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Rules

see also: Solitaire rules

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. In the spirit of Who, the villains (Enemies) attempt to reach Goals played on Spacetime cards to score points. Meanwhile, the Doctor and his Allies try to stop them and score those points first. Each player plays both his own TARDIS crew and the Enemies their opponent’s TARDIS will face. First player to 10 points (and both Reaching and Opposing at least one Goal) wins.

*changes on 10/08/10 in red

Card types

There are 10 different types of cards in the game, all but one (Plots) of which can be stocked in a deck:

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 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 if it is played during the game rather than during the Set-up. 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. Note that there is no real mechanical difference between Gallifrey and non-Gallifrey Spacetime cards, even though there is an aesthetic difference. When a card plays "on Gallifrey", it may play on any Gallifrey Spacetime card.

Goals are cards that play on any Spacetime cards, allow you to score points, 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, which serves a dual purpose: It is the number of points that may be scored from the Goal. It is also the Cost of the card, just like for any other card type.

Then follows a 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 Enemies. The second part tells you how your opponent can Oppose the Goal and score those points - this can only be done by TARDIS Characters and Allies(which must always be compared to opposing Enemies there when calculating who has the most of a Quality or Trait there). (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 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 other ways to score points in the game, but each player must Reach AND Oppose at least one Goal to win the game.

There are three types of Characters:

TARDIS Characters are the heroes of the game, and include both the Doctor and his companions. You can play these either directly to your TARDIS during Set-Up or to a Spacetime card of which they are Natives later in the game.

Allies are Characters that help the heroes Oppose the villains' goals. You can play these to any Spacetime card of which they are Natives.

Enemies are Characters on the side of evil, who have Goals that need to be opposed by our heroes. You can play these to any Spacetime card of which they are Natives if you have a Goal there from which points have not been scored, or if that Spacetime card (or a card at that Spacetime card) allows you to do so. You may continue to play Enemies to that Spacetime card when points have been scored from it only if that Spacetime card is a Base (has the Base keyword). A player cannot move his or her Enemies to Spacetime cards where you have not played a Goal (whether points have been scored off it or not), unless a card specifically allows them to (they may, however, be moved there by another player) or to any Spacetime card where you could specifically play Enemies without a Goal (such as where many Purpose cards are played). Your Enemies cannot normally work with your Allies and TARDIS Characters.

All Characters are similarly built. On top is the title bar: . The diamond icon is the number of copies of Sarah that can be put in play by a single player. Then follows the title of the card (Sarah Jane Smith), and then its subtitle (Plucky Young Girl).

Under the picture is the following bar: . In the middle is the Character species. On the right end is the Character’s Cost. Note that Timelords have a slight difference: . The left end of the bar has a number in a circle indicating the Timelord’s generation. Some cards will make use of this.

The text box on all Characters will look something like this:

The first line is the Character’s Nativity, where and when they come from (see Playing Characters, below). Then comes a list of Traits, each preceded by a Trait icon (m). 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 a Character's Traits, always count the number of icons regardless of which are doubled). 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, but Timelords and godlike or super-strong Enemies may well exceed 10.

  TARDIS cards represent the TARDIS itself. You may always start with a TARDIS card during Set-Up, and you may change it during the course of the game (see Swapping). Each version of the TARDIS has game text that could be helpful, and a Quality called Capacity. Capacity's first number notes the number of Characters that can be played on that TARDIS during Set-Up, the second the number that can be moved by that TARDIS during the game, both calculated in total Cost of those Characters. (See Moving the TARDIS.) As with Spacetime cards, ignore the Cost of the TARDIS itself if it is played during Set-Up.

Artifacts are pieces of equipment that can help Characters in some way. Each has a listed User, at whose location the Artifact must be played. Artifacts can then be used by that User or your other Characters, and can be moved with the TARDIS or other means. Artifacts left unattended can be picked up by another player’s potential User. If this occurs, the Artifact is under that player's control.

Conditions represent effects that usually have some lasting power in the game. These may be played on a Character or on a Spacetime card. They are sometimes played on table, representing 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 Artifacts, Conditions and Bang! 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.

  Plots are a new card type (as of the Timeline expansion) that can add a little (optional) "Who Sense" to your game. Plot cards do not go in your deck. You can have up to 5 in a side-hand, which you keep face down on the table, close to you. You can check your side-hand at any time, and it can only be affected by cards that specifically name the Plot side-hand. These do not count towards you Set-Up cards limit or your draw deck minimum. Plot cards have three text boxes: 1) its title, 2) its requirements and 3) its game text. When any Plot card's requirements are met, its owner may immediately play the Plot from the side-hand to the table. Its game text affects the game until the Plot is destroyed (not until the requirements are no longer in play). More than one player may play the same Plot at the same time, but no player may ever have more than one of each Plot card in his or her side-hand. A Plot card cannot be played from your normal hand (if, for example, it was taken into hand from the discard pile).

Set-up

Each player must play 3 Spacetime cards on the table. Simply plop them down one next to the other in front of you in a line. If two (or more) players play the same Spacetime card (same title and date in parentheses), place them one on top of the other. No player may play more than one copy of the same Spacetime card.

Each player may then play up to 6 Set-Up cards (cards that say they play during Set-Up, excluding cards "under" other cards - for example, under Mini-Scope, though Mini-Scope itself counts as a card - and cards placed due to the effects of other cards - such as TARDIS - Secondary Control Room's Artifact or Telos' Cybermen. These should usually include a TARDIS card and then any version of the Doctor plus any other TARDIS Characters on that TARDIS card. The total Cost of these Characters (Doctor included) cannot exceed the TARDIS' Capacity's first number. If you choose not to play all your expected Set-Up cards, you may shuffle them into your draw deck prior to play.

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 a face-down draw deck that must contain at least 50 cards (there is no maximum). 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.)  

Initiative

The player whose starting (Set-Up) Characters’ total Qualities (Brains, Brawn and Bravery) are lowest 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 onhand.

A Turn

Each turn proceeds in the following fashion:

1)       1) Each card (except Bang! and Plot cards, which are free; these count as having a Cost of 0) has a Cost. At the start of the turn, a player may spend up to 6 points in Cost by playing Characters, Artifacts, Goals, TARDIS cards, 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 (see example under Glossary - Playing cards).

2)       2) In the next phase, the player’s cards can be put into motion, 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, use any of their game text, do something allowed by another card (such as fight), or move to another Spacetime card either through a card that allows this (the only means accessible for Enemies) or with the TARDIS card (for TARDIS Characters and Allies). The TARDIS may be moved to another Spacetime card only at the end of its owner's turn.

3)      3)  When a player has done everything he or she wanted to do, or when all his cards are frozen and thus unable to do anything else, the 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.

4)       4) 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. Plot cards are played for free when their requirements are met. Similarly, Plot cards are played in reaction to events in the game at an appropriate time.

5)      5) The game ends when a player reaches or surpasses 10 points, having Reached and Opposed at least one Goal.

Scoring Points

Though there are other ways to score points in the game, each player must Reach and Oppose at least one Goal to win the game. Losing points does not count as "scoring". If you lose more points than you score, it is possible to have negative points.

Playing Characters: A Matter of Nativity

Characters (TARDIS Characters, Allies and Enemies) may only be played at their Native Spacetime card (either your own or your opponent's), unless they were played during Set-Up, in which case they were played on the TARDIS. Game text on cards (for example, that of Cybermen Reborn) cannot override normal Nativity rules unless that card specifically says it does.

Nativity is really split into three components. First is a location (such as Earth), then comes an era, and finally, in parentheses, a specific date. A Character may be played at any Spacetime card that corresponds to their location and era (ignoring the date in parentheses). 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 in parentheses 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 Antiquity to Victorian Era - 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.

Since it is helpful to known in what order the eras have occured, here is a list of them:

Prehistory (7000 B.C. or earlier)

Antiquity (6099 B.C - 400 A.D.)

Middle Ages (401 - 1450)

Renaissance (1451 - 1850)

Victorian Era (1851 - 1913)

Modern Era (1914 - 1962)

Present (1963 - 1989)

Postmodern Era (1990-2020)

Near Future (2021 - 2200)

Colonial Era (2201 - 2450)

Expansion Era (2451 - 2700)

Imperial Era (2701 - 3000)

Twilight Era (3001 - 10 000)

Far Future (10 001 - 500 000)

Dark Night Era (500 001 or later)

Gallifrey and other Nativities not mentioned above are considered to be outside time, neither before nor after these.

Playing Cards: Number of Copies

Each u 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 u (a “unique” Character, for example), 2 copies of a card with 2 u, 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 Timelord, 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.

When a player’s TARDIS is at a Spacetime card, that is also where all the Characters inside are. When a TARDIS moves (at the end of its owner's turn), a player decides which of his or her Characters (TARDIS and Allies – Enemies do not travel in the TARDIS) are brought along, and which are left behind. The limit on Characters that may normally be moved in the TARDIS is related to their total Cost, which may not exceed the TARDIS' Capacity's second number. The same holds true of any card that requires Characters to be "aboard" a TARDIS. To move the TARDIS at all, however, you must have a Timelord aboard. Losing your Timelord can strand your other Characters!

Fights

Some cards allow your Characters to fight an opponent’s Characters. Enemies can only fight TARDIS Characters and Allies. TARDIS Characters and Allies can only fight Enemies. 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 and Allies+TARDIS Characters, 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.

Frozen Characters

A frozen Character is a Character that has used up its move and can no longer do anything, such as fight, move (or move a TARDIS, or be moved by another player) or attempt to either Reach or Oppose a Goal. 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 Reach or Oppose a Goal, even if that attempt has failed.

-After a fight, all Characters involved are frozen.

-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.

Fobwatch Icon

Cards with this icon where a Timelord's generation goes is a Fobwatch icon, indicating a Timelord that has transformed himself into another species. It has no built-in abilities and only keys off other cards' effects that refer to it.

Glossary

-Affect: A card is "affected" by another while it is being modified by that card, or forced to act or move by that card. A card is not "affected" by another when it is a requirement for that card. For example, Misjump affects the TARDIS, but Message From the Past does not.

-Act as, considered: When a Character "acts as" or "is considered" a Native of a certain era, for example, it cannot play to that era normally (since the ability isn't active until the Character is played), but once in play, it may meet requirements or benefit from cards that require that Nativity, title, or other element.

-Babel Masters: So as not to abuse this card, the following ruling is in effect. When you name a noun, only that noun, or the plural of that noun, counts as that noun. When you name a verb, only that verb, or any tense or agreement of that verb, counts as that verb. Adjective forms, substantives, etc. do not count.

-Conquer Universe: This is considered to be the same card as All Your Base Are Belong to Us, so you cannot use both.

-Counts as: Unless specified, cards that count as other cards do so even while not in play.

-Cumulativity: All cards in the game are cumulative unless they specifically say they are not.

-Destroy: When a card is destroyed, it is placed in the discard pile.

-Destroying cards for a number of turns: When a Goal or Purpose card requires you to destroy cards for multiple turns, these turns do not need to be consecutive. If you lose the requirements, you may not destroy the card, but may continue to do so on a later turn without having to start the sequence over.

-Destroying Spacetime cards played by more than one player: When a card allows you to destroy a Spacetime card, and there are 2 or more copies of that Spacetime card in play, you may only destroy one. Which copy will be implied by the card destroying it.

-Dice Pool: The side-deck created by the Dice Pool card. See Roll the Dice.

-Difference: Always means the positive difference between two numbers.

-Doubling: When a Trait is "doubled", the total amount of that Trait on a Character is doubled. Example: Science becomes Science (2), and Science (2) becomes Science (4).

-Dual species, dual Goals: Cards that have 2 species separated by a slash ("/") or 2 Goal types (for example, Apocalypse/Profit) may use cards that require either species or goal type, not necessarily both. For example, a Timelord/Human hybrid could use Human-related cards AND Timelord-related cards.

-Entire turn: If an effect comes into play and mentions this, it lasts until it is the current player’s turn again.

-Frozen unless: If a card that says a Character is frozen unless a certain requirement is met, that Character cannot be unfrozen except when that requirement is met. This effect may be overriden by a Character's own special ability.

-Frozen until: If a card says that a Character is frozen until a certain requirement is met, that Character cannot be unfrozen until that requirement is met. This effect may be overriden by a Character's own special ability.

-Frozen while: If a card that says a Character is frozen while a certain requirement is met, that Character cannot be unfrozen except when that requirement is not met. This effect may be overriden by a Character's own special ability.

-Here, there: Cards are together if they are at the same Spacetime card.

-Illegal targets: If a card finds itself on another card on which it could not play, the former is destroyed unless the former is a reason why it could not play on the latter (ex: Break Conditioning, New Companion, Whodunit).

-Impossible actions: When cards requires you to do something that is impossible, you must do everything that is possible up until the point they become impossible, and must do what is required as soon as they become possible. For example, if you are forced to reveal, play, and thus pay for a Cost 5 Goal under Secret Plans, but are also being affected by cards that drain your points so that you do not have the 5 points to spend, then you must reveal that Goal, but as you cannot pay its Cost, it cannot be played and remains under Secret Plans until it is paid.
-Inspecting opponent's cards: If you look through your deck for a card and can't find any eligible target, your opponent "verifies" that by going through your deck as well.

-K9: When a card mentions K9, but not which model (Mark I, Mark II or Mark III), that card refers to all Characters with K9 in their title.

-Looking through a deck for a card: After any player looks through a player's deck, that deck is shuffled.

-Minion: This Trait will usually have a Character or species in parentheses attached to it. This means they are Minions of that Character or of all Characters with that species.

-Nemesis: A Character's Nemesis is any Character that follows the keyword "Nemesis:" on that Character's card. If a Character lacks the keyword, he or she has no Nemesis, even if another Character referrences him or her as their Nemesis.

-Once per turn: Once per full turn. In other words, once per game segment in which every player has gotten a turn.

-Opposing Character: A Character that belongs to one of your opponents.

-Other Earths: Alternate Earth, New Earth and Parallel Earth are not the same location as Earth.

-Overcoming: Some cards need to be overcome. In such cases, they will have requirements (just like Goals). If these are met, the card is overcome and destroyed. You may only attempt to overcome a Puzzle card if you are attempting to Reach or Oppose a Goal, or attempting to score points from a Purpose card.

-Placing: Placing a card somewhere in play, as opposed to playing it, does not require you to pay that card's Cost.

-Playing cards (examples): Simultaneous: Playing two of the Family at once; in this case each sees the other when it checks to see if it should leave play. Sequential: Playing Son of Mine to somewhere other than Victorian Earth (where you would already have one of the Family), then playing some Scarecrows there. Both: Playing Son of Mine and another of the Family somewhere other than Victorian Earth, then playing some Scarecrows there.

-Playing without The Doctor or the TARDIS: While it is possible to play without a starting TARDIS card and Doctor, it is not recommended unless you are using Set-Up cards that can reasonably substitute for them (like Iris Wildthyme or Torchwood Hub/Rift Activity).

-Random selection: When a random selection is to be made from any group of cards, shuffle that group of cards first. The selection is to be made with the cards face down. When a card cannot be destroyed, kidnapped, etc., it is still part of random selections that have that outcome. If selected, the intended effect simply does not occur.

-Rearrange: When a card allows you to rearrange cards, you take a look at those cards and place them in any order.

-Related: When a card, for example, vortexes Dalek-related Attack cards, it may vortex any Attack card that has the word Dalek in its game text or title. References to the related word in the lore do not count.

-Refer: A card that refers to another has its title printed in its game text.

-Rest of game: When a card has an effect that lasts "for the rest of the game", that effect keeps working even if the card that triggered it is destroyed or placed out of play. If a card is modified "for the rest of the game", that card remains modified even if it leaves play and later reenters it, even if a different copy of that card.

-Roll the Dice: When a card requires you to Roll the Dice, it requires a Dice Pool side-deck (Rolling the Dice is explained on the Dice Pool Condition). If you do not have one, that card has no effect.

-Running out of cards: When you run out of cards, you must keep playing with what cards you have in play until a player achieves victory, or both players run out of cards and (presumably running out of moves), call it quits with whatever score they currently have.

-Suspending play: When play is suspended, all actions that were about to occur are interrupted while another action takes place (as dictated by the card suspending play).
-TARDIS/TARDIS card: When a card refers to a TARDIS card, only cards of that type are actually referred to. When a card refers simply to a TARDIS, then Artifacts that explicitly say "[cards] that refer to a TARDIS also refer this Artifact" (like The Master's TARDIS or the Dalek Timeship) are also referred to.

-Transitivity (Nativity): When a Spacetime card is said to be in "the same era" as another Spacetime card with a different printed era (Omega's World, +1 Second), only that Spacetime card is affected, not its entire era. For example, though Omega's World is in Gallifrey's era, its printed era is Anti-Matter Universe. Zeta Minor, also in the Anti-Matter Universe is not in Gallifrey's era even if Omega's World is in play.

-Unattended: Said of an Artifact when none of its controlling player's Characters are there. Opposing Users there can take control of that Artifact.
-Undefined numbers: If you must define a number and cannot (for instance, because you must Roll the Dice and cannot), choose an opponent. That opponent defines that number for that instance.

-Using (a Trait or Quality): Meeting the requirements of a Goal, Condition or other card with that Trait or Quality.

-Work with: When a card (Goal, Puzzle, etc.) requires a total of Traits and Qualities, only a group of Characters that can work together may count towards that total. Enemies do not normally work with Allies and TARDIS Characters.

Appendix I – Complete list of Character Traits

Aware  

Bureaucrat

Charisma

Computers  

Creature

Demolitions

Domination

Engineering

Gloating

“God”

History

Laser

Machine

Madman

Marksman

Medicine

Minion (see Glossary)

Pilot

Poison

Running

Science

Screamer

Thief

Torchwood

Tracking

Troop

UNIT

Vampire

Victim  

Game and all game materials TM Michel M. Albert