runners.

Step 3: Encounter Challenge Cards
The shadowrunning player must sleaze or face each Challenge his opponents have placed on the target Objective. In a multi-player game, the Objective's owner chooses which Challenge stack the shadowrunning player will encounter first. The Runners must encounter all the Challenges in one stack before moving on to the next stack.

If there are no Challenges that belong to opposing players on the Objective, the Runner team must simply meet any requirements on the Objective to take it. Opposing players can attempt to stop a Runner team from taking an undefended Objective by intercepting the shadowrun using their Runners. See Intercepting a Shadowrun, in Combat.

If a player chooses not to continue the shadowrun and returns his team to the safehouse, the Runner team is considered to have pulled out of the run. If a Runner team fails for any reason to take an Objective and survives, the team also is considered to have pulled out of the shadowrun. Individual Runners may not pull out of a shadowrun. The team as a whole either stays or pulls out.

Sleazing Challenge Cards
The owner of the Challenge stack reveals the Challenge on the top of the stack and reads the sleaze requirement aloud. If any Runner or combination of Runners on the Runner team meets the sleaze requirement, the Challenge is sleazed-the Runners sneak past the Challenge without triggering the alarm. Trash sleazed Challenge cards. If a Challenge has no sleaze requirement, it cannot be sleazed. In that case, follow the instructions on the card.

For example, if a Challenge has a sleaze requirement of Piloting 3 and two of the Runners on the team have Piloting at the base level of 1, the Challenge is not sleazed. But if one Runner on the team has Piloting 1 and another has Piloting 2, then the Runners' combined Piloting of 3 allows the team to sleaze the Challenge.

Each time a Challenge is sleazed, the shadowrunning player must choose whether or not to continue the shadowrun before the next Challenge is revealed. If he chooses to pull out, the Runners return to the safehouse and the Shadowrun phase is over. If he chooses to continue, the next Challenge on the stack is revealed and play continues as described above.

If a team of Runners fails to sleaze a Challenge, they trigger the alarm and must face the Challenge card.

Facing Challenge Cards
Once a Runner team triggers the alarm, all Challenges are alerted to the Runners' presence. The Runners cannot sleaze Challenges for the remainder of the shadowrun and they must face the Challenge on which they triggered the alarm. If that Challenge has a Threat Rating, the Runners must fight the threat (see Combat) and deal with any special abilities of the Challenge.

If that Challenge does not have a Threat Rating, follow the instructions on the card. For example, the Challenge card Hellish Traffic has no Threat Rating: if the Runner team fails to sleaze the card, the shadowrun ends and the team cannot continue on the shadowrun to face the next Challenge.

If the Runners defeat the Challenge, it is trashed. The shadowrunning player may choose to continue the shadowrun or pull his team out.

If the Runners cannot defeat the Challenge, the shadowrun is over. Turn the Challenge face down in its original position in the Challenge stack.

Step 4: Taking the Objective
If the Runners successfully sleaze or defeat all of the Challenges on an Objective and reach the Objective, they must then meet any requirements on the Objective in order to take it and earn Reputation points. Players place Objectives they have taken on their Reputation pile (returning opponent's Objectives to them at the end of the game).

If the Runner team cannot meet the requirements, the Objective remains in play face-up.

Negative Reputation Points
Some cards make it possible for a Runner team to lose Reputation points. Once you enter negative numbers for Reputation, ignore any further negative modifiers to Reputation points. If (and when) you boost your Reputation points above zero, you again may be affected by cards that reduce your Reputation points to negative numbers.

6. END PHASE: The End of Your Turn
Announce that your Shadowrun phase is finished. This tells your opponents that you have reached the end of your turn; this is their final opportunity to play Stinger cards or use card abilities during your turn.

Trash as many cards from your hand as you wish. If your hand contains more than seven cards, you must discard down to seven.

Declare your turn finished.

If your draw pile is empty, shuffle your trash pile and place it face down as a new draw pile. There is no penalty or bonus for running out of cards.

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