Sequence of Play

[This page contains the rules of play: game made of setup and periods, periods made up of rounds, rounds made up of turns.]

Setup:

1. Determine who will play first
   1. Players shuffle their draw decks
   2. Players draw for high card
      1. Each player draws a card
      2. Highest revealed card draw value wins
      3. Repeat if
         1. both reveal identical value
         2. neither reveals drawn card
   3. Winner decides who will play the first card
2. Establish the environment
   1. Person playing first chooses and plays a SCULLY card
   2. Opponent chooses and plays a MULDER card
   3. First person chooses and plays an X-FILES card
   4. Opponent will take the first turn of the first round
3. Start of period
   1. Players move their discards back to their draw decks
   2. Players shuffle their draw decks, placing them face down
   3. Players draw full hands, concealing from opponent
4. Rounds
   1. One player takes the first turn
      1. For the first turn of a game, it is the person who did not play the X-FILES card
      2. For other rounds, it is the person who did play the last card in the preceding round
   2. The first card played must be a Case or Incident.
      1. If the player has a card they can play legally, they must play it.
      2. If the player does not have a card they can play, they must pass.
      3. If both players pass (neither has a legal play), they both discard two cards, and it is the first’s turn again.
         1. Speculative: Alternate rule, shuffle entire hand into remains of draw deck, draw new hand
   3. After the first card of a round, players alternate turns, playing a Following card or passing
   4. The round ends, and is scored, when
      1. Someone plays a Conclusion card
      2. Both players pass in succession
5. Turns
   1. At the start of their turn, the player draws cards to fill their hand
   2. On their turn, a player must play a Case, Incident, Following, or Conclusion card, or pass
   3. A player cannot pass if they have a card they can legally play in the round
   4. After playing a card to the table for the round, the player may play an Action card.
6. End of period
   1. The period ends at the end of the round in which
   2. If the game is not yet over, players may exchange cards between their draw decks and sideboards
      1. After exchanging, the number of cards in the sideboard must be the same as it was before exchanging
      2. Cards still in play (on the table) cannot be exchanged
      3. Your opponent may request to count the cards in your sideboard before and after the exchange
      4. You are not required to show the faces of the cards in your sideboard to your opponent
7. End of game
   1. The game ends at the end of the third period
   2. The winner is the player with the highest score at the end of the game
   3. The game can end in a tie

Setup

Turns

Rounds

Periods

Next → Specific Cases