Game Objective

In Rattlesnake, you take on the role of two outlaws engaged in a classic shootout. Your goal is to play strong card combinations to execute gunshots and strike your opponent. The game ends as soon as one player has no Hit cards remaining; that player's opponent immediately wins the showdown.

Preparation (Setup)

Follow these steps to set up your game:

Player Areas

• Each player takes one deck of player action cards (purple or orange), shuffles them, and places them face down. Leave space for a face-up discard pile next to the deck.
• Each player takes 4 Hit cards matching their deck color and places them in front of them.

The Saloon

1. Place the High Noon event card face down where the saloon deck will be.
2. Shuffle the saloon action cards and deal 5 face up to the saloon.
3. Divide the remaining saloon action cards into 2 face-down piles of 4 cards each (return the 2 leftover action cards to the box).
4. Shuffle 2 event cards face down into each of those two piles (return the 1 leftover event card to the box).
5. Stack the 2 piles on top of each other, with High Noon at the bottom, to create the full saloon deck.

Choosing the First Player

Both players reveal the top card of their deck. The player with the higher number takes the pistol. In case of a tie, continue revealing cards until a winner is decided. All revealed cards are then discarded.

Game Flow

The game is played in turns, starting with the player who holds the pistol. Each turn follows these steps:

1. Draw Phase: Both players draw from their player deck up to a hand size of 5 cards. (Note: If an event like Locked & Loaded is active, this hand size may increase).
2. Action Phase: The active player may perform either, both, or neither of the following actions in any order:
   • Buy 1 action card from the saloon.
   • Attack their opponent.
3. End of Turn: After performing chosen actions, the active player passes the pistol to the other player to start a new turn.

Note: If you need to draw or play from an empty player deck, shuffle your discard pile to create a new deck.

Actions and How to Play

Buying a Card

To buy an action card from the saloon, discard any 2 cards (either action cards or Hit cards) from your hand. Put the bought card in your hand and refill the empty saloon slot with the top card from the saloon deck.

• Event Cards: If an event card is added to the saloon, its text immediately takes effect and modifies the rules for the rest of the game. Event cards cannot be bought and are never replaced.

Attacking and Defending

When you choose to attack, you become the attacker and your opponent becomes the defender. Resolve the attack as follows:

1. The attacker plays at least 1 card face down and declares the number of cards played.
2. The defender plays any number of cards face down (they may choose to play no cards).
3. Both players reveal their cards and push forward their strongest combo. If card abilities change values, push forward the new strongest combo.
4. Declare a winner based on Winning combos criteria. If the attacker wins, the defender takes 1 Hit from in front of them and places it in their discard pile. If the defender wins, they have dodged and no Hits are taken.
5. Discard all played cards to their owner's discard pile.

Combos and Card Abilities

Valid Combos: Only your strongest combo counts. Hit cards cannot be used in a combo but can be used as a bluff.

• Single card: One card.
• Run: An ascending string of numbers of length two or more (e.g., 2, 3, 4).
• Set: Two or more of the same number (e.g., 2, 2, 2).

Winning Combos (Tie-breakers):

1. Number of cards: Most cards in the combo wins.
2. Type of combo: A set beats a run.
3. Highest card: The highest single card value within the combo wins.
4. If still tied, the defender wins.

Card Abilities: These can be used at any time. Once used, place the card in the graveyard. Examples include:

• Reload: Discard hand, draw 3.
• Scout: Draw 2, return 1 to the top of the deck.
• Dodge 'n' Shoot: Discard all cards in attack/defense; both players play the top card of their decks; highest value wins.
• Distract: +/- 1 to any card in play.
• Take Cover: Cancel another action card's ability.
• Double Tap: If you successfully attacked, inflict an additional hit.
• Quick Draw: Draw 1 and attack again, OR discard hand and draw 6.
• Switch Up: Swap this card for any card in the graveyard, OR draw 2.
• Focus: Change the value of one attack or defense card to any value from 1 to 5.
• Disarm: Randomly discard 1 card from the opponent's attack/defense.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends immediately when one player has no Hit cards remaining in front of them. The opponent of that player is the winner.

Tips for Winning

• Use Bluffs: You can play Hit cards during an attack or defense to bluff your opponent, as they cannot be part of a combo but can mislead the defender about your strength.
• Manipulate Values: Use cards like Distract or Focus to change the values of cards in play, potentially turning a losing combo into a winning one by breaking the opponent's set or run.