How to Play
Introduction - Summary and Winning
Kyoukai's field is a 5 x 5 Diamond of zones.
Start by placing your Entrant in the corner closest
to you, shuffling your Deck of 40 Gates,
deciding which player will go first, then
drawing a hand of 5 cards.
Open Gates from your hand and use
the effects of Gates on the field to
deal 20 damage to your opponent's Entrant
and win the game!
Reading Gates
Every card in Kyoukai is a Gate that you open on the field, to your Entrant's original universe, also known as their Path. There are 5 Gate types, but all 5 are formatted in the same way.
① Gate Type - A symbol that shows what type of Gate this is.
- Each deck has only 1 Entrant that starts on the field.
- Summon Gates start in your deck, and stay on the field after their Open effect resolves.
- Normal Gates start in your deck, and are discarded after their Open effect resolves.
- Fast Gates are Normal Gates that can be opened during the opponent's turn.
- Spirit Gates start in your Spirit Deck, and stay on the field after opening.
② Gate Stats - Entrants, Summons, and Spirits have Stats.
See Movement and Battle sections below.
③ Gate Name - The name of this Gate.
④ Gate Open Cost - A colored box that shows additional
requirements or conditions that happen as this Gate Opens
from your hand. Not every Gate has one.
⑤ Gate Open Effect - A white box shows effects that happen after
the Gate Opens. Not every Gate has one.
⑥ Gate Skill Type - Some Gates have a Skill that applies in some way besides
being Opened from your hand. Normal and Fast skills are used in the same way as those Gates are Opened.
Passive skills apply without starting a Sequence.
They're usually active while a Gate is on the Field,
unless the skill states otherwise.
⑦ Gate Skill Class - There are many Skill Classes. These classify skills based on their effects,
but do not directly impact gameplay.
⑧ Gate Skill Name - The Name of the Skill below. Often referenced by other effects.
⑨ Gate Skill Cost - The Cost of the Skill. When using a Normal and Fast Skill, rest it and pay its cost.
⑩ Gate Skill Effect - The Effect of the Skill. What happens as a Skill resolves.
⑪ Gate Flavor Text & Information - Flavor text describing the lore of the Gate, as well as the Gate's ID Number and Artist.
⑫ Ready Corner - When this Gate is ready, this corner will point towards its Owner.
⑬ Resting Corner - When this Gate is resting, this corner will point towards its Owner. Rest your Gate in this way so to help
you keep track of which Gates on the shared Field belong to you.
Effect Symbols
Kyoukai text often uses Symbols to replace specific words, with the goal of making certain strings of common text easier to visually identify. For example, "Target 1 bordering Zone:" becomes
Additionally, the color of each symbol relates to their purpose in the game.
Locations in the game
"Zone(s)"
"Hand(s)"
"Deck(s)"
"Discard Pile(s)"
"Shattered Pile(s)"
Objects in the game
"Summon(s)"
"Gate(s)"
"Entrant(s)"
"Spirit(s)"
Target Symbol - a special symbol for "Target(s)". After choosing a Target in an Effect's Cost with this symbol, this symbol
in the effect will always refer to
those zones.
Skill Symbol - a special symbol for "Skill(s)". Refers to various properties of a Gate's Skill - the symbols along the left edge of the Gate, as well as its Skill Name Cost, and Effect.
"Attack Stat"
"Defense Stat"
"Movement Stat"
Stats on a Gate
Turn Structure
Take each turn with the following structure:
1) Draw a Gate from your Deck, unless it's the first turn of the Game.
2) Ready each of your Gates on the field.
3) Take as many of the following actions, in any order, that you'd like:
a) Open a Gate from your Hand or Spirit Deck.
b) Use one of your Gates' Skills.
c) Attack or Move with one of your Gates.
4) End your turn. Ending the turn starts one Sequence.
After this Sequence finishes resolving, the turn is over.
Opening Gates
Opening a Gate always refers to playing it from your Hand or Spirit Deck to a zone on the field, as a regular game action. Any other method of playing Gates to the field is NOT considered Opening them.
Gates are always Opened in the same way. If you cannot do any of these 3 steps in the order below, you cannot attempt to Open that Gate.
1) Pay any Open Costs on that Gate's Open Effect.
If a Gate has no Open Effect or cost, it won't have any effect boxes at the top of it at all.
Some Open Costs will specify some or all of the following rules when Opening them.
Always prioritize Open effects over Rules when they conflict.
2) Place the Gate you're opening into a Zone bordering ANY of your Readied Gates already on the field.
3) Rest either the Gate you're opening, or a Gate that borders it.
Now that the Gate is Open, ask your Opponent if they'd like to respond with a Fast Gate or Effect and start a Sequence. See Sequences below.
In this example, this is the only Zone you could open a Gate in.
In this example, you cannot open a Gate at all, until your Entrant Readies at the start of your next turn.*
Using Skill Effects of Gates on the Field
Use the Skill of any of your Gates on the field in the same way. If you cannot do any of these 2 steps in the order below, you cannot attempt to use that Skill.
1) Pay any Skill Costs on that Gate's Skill.
If a Gate has no Skill Effect or cost, it won't have any effect boxes at the top of it at all.
Some Skill Costs will specify some or all of the following rules when Opening them.
Always prioritize Skill effects over Rules when they conflict.
2) Rest the Gate that Skill is on.
Now that the Gate is Open, ask your Opponent if they'd like to respond with a Fast Gate or Effect and start a Sequence. See Sequences below.
Using Skill Effects of Gates in Other Places
Use the Skill of any of your Gates on the field in the same way.
If you cannot pay that Skill's Cost, you cannot
attempt to use that Skill.
1) Pay any Skill Costs on that Gate's Skill.
- If a Gate has no Skill Effect or cost, it won't have
any effect boxes at the top of it at all.
- Some Skill Costs will specify some or all of
the following rules when Opening them.
- Always prioritize Skill effects over Rules
when they conflict.
Now that the Gate is Open, ask your Opponent if they'd like
to respond with a Fast Gate or Effect and start a Sequence.
See Sequences below.
Note - Gate Skills that are used from locations besides the field always have costs that prevent them from being activated again.
Attacking and Moving
In Kyoukai, Attacking or Moving with one of your Gates on the field can be thought of as the following Normal effects, that are implied to be on ANY Gate that has stats in its top corner:
Sequences
Each time you pay a cost for any Gate or Effect, Attack, Move, or End the turn, your Opponent has the opportunity to respond. They can do so by Opening any Fast Gate from their Hand, or using any Fast Skill. Whether they do or don't, you can then Open a Fast Gate from your Hand, or use a Fast Skill This continues until both players choose not to respond - at this time, all Gates and Effects resolve in the opposite order that they were activated.
If you've played Yugioh, this is the chain link system.
If you've played Magic, this is the Stack if you couldn't interrupt it.
The flowchat below shows this process:
You use an Effect.
Your Opponent can Respond:
Your Opponent Responds!
Your Opponent doesn't Respond.
You can Respond:
You can Respond:
You don't Respond.
You Respond!
You don't Respond.
You Respond!
Resolve all activated effects backwards!
Dealing Damage
When dealing damage from an Attack or otherwise, follow the following steps:
1) As an effect deals damage, that damage is dealt to the Defense of any Gates in the zones being damaged first. This reduces the damage by the Defense of those Gates, then reduces the Defense by the amount reduced.
For example, if a Zone is dealt 3 Damage, and that Zone has a Summon with 2 Defense - 1 Damage is
dealt to that Summon.
2) If a Summon or Spirit is dealt any damage, it's immediately Discarded.
If an Entrant is dealt damage, reduce its Life by that much.
3) If an Entrant is dealt 20 Damage, they lose!
4) After you finish resolving a sequence, reset all Defenses of affected Gates to their natural values.
For example, if a Zone is dealt 3 Damage, and that Zone has a summon with 3 Defense - the Summon
survives, and has 3 Defense again after the Sequence is over.
However, if two effects in the same Sequence deal 3 and 1 damage each to that zone, the 4 total damage
would discard that Summon.