Parallel Rulebook

Gameplay Summary

THE BASICS

Parallel is a turn-based strategy game where players duel to reduce their opponent's Health Points to zero using a combination of cards that represent Units, Effects, Relics, and Upgrades.

Deck Construction

Decks must contain exactly 40 cards, plus a Paragon.
Up to 3 copies of a card are allowed, except for Legendary cards, which are limited to 1 per deck each.
Decks can include Universal cards and cards from one chosen Parallel.
Each deck must designate a Paragon card. All Paragons offer a permanent passive ability, and some have the choice to Play the Paragon Unit to the Field.

How to Read a Card

The yellow boxes from top to bottom represent the card’s type(s), name, and abilities. The circle is the Energy Cost which is how much Energy must be expended to play the card. The diamond and heart are the Attack and Health values, respectively.

There is a breakdown of the iconography located between Attack and Health at the end of this document.

Starting the Game

Matches are 1vs1.
Players start with 30 Health Points.
The game randomly determines a starting player.
Both players draw an initial Hand of 5 cards, then choose which cards to keep and which to redraw. This process is referred to as taking a Mulligan.
The first player does not draw a card at the beginning or end of their first turn (even if they Bank a card).

Turn Structure

Start of Turn: Draw a card. Gain Energy equal to the number of cards in your Bank.

Banking: Once per turn, a player may Bank a card from their Hand and gain an Energy.

Attacking, playing cards, activating cards: On their turn, players can play cards from their Hand using Energy, command Units to attack, and activate cards in any order they wish.

Combat: When two Units and/or Paragons (as Units) battle, each will deal damage equal to its Attack to the other’s Health. Units must wait a turn after being played before attacking. Players can be attacked directly, with the Unit dealing its Attack to the enemy’s Health Points.

End of Turn: Lose any unspent Energy; Energy does not carry over. If you Banked a card, draw a card.

Game Zones

Hand: This is where each player stores drawn, unplayed cards.
Deck: This is where undrawn cards are stored for each player.
Field: Where Units, Relics, and Upgrades are played.
Bank: Stores Banked cards for Energy generation.
Waste Pile: Where each player discards defeated or used cards.
Singularity: Special area for Banished cards or special circumstances (Shroud exclusive).

Card Types

Units: Main combatants with Attack/Health stats.
Effects: One-time use cards with immediate impact that are Wasted after being played.
Relics: Provide ongoing benefits while on the Field.
Upgrades: Enhance Units with additional abilities or stats.
Paragons: Represent unique personalities from each Parallel. Each Paragon has a passive ability that is always active. Once per game, a Paragon can be played as a Unit by paying their Energy Cost. The passive persists while on the Field and even upon their defeat.

Winning the Game

Reduce your opponent's Health Points to 0.
Opponent concedes.

Additional Rules

Maximum Hand size: A player may not have more than 8 cards in their Hand. Additional cards are Wasted.
Remove from the game: Objects removed from the game cease to exist entirely.
Searching the Waste: Drawing a random card from the Waste Pile when the deck is depleted, at the cost of Health. First Search is 1 Health, but it doubles to 2, then 4, then 8, etc.
Shield Pod: The player who goes second will create a Shield Pod on their side of the Field. A Shield Pod is a 0-Attack, 2-Health Unit with the following abilities: “Defender. This Unit cannot attack. This Unit cannot be targeted by friendly effects or abilities and upgrades may not be attached to this Unit. When this Unit would be destroyed, remove it from the game instead.”
Timer: Turns are timed. If a player takes no actions or takes too long to complete their actions, the game will advance to the next player’s turn.