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/filled hearts among the eight hearts at the upper right. Do not count the dark hearts. Base MP ranges from 1 to 4.

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

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

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 playmat's Event Card space. 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 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 an Element Advantage Event is in play and exactly one player revealed the crowned Element, or when a Low-MP Victory Event is in play.

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 was a draw, neither player loses any life.

   Then (on drawn turns as well), stack both Battle Cards and only the Support Cards added this turn face up in the playmat's single Tōji zone at the lower left (Tōji, "hot-spring retreat" — the out-of-play rest area). Event Cards never go to Tōji; leave them stacked face up as discards 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 Element advantage (Fire vs Earth, Wind vs Water, and same-Element pairings are a draw). (Support Cards may not be used.)

   Element Advantage Event — If exactly one player revealed the crowned Element, that player wins. (Support Cards may not be used.) If both players revealed the crowned Element, or neither did, continue to steps 2–3. (Support Cards may be used.)

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. 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 Element advantage: Fire > Wind > Earth > Water > FireFire>Wind>Earth>Water>Fire

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

Battle values 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; never add it to Support Cards. (Support Cards may be used.)

  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 Element advantage (Fire vs Earth, Wind vs Water, and same-Element pairings are a draw). (Support Cards may not be used.)

• 

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

  If exactly one player revealed the crowned Element, that player wins outright. (Support Cards may not be used.)

  If both players revealed the crowned Element, or neither did, fight the battle as normal. (Support Cards may be used.)

  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, resolve the battle as normal.

  If the colors are difficult to distinguish, label the four Element Advantage Event sleeves or removable notes Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water before play.

• 

  Hand-Pick Event — An event where each player's Battle Card is chosen by their opponent. Fan out your hand face down and offer it to your opponent; they pick one card, and it becomes your Battle Card for this turn (they never see the faces). If you have only one card in hand, that card becomes your Battle Card. (Support Cards may be used.)

Check for 0 life after the Result Phase. Only if the game continues do you proceed to the Draw Phase; immediately after drawing, or after skipping because the deck is empty, check whether the deck and both hands are empty.

• You reduce your opponent's life to 0. Confirm this after moving the used cards to their proper areas in the Result Phase (if the loss is greater than their remaining life, it still counts as 0). Skip the Draw Phase and end the game.
• The Character Card deck and both hands run out, so no more Battle Cards can be played. Check this immediately after drawing in the Draw Phase, or after skipping the draw because the deck is empty. Then compare remaining life: the player with more life left wins. (If the totals are equal, the game is a draw.)

• base MP — The number of lit/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.
• final MP — The value used to decide who wins a battle: your Battle Card's base MP + your Support Cards' base MP + Event effects, to a maximum of 8.
• Tōji zone — The playmat has one Tōji ("hot-spring retreat") zone at the lower left. Stack used Battle Cards and used Support Cards there face up. Event Cards do not go there. Cards placed in Tōji cannot return to play for the rest of the game.
• Support Card — A card you can add during a battle. Only cards of the same Element may be added, and once used a Support Card is sent to the Tōji zone.
• Support MP — The total base MP of the Support Cards (0–2) you added this turn.
• Element advantage — The ranking applied 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) have no advantage relationship and result in a draw.
• 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 and victory check as nine steps. See the sections above for the full rules.

1. Reveal an Event Card and stack it face up over earlier cards in the Event Card space.
2. Choose one card from your hand and place it face down. (Skipped when a Hand-Pick Event is in play — 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 the card you revealed in step 3. (Skip this when an Element Advantage Event is in play and exactly one Battle Card matches the crowned Element, and on Low-MP Victory turns.)
5. Check special Events first; only otherwise calculate final MP and determine the winner.
6. The loser reduces their own life by the base MP of their own Battle Card.
7. Stack both Battle Cards and added Support Cards face up in the single Tōji zone at the lower left. Leave Event Cards in the Event Card space. If a player is at 0 life, end the game now.
8. If the game continues and cards remain, 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 (equal life is a draw).