Gamehelphackcladforbga

Game Overview

In a ruined world, where great monsters known as the Clad assail humanity, powerful Witches fight for renown.

Strike down the Clad and gain fame in HacKClaD, the strategy sim game!

As Witches, use your future sight to stand against the Clad and compete for the spoils of war.

Magic Shards and completed Mission cards award VP, and the player with the most VP at the end of the game wins.

1 – Game Preparation

Shared Areas Setup

❶ Lay the Sequence board and the Field board next to each other in the center of the table.

❷ Take a Gauge Marker cube and place it in the Voltage 1 space on the Sequence board.

❸ Take the 6 Normal Clad cards with Voltage 1 written in the top left corner and shuffle them face down to make the Clad deck. Place it in the Clad deck space.

The Expert Clad cards are only used when playing Expert Mode. Return them to the box when playing Normal Mode.

❹ Sort the remaining Clad cards by their Voltage value and place them next to the Sequence board.

❺ Put all the Magic Shards in a pile within easy reach of all players.

This is referred to as the Magic Shard Reserve.

Player Board Setup

❻ Choose the character you want to play as and take the player board with that character on it, her Skill cards, and her Witch figure. Return any remaining characters to the box.

Multiple players may choose to play as the same character. If you do, make sure you differentiate your cards and figures in some way.

❼ Put your character’s Basic Skill cards in a pile on your deck space, and her Enhanced Skill cards in a pile on the Enhanced deck space.

❽ Take 3 Gauge Marker cubes and place 1 on each Gauge space marked 0 on your Player board.

Character Figure Setup

❾ Choose the order in which you will take your turns, from the first player to the fourth. (They will be referred to as Player 1, Player 2, Player 3, and Player 4 from now on.)

Depending on the number of players, rules that mention Players 3 and 4 may not be relevant for your game.

Player 1 puts their Witch on Entry Point A of the Field.

Continuing in order, all players put their Witches on their Entry Point space—Player 2 uses Entry Point B, Player 3 uses C, and Player 4 uses D.

❿ Assemble the Clad figure and place it on the central space of the Field.

Deck and Turn Card Setup

⓫ Randomly choose 10 of the 18 Mission cards and place them face up on the table so the objectives are visible to all players.

Then, choose a total of 2 Mission cards each, in the following player order:

Player 1 ➡ Player 2 ➡ Player 3 ➡ Player 4 ➡ Player 4 ➡ Player 3 ➡ Player 2 ➡ Player 1

Place the 2 Mission cards you chose face up in front of you, near your Player board.

⓬ Choose 1 of your character’s Enhanced Skill cards, and keeping it hidden from the other players, add it to your other 8 Basic Skill cards and shuffle them together face down to make your deck. Place it on your deck space.

Place the rest of your Enhanced Skill cards face down in your Enhanced Skill deck space.

⓭ Player 1 draws the top card from their deck without looking at it, and keeping it face down, places it on the 1st Standby slot (the rightmost space).

Player 2 then does the same and takes the 2nd Standby slot, Player 3 takes the 3rd, and Player 4 takes the 4th slot.

2 – Game Flow

The game is played over a series of rounds. Each round consists of 4 phases, as follows:

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Ⅰ Forecast Phase

Looking into the future to see what the Clad will be doing this round.

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Ⅱ Draw Phase

Replenishing your hand.

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Ⅲ Draft Phase

Determining turn order.

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Ⅳ Action Phase

Resolving Clad and player actions in turn order.

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The Sequence board depicts the full flow of a round.

Follow the clockwise spiral from the top left corner to play all the 4 phases in order.

2.1 – Forecast Phase

Draw 1 card at a time from the Clad deck, placing them in the Clad slots starting from the left. If there are no cards in the Clad deck, See 3.2 – How to Reshuffle the Clad Deck.

Then, draw cards to fill up the Clad slots as above.

2.2 – Draw Phase

All players draw from their decks until they have 3 cards in their hands. When you run out of cards in your deck, See 3.1 – How to Reshuffle Your Deck.

Then, draw the rest of the cards you need. Keep your hand hidden from the other players.

2.3 – Draft Phase

Each player’s Skill card on the Sequence board is referred to as their Turn card.

The player whose Turn card is in the 1st Standby slot (the rightmost slot) takes the following steps ⓪ to ③ in order: ⓪ If your Witch is on top of your Turn card, See 2.4.5 – Re-Entry.

① Add the Turn card from your Standby slot to your hand.

② Choose a Turn slot other than the one your Turn card was below and place 1 of the cards from your hand there, face down.

③ Gain the effect written directly under the Turn slot you chose.

Then, the next player with their Turn card in the 2nd Standby slot carries out steps ⓪ - ③ in order. Continue with the Standby order until all players have taken steps ⓪ - ③.

2.4 – Action Phase

In the Action Phase, all players take their turns in alternating order with the Clad, starting with the player who took the 1st (leftmost) Turn slot.

At the start of your turn, slide your Turn card from its Turn slot to the Standby slot directly beneath it. If your Witch is on top of your Turn card at this point, perform the Re-Entry procedure described in

2.4.5 – Re-Entry before starting your turn.

[Field and Figure Rules]

During each turn, you’ll be moving figures on the Field, taking actions, and making attacks. The following rules apply to the Field and the figures on it:

• Figures can move left, right, up, or down to adjacent spaces. They cannot move diagonally or skip a space. Adjacency is only for orthogonal, not diagonal spaces. If you move your Witch onto a space containing Magic Shards, you take those Magic Shards. However, if the Clad moves onto a space containing Magic Shards, it does not collect them. Instead, both the Clad and the Shards occupy that space.
• Witches cannot move through or share spaces occupied by the Clad or other Witches.
• You may change the direction your Witch faces at any time.
• The Clad can only change direction as directed by Clad cards and Skill cards.
• The Field loops at the edges—top to bottom and left to right. As shown in the diagram below, movement or attacks that aim outside the Field are resolved on the spaces on the opposite side of the board.
  

2.4.1 – The Clad’s Turn

On the Clad’s turn, it will carry out the actions on the next Clad card in order, starting with the icon on the left.

The player who just took their own turn resolves the Clad’s actions.

Alternatively, a player who knows the game well can carry out the Clad’s turn.

Each icon is explained below:

Icon	Effect
	A normal attack that targets the red-marked spaces.
	Move the Clad figure the indicated number of spaces in the direction it is facing. When moving the Clad, it first performs a Trample Attack in the space it is moving to. Damage from Trample Attacks cannot be negated.
	Change the direction the Clad figure is facing.
	Take a Purple Magic Shard from the Shard Reserve to place on the space marked with this icon. If there is a Witch in that space, that player immediately gains that Magic Shard.

[The Clad Attacks]

If there is a Witch in a space where the Clad can perform a normal Attack or a Trample Attack, that Witch takes damage. The damage the Clad does is equal to the current Clad ATK value, shown on the Voltage Gauge on the Sequence board.

When a Witch takes damage from the Clad’s Attack, that Witch can use a Reaction before resolving the Clad card.

A Witch can also use a Reaction when another player’s action causes the Clad to move and perform a Trample Attack.

When a Witch takes damage from the Clad, See 2.4.4 – Handling Damage.

2.4.2 – Actions on Your Turn

A. Use Skill Cards

① Choose Your Skill Card

Reveal 1 Skill card from your hand and place it face up on the table.

② Check the Requirements and Pay the Cost

Confirm that you can meet all the conditions and requirements on the card, then pay any applicable Cost (and/or any Extra Cost) to play it.

If you cannot fulfill all of the conditions on the card or pay the full Cost, you cannot use that Skill card. Return it to your hand.

③ Resolve Your Skill Card’s Effect

Follow the effect text on the card to carry out your Skill card’s action. If you deal damage to the Clad using a Skill card, gain that many Magic Shards from the Shard Reserve and put them in your VP area. Depending on the effect text of your card, you may be able to make changes to your deck. See 3.1 – How to Reshuffle Your Deck.

*A Skill card you are currently resolving is not part of your discard pile yet. However, cards you discard as part of paying the Cost of a Skill card you are resolving are part of your discard pile when carrying out its effects.

④ Discard Your Skill Card

When you have finished resolving the effects of the Skill card, move it to your discard pile.

[Skill Card Types]

Icon&Name	Description
Attack: Attack Magic:	These Skill cards deal damage to the Clad and can only be used on your turn. Whether or not you can use a card is dependent on the position of your Witch relative to the Clad. The Clad must be within the Range shown on the Skill card: with your Witch positioned where the red pin is, the Clad must be in one of the red spaces.
Support: Support Magic:	These Skill cards assist you in battle and can only be used on your turn. They have effects when you play them, as well as effects that manifest under certain circumstances.
Reaction: Reaction Magic:	These Skill cards are used to respond to the Clad’s attacks. See

2.4.3 – Reactions.

If you successfully use a Skill card, deal the amount of ATK damage indicated on the card to the Clad. Then, gain that many Magic Shards from the Shard Reserve as VP.

Other Witches on spaces within the Range of your Attack do not take damage.

B. Take Basic Actions

These are the fundamental actions you can always take on your turn. To take a Basic Action, discard any 1 card from your hand and perform the action.

The Basic Actions and their effects are written on your player board.

[Basic Action Use Limits]

Basic Actions can only be used a certain number of times per round. That number is different for each character.

C. Take CP Actions

CP Actions require CP to use. You gain CP when reshuffling and upgrading your deck, as described in 3.1 – How to Reshuffle Your Deck.

CP Action Costs and effects are written on your player board.

• To take a CP Action, reduce your CP Gauge by the CP Cost number shown next to it. The Skill type icon next to the Cost shows when the CP action can be used.
• Support actions can only be used on your turn, while Reactions can only be used when Reacting (described later).

2.4.3 – Reactions

Reactions are actions that you can take in response to an Attack from the Clad. You cannot use a Reaction at will.

When the Clad performs an Attack or Trample Attack, a Witch in a space within the Attack’s Range can use any actions marked with the Reaction icon before the Clad’s Attack is resolved.

These actions are called Reactions.

Reactions are resolved as part of the Clad’s Attack, following the steps below:

① Players use Reactions in the turn order for that round if more than one player’s Witch is in Range of the Clad’s Attack. The player currently using their Reaction is the “active player.”

② The active player chooses 1 Reaction type Skill card, Basic Action, or CP Action. If that Reaction does not change the Clad’s Attack Range, the active player may then immediately use another Reaction.

③ When the active player has finished using Reactions, they pass, and the next player in the current turn order becomes the active player and may use their Reactions.

④ If the Reaction did change the Clad’s Attack Range, the Witches who can now use Reactions may have changed.

Double check who is in Range, and of those, the player who is earliest in the turn order is now the active player.

This restarts the Reaction turn order, so players who have already passed may now decide to take a Reaction (even if they had not chosen to take any Reactions before).

⑤ If a Reaction causes the Clad to make a Trample Attack, subsequent Reactions and Injuries that apply to that Trample Attack are resolved before any further Reactions.

⑥ Once all players in range have passed, return to The Clad Attacks.

2.4.4 – Handling Damage

When a Witch takes 1 or more points of damage from the Clad, they must follow these steps:

① Increase your Injuries Gauge by 1, even if you took more than 1 point of damage.

② Take a number of Magic Shards from your Shard Pool that is equal to the amount of damage you took and place them on the space your Witch occupies.

If you do not have the required number of Magic Shards, just place as many on the space as you can.

③ Take your Witch off the Field board and place her on your Turn card.

2.4.5 – Re-Entry

If your Witch is on your Turn card in the Draft Phase or Action Phase, you must get her back onto the battlefield.

Choose an Entry Point on the Field that is not occupied by a Witch or the Clad and place your Witch on it. If there are no available Entry Points, you may choose any space on the board.

If there are any Magic Shards in the space you re-enter the battlefield on, you take them immediately.

Once you are back on the board, carry out the rest of the Phase or your Actions as normal.

3 – Reshuffling Your Deck

If you need to draw or reveal a card from your deck but there are no cards left, you need to reshuffle your deck.

If you need to reshuffle your deck in the middle of resolving several Skill cards, carry out the rest of the Skill card effects after reshuffling your deck.

3.1 – How to Reshuffle Your Deck

① Increase your CP Gauge by 1.

② You may upgrade your deck by swapping in an Enhanced card. Choose a card from your Enhanced deck and swap it with any card in your discard pile.

Keep the cards you swap hidden from the other players.

③ Thoroughly shuffle your discard pile while keeping it face down and place it on your deck space.

3.2 – How to Reshuffle the Clad Deck

① Increase the Clad’s Voltage Gauge by 1.

② Find the 3 cards that match the new Voltage value and add them to the Clad cards you have already resolved. Shuffle them all together and place them on the Clad deck space.

Example: After increasing the Clad’s Voltage by 1, its Voltage Gauge is now at 2. Find the Clad cards with “Voltage 2” in the top left corner and add them to the Clad deck.

4 – The End of the Game

The game ends after the 9th round — When the Voltage Gauge on the Sequence board is at 3 and the Clad deck has run out. All players finish their turns and play to the end of the round before moving on to Scoring.

5 – Scoring and Determining the Winner

① Count the number of VP from your Magic Shards.

② Add the VP shown on the 9 cards in your deck, including your Turn card and the cards in your hand.

③ Add the VP from your completed Mission cards.

④ Subtract the number shown above the marker on your Injuries Gauge from your total VP.

The player with the highest VP total wins the game, earning prestige for their Witch and power for her clan!

If there is a tie for the highest total VP, use the tie-breakers below, in order from top to bottom:

The player with the fewest Injuries.

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The player with the most completed Mission cards.

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The player with the most VP on the 9 cards in their deck and hand.

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The player who went last at the start of the game (Player 4 in a 4-player game).

6 – Glossary

• Extra Costs: If you play a card that indicates an Extra Cost, you must also carry out the instructions on that card. If you cannot pay the Extra Cost, you cannot use that Skill card.
• Repel: When the Clad is Repelled by a Witch, it staggers under the onslaught and is redirected, moving with the direction of the attack (away from the Witch who Repelled it). Repel won’t necessarily correspond to the Clad’s forward-facing direction: The Clad doesn’t change its direction as a result of the movement caused by Repel. Repel resolves last—resolve all other effects and discard your Skill card before resolving the Repel.
• Reveal: Some cards specify that you must turn them face up and show them to the other players temporarily. Turn the card back over when you have finished resolving the effects.
• Reduce: Reduce the amount of damage you take from the Clad by the indicated value. This effect cannot reduce the damage you take to less than 0.