Sentinels of the Multiverse

2011

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a captivating, cooperative card game. Take on the role of heroic characters to combat villains and safeguard the planet. Unleash your comic book fantasy today!

60
minutes

2 - 5
player(s)

Medium

About the game

Sentinels of the Multiverse is an innovative, cooperative card game that immerses you in a comic book world teeming with superheroes, villains, and environments that spring to life with each card you draw. It’s an ideal choice for anyone who loves comics or superhero thrillers, with a vibrant setting that spans across different dimensions in the multiverse.

The game’s core mechanics revolve around team-based strategy, as each player takes on the role of a unique superhero. Each superhero has their own deck, containing a variety of abilities and equipment unique to them. The objective is to work together to defeat a villain, who operates via an automated deck, and survive the dangerous conditions of the environment, which is also dictated by another deck.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative card game where players take on the roles of superheroes to defeat a villain. The game components play a crucial role in gameplay, and each one has a specific purpose and function.

1. Hero Decks:

Deck Contents: Each Hero Deck contains 40 cards, including one character card and a mix of ongoing, one-shot, and equipment cards.
Function: The Hero Decks represent the abilities and equipment of the heroes. Players use these cards to damage the villain, protect themselves and others, or produce other effects that can aid in their mission.
Interaction with Gameplay: During their turn, players can play one card from their Hero Deck, use one power from a card in play, and then draw a card.

2. Villain Decks:

Deck Contents: Each Villain Deck contains 25 cards, including one character card and a mix of ongoing, one-shot, and minion cards.
Function: The Villain Decks represent the villain’s powers, minions, and strategies. The villain uses these cards to try and defeat the heroes.
Interaction with Gameplay: During the villain’s turn, the top card of their deck is played. This card could be a one-shot effect, an ongoing effect, or a minion that aids the villain.

3. Environment Decks:

Deck Contents: Each Environment Deck contains 15 cards, which can be a mix of ongoing, one-shot, and target cards.
Function: The Environment Deck represents the location where the battle is taking place. These cards can either help or hinder the heroes, the villain, or both.
Interaction with Gameplay: During the Environment turn, the top card of the Environment Deck is played. This card could affect all characters in play, or specifically target heroes or villains.

4. Tokens:

Token Types: The game includes a variety of tokens to represent hit points, status effects, and other game elements.
Function: Tokens are used to keep track of various game states, such as a character’s remaining hit points or certain ongoing effects.
Interaction with Gameplay: Tokens are added, removed, or moved around based on the effects of the cards played.

5. HP Tracker:

Tracker Elements: The game comes with an HP Tracker for each hero and villain.
Function: These trackers are used to keep track of each character’s remaining hit points.
Interaction with Gameplay: As characters take damage or heal, their HP on the tracker is adjusted accordingly.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative game where players take on the roles of superheroes to defeat a villain in a dynamic environment. Here’s a step-by-step guide to set it up:

Step 1: Choose a superhero

Each player chooses a hero character card. These cards represent the individual superheroes and come with a unique deck of abilities and equipment cards. The hero card also shows the hero’s starting health points.

Step 2: Choose a villain

Next, players collectively choose a villain character card. This card will represent the villain that the heroes will be battling against. Similar to the hero cards, the villain card comes with a unique deck of cards and also shows the villain’s starting health points.

Step 3: Choose an environment

Choose an environment card. The environment card represents the setting in which the battle will take place. It also has a unique deck of cards that will affect both the heroes and the villain.

Step 4: Set up the game board

Place the hero character cards, the villain character card, and the environment card on the table. Each player’s hero deck, the villain deck, and the environment deck should be shuffled and placed next to their respective cards. The game board is now set.

Step 5: Determine the initial resources

Each player draws the top four cards from their hero deck to form their starting hand. The villain’s deck is also drawn from, as described in the villain character card’s setup instructions.

Step 6: Random elements

The game includes several random elements. These mainly occur when drawing cards from the hero, villain, and environment decks. Additionally, the villain character card may include a random setup element, which should be followed during the setup.

By following these steps, you’ll be ready to take on the villain and save the Multiverse!

Game flow Round and round we go

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative card game where players take on the roles of superheroes in order to tackle a villain. The game progresses in rounds, each consisting of three main phases: the Villain Phase, the Hero Phase, and the Environment Phase.

The Villain Phase

At the beginning of each round, the game starts with the Villain Phase. The following actions are taken:

Villain Card Draw: The villain’s deck is shuffled and the top card is drawn and played immediately, based on the instructions on the card. This could bring new minions into play, inflict damage on heroes, or create new challenges for the heroes to overcome.
Villain Actions: In addition to the effects of the card drawn, the villain character card itself often has actions that occur at the start or end of the villain turn, such as dealing damage to the heroes, healing, or bringing in additional villain cards.

The Hero Phase

After the Villain Phase, each player in turn order takes their Hero Phase. The following actions are taken:

Play a Card: Each hero starts their turn by choosing a card from their hand and playing it. This could be an ongoing card that provides a permanent boost, a one-time effect card, or an equipment card that can be used in future turns.
Use a Power: After playing a card, the hero then uses a power. This could be a power on their character card, or a power provided by one of their in-play cards. Powers can do things like deal damage, heal, draw more cards, or manipulate the game in other ways.
Draw a Card: Finally, the hero ends their turn by drawing a card from their deck, adding it to their hand.

The Environment Phase

After all heroes have taken their turns, the Environment Phase begins. The following actions are taken:

Environment Card Draw: An environment card is drawn from the environment deck and played immediately. Environment cards can have a wide variety of effects, ranging from damaging all characters (heroes and villains alike) to providing cover that reduces damage. Some environment cards even bring in targets that can be attacked.

Once these three phases have been completed, the round ends and a new round begins with the Villain Phase. The game continues in this way until either the villain is defeated (in which case the heroes win), or all the heroes are incapacitated (in which case the villain wins).

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In the cooperative card game ‘Sentinels of the Multiverse’, players take on the role of a team of superheroes, each with their unique abilities, battling against a common villain. During a player’s turn, they follow a structured sequence of play, which involves several strategic choices. This sequence is broken down into three steps: Start of Turn, Play Phase, and End of Turn.

Start of Turn

At the start of a player’s turn, they resolve any card effects that trigger “at the start of your turn”. These effects can be from the player’s hero cards, environment cards, or villain cards. The order in which these effects resolve can be chosen by the player, providing a strategic decision point.

Play Phase

During the Play Phase, the player may play one card from their hand. The types of cards a player might play include:

Ongoing Cards: These are cards that have an effect that continues to be active after the card is played. Deciding when and where to use these cards can have a significant impact on the game.
Equipment Cards: These cards represent the tools that the hero uses in battle. Choosing which equipment to use can change the tide of the game.
One-Shot Cards: These cards have an immediate effect and are then discarded. Timing is crucial when playing these cards, as they can only be used once.

End of Turn

At the end of the player’s turn, they resolve any card effects that trigger “at the end of your turn”. They also draw a card, adding to their hand for future turns. The effects that trigger at the end of the turn can often set up a player’s next turn, creating a layer of strategy in planning for future rounds.

Finally, after a player completes their turn, the next player in clockwise order takes their turn. Gameplay continues in this way until the villain is defeated, or the heroes are all incapacitated.

Through careful management of their hand, strategic use of their card effects, and wise decision-making, players can work together to overcome the villain and save the multiverse.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative card game where players take on the roles of superheroes in a comic book universe. They work together to defeat a villain and their henchmen, while also dealing with various events occurring in the environment around them. The game ends when either the players have defeated the villain, or when all the heroes have been incapacitated.

Victory Conditions:

Villain Defeat: The primary goal of the players is to defeat the villain. Each villain has a unique health total and defeat condition. In general, the villain is defeated when their health is reduced to zero. However, some villains may have special conditions, which can include flipping the villain card to a new side or completing a particular task.
Hero Survival: The game can also end in victory if all the heroes survive until a certain condition is met. This is typically a condition set by the specific scenario or villain being faced. For instance, a villain might be defeated after a certain number of rounds, or when a specific environment card is drawn.

At the end of the game, there is no final scoring in the traditional sense. The goal is purely survival and defeating the villain. Once the villain is defeated, the game ends immediately and the players have won. However, if all the heroes are incapacitated, the game ends immediately and the villain has won.

Before the game ends, players should ensure they have met all conditions for their specific villain and scenario. This could include checking the villain’s health, the status of environment cards, or the status of hero cards. It’s also important to check if any end-game effects from cards are triggered when the game ends.

In summary, ‘Sentinels of the Multiverse’ is a game of survival and strategy. Players must work together to defeat the villain and survive any challenges the environment throws at them.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a unique cooperative card game where players take on the roles of comic book-style heroes and work together to defeat a villain. Unlike many traditional board games, Sentinels of the Multiverse does not use a point-based scoring system. Instead, success in the game is determined based on whether the players are able to defeat the villain and save the Multiverse.

To win the game, the players must reduce the villain character card’s hit points to zero. Each villain has a different number of hit points, and they can regain hit points throughout the course of the game based on the effects of the villain and environment cards.

Each player’s hit points are also tracked throughout the game. If a player’s hit points reach zero, that player’s hero is incapacitated. However, the player is not out of the game – they can still contribute on their turns by using one of their incapacitated hero’s abilities.

If all of the heroes are incapacitated, the players lose the game. Therefore, the game is more about survival than accumulating points.

In case of a situation where players want to compare scores, they can do so by comparing the amount of remaining hit points at the end of the game. The player with the most remaining hit points could be considered the ‘winner’ in a competitive sense, although Sentinels of the Multiverse is designed to be a cooperative game.

For tie-breaking, there are no official rules provided in the game. However, players can come up with their own tie-breaker, such as the player who dealt the final blow to the villain, or the player who took the most damage without being incapacitated.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

Sentinels of the Multiverse is a cooperative card game where players become superheroes to defeat a villain. While the game largely follows standard mechanics, there are a few special rules, exceptions, and clarifications that can be important:

1. Damage Types:

In this game, damage can come in various types such as Melee, Projectile, Infernal, Cold, Fire and more. Certain cards may reduce or increase specific types of damage. It’s important to note that if the type of damage is not specified, it is considered as “irreducible” and cannot be reduced.

2. Turn Order:

Each turn in Sentinels of the Multiverse has three phases: Start, Play, and End. It’s important to remember that all effects in the Start phase happen before any in the Play phase, and all Play phase effects happen before any in the End phase. Within each phase, the active player determines the order that effects resolve.

3. Player Incapacitation:

When a hero’s HP reaches 0, they are not out of the game, but become incapacitated. They flip their character card to the incapacitated side and can perform one of the actions listed there during their turn. These actions are usually less powerful than their normal abilities, but can still aid the team.

4. Environment Cards:

Environment cards are played at the end of each turn and can have a variety of effects, both positive and negative. Some environment cards remain in play and have continual effects, while others are one-time effects that are then discarded.

5. Ongoing Cards:

Ongoing cards remain in play after they are played until they are destroyed or discarded by another card’s effect. Some ongoing cards have effects that activate during certain phases of the turn, while others have effects that are always active.

6. Rule of Simultaneity:

If two effects would occur simultaneously, the player whose turn it is decides the order in which they happen. This can be important in cases where the order of effects could change the outcome.

7. Limited Cards:

Some cards have the keyword Limited in their text. A player cannot have more than one copy of a Limited card in play at a time.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

In the cooperative card game ‘Sentinels of the Multiverse’, players join forces as superheroes to combat various villains in several environments. Here are some advanced strategies, beginner tips, common mistakes to avoid, and ways to optimize gameplay.

Advanced Strategies:

Plan ahead: Try to predict the villain’s next move based on their deck. This will help you prepare your heroes for the upcoming challenges.
Balance your team: Ensure your team has a good mix of defensive, offensive, and support characters. Each hero has unique abilities that can complement each other.
Use environment to your advantage: Different environments have different effects on the gameplay. Try to manipulate the environment to hinder the villain and benefit your heroes.

Beginner Tips:

Understand your hero: Spend time understanding your hero’s abilities and how they can be used effectively in the game.
Cooperate with your team: ‘Sentinels of the Multiverse’ is a cooperative game. Communicate with your team and coordinate your moves to maximize your effectiveness.
Start with simpler villains: As a beginner, it’s advisable to start with less complex villains to get a hang of the game mechanics.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring the villain’s ongoing cards: A common mistake is not to deal with the villain’s ongoing cards. These cards can significantly change the game dynamics, so it’s crucial to handle them early.
Not utilizing your hero’s abilities: Each hero has unique abilities that can turn the tide of the battle. Not using them effectively is a common mistake that can cost you the game.
Not keeping track of your health: Health management is an essential part of the game. Avoid getting too low on health, or you might not survive the villain’s next attack.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Balance your deck: Make sure your deck has a good balance of attack, defense, and utility cards. This will ensure you’re prepared for any situation.
Play to your hero’s strengths: Each hero has unique strengths. Play to these strengths to maximize your hero’s effectiveness in the game.
Coordinate with your team: Coordinate your moves with your team to execute powerful combos and take down the villain faster.