Overview
In Aniversus, you are tasked with leading a team of animals, choosing between Squirrels or Cats, with the ultimate goal of being the first to successfully shoot twice. To achieve this, you must strategically manage your team, starting with the placement of productivity players to generate the necessary resources. These resources enable you to deploy forward players onto the field. Each animal team has unique skills reflective of their animal nature.
The game unfolds over various turns. As you face off against an opposing animal team, your goal is to amass 10 power points, which grants you the opportunity to shoot, i.e. roll the dice in alignment with your team's assigned numbers. There are three ways to win this game:
- The animal team who scores 2 goals first wins the game. (2:1 / 2:0); Or
- If a coach runs out of cards, the team with the most goals wins. (1:0); Or
- If there is a tie (0:0 / 1:1), the coach who runs out of cards first immediately loses, the opponent wins.
Game Setup and Preparation
Each team has 60 league cards including Player Cards, Training Cards, and Function Cards.
The coach going first draws 7 cards from their own deck. The second coach draws 8 cards.
Coaches take turns during each round. At the start of each round (except the first round), coaches draw 2 cards before their action phase begins.
What To Do On Your Turn
1. Action Step
During each turn, a maximum of 3 card-playing actions can be performed, including:
- Play a Player Card (You may choose to play a Player Card in either Forward or Productivity Row.)
- Play cards on Forward Row (Upper)
- Cost is required to place a player. When you place a player card in the forward row, make sure you have enough productivity points in the productivity row to cover the cost that round.
- Attack Power is the key on it. Your goal is to reach 10 Attack Power.
- Productivity Points are not valid in the forward row.
- Play cards on the Productivity Row:
- No need to consider the cost value on the card.
- The added productivity points will be effective immediately.
- Productivity points serve as the Cost for placing a player in the forward row or using a function card.
- Attack Powers are not valid in the productivity row.
For example, If you have 3 cards in your Productivity row, with 1, 2, and 2 productivity points respectively, you have a total of 5 productivity points to use this round. You can place two Player Cards with costs of 2 and 3 (or less), respectively, onto the Forward row.
- Play a Function Card
- Can be played directly to have an immediate effect on the game. Some skills are played for Next Round.
- If you play a Function Card during your turn, it will count as an action, however, you can also play certain Function Cards (see Card Types section) in response to moves made by your opponent, these do not count as actions.
- Pay attention to the cost required to play.
- Play a Training Card
- Training Cards are restricted to 1 per player (on the field).
- Can be played on top of a Player Card in the Forward or Productivity row.
- Cost is counted, regardless of whether it is placed in the Forward or Productivity row.
- Remove a player from the field
- A Player can be moved from the field to the discard pile during your turn. This counts as an action but incurs NO cost.
Apart from 3 actions, you may also perform the following (which do not count as an action) in each turn:
- Perform your animal skills, Requirements stated on the cards, Shoot
Attack triggered by opponent during your turn
- If you use a function card during your turn, the opponent can immediately play a relevant counter card without paying any cost or counting the move as an action. You can play another function card (if you have one) in response to your opponent. Again, there is no cost for this and the move does not count as an action. Play continues in this manner until no more relevant cards can be played.
2. Shooting Step
If you finish all actions, and your team Attack Power reaches 10, you can deduct 2 points from your remaining team Productivity to get a shooting opportunity this round. Then, you can Shoot. Shooting can only be performed once per round. Your opponent can play relevant function cards to force your players off the field, preventing you from reaching 10 Attack Power. You can play counter cards in response. If you are allowed to shoot, roll the League Dice. The numbers you need to score are shown on your Skill Card.
Successful Shooting: If you roll the required number on the League Dice, your team scores 1 goal. Afterwards, your opponent may discard any 2 cards from your field into your discard pile. If the selected player has training cards, they must be discarded starting from the one on top (i.e. training card to be discarded first). No counter card can be played. Your turn ends.
Unsuccessful Shooting: Your turn ends immediately, and you receive an additional goal number for your next successful shot, starting with the smallest number that is not on your skill card. This additional number will be removed after you score a goal successfully.
3. Discard Step
Each coach has a card limit of 5 cards. Once your Action and Shooting phases are completed, you must discard any excess cards from your hand until there are only 5 remaining. This is the end of your turn, and the opposing coach can begin their turn.
Animal Skills
Team Cat (Goal Numbers: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11):
- For every cat player placed on the field that round, cat can draw 1 additional card.
- If cat has 4 or more forward players on the field, the goal numbers will also include 12.
- Cat can choose 1 round in the game to gain either extra 3 power or 3 productivity points.
Team Squirrel (Goal Numbers: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12):
- In each round, squirrel can spend 2 productivity points to view the top 4 cards in the opponent’s draw deck and rearrange their order.
- In each round, squirrel can draw 1 extra card after playing 1 Function Cards.
- Squirrel can choose 1 round in the game to search 2 cards from the draw deck.
Types of Cards
Player Cards: These represent the members of your league team.
Training Cards: These offer special boosts to individual players within your team.
Function Cards: These have a variety of uses within the game, and can either benefit you, or create obstacles for your opponent.
Quick Turn Guide
- Draw step - Coach draws 2 cards
- Action step - Coach performs up to 3 actions from those described above. If they play a Function Card, an opponent may use one of their own Function Cards to counter the move. Coaches continue playing and countering until both are finished and a resolution has been reached.
- Shooting Step - If the accumulative Attack Power of all Players in coach's Forward Player row add up to 10 (or more), they can attempt shooting by rolling the League Dice. If they do not have 10 or more Attack Power, they should skip this step and move straight to the Discard step.
- Discard Step - At the end of a turn, coach must discard excess cards from their hand until there are only 5 remaining.
End Of The Game
There are three ways to win this game:
- The animal team who scores 2 goals first wins the game. (2:1 / 2:0); Or
- If a coach runs out of cards, the team with the most goals wins. (1:0); Or
- If there is a tie (0:0 / 1:1), the coach who runs out of cards first immediately loses, the opponent wins.