Operation Manual

A. Draw phase
The active player draws two cards.
If the draw deck is empty when a player is required
to draw a card, he loses.
There is no hand size limit (each player may hold as many
cards as he likes).
B. Main phase
The active player can:
• A) Play cards
• B) Use cards already in play
• C) Enable a dormant strategy
• D) Use Invasion plot action (Invader only)
These actions can be performed in any order and each action can
be performed multiple times during a turn.
Note: At the beginning on the Mankind’s turn, Mankind’s current Heroes of
the Resistance card is turned upright – if required.
A) Play cards
To play any card from his hand, the player must pay the cost of
that card.
Cards can have two types of costs:
•
Discard: this cost is met by discarding other
cards from the player’s hand, equal to the
stated cost, face up to the discard pile.
•
Drain: this cost is met by ipping cards from
the draw pile, equal to the stated cost, directly
face up into the discard pile.
Some cards have only one or no costs, while other cards have both
costs, in such case both costs must be met to play the card.
The cost for each card is only paid when the card comes into play. If
you cannot pay the full cost, you cannot play the card.
When either player plays a card with a power value, the player must
have an available space in an invasion zone in which to play the card.
Cards without a power value are one shot cards: follow the card’s
text and the discard the card.
Invasion Zones
The play area consists of the three invasion zones (Pacic
rim, Eurasia, and Africa) with an imaginary column on
each zone, on each player’s side. Each column has four
slots for cards to be played into at each side of an invasion
zone.
The Mankind player may sacrice a card already in one of
the slots and place it face up upon his discard pile to make
a space if necessary. He may only do this if all four slots on
on his chosen invasion zone are already full.
The Invader player cannot discard a card voluntarily from
one of his slots
Invasion zones represent very rough geographical
territories - cards played into them are mainly linked
by conict and satellite networks, but also by convoys,
shipping, hover jet routes, and Maglev-propelled railways.
For instance: if Mankind plays the New York location card
into the Africa invasion zone, it does not signify that New
York has jumped continents, merely that it is abstractly
linked by war to Africa at this time.
When moving cards from one invasion zone to an
adjacent zone, remember that there is no wrap-around
movement. Thus, Pacic rim is NOT adjacent to Africa,
for game purposes.
Ops centre, and many other cards, allows you to move a
card into any other Earth zone.
5
• Many cards have special rules listed in their text. All text takes
eect immediately when the card is played.
• Some cards have eects that last while the card remains in
play. All text takes eect immediately when the card is played.
Cards leave play when they are moved to the discard pile or are
removed from the game.
• Some cards have eects that only happen when the card
enters play. Follow the rules on the cards as they read. The text
on such card is preceded by a
icon.
• Some cards require you to place tokens on them. Place (or remove)
the rst token on them during the turn that they came into play.
• Some Locations come into play with a number of tokens
upon them. Unless otherwise stated, you may use all of the
tokens upon the card in one turn, if you wish.
• With regard to the actual targets of any card played, in all
cases (except when the card specically says dierent) the
active player always chooses their target.
• Some cards have the ability to ‘cancel a card as it is played’
– if this is the case, you pay the cost for your ‘cancel’ card on
your opponent’s turn, reveal it, and then both cards are simply
discarded. If your opponent in turn plays a further ‘cancel’ card
to cancel your ‘cancel’ card, then the original card is put into
play, and both ‘cancel’ cards are discarded. Players must pay for
all card played – even cancelled card.
• Cards which are discarded, destroyed, or drained are placed
face-up upon the discard pile. The order of the cards in the
discard pile may never be modied At any time, both players
are allowed to look through either player’s discard piles.