Goal
Reduce the enemy to 0 HP, or have more HP after 3 rounds.
Each player starts with 20 HP. Your Castle soaks damage before your body does.
1. Setup (every round)
- Draw 7 cards into your hand (shown face-up for you).
- Place them on your side of the board:
- 3 Melee (front row, toward the battle line)
- 3 Ranged (back row, toward your castle)
- 1 Castle (your fortress — choose carefully!)
- Drag cards onto slots, or click a hand card then a slot. Click a placed card to return it.
- Press Begin Battle when your army is ready. The computer places automatically.
2. Who goes first?
Castles flip face-up. The player with the higher castle rank (A high, then K, Q…) attacks first.
On a tie, the castle whose element trumps the other goes first; if neither trumps, a coin toss decides.
3. Combat
On your turn, click one of your unplayed (face-down) units.
It flips and attacks the enemy unit in the same row & column.
Turns alternate until both armies have no unplayed units left.
4. After the board is clear
That round ends. Start the next round (up to 3 total) — draw 7 new cards from your remaining deck
and rebuild. After round 3 (or if someone hits 0 HP), the higher HP wins the match.
Layout (your view)
Enemy Castle
Enemy Ranged · · ·
Enemy Melee · · ·
──── battle line ────
Your Melee · · ·
Your Ranged · · ·
Your Castle
How a fight is resolved
- Attacker flips a unit and uses its combat value (2–10 face value, J=11, Q=12, K=13, A=14), plus buffs.
- If the defender still has an unplayed unit in that slot, it flips and defends with its value.
- If attack > defense, the difference is overflow and hits the enemy Castle.
- If attack ≤ defense, the unit is blocked — no castle damage.
- If there is no defender left in that slot, the full attack hits the castle (undefended).
Castle & player HP
- Overflow chips away at Castle defense first.
- When the castle hits 0, it is destroyed (dramatic collapse → graveyard).
- Further damage (or overflow past 0) hits the player’s 20 HP.
- Played units leave the board for the graveyard after a short reveal.
What you can do in the app
- Hover a face-up card for combat value and castle ability.
- Watch floating combat text for damage, blocks, and trumps.
- Use the Battle Chronicle (Log) for a full text history — collapsible.
Elements (suits)
| Suit | Element |
|---|
| Hearts ♥ | Fire |
| Diamonds ♦ | Wind |
| Spades ♠ | Water |
| Clubs ♣ | Earth |
Trump chart
- Fire ♥ trumps Earth ♣
- Wind ♦ trumps Water ♠
- Water ♠ trumps Fire ♥
- Earth ♣ trumps Wind ♦
When your element trumps theirs, your side gets a combat edge (stronger attack or defense in the clash).
Same-team pairs (e.g. Fire vs Wind) do not trump each other.
Why the castle matters
Your 7th card is your Castle. It sets fortress HP and a special ability.
Hover any card in-game to see its castle text.
| Card | As Castle |
|---|
| 2 | Column Strike — attacks also clear the vertical column. |
| 3 | Spy — reveal one enemy unit; rearrange your army. |
| 4 | Range Buff — ranged units deal double attack damage. |
| 5 | Absorb Element — ignore castle hits if your element trumps the attacker. |
| 6 | Melee Buff — melee units deal double attack damage. |
| 7 | Assassin Debuff — enemy Assassins only deal 1 damage. |
| 8 | King Hunter — if enemy castle is a King, deal 16 to it immediately. |
| 9 | Double Strike — may attack twice on your first turn (blocked by enemy 10 or King). |
| 10 | Fortify — castle defense becomes 15. |
| J Priest | Castle defense 10. |
| Q Sorceress | Castle defense 8; same-element defenders get double defense. |
| K King | Castle defense 20; +2 attack to all units of the King’s element. |
| A Assassin | Castle defense 7; destroys enemy castle if it is 9, J, Q, K, or A — that castle’s ability is lost. |
Other ranks: castle defense equals the card’s combat value.
Game modes
Classic
You: Fire ♥ & Wind ♦
Enemy: Water ♠ & Earth ♣
Each side gets a 26-card elemental half. Fairer trump wars and clearer strategy.
Chaos
Full 52 shuffled, split 26/26. Suits mixed freely.
Wilder hands, more luck, more surprises.
Quick tips for newbies
- Don’t always put your highest card in the castle — specials matter.
- Melee is the front line; ranged is the back. Buffs care which row you use.
- After a lane is empty, later attacks there go straight at the castle — tempo matters.
- You still attack with leftover face-down units even if the enemy finished first.
- Hover cards. Read the chronicle. Mute sound or hide the log if you prefer.
Win conditions
- Enemy HP ≤ 0 → you win immediately.
- After 3 rounds → higher HP wins the match (ties possible).
THE KILLING GROUND