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.

❽Take 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, carry out 7.2 – How to Reshuffle the Clad Deck on page 11.

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, carry out 7 – Reshuffling Your Deck on page 11.

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

2.3 – Draft Phase

Each players’ 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, carry out 6.4.5 – Re-Entry. Otherwise, skip this step.

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, carry out 6.4.5 – 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 (described later) 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, follow the steps in – Handling Damage.

6.4.2 – 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 7 – Reshuffling 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:
Reaction: Reaction Magic:	These Skill cards are used to respond to the Clad’s attacks. See – Reactions for full details.

This is a [Skill Card] that deals damage to Clad and can only be used during your turn. The condition for using this card is the relative positions of your [Witch token] and [Clad token]. When your [Witch token] is placed on the ""RANGE"" pin of the [Skill Card], your [Clad token] must be placed within the red space. When you use a [Skill Card], you deal damage to Clad equal to its ATK value, and gain [Magic Stones] equal to that value in VP from your Magic Stone Stock. Even if other [Witch Tokens] are placed in the "RANGE", the damage will only be dealt to Clad.

B. Performing basic actions

Basic actions are versatile actions that can be performed by discarding any card from your hand as a cost. The types and effects of these actions are listed on the [Character Board]. The details of each effect are as follows:

[Maximum number of executions]

Basic actions have a limit on the number of times they can be performed in a single round. The number of times each action can be performed varies depending on the character. In the diagram below, the basic action ""Use one card to move one space"" can only be performed up to twice in a single round.

C. Executing CP Actions

CP actions are actions that can be performed using CP (Charged Power) obtained when performing ""7-1. Player Deck Reconfiguration Procedure"". The amount of CP consumed and its effect are listed on the [Character Board].

• You can perform a CP action by reducing your CP gauge by the amount indicated in ""CP Consumption"".
• The ""Skill Type Icon"" indicates when that CP action can be performed.
• can only be performed during your turn,
• ​​follows the execution timing of the corresponding action (described later).

6-4-3. Corresponding Actions

Response actions are actions that can be performed in response to a Clad attack, and cannot be used proactively by the player. When a Clad performs a normal attack or movement attack, players who have placed a [Witch token] on a square within the attack range can perform various actions indicated by the response icon before the [Clad attack processing] begins. These are called response actions. The execution of response actions and the [Clad attack processing] are carried out according to the following rules.

1. Among the players who have placed a [Witch token] within the attack range, the player with the earliest turn in this round can take a corresponding action in order. The player taking the corresponding action is called the active player. 2. The active player can take one action from the following: a [Skill card] with a corresponding icon, a basic action, or a CP action. If the corresponding action does not change the attack range of the Clad, the same player can take the corresponding action again. 3. If the active player does not take a corresponding action, they declare a pass, and the next player with the earliest turn becomes the active player and takes the corresponding action. 4. If the attack range of the Clad changes due to a corresponding action, the players within the attack range are checked again, and the player with the earliest turn among them becomes the active player. At this time, even players who had previously declared a pass can take a corresponding action again. 5. If a Clad movement attack occurs as a result of a corresponding action, the corresponding action and injury processing are performed first. 6. Once all players within the attack range declare a pass, execute the [Clad's Attack Processing]. The above processing is shown in the flowchart below. The corresponding action is to be executed in response to Clad's attack.

6-4-4. Injury Treatment

When a player takes 1 or more damage from a [Clad's Attack], that player must perform the following actions: 1. Regardless of the amount of damage taken, increase the injury count gauge by 1. 2. From your magic stone area, place [magic stones] equal to the amount of damage taken (VP) on the space where your [witch token] is located. If you do not have the required number of [magic stones], place as many as you can. 3. Remove your [witch token] from the [field board] and move it onto your turn card.

6-4-5. Recovery Process

During the draft or action phase, when a player manipulates a turn card, if a [Witch token] is placed on the turn card, the return process is performed. Choose one entry point space on the [Field Board] that does not have a [Witch token] or [Clad token] on it, and place the [Witch token] there. If there is no suitable space, you can choose any space. If there is a [Magic Stone] on the space you return to, you acquire it immediately. After the return process, proceed with the normal phase flow for processing and actions.

7. Reconfigure your deck

When you draw or reveal cards from a deck that is currently empty, a deck reconstruction occurs. If a deck reconstruction occurs in the middle of processing a series of effects of a [Skill Card], the remaining processing will be done after the deck reconstruction.

7-1. Player's Deck Rebuilding Procedure

1. Increase your CP gauge by 1. 2. You may choose one card each from your expansion deck and discard pile and swap them. Card swaps must be done secretly from other players. 3. Stack your discard pile face down, shuffle well, and place it in the deck area.

7-2. Clad's Deck Rebuilding Procedure

1. Increase the VOLTAGE gauge by 1. 2. Add 3 cards with the current (after gauge increase) VOLTAGE value to the processed [Clad Card], shuffle well, and create a new deck. Example: If the value after increasing the VOLTAGE gauge by 1 is ""2"", add the [Clad Card] with ""VOLTAGE2"" written in the upper left corner to the Clad Deck."

8. Game End Conditions

The game ends when you play from the start of the game until the last turn of the 9th round. (If the VOLTAGE gauge on the [Sequence Board] is at 3 and there are no more cards left in the cladding deck, play continues until the end of that round, and the 9th round ends.)

9. Scoring and determining the winner

The following four processes are performed in order to calculate the total value of the VP earned: 1. Add the VP of [Magic Stones] earned during the game. 2. Add the total VP of the 9 cards in your deck, including your turn card. 3. Add the VP of the [Mission Cards] you have completed. 4. Subtract points equal to the value of your injury count gauge from your VP. The player with the most VP wins this game. If there are multiple players with the same score, the winner is determined by the following conditions, in order from top to bottom: 1. The player with the smaller injury count gauge value. 2. The player who has completed more missions. 3. The player with the highest total VP from their 9 cards in their deck. 4. The player who had the later turn order (P1~P4) at the start of the game.

10. In-game terminology

• Additional Cost:

Skill cards with this marking require you to perform the specified action as a cost. If you cannot pay the additional cost, you cannot use the skill card.

• Knockback:

A Clad that is knocked back will lose its balance and stumble, moving in the direction of the attack (= away from the Witch token). The direction of the knockback does not necessarily coincide with the Clad's forward direction at that time, and this movement does not change the Clad's orientation. The knockback action is performed after all other actions have finished and the skill card has been placed in the discard pile.

• Reveal:

The face of the specified card is temporarily made visible to other players. After the effect has finished, the card is turned face down again.

• Reduce:

The damage received from the Clad is reduced by the specified number. This will not result in a negative damage value.