Beat People Up: The BRAWL basic rules

BRAWL Rules

BRAWL: The Rules.

Notice: This is the text of the rulebook of BRAWL. This text is copyright James Ernest and Cheapass Games, and is not intended to be reprinted in any form without the consent of the publisher. For additional copyright and licensing information, contact James Ernest.

This rules draft may have corrections and clarifications that go beyond the notes in any one BRAWL rulebook. It also lists all the card types, in roughly the order they were introduced.

BRAWL is a fast-paced card game that takes quick reflexes and quick thinking. Because it's played in real time, it's got all the action and flavor of a real brawl! Each deck represents all the tricks, strengths, and flaws of one character, and each player needs his own deck to play.

Your decks will be mixed together during the game, but it is easy to separate them because each deck has a different back. We don't recommend playing BRAWL with more than one copy of the same deck, but only because sorting your cards will be much harder!

The rules that follow are written for two players. Multi-player rules are at the end of this rules page.

Two Modes of Play:

There are two playing styles in BRAWL. The first is "Training Mode," in which the players take turns, just like a normal card game. Training Mode is great for learning how all the cards work, or for learning the composition of a new deck. After training, you should move on to Tournament Mode.

"Tournament Mode" is more like a real fight, because it is very fast. Both players play their cards as quickly as they want, without taking turns. Experienced players in Tournament Mode will usually play a game in less than 40 seconds!

Raw speed isn't the only factor in Tournament mode. The more complex your deck is, the more strategically you will have to play it. To become an expert BRAWL player, you must learn all your deck's tricks and be quick enough to use them at full speed.

How to Begin:

Before you shuffle, separate out your three Freeze cards and one of your Base cards. The Base has a portrait of your character, with the character's name down the side. Set these four cards aside, and shuffle the rest of your deck.

After shuffling your deck, place your Freezes at the bottom. They will be dealt last.

Hold your deck face down in one hand so that you can turn over cards easily with the other hand. The cards you turn over will go into play, or on top of a discard pile in front of you.

Put your Base cards next to each other in the middle of the table. Now you're ready to play!

The Object of the Game:

The object of the game is to win more Bases than your opponent does, through strategic play of all the cards. Note: Your Base cards don't really represent "you," any more than your other cards do. They are just the foundations upon which all other cards are played.

In the middle of a game, the table may have several Base cards, with strings of cards building off the ends of every Base, and other cards played directly on each Base.

When the game is over, you will count the number of Hit cards on both ends of each Base. Whoever has more Hits on their side of each Base wins that Base, and whoever wins more Bases wins the game. (Scoring can be affected by cards like Reverse and Double, as described later.)

Tied Bases: If a Base has the same number of Hits on both sides, or if it has no Hits at all, then that Base is won by the player who owns it.

Draw Game: If both players win the same number of Bases, the game is a draw.

How to Play:

Training Mode: In Training Mode, players take turns, playing one card at a time. Decide randomly who will go first, then take turns for the rest of the game.

On your turn, you may do one of two things:

1: Deal the next card off your deck, and either play that card or put it on top of your discard pile (on the table in front of you). OR,

2: Play the top card of your discard pile.

The rules for playing each card are described below. The game continues until every Base in play has been Frozen (with a Freeze card), and then the game is scored as described above.

Note: Even in Training Mode, you will notice that one player may reach her Freeze cards before her opponent does. This is because the other player used more cards from her discard pile.

Tournament Mode: Tournament Mode is like Training Mode, except that players do not take turns. Instead, both players start at the same time, and may play their cards as quickly as they like. This game is set up and scored the same as Training Mode, and you are allowed to make the same plays. You can also:

3: Pick up a card from your discard pile, and set it back down. This never happens in Training Mode, but it sometimes happens in Tournament Mode, when you try to play a card and realize that it is no longer possible!

Tournament mode is also called "Real-Time" mode. As in Training Mode, this game ends when every Base is Frozen. The game is scored exactly as described above.

Customs of Good Play:

In Tournament Mode, it's possible for the table to get quite messy. Try to play your cards as cleanly as you can, and the game will go better for both players. Also, if another player makes a mistake and needs extra time to correct it (for example, dropping a card on the floor) it's polite to stop your own play until he is ready to proceed.

Many players also adopt the habit of announcing the significant cards they play, so that their opponent is aware of the changes being made to the board. This is purely optional, but can make for a more enjoyable game.

To determine that both players are ready to start the game, it is customary to knock on the table. Once both players have knocked, they each know that the other is ready to begin.

The Cards:

Every BRAWL deck is composed of a unique assortment of cards, representing the strengths and weaknesses of one character. Your deck will not have all of the cards listed below. However, it still helps to know them all, as you will encounter them soon enough!

Numbers: Every card in your deck is numbered. This number tells you how many copies of that card are in your deck. For example, if your Red Hit has a "3" in the corner, it means your deck has three Red Hits. This numbering system helps you get a feel for a new deck, as well as learn a little about your opponent's deck during a game.

Base: Base cards are the foundations upon which all other cards are played. The object of the game is to win more Bases than your opponent, through the strategic play of all the other cards.

You can play a new Base on either side of the Base(s) which are already out. However, there can never be more than three Bases on the table at once, so you are never allowed to play a fourth.

Hit: Hit is the most common card, and every character has plenty of them. Hits come in three colors: red, blue, and green. The game will be scored by how many Hits are played on each end of every Base.

You can play a Hit on any open end of any Base, or on another Hit of the same color. Strings of Hits will always be only one color. You can also play a Hit on a Press, if that Press was played to cancel a Block.

Hit-2: A Hit-2 is exactly like a Hit with the following exceptions: First, a Hit-2 can only be played on a Hit (or Hit-2) of the same color, not on a Base or a Press. Second, a Hit-2 counts as 2 Hit cards when you are scoring.

Block: Blocks come in the same colors as Hits: red, blue, and green. A Block can only be played on a Hit of the same color. It prevents more Hits from being played in the string, since you can't play a Hit on a Block.

Wild Block: A Wild Block can be played on a Hit of any color.

Clear: This card removes a Base, and every card played on that Base, from the game. Sweep all these cards to the side when you play the Clear, (including the Clear itself) to make room for new Bases.

Restrictions: If there are three Bases in play, you can not clear the middle one because there is no direction to sweep it. If there is only one Base on the table, it cannot be cleared.

Base Modifiers: There several cards called "Base Modifiers" in BRAWL. Each card has its own meaning, listed below, but they all work in a similar way.

While Hits and Blocks build up in strings on the ends of a Base, Base Modifiers go directly on the Base. Although they will pile on top of each other, and although the order of the pile is significant, all Base Modifiers are considered to be played "on" the Base.

Null: Play on a Base. That Base is worth nothing at the end of the game. To understand what a Null does, think of each Base as being worth one point towards scoring. Nulling is like multiplying that value by zero.

A second Null has no further effect. The Base is still worth nothing.

Double: Play on a Base. That Base will be worth twice the value of a normal Base at the end of the game. Think of each Base has having a normal value of 1 point. A Double makes this Base worth 2.

A second Double will raise the value to 4 points, and so on. If a Base has both a Null and a Double on it, the base is worth zero.

Reverse: Play on a Base. Whoever has fewer Hits on his own side of a Reversed Base will win the Base. The object is now to have more Hits on the opposite side. Ties still go to the owner of the Base.

A second Reverse will cancel the first. A third reverses it again, etc.

Hold: Play on a Base. As long as the Hold is the topmost Base Modifier, that Base cannot be Cleared. If the Hold is covered by any other Base Modifier, or by a Press, it no longer functions.

Designer's note: Holds must be visible to work, because they affect the way the game is played. Most other Base Modifiers, like Reverse and Double, affect scoring. They can continue to work even when buried.

Press: Press is a versatile defensive card. You can play a Press on a Block to nullify the effect of the Block. You can also play a Press on a Base and nullify the effects of all the Base Modifiers beneath it.

When you Press a Block, you treat the string as if the Block were not there. However, it is illegal to play a Block or a Hit-2 directly on a Press.

When you play a Press on a Base, all the Base Modifiers below it are canceled. Base Modifiers on top of the Press function normally. Note: It is perfectly legal to play a Press on an unmodified Base.

Freeze: Freezes will always be the last cards in your deck. A Freeze is a Base Modifier, and it affects every card attached to that Base. Once Frozen, a Base and all its attached cards can have no more cards played on them, and can't be affected by any other cards, including Clears, Presses, etc. When every Base in play is Frozen, the game is over.

Strategy Notes:

Playing on Both Sides: You have probably noticed that it is legal to play Hits and Blocks on either end of a Base. You can Block your own Hits if you want, or play Hits on your opponent's side of the table. This may seem strange, but sometimes it's a strategic move.

For example, if the next card in your discard pile is a Block, you can play a Hit of the same color on your opponent's side, and then Block it! Or, you could use your Hits to start every string on your opponent's side with a color she is weak in, to make it impossible for her to build a long string. And clearly, with a Reversed Base, it's advisable to play Hits on the opposite side.

Practice: Learn the strengths and weaknesses of your own deck. Some decks play slowly, some play very fast. Some rely on basic moves, while others require a good deal of strategy. Many of the tricks of your favorite deck will only become obvious after you play several games.

Burning Cards: If you are in a winning position in Tournament Mode, deal quickly! You want to reach your Freeze cards and finish the game before you lose your advantage. Conversely, when you are losing, you may hear your opponent start burning through her deck. When you do, take a good look: you may be able to turn the tables with a single play!

Fouls: In Tournament Mode, you might sometimes make a play which is illegal, simply because of the high speed of the game. If so, you simply pick up the card you mis-played, and (if necessary) step the game back to the point where you made the mistake.

If you ever make a foul play which is impossible to correct, you may forfeit the game. For example, if you clear a Base from the middle, and can't rebuild it from the discards, you have made a foul you can't correct. It is up to your opponent whether to let this foul stand, or to win by forfeit.

Multi-Player BRAWL:

There are two ways to play BRAWL with more than two players: Round Robin and Tag Team.

Round Robin: 3 or more players sit in a circle. Start with a pair of Bases between each pair of neighbors. The maximum of three Bases applies to each area. You can play cards only against people on your immediate left and right. The winner is the player who wins the most Bases all together.

If the first round is tied, which happens frequently, then the tied players fight a second round.

Tag Team: Tag Team is a raucous, frantic version of BRAWL played by two teams of two or more players. It is like a normal game of BRAWL, except for the following rules:

1: Each player uses only two Freeze cards.

2: There can be as many as four Bases in play.

3: Only one player from each team is active at any given time. Players "tag in" their teammates by touching them on the shoulder. They may trade off as often as they wish, and are welcome to coach each other on the play of the game. Loudly!

BRAWL(TM) is produced by James Ernest, published by James Ernest Games (www.jamesernest.com). Illustrations by Bryce Nakagawa, Brian Snoddy, Kyan Kinnaird, and Phil Foglio. Graphic Design by James Ernest. Original BRAWL playtesters included Dave Howell, Rick Fish, Joshua Howard, Jeff Vogel, Kathy Ice, Paul Peterson, E. Jordan Bojar, and Toivo Rovainen. Additional playtesting by Dan Tibbles, Carol Monahan, Owen Jungeman, Dave Rapp, Claudia Mastroianni, Dennis Clark, Tom Lotze, and Tse Wei Lim. Special thanks to Elizabeth Fulda, the wicked stepmother of BRAWL! ©2001 James Ernest Games, Seattle WA.