Two players, a deck each and a coin. A deck holds three kinds of cards: creatures to play with, energy to pay for attacks, and support — one-off cards that help.

No more than four copies of the same card. Energy is the exception: put in as much as you need, usually about a third of the deck.

Each player draws seven cards. You need at least one basic card — the one marked “basic” in the corner. If you have none, show your hand, shuffle and draw again.

Put one creature face up in front of you — that is your defender. Up to three more go beside it, on the bench: they wait their turn and can come in as a replacement.

One energy card per turn, no more. It goes under any of your creatures and stays there.

The symbols to the left of an attack name show how much energy it costs. Two symbols mean the attack only comes online next turn — and that is what sets the pace of the whole game.

Under the name of a stage 1 card it says who it grows from. Put it straight on top of that card — the creature gets stronger but stays the same creature.

That is why the energy and the damage stay too: they belong to the creature, not to the stage. A wounded puppy grows up just as wounded, only with a bigger health pool.

Two rules people argue about most: you cannot evolve on the first turn of the game, nor on the turn a creature came into play. And you cannot skip stages — only in order.

One attack per turn, and it ends your turn. Track damage with counters or on paper: once it reaches the HP, the creature is knocked out.

Three labels sit at the bottom of the card. Weakness — damage from that type is doubled. Resistance — damage from that type is reduced by the given number. Retreat — how much energy you must discard to move the creature to the bench.

Before the game each player sets aside six cards face down — the prize cards. Knock out an opponent’s creature and take one into your hand. Take all six and you win.

You also win if your opponent has nothing left to put down: no creatures in play, or no cards left in the deck.

The rules deliberately echo the collectible games you have already played: the cards are printed in the same size, so the deck can be mixed with any other.