How to Play

(Print the full Rulebook here)

The first choice in a game of Professional Bionics League ROBOTS is selecting one of ten starter pilots and selecting a base robot (Crystal, Obsidian, or Solar). Then slide your pilot into your robot!

SLIDE IN YOUR PILOT

The second part of the game is building your deck. First time players can simply shuffle and deal 30 random cards to each player.

More advanced players will draft their decks as seen above. First, each player will get 5 random cards called the inheritance. Then deal 15 cards for the Shop Deck and the rest of the cards become the Draft Deck. Put 5 cards into a center row. Each player will take turns selecting one pile of cards and then put one card into each pile for the next player. To determine which pile a player will take, he/she will look at the first pile of cards, and either take it or put it back and then look at pile 2, etc. If the player gets to Pile 5 they must take it. The players will draft until the Draft Deck is empty, then the remaining 4 piles of unselected cards get shuffled into the Shop Deck.

Game Play

Each player shuffles their deck and deals themselves two hands of 5 cards. Each player will select their favorite of the two hands and put the other one on the bottom of their deck. The player whose pilot has the faster speed will go first. On a players turn a player may make one move, BUILD or ATTACK.

BUILD

During a turn a player may use a MOVE by building a playable card: Armor, Crew member, Hangar or an Expert Pilot. Each card type has a requirement to play.

ATTACK

During a turn a player may use a MOVE to attack. The attacking player declares which limb is attacking, and which limb it is targeting. The attacking player counts up the attack dice and the defending player counts up their defense dice and then players roll. See the diagram below:

Armor upgrades stack on top of your current armor, but must be played in order, Level 1, 2, and 3.

Hangars stack from Level 1 to Level 3 and give you space to play Crew members and hold storage bombs.

You may always have one crew member as a side kick, but beyond that you need Hangar Space. Crew members play side by side from Skill 1 to Skill 3.

Expert Pilots require Pilot Points to be played.

Pilot Points are the number of cards attached to your robot, including Blow Offs.

Roll the dice! If the blue defense dice total is highest, the limb is defended and nothing happens. If the red offense dice total is highest, then the defending limb explodes and a Blow Off card is placed over that limb. However, every card in both players' hands can be discarded to add an additional die roll to your total score, which are called Bombs & Shields. Players can use bombs and shields back and

forth until one player runs out of cards or concedes.

ACTIONS

Actions are bonus cards that can be played at anytime and as often as you want. Some Actions effect the combat, and some actions perform other effects.

END OF TURN

At the end of the turn draw one card.

WINNING THE GAME

To win the game you must blow up all of your opponents 4 limbs: Head, Left Arm, Right Arm and Legs. (Other game modes and win conditions are available in the extended rulebook pdf)

Please read the rulebook for full rules including Critical Modes, Shop is Open, Pods and Shoulder Armors which was not discussed on this How To page. Also browse the Frequently Ask Questions section for common questions that players have.