The Rules

The shape of a match

A match is best of three spots. A spot runs up to five rounds. A round is one cycle: energy, draw, commit, reveal.

A spot is a sealed room. Decks reset when it ends. Only the match score crosses between spots.

The round

Energy equals the round number, fresh each round, use it or lose it — or spend it on the door.

You commit face down. The Lane leader reveals first and the trailer second, which is the comeback engine.

Checking is free. A spot can end before the final round — see The verdict.

The door

Win a round and one of your crew goes inside. You do not choose which one. The room does, and every room has its own taste.

Once inside, a card is safe. Nothing can remove it, and it still counts its Power toward winning later rounds.

Buying in

The door is paid from the same energy as your cards, not a separate pool. Say so when you commit, in the dark, before you know whether you needed to.

Winning and buying are two separate ways in, and you can take both in one round: win the round with your cards and pay the door as well, and two of your crew go inside at once. Nothing forbids it — the price is what holds it back.

The price is the round number plus one for everyone you already have inside. The further ahead you are, the more the door costs you, so the same line gets dearer every time you use it.

The verdict

A deck running dry ends the spot immediately, before any of the below is checked. Otherwise: most of your crew inside takes the spot. Level on bodies, the higher Power inside takes it; level on that, the higher Power still at the door; level on everything, the spot is dead.

One spot per spot, symmetric, with its own Power and a printed ownership condition. The owner counts it toward winning rounds.

The five keywords

Ramp gives you energy later. Bank holds value across rounds. Encore repeats. Muscle is raw Power. Cut removes.