How to play

• 32 Character Cards (8 each of Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water; base MP across the set is 1–4 lit hearts)
• 16 Event Cards (10 Standard, 4 Element Advantage, 1 Low-MP Victory, 1 Hand-Pick)

The physical product is this 48-card set only. The cards are printed in Japanese.

Reading the Japanese Cards

AB

• Read the Element from the pictogram in the center of the round mark at the upper left. The physical cards do not print Element kanji.
• Base MP is the number of lit (brightly filled) hearts among the eight hearts at the upper right. Do not count the dark hearts. Base MP ranges from 1 to 4.
• The hearts show the card's strength (MP). They are not your life; life is counted on the playmat's life track.

Pictogram	Element	Guide color
Flame pictogram	Fire	Red
Spiral-gust pictogram	Wind	Green
Sprout-from-ground pictogram	Earth	Orange
Water-drop-and-bubbles pictogram	Water	Blue

Telling the Event Cards apart

Tell the Event types apart by the mark on the bottom row of the card. Each Event's effect is explained in "Event Cards", with a picture of each mark.

Type	Mark (bottom row of the card)
Standard Event	Four colored hearts with numbers (left to right: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water)
Low-MP Victory Event	The word "MIN"
Element Advantage Event	A crown and a "1▶▶▶8" display (the crown's color is the Element)
Hand-Pick Event	Two hands, each holding out a card

Read an Element from the crown's color only on an Element Advantage Event. Low-MP Victory and Hand-Pick cards also have a heart emblem at the left end of the bottom row, but its color does not show an Element.

What else you need (all free)

• Rulebook — this web page (web-only; there is no printed rulebook)
• 8 Life Tokens (4 red, 4 blue) — print-and-play PDF
• Playmat — print-and-play PDF

Left, right, top, and bottom are as seen from the pink side of the mat (see "Playmat spaces" below).

1. 1

   Play rock-paper-scissors. The winner becomes the first player. The first player stays the same for the whole game.

2. 2

   Shuffle the 32 Character Cards well and deal 5 cards to each player. Hold them as your hand, kept out of your opponent's sight. Each turn you will play one card from this hand; the card you play is your Battle Card for that turn.

   Next, deal 3 more cards to each player and place them face up in front of you. These are your Support Cards. You never gain additional Support Cards during the game.

   Make the remaining 16 cards one Character Card deck and place it face down in the CHARACTER space at the top of the playmat's left column (labeled キャラクターカード 山札). Always draw in first-player, then second-player order.

3. 3

   Shuffle the 16 Event Cards well and place them face down in the EVENT space at the top of the playmat's right column (labeled イベントカード 山札). This is the Event deck.

4. 4

   Each player picks a color (red or blue) and places one Life Token of their color on the "12" space of their own life track, the one on their side (the other three tokens are spares).

   The playmat has two life tracks, one along the near edge and one along the far edge. Each player uses the track nearest to them.

Playmat spaces

The labels on the four shared spaces in the left and right columns are printed to be read from the pink side of the mat.

1. 1

   Event Phase — The first player flips the top card of the Event deck and reveals it as this turn's Event. Place it face up on top of earlier Event Cards in the Event Card space (the EVENT space at the bottom of the playmat's right column, labeled イベントカード). Apply its effect in the relevant phase described below. Event effects last for this turn only.

2. 2

   Selection Phase — Each player chooses one card from their hand and plays it face down.

   Note: When a Hand-Pick Event is in play, each player fans out their hand face down and offers it to their opponent. The opponent picks one card, and that card becomes the offering player's Battle Card (the picker never sees the faces). The chosen card is placed face down in play as usual; you do not also pick a card for yourself this turn.

3. 3

   Reveal Phase — Both players turn their face-down cards face up at the same time.

4. 4

   Support Phase — Starting with the first player, each player may add 0 to 2 Support Cards from in front of them, provided each one has the same Element as their own Battle Card (the card they revealed in Phase 3). The first player confirms their additions face up; the second player then chooses after seeing them.

   Skip the Support Phase when a Low-MP Victory Event is in play, or when an Element Advantage Event is in play and exactly one player revealed the crowned Element.

5. 5

   Battle Phase — Check special-Event win conditions first. Only when neither decides the battle do you calculate and compare final MP. (See "Battle" below for the full procedure.)

6. 6

   Result Phase — The player who lost moves their own Life Token down the life track by the base MP of their own Battle Card (Support Cards do not count). Life never goes below 0. If the battle is tied, neither player loses any life.

   Then (even when the battle is tied), stack both Battle Cards and only the Support Cards added this turn face up in the Tōji zone (the bottom space in the left column, labeled 湯治 / DISCARD on the mat). Tōji means "hot-spring retreat": the out-of-play rest area. Cards placed there are not used again this game. Event Cards never go to Tōji; leave them stacked in the Event Card space.

7. 7

   Draw Phase — If both players still have at least 1 life after Phase 6, each player draws 1 card from the single Character Card deck, in first-player, then second-player order, and adds it to their hand.

   If the Character Card deck is empty, skip the draw. Immediately after drawing, or after skipping because the deck is empty, check whether the Character Card deck and both players' hands are all empty.

If the game has not ended, begin the next turn (Phases 1–7).

Resolve each battle from top to bottom. When a special Event decides the battle, do not continue to the later steps.

1. Check special Events first — If an Event decides the battle, finish the check here.

   Low-MP Victory Event — The player with the lower base MP wins. If base MP is tied, decide by the Element matchup, in the same direction as step 3 below (Fire vs Earth, Wind vs Water, and same-Element pairings are a tie). (Skip the Support Phase.)

   Element Advantage Event — If exactly one player revealed the crowned Element, that player wins. (Skip the Support Phase.) If both players revealed the crowned Element, or neither did, continue to steps 2–3. (Support Cards may be added in the Support Phase.)

2. Calculate final MP — If step 1 did not decide the battle, each player works out their own final MP.

   Final MP (maximum 8) = base MP + Support MP + Standard Event effect

   If the total would exceed 8, treat it as 8. Other Events (Element Advantage and Hand-Pick Events) add nothing to final MP. Do not calculate final MP during a Low-MP Victory Event.

3. Determine the winner — The player with the higher final MP wins.

   If both players have the same value, resolve it by the Element matchup: Fire > Wind > Earth > Water > FireFire>Wind>Earth>Water>Fire

   Only pairings that sit next to each other in the arrows have a matchup. Pairings with no matchup (Fire vs Earth, Wind vs Water), and two cards of the same Element, are a tie.

Battle outcomes at a glance

This section contains the authoritative rules. The Turn Quick Reference at the end is a summary.

• 

  Standard Event — For each player, add the number shown for their Battle Card's Element once. Add it when calculating final MP; Support Cards never get this bonus. (Support Cards may be added in the Support Phase.)

  The fixed left-to-right order is Fire (red), Wind (green), Earth (orange), Water (blue). Example: Fire +3, Wind +2, Earth +1, Water +0.

• 

  Low-MP Victory Event — The player with the lower base MP wins. If base MP is tied, decide by the Element matchup, in the same direction as step 3 of "Battle" (Fire vs Earth, Wind vs Water, and same-Element pairings are a tie). (Skip the Support Phase.)

• 

  Element Advantage Event — The crown's color shows the crowned Element for this battle (red = Fire, green = Wind, orange = Earth, blue = Water).

  If exactly one player revealed the crowned Element, that player wins outright. (Skip the Support Phase.)

  If both players revealed the crowned Element, or neither did, decide the battle with steps 2–3 of "Battle": compare final MP, and if it is tied, use the Element matchup. The Event adds nothing. (Support Cards may be added in the Support Phase.)

  Example: the crown shows Fire. If you played Fire and your opponent played Water, you win outright. If you both played Fire, or neither of you played Fire, decide the battle with steps 2–3 of "Battle" (final MP).

  If the colors are difficult to distinguish, put identical sleeves on all 16 Event Cards, and slip a note reading Fire, Wind, Earth, or Water into each Element Advantage Event on its face side (for example, inside the sleeve), where it cannot be seen from the back.

• 

  Hand-Pick Event — Each player's Battle Card is chosen by their opponent. Each player fans out their hand face down and offers it to their opponent; the opponent picks one card, and it becomes the offering player's Battle Card for this turn. The picker never sees the faces. If you have only one card in hand, that card becomes your Battle Card. The Event adds nothing to final MP. (Support Cards may be added in the Support Phase.)

The game ends in either of the following ways. Check for 0 life first; only if the game continues, check whether the deck and both hands are empty.

• The player who reduces their opponent's life to 0 wins. Check this in the Result Phase, after moving the used cards to their areas; if a player is at 0, skip the Draw Phase and end the game (if the loss is greater than the remaining life, it still counts as 0).
• Immediately after drawing in the Draw Phase (or after skipping the draw because the deck is empty), if the Character Card deck and both players' hands are all empty, the game ends. Compare remaining life: the player with more life left wins. If the totals are equal, the game is a draw.

• First Player / Second Player — The winner of rock-paper-scissors is the first player; the other player is the second player. This never changes during the game. The first player flips the Event Card, and the Support Phase and draws go first player, then second player.
• Battle Card — The one card you play from your hand each turn. It is used to decide the battle, and if you lose, you lose life equal to its base MP.
• Support Card — One of the three Character Cards dealt face up in front of you during setup. In the Support Phase you may add 0–2 of them with the same Element as your own Battle Card. Skip the Support Phase during a Low-MP Victory Event, and during an Element Advantage Event when exactly one player revealed the crowned Element. Support Cards you add are sent to the Tōji zone in the Result Phase.
• Life — Each player's life points. It starts at 12 and is tracked by a Life Token on your own life track. It goes down when you lose a battle (never below 0); if it reaches 0, your opponent wins. The hearts on the cards are not life.
• Base MP — The number of lit (brightly filled) hearts (1–4) among the eight hearts in the upper-right corner of a Character Card. Do not count the dark hearts. Life loss is always counted with this number.
• Standard Event Effect — The value printed for each Element on a Standard Event. Add the value for your own Battle Card's Element to your final MP once. Never add it to Support Cards.
• Special Event — A Low-MP Victory Event or an Element Advantage Event. These Events can decide a battle by themselves, so check them first in the Battle Phase.
• Crown — On an Element Advantage Event, the crown's color shows the crowned Element (red = Fire, green = Wind, orange = Earth, blue = Water). The heart emblem at the left end of the bottom row on Low-MP Victory and Hand-Pick cards does not show an Element.
• Support MP — The total base MP of the Support Cards (0–2) you added this turn.
• Final MP — The value used to decide who wins a battle: your Battle Card's base MP + your Support Cards' base MP + the Standard Event effect, to a maximum of 8. Other Events add nothing to final MP.
• Element Matchup — The cycle used when final MP (or base MP, under a Low-MP Victory Event) is tied: Fire ▶ Wind ▶ Earth ▶ Water ▶ FireFire>Wind>Earth>Water>Fire. Pairings not adjacent in the cycle (Fire vs Earth, Wind vs Water) and two cards of the same Element have no matchup, so the battle is a tie.
• Tōji Zone — Tōji means "hot-spring retreat": the out-of-play rest area. Stack used Battle Cards and used Support Cards face up in the Tōji zone (the bottom space in the left column, labeled 湯治 / DISCARD on the mat). Cards placed there are out of the game and are not used again. Event Cards do not go there.
• Running Out of Draws — When the deck is empty there is nothing left to draw, but the game continues as long as players still have cards in hand.

This summary presents the seven phases of a turn and the victory check as nine steps. See the sections above for the full rules.

1. The first player reveals the top Event Card and stacks it face up over earlier cards in the Event Card space (its effect lasts this turn only).
2. Choose one card from your hand and place it face down. Under a Hand-Pick Event, your opponent chooses the card instead; it is still placed face down (see "Event Cards").
3. Both players reveal at the same time.
4. Starting with the first player, add 0–2 Support Cards of the same Element as your own Battle Card (the second player decides after seeing the first player's additions). Do not add any during a Low-MP Victory Event, or during an Element Advantage Event when exactly one player revealed the crowned Element.
5. Check special Events first (Low-MP Victory Event: lower base MP wins, and a base-MP tie uses the Element matchup; Element Advantage Event: if exactly one player revealed the crowned Element, that player wins). Otherwise, compare final MP (maximum 8); higher wins. If final MP is tied, use the Element matchup (Fire > Wind > Earth > Water > Fire); pairings with no matchup (Fire vs Earth, Wind vs Water) and the same Element are a tie.
6. The losing player reduces their own life by the base MP of their own Battle Card (never below 0). If the battle is tied, neither player loses life.
7. Stack both Battle Cards and the added Support Cards face up in the Tōji zone (the bottom space in the left column, labeled 湯治 / DISCARD on the mat). Leave Event Cards in the Event Card space. If a player is at 0 life, their opponent wins and the game ends now.
8. If the game continues and the Character Card deck still has cards, draw 1 Character Card each in first-player, then second-player order. If the deck is empty, skip the draw.
9. Immediately after drawing or skipping it, if the Character Card deck and both hands are empty, compare remaining life and end the game (more life wins; if equal, the game is a draw).