How to play

Players: 2 or more

Goal: Eliminate opponents Deck

Game Modes

Bone Battle has three distinct modes, offering different levels of complexity and play style. Alpha Mode is the full game for experienced players, while Omega Mode is the simplest.

Omega Mode (The Simplest)

Hand Size: 1 Card
Card Handling: Cards are reused (put back into your deck)
Active Mechanics: Pure numbers battle. Dog Tricks, Color Abilities, and Special Cards are all disabled.
Winning Condition: Capture all cards in play.

Beta Mode (Intermediate Complexity)

Hand Size: 3 Cards
Card Handling: Defeated cards are discarded into the Knockout Pile
Active Mechanics: Dog Tricks are activated. Color Abilities and Special Cards remain disabled.
Winning Condition: Completely knock out all of your opponent's cards.

Alpha Mode (The Full Strategic Game)

Hand Size: 3 to 5 Cards
Card Handling: Defeated cards are discarded into the Knockout Pile
Active Mechanics: Full features unlocked! Dog Tricks, Pup Color Abilities, and custom Special Cards are all actively in play.
Winning Condition: Completely knock out all of your opponent's cards.

Quick & Dirty (Instant Dueling)

Hand Size: 1 Card
Mechanics: A lightning-fast, single-card battle with zero mechanical abilities active.
Winning Condition: Sudden Death! If a combat round results in a tie, both players pull from their full remaining deck to select a new card.

Gameplay Flow

Agree on Game Mode (Omega, Beta, or Alpha)
Setup Decks for each Player (agree on deck size and the number of cards in hand)
The youngest Pup (by Pawsday) starts the first Combat Round
The player who lost the last Round starts the next Round (unless the Round resulted in a Tie)
Repeat until the opponent no longer holds cards in their hand (deck is eliminated)
Last Player with remaining cards wins

Core Combat Round

A round has a two step phase: Attack→Defense + CounterAttack→CounterDefense

Both Players have to choose a card in their hand to play with before the round starts.

Example with Player A being in Attack-Role for this round:

The player with the HIGHER Total Bone Count wins the Round:

Player A Total:

Attack Bones + Counterdefense Bones
Example above: 5 + 4 = 9 WIN

Player B Total:

Defense Bones + Counterattack Bones
Example above: 4 + 4 = 8 LOSS

→ How to handle the Dog Tricks figured on the Card of Player A

Winner's Actions

keeps their currently played card.
returns all his cards from Horny Jail to the bottom of his Deck.

Loser's Actions

loses their currently played card (and any cards they had in the Horny Jail) to their Knockout Pile.
! Omega Mode Exception: instead of the Knockout Pile the card(s) go to the bottom of the winners deck

Replenish Hand

After the round resolves, each player draws enough cards from their Deck to return their Hand size to the number specified by the Game Mode.

Attacker Role Change

The player who lost the current round starts the next round.
Tie Exception: If the round resulted in a Tie, the player who started the tied Round starts all subsequent Sub-Rounds until the Tie is broken.

Special Abilities

Dog Tricks (Attribute Abilities)

These tricks replace the standard Bone Count on a specific row and are activated when that row is used for Attack or Defense. Only used in Beta and Alpha Mode. When playing in Omega Mode, Bone Count always just equals 4.

→ Dog Tricks List with all 10 different Attribute Abilities

Pup Color Abilities (Card Abilities)

These are only used in Game Mode Beta and Alpha.

Red, Orange, Yellow: Add +1 to your Attack Bone Count (max 5).
Blue, Green, Purple: Add +1 to your Defense Bone Count (max 5).
Black, White, Gray: If a Tie occurs, you get +1 to your total score and win the round (unless the opponent has the same ability).
Multi, Camo, Pink, Brown: Second Chance — allows you to switch to another Attack (or Counterattack) row if you have a lower Bone Total in the current Round

Special Cards (Supporting Hand Cards + Cursing Opponents)

These cards grant unique Abilities (Effects or Actions) and can be played at any time during a Battle or Round (only once though).

One-Time Use: Once played, the card is discarded and cannot be used again in the same game.
Open Play: Special Cards must be placed face-up on the table, visible to all players at all times.
Fair Play: Before starting, players must agree on how many Special Cards each person can bring to the Battle (e.g., 3 per player).

Refer to the text on each card for specific Ability details.

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