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Thankyou! Peter (Universal Head)
v1
Feb 2020

Game: GOD OF WAR: THE CARD GAME

Publisher: CMON (2018)

Page 1: Rules summary front

Page 2: Rules summary back
Page 3: Play reference

Print on card (ensure you are printing at 100% scale) laminate and trim to size.

These sheets are intended only for the personal use of existing owners of the game for additional reference. Universal
Head makes no claim whatsoever to the rights of the publisher and copyright holder, and does not benefit financially
from these player aids. Artwork from the original game is copyrighted by the publisher and used without permission.
This PDF may not be re-posted online, sold or used in any way except for personal use.

If you need exceptional quality graphic design Peter ‘Universal Head’ Gifford
for your next project, visit universalhead.com The Esoteric Order of Gamers
 SETUP 1. HERO ACTIVATION Enemies protected by armor do not take any
damage until it is destroyed. A hero must perform a
Each player chooses a hero and takes its dashboard, The hero may in any order:
single attack with a strength equal to or greater than the
starting cards, and hero standee. If you choose Freya, MOVE armor value (do not roll the enemy die). When the armor
also take both Freya tokens. Return unused dashboards, is destroyed, place a common token in the enemy as
A hero can move to any column with at least 1 free
starting cards, and standees to the box. a reminder that subsequent attacks affect it normally.
space. Heroes may only move once per turn, either
Shuffle your starting cards and place the deck facedown before, after, or in between playing action cards.
USE RAGE ABILITY
next to your dashboard.
Each column has 2 spaces for heroes: 1 in the front Each attack a hero performs (or cards featuring )
Place a rage tracker on the 0 slot on your dashboard’s position next to the scene card and 1 behind the increases that hero’s rage by 1 (whether the attack
rage ability track. position. When moving to a different column with an caused damage or not). Rage is tracked on your
ally (any hero other than yourself), you may choose to dashboard using a rage tracker .
Shuffle the quest cards, draw 3, and place them faceup
occupy the front or back position. If a column has only
in an inverse pyramid. When the tracker reaches the last rage slot, your rage
1 hero on it, that hero is in the front position. You may
Lay out the pack of scene cards that matches the ability becomes ready to use. At any point during your
choose to swap positions with another hero in the same
bottommost quest card’s number: create the top row, turn, you may use a ready rage ability to perform its
column instead of moving to another position.
faceup left to right as indicated by the position of the effect and return your tracker to the 0 slot.
on the card sequence, then lay out the bottom row PLAY ACTION CARDS
INTERACT
in the same way. indicates the front side of the card You may play as many action cards and sets as you wish
A hero on the matching column’s space can discard the
and indicates the back side. (and/or are able). After resolving each action, discard
listed requirements to trigger the effect of an interaction
the played cards and/or sets into your action pile.
Shuffle the final boss cards, draw 3, and lay them out spot on a scene card. Interacting with scenes does not
Players may openly discuss that cards they have and
above the top layer of the pyramid. Return all remaining increase a hero’s rage.
plan their actions together.
quest and final boss cards to the box.
Shuffle the upgrade cards and form a facedown deck
There are 5 types of action cards: melee (red), 2. SCENE ACTIVATION
ranged (yellow), defense (blue), special (purple), Reveal the top card from the upgrade deck and place
near the scene cards.
and number (black). it faceup near the scene. Check the rune on the card
Place faceup decks of the stun, poison and shatter and activate each scene card with a matching rune. If
Some cards have a combination of types; some are wild
crystal cards near the scene cards. multiple cards have a matching rune, resolve activation
and show different options of actions. Whenever you
Create pools of damage, stun, death, hand limit, and play a wild card you must announce which option you from left to right, starting with the top row, then the
common tokens within reach of all players. are choosing to use. bottom row.

Place the enemy die near the play areas. A melee, ranged, or defense action must be Whenever a rune is activated, look for enemy stats and
accompanied by 1 or more numbers on their own card activation boxes with colors that match the rune’s. When
The player who most recently played any God of War a scene card with an enemy is activated, that enemy
or in a combination of cards (action sets). The action’s
game takes the first player token and places their attacks. Runes within boxes do not activate enemy
strength is the combined value of the played numbers.
standee facing any scene card in the bottom row. The attacks (unless stated otherwise).
other players then follow in clockwise order placing their Melee and ranged cards are played during the hero
If there is more than 1 hero in the targeted column, only
standees. There can be at most 2 standees lined up activation step, while defense cards are played during
the hero in the front position takes the attack.
facing each scene card. the scene activation step. Special cards can be played
at any time during any turn. Heroes may play a defense card or action sets to defend
PHASES OF PLAY themselves. The enemy causes damage equal to the
ATTACK difference between the enemy’s attack strength and the
The game is played over a series of rounds, each of To attack an enemy, a hero must occupy a space on hero’s combined defense strength. Track damage by
which consists of 4 phases: the same column as the target. Melee attacks can placing damage tokens on the hero’s dashboard. Some
only attack enemies on the bottom row, and ranged attacks may trigger effects listed on the scene cards; if
1. PREPARATION attacks can target enemies on the top or bottom row. a hero defends all incoming damage, these effects are
After playing an attack, roll the enemy die: the not triggered.
Each player draws cards from their deck up to their
hand limit (which starts at 7). difference between the attack’s strength and the result When a hero accumulates damage equal to or greater
is the damage dealt to the enemy. Track damage by than their health, they are knocked down. Place their
If you have no cards in your deck, shuffle your discards placing damage tokens on top of the enemy. standee on their dashboard. The hero is out for the
to form a new deck and continue drawing. remainder of this scene. Knocked down heroes don’t
Damage is cumulative. When an enemy accumulates
damage equal to or greater than its health , it is occupy any spaces in the scene and no longer get a hero
2. ACTIVATION activation. A scene activation step still takes place for
defeated. If the scene card with the enemy shows ,
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each trigger its flip condition. Otherwise, place a death token knocked down heroes.
player performs this phase, which consists of 2 steps: on the enemy as a reminder that it no longer activates. If all heroes are knocked down, the game ends in defeat.
 3. EXTRA SCENE ACTIVATION FLIP CONDITIONS COMPLETING QUESTS
Players reveal the top card of the upgrade deck and Flip a card when its flip condition is met. Any damage When an active quest’s winning conditions are met,
activate scene cards with a matching rune. tokens on the card are placed back on it after it has discard all scene cards in play, remove all damage
been flipped. Any other tokens are returned to the pool. from heroes (including knocked down heroes, who can
4. UPGRADE Determines the group of cards to be flipped.
participate in the next quest normally), and remove all
stun, poison, and shatter crystal cards from the heroes’
All players discard any cards left in their hands. The line represents the scene cards and
decks. Return all rage trackers to 0.
their positions in the scene’s lineup. White
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each (front side) and red (back side) diamonds After the first quest is complete, players must decide
player (including knocked down heroes) must choose 1 indicate which cards must be flipped, and together the next quest from among the 2 above it in
revealed upgrade card and place it on top of their deck. empty diamonds indicate the cards that remain the pyramid. Take the matching scene and perform its
Players may freely discuss who gets what; if there is a in place. setup, and check any special rules and winning and
dispute, the first player decides. losing conditions.
Flips after the enemy on this card is defeated.
Players may remove a card from their discard pile (and Then flip the unchosen quest card to its back and check
from the game) instead of getting a new one. Status Flips after the enemy on this card performs its hindrance effect. This will only be in effect during
cards (stun and poison) and shatter crystals can also be its attack. the second quest, though any permanent effects will
removed from a player’s discard pile in this manner; if affect the rest of the game.
Flips when all the enemy’s armor has been
so, return them to their respective decks.
broken. Once the second quest is complete, players must
Place any unselected upgrade card facedown on the choose any 1 of the 3 available final bosses. Flip the 2
bottom of the upgrade deck. Flips when an upgrade card with a matching
rune is revealed during the scene activation step. remaining final bosses and apply both of their hindrance
Once taken by a player, the runes on upgrade cards no effects.
longer have any effect. SCENE ELEMENTS Players win the game if they defeat the final boss.
Pass the first player token to the next player clockwise. Instruction boxes contain special rules that affect the
SOLO PLAYER MODE
scene; some have an icon connecting it to an enemy.
STUN AND POISON When playing solo, your hero will always be Kratos: use
After flipping a scene card, its back side may show
An attack does not have to deal damage in order to stun reward boxes. The hero that triggered the flip condition his dashboard on its solo player side, and his standee
the target. When enemies attack, poison and stun aren’t immediately reads and follows the instructions. only. Atreus and Mimir play as your companions: use the
applied unless the attack deals damage. solo player sides of their dashboards.
Some scenes feature cards marked with to track
Stun and poison cards are only removed from a player’s enemy health. Use these cards to hold the damage Mimir and Atreus have 2 unique abilities, each with 2
deck at the end of the quest or during the upgrade phase. tokens for those enemies. options. Each ability can only be used once per quest
(except when refreshed by Kratos’ rage ability), and their
Place a stun token on the enemy as a reminder. Areas used to hold and track tokens. use is tracked by placing common tokens on the
When a stunned enemy activates, it removes corresponding slots.
the stun token instead of performing its
activation. SHATTER CRYSTAL
If an enemy attack with deals any damage Shatter crystals are resources that can be used in
to a hero, the hero must take a stun card and combat and to achieve quest objectives. Whenever you
place it on top of their deck. In future turns, acquire a , take a shatter crystal card and place it on
whenever a stun card is drawn, it must be top of your deck. They are only removed from your deck
discarded immediately. at the end of a quest or during the upgrade phase.
If an enemy attack with deals any damage
to a hero, the hero must take a poison card HAND LIMIT
and place it on top of their deck. In future Players start the game with a hand limit of 7 cards. A
turns, whenever a stun card is drawn, it must change in the hand limit is tracked by the double-sided
be discarded immediately, the hero takes 1 hand limit tokens:
damage, and draws a new card.
indicates an increase of 1 to the hand limit.

indicates an decrease of 1 to the hand limit.

 An enemy with damage equal to or greater than its Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each
health is defeated. Flip the enemy scene card player (including knocked down heroes) must choose 1
if it shows or place a death token on the enemy. revealed upgrade card and place it on top of their deck.
If an enemy has armor , a hero must perform a Players may instead remove a card from their discard
single attack with a strength equal to or greater than the pile and from the game (status cards and shatter
1. PREPARATION armor value (do not roll the enemy die). lace a common crystals return to their decks).
All players draw cards up to their hand limit (starts at 7). token on the enemy when the armor is destroyed.
Pass the first player token to the next player clockwise.
USE RAGE ABILITY
2. ACTIVATION ICONS
Each attack a hero performs (or cards) increases
Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each that hero’s rage by 1 (whether the attack caused damage
Indicates the enemy’s melee attack targeted
player performs these 2 steps: or not). When the tracker reaches the end, you may use
column(s).
a rage ability and return your tracker to 0.
1. HERO ACTIVATION Indicates which scene cards are flipped.
INTERACT
MOVE
A hero on the matching column’s space can discard the
Move to any column with a free space. Heroes may only listed requirements to trigger the effect of an interaction Flips after the enemy on this card is defeated.
move once per turn. Each column has 2 spaces: 1 in spot on a scene card.
the front next to the scene card and 1 behind. You may
swap positions with another hero in the same column Flips after the enemy on this card performs
instead of moving.
2. SCENE ACTIVATION its attack.
Reveal an upgrade card and place it faceup near the
PLAY ACTION CARDS scene. Activate each scene card with a matching rune. Flips when all the enemy’s armor has been
When a scene card with an enemy is activated, that broken.
Play as many action cards and sets as you wish and/or
are able. There are 5 types of action cards: melee enemy attacks. Runes within boxes do not usually
activate enemy attacks. Only the hero in the front Flips when an upgrade card with a matching
(red), ranged (yellow), defense (blue), special rune is revealed during the scene activation step.
(purple), and number (black). position takes the attack.

A melee, ranged, or defense action must be accompanied Heroes may play a defense card or action sets to defend Increase the hand limit by 1.
by 1 or more numbers, either on their own card or in a themselves. The enemy causes damage equal to the
combination of cards called action sets. The action’s difference between the enemy’s attack strength and the
strength is the combined value of the played numbers. hero’s combined defense strength. If a hero defends all Decrease the hand limit by 1.
incoming damage, any effects triggered by those attacks
Melee and ranged cards are played during the hero are not triggered. Place a stun token on the enemy. When a
activation step. Defense cards are played during the stunned enemy activates, it removes the stun
scene activation step. Special cards can be played at A hero with damage equal to or greater than their health token instead of performing its activation.
any time during any turn. is knocked down. If all heroes are knocked down, the
game ends in defeat. If this enemy attack deals any damage, the hero
ATTACK must place a stun card on top of their deck.
The hero must occupy the same column as the target. 3. EXTRA SCENE ACTIVATION In Whenever a stun card is drawn, it must be
Melee attacks only target enemies on the bottom discarded immediately.
Players reveal the top card of the upgrade deck and
row, and ranged attacks target enemies on the top If this enemy attack deals any damage, the
activate scene cards with a matching rune.
or bottom row. After playing an attack, roll the enemy hero must place a poison card on top of their
die: the difference between the attack’s strength and the deck. Whenever a stun card is drawn, it must
result is the damage dealt to the enemy. 4. UPGRADE
be discarded immediately, the hero takes 1
An attack does not have to deal damage to stun. All players discard any cards left in their hands. damage, and draws a new card.