Customizable card game is Decipher's trademark for what the card game industry generally calls a "collectible card game" (or occasionally a "trading card game"). Most collectible card games are typically sold in randomized packages of common, uncommon and rare cards, not unlike baseball cards. To play a game, you build a deck from your collection of cards, then challenge an opponent who built a different deck from their collection. There's usually a wide variety of different cards to collect and trade, and thus many different deck types and game strategies.
The cards in the Star Wars Customizable Card Game represent every imaginable element from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi: characters, creatures, starships, weather conditions, using the Force, weapons, planets, Death Stars, locations, capturing, battles, bounty hunting, Jedi training, vehicles - you name it! Relive your favorite moments from the entire trilogy, or create your own unique stories in the Star Wars universe.
Every card is canonical and officially approved by Lucasfilm Ltd. Many present little-known facts introduced here for the first time. This exceptional level of authenticity, combined with the finest quality images in the industry, makes these cards highly collectible as well as playable. The Star Wars Customizable Card Game consists of hundreds of different cards that you can collect and trade. Since your skill in customizing your game deck has an impact on your chances of winning, part of the fun is discovering what cards are available and trading with your friends to get the cards you want!
Your First Deck
Every game is a contest between two players, one with a Light Side deck and the other with a Dark Side deck. (Light Side cards have the Rebel symbol on the back; Dark Side cards, the Imperial symbol.) Each game deck must contain exactly 60 cards, all from one side of the Force.
If you're new to the game, the 60 cards that came with this rulebook will be your first game deck. Later on, as you collect and trade for additional cards, you will be able to experiment with different decks by exchanging some cards for other ones to try different strategies, and even learn to build your own personalized game decks from scratch.
Your game deck will contain characters and starships, plus plenty of locations where those characters and starships can move around and battle. In addition, most decks include a mixture of other card types to help their characters and starships in their adventures. (See the icon guide inside the front cover for a list of all the card types.) The various card types all work together to create a richly detailed game that re-creates many different aspects of the Star Wars universe.
Locations cards lay out on the table as you play, creating a kind of gameboard that's new and different every time. Characters, vehicles and starships are your primary game pieces and may move from location to location. Weapons, devices and effects give your characters, vehicles and starships additional capabilities. And interrupts play at various times to provide a wide variety of plot twists, typically introducing changes to the gameplay and then being discarded.
How to Win
The game is all about "using the Force." Doing so wisely will be crucial to your success. Your 60-card game deck represents the amount of Force available to you during the game. The elegant design of the game uses the cards themselves as a natural scorekeeper; no tokens or counters are necessary. The basic unit of measurement in the game is 1 Force (1 unit of Force = 1 card).
Deplete your opponent's Life Force and you win the game. Of course, there's a lot more strategy, but with minimal effort, you'll master the basics faster than a Jedi Knight!
Beginning the Game
To begin the game, each player chooses one location card from their game deck and places it face down on the table. Both players reveal these starting locations at the same time. If both players choose starting locations with the same card title, set them aside temporarily and choose again. Once two different starting locations have been selected, place them both face up on the table; orient the cards so that the sides with the blue lightsaber icons face the Light Side player and the sides with the red lightsaber icons face the Dark Side player. (If any locations were set aside because of choosing duplicates, add them back into the respective game decks.)
There are two basic kinds of locations: system and site. (A third kind, sector, is described in the Glossary.) Each system location in the game represents a planet somewhere in the Star Wars galaxy where starships may deploy, battle and move.
Each site location represents a different area on a planet (or within a mobile facility such as Cloud City) where characters and vehicles may deploy, battle and move.
If both players' starting locations are related(part of the same planet), place them next to each other on the table. Otherwise, leave a little space between them. As the game progresses, each planet's location cards will be grouped together and will remain separated from those of other planets.
Some sites are 'generic,' meaning that they represent environments found on a variety of different planets. These sites may be identified by a single diamond in their card title (e.g., Swamp). Generic sites may not be used as starting locations.
After starting locations are placed on the table, shuffle your remaining cards and place them face down in front of you. These cards now form your Reserve Deck, which is one of the three components of your Life Force.
Your Life Force
Your Life Force is like a flow of energy; how well you manage it is a key strategic factor. If your Life Force is totally depleted, you lose the game!
Reserve Deck- Throughout the game, cards will flow from your Reserve Deck to your Force Pile to your Used Pile and back again to the bottom of your Reserve Deck.
Force Pile- Your Force Pile represents the amount of Force that is available for you to use to perform various actions. Cards flow from your Force Pile and then to your hand or your Used Pile. You may accumulate Force in your Force Pile over multiple turns.
Used Pile- Bringing cards into play and performing actions often requires you to "use the Force." To use Force, move cards from your Force Pile, one at a time and face down, to your Used Pile to represent the required expenditure. At the end of every turn, both players recirculate their Used Piles by placing them back under their Reserve Decks; thus, unlike the Force Pile, the Used Pile does not accumulate cards from turn to turn.
Cards on table, in your Lost Pile or in your hand are not part of your Life Force.
Your Lost Pile
This is a pile where lost cards are placed face up. Frequently, you are required to forfeit (lose) cards from table at the location of a battle; at other times you will be instructed to "lose Force." Whenever you are required to lose Force, you must discard cards face up to your Lost Pile, one at a time. You may choose cards to be lost from your hand or from the top of your Reserve Deck, Force Pile or Used Pile. Cards in your Lost Pile are generally not available for the rest of the game, but you can use certain cards to retrieve some of them.
Your Hand
Each player draws 8 cards from the top of their Reserve Deck to make a starting hand. During the game, you will be able to draw additional cards into your hand from your Force Pile. There is no limit to the number of cards you may hold in your hand throughout the game.
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