Star Wars Trading Card Game

In the Star Wars TCG, unit cards are strategically positioned within three distinct arenas: Space, Ground, and Character. The primary goal of the game revolves around achieving control over two of these three arenas. Arena control is established when one side, either the Light or Dark Side, is the sole possessor of unit(s) within that arena; a side controls an arena if the other side has no cards there. To eliminate opposing cards, thereby removing them from their respective arenas and transferring them to the discard pile, cards must engage in combat. These battles unfold within the arenas: Space cards clash in the Space arena, Ground cards in the Ground arena, and so forth.

The game features seven distinct card types: Space (indicated by blue), Ground (green), Character (purple), Battle (red), Mission (yellow), Location (color varies based on the arena), and Equipment (silver). Each player draws one card during their Command Phase each turn. Running out of cards doesn't trigger any specific consequence; players simply continue playing with their existing cards until a victory or defeat is achieved.

Space, Ground, and Character cards engage in combat within their corresponding arenas (unless a special ability alters this). Deploying these units requires build points, and they begin in the deck. These three types—Space, Ground, and Character—are collectively known as unit cards, distinguishing them from other card types.

Ground units embody infantry and vehicles. In earlier sets, before the introduction of Location cards, Ground cards also served to represent locations. Characters depict individual entities, including individual droids. Space cards symbolize all starships.

A unit is considered contested when the opposing player has a unit with an identical name in play (if you have a unit with the same name it needs to be stacked, see "Stacking units" section below), or if units have different names but are treated as identical for gameplay purposes, such as Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader, Beru Lars and Beru Whitesun, Padmé Amidala and Queen Amidala, Chancellor Palpatine and Emperor Palpatine and Darth Sidious.

To contest units, players engage in Force bidding. If multiple pairs of contested units exist, the Dark Side player chooses the bidding order. The Dark Side initiates the bidding with a bid of zero or more Force, followed by the Light Side player. Bidding continues until a player concedes or exhausts their Force (bids cannot exceed total Force or be lower than the previous bid). After bidding concludes, each player sums the total build cost of their units, counting stacked units as one, and adds it to their final Force bid. The player with the highest total wins; in case of a tie, the Dark Side prevails. The winning player then pays their final Force bid and retains their contested unit in play, while the losing player retreats their unit without paying any Force.

When deploying a unique unit with the same name as a unique unit already in play on your side, the process differs slightly (if the opponent has a unit with the same name, they are contested, see "Contesting units" section above). Some units are treated as having the same name (see the "Contesting units" section above). First, with stacking units, if the new unit's build cost is less than or equal to the existing unit's build cost (for stacks, use the top card's cost), deploying the new unit costs only one build point. The new unit can be placed at the top or bottom of the stack, but only the top card's abilities are active. Each card beneath the top card grants the top card +10 speed, +1 power, and +1 health; the special abilities of cards under the top card are unusable.

However, if the new card's build cost is higher than the existing card's, the process changes. Initially, deploying the new unit still costs only one build point. Placing the new card beneath the old card is permissible and concludes the process. To place the new card on top, the player must calculate the build point difference between the old and new cards and pay that amount in build points. The new card is then placed on top of the stack.

Several rules govern unit stacking. A stack cannot contain multiple copies of the same version of a unit (e.g., Anakin (A) and Anakin (A) cannot coexist in a stack, but Anakin (D) and Anakin (B) can). Stacks are limited to four units. Only unique units can be stacked. A stack is treated as a single unit. If the stack is discarded, all cards within it are discarded. Effects targeting cards beneath the top card are ignored.

To rearrange a stack during the build phase, identify the card to be moved to the top. If its build cost is less than or equal to the current top card, it can be moved at no cost. If its build cost is higher, the player must pay the build cost difference in build points before moving it to the top. If a pilot is in the stack and the stack is piloting, rearranging the stack requires moving it to the appropriate arena or, if the card being moved to the top is a pilot, to whatever the new unit pilots.

Battle cards, distinguished by their red color, are typically played during the Battle step to trigger an effect, such as damage prevention or power augmentation. These cards usually require Force and are built in your hand in one go. Battle cards can be played at any pass-or-play opportunity, which will be explained in "playing the game".

Mission cards, identifiable by their yellow color, generally require build points. Once a Mission card accumulates build points equal to its build cost, it is flipped, its effect is executed, and it is then discarded. Mission cards are built in the Build zone.

Location cards provide continuous special effects for an arena (e.g., granting all neutral units +2 health). These cards require build points and are deployed like unit cards. Location card colors vary based on the arena (blue for Space, green for Ground, and purple for Character). Three types exist: Location – Space, Location – Ground, and Location – Character, each deployed in its respective arena. Only one Location card per arena is permitted; if a new Location card is deployed in an arena already containing one, the new card replaces the old one if its build cost is higher, sending the old card to the discard pile. If the new Location card's cost is lower, the player deploying it must first pay Force equal to the old Location card's cost. A maximum of three Location cards can be in play, one in each arena (Ground, Space, and Character). Location cards are positioned between the Dark Side's and Light Side's areas during play.

Equipment cards, recognized by their silver color, bestow bonuses upon the units they are attached to (e.g., +3 power to the equipped unit). These cards are built like unit cards, requiring Force and being constructed in the Build zone. Once an Equipment card has build points equal to its build cost, it is turned face-up but remains in the Build zone, similar to a retreated unit.

After construction, an Equipment card can be moved to an appropriate unit (each card specifies the unit type it can attach to) by paying the equip cost, which varies by card, and placing it beneath the target unit. The equipped unit then receives the stated bonuses. A unit can have any number of Equipment cards attached. When a unit with Equipment cards is discarded, the Equipment cards return to the player's Build zone and can be equipped to another unit.

Neutral cards can be used by either side (Light or Dark), depending on who owns them. If both players possess the same unique card, the cards are contested.

Every Space, Ground, and Character card (collectively known as unit cards) displays three numerical values on the left side. The top number, accompanied by a small "S," represents the card's speed. Speed determines the order in which cards attack or use special effects; in case of a tie, the Dark Side acts first. The card's power, located below speed and marked with a small "P," indicates the number of dice rolled in an attack. Below power is health (with a small "H"), representing the amount of damage the card can sustain before being discarded.

To the right of the speed, power, and health values is the area containing the card's special effects and "flavor text" (additional text, such as character quotes or general information).

Some cards, particularly Characters, feature a small letter in a circle, indicating different versions of the same unit (e.g., Yoda A, Yoda B, Yoda C). If two cards of the same unique unit are played (e.g., Darth Vader A and B), they must be stacked. The top left corner displays the unit's build cost (the build points required to deploy the unit). To the right of the build cost is the unit's name, the arena it is played in, and its unit type (e.g., Jedi Master, Bounty hunter, Trade Federation droid). The top right corner indicates the card's side (Light, Dark, or neutral).

Additional card information includes the card's number within its expansion and its rarity, indicating how difficult it is to obtain. Common (a circle) is the easiest, followed by uncommon (a diamond) and rare (a star). This information is located at the bottom right of unit cards and the bottom left of other card types. The Expansion symbol, signifying the card's expansion, is found in the colored section below the speed and above the power.

Force is a crucial element in the game, used for various purposes, primarily as a cost for abilities and bidding. Game mats include a force meter to track each player's Force. At the start of each turn, both players gain four Force. Force is lost when paid for abilities or due to card effects. A player cannot have less than 0 Force and cannot pay for an ability requiring more Force than they possess.

Each participant in the game has distinct areas where they play their cards. These areas are:

• Deck - Because cards can be moved, examined, and rearranged, the deck of each player is considered a zone. Unless a card explicitly allows it, players are not permitted to view the contents of their opponent's deck. Before the game starts, the deck must be shuffled. [6]
• Build Zone - This is the zone where units are constructed. Partially constructed cards, along with units that have retreated, are placed here. Unless they possess the 'Reserves' ability (detailed below), units situated in the build zone are unable to utilize their abilities. In general, units in the build zone are immune to attacks. Only the owner of partially built cards is permitted to view them. Retreated or completed cards are placed face-up. When a unit with Equipment attached is discarded, the Equipment is returned to the owner's build zone (face-up). [6]
• Arenas - Ground, Character, and Space cards engage in combat within the Arenas. Locations are also placed here, with each arena able to accommodate only one Location at any given time. [6]
• Discard Pile - Discarded units, Location cards, completed Missions, and Battle cards are placed in the discard pile. Either player is free to examine both discard piles at any moment. Certain cards have abilities that allow them to be returned to the player's hand when they are discarded. [6]
• Hand - Each player is only allowed to view their own hand. A player 'draws' a card from their deck and adds it to their hand. Players can construct and deploy units, Locations, Missions, and Equipment cards from their hand. Battle cards can also be used. Looking at the other player's hand is prohibited unless a card or ability specifically permits it. [6]
• Out of game - This zone is only utilized when a card instructs you to remove another card from the game. Cards in this zone are effectively removed from play, as if they were not part of the game (this is distinct from your Discard Pile, so keep them separate). [6]

Constructing a deck is a necessary step to play the game. The process is fairly simple. As long as your deck adheres to all of the following guidelines, it is considered legal. Your deck must contain a minimum of sixty cards, with at least twelve cards of each unit type. Combining Dark Side and Light Side cards in the same deck is prohibited. Furthermore, the quantity of one type of unit card cannot exceed twice the quantity of another type (for example, if you have twelve Space units, the maximum number of any other unit type you can have is twenty-four). Finally, your deck cannot contain more than four copies of the same version of any card (this rule applies to all cards, not just units).

These rules are consistently in effect throughout the game and are beneficial to understand prior to playing.

The game begins with an initial setup, and then proceeds in turns, each consisting of three phases: Ready, Command, and Battle. Turns are repeated until a player achieves victory (a draw is impossible, although temporary stalemates may occur).

The setup phase is similar to the construction phase of the Command Phase. You begin with 30 build points that cannot be saved, so it is advantageous to use as many as possible. You start building your units as you would in the Command Phase, but you are not allowed to build Mission, Equipment or Location cards. Unlike in the Command Phase, you draw one card into your hand every time you enter a card into an arena, keeping 7 cards either in your hand or in the Build Zone. At the end, you can partially build a card to use up the last few build points. This is not allowed mid-way through Setup (any card you build mid-way must be finished before you start the next), and you must show the card to your opponent before putting it down. Example: If I have used 28 points, I have 2 left. I spend them on a 7 cost card, leaving it with 5 left.

During the ready phase, each player gains +4 Force and untaps all of their tapped units. The Dark Side always performs this action first. The Light Side player then rolls a single die, and both players receive a number of build points equal to the die's result. A player who has at least one card in every arena receives an additional build point. Certain cards have abilities that can influence the die roll; these abilities are activated during this phase.

During the Command Phase, both players draw a card and have the opportunity to build unit and Mission cards. The Dark Side initiates the phase by drawing one card, collecting Bounty, and then paying Upkeep. The Light Side then repeats these steps. Following this, the build phase commences, during which players can construct units and Mission cards using build points. To do this, you can move any Mission or unit card from your hand to your build zone, when you put a card down you must put at least one build point on it. Remember to place all cards being built face down to conceal them from your opponent.

Construction is limited to cards within your build zone. To add build points to cards in this zone, simply place the points on the desired card. Once a unit has accumulated a number of build points equal to its cost, it can be moved to the appropriate arena (Character, Ground, or Space). If a Mission card has the same amount of build points on it that it costs, keep it in your build zone until the Mission card says it may be used.

The order of stacked units can now be rearranged, keeping in mind the limit of four cards per stack. This is done by expending Force equal to the difference in build cost between the card you intend to move and the card it will be placed on top of. Next, pilots are moved onto or off of Units, with each pilot permitted only one move. However, you can move as many pilots as you want. After this, cards that have retreated can be moved back into the appropriate arena, including cards retreated to utilize their Reserves. Finally, cards can be retreated into the build zone, remembering to place them face up to indicate they are not being built, and tap them.

The Battle Phase starts with an opportunity for players to play battle cards, use card abilities, and attach Equipment. First you have a play-or-pass chance, in which players are allowed to use Mission and Location cards. Following this, combat commences in the Space arena. The card with the highest speed attacks an enemy unit, rolling a number of dice corresponding to its power. If there is a tie in speeds, the Dark Side goes first. Rolls of 4, 5, and 6 are considered hits, while rolls of 1, 2, and 3 are misses (a unit with a power of 6 would roll six dice; if the results were 2, 2, 2, 2, 5, and 6, the attack value would be two). Before damage is applied, another play-or-pass opportunity occurs. Damage is then applied, and if the damage inflicted equals or exceeds the enemy's health, the card is discarded. Some Units have abilities which require them to tap, they may use these instead of attacking. The card with the next highest speed then attacks, until all cards in the space arena have been tapped. The battle then moves onto the Ground arena, where the same formula is followed, then onto the Character. After all Character units have attacked, the turn concludes. If a player controls two arenas at the end of this phase, they win the game. Otherwise, a new turn begins with the Ready Phase.

Victory is achieved when a player controls at least two arenas at the end of a turn. Control is defined as having cards in play in two arenas where the opponent does not (retreated units are not considered "in play"). An arena is considered contested (uncontrolled) if both players have cards in play, or if no cards are in play in that arena.

• Accuracy X - Adds X to each dice roll. This makes it easier to hit the defending unit. Accuracy 1 means a unit is hit on a 3, 4, 5 or 6 as each die has 1 added (3 becomes 4, which is a hit). [6]
• Armor - The unit can only be hit on a 5 or higher (rather than on a 4, 5 or 6). Accuracy 1 and Armor cancel each other out, as a 4 rolled becomes a 5 due to accuracy, which is a hit due to armor. [6]
• Bombard X - A Space unit can attack a unit in the Ground arena instead of the Space arena with X dice plus affects (other abilities). [6]
• Bounty: [Bonus] - When the unit with Bounty causes a unit to be discarded, you gain the Bounty bonus when your next build step starts. You gain the bounty even if the unit with the bounty ability is discarded before your next build step. [6]
• Critical Hit X - If at least one natural six is rolled (before modifications from abilities like Accuracy), inflict X additional damage. This represents a 1/6 chance per die to deal extra damage. [6]
• Deflect X - Prevents up to X damage to your unit and redirects that damage to a unit of your choosing in the same arena. The unit receiving the deflected damage can also Evade or Deflect that damage. [6]
• Enhance - Enhance represents an optional additional cost. Paying this cost amplifies the effect of the card. [6]
• Evade X - Prevents up to X damage. [6]
• Hidden Cost X - If the unit has at least X build counters on it, you can pay the remaining cost with Force and deploy it at any time. This is often best used after most units in the arena have attacked but before the end battle in that arena. In the case of ties, the Dark Side has priority in using Hidden Cost. [6]
• Intercept - If a unit is attacking another unit in the same arena as the unit with Intercept, that unit must now attack the unit with intercept. [6]
• Ion Cannon X - A Ground unit can attack a unit in the Space arena instead of the Ground arena with X dice plus affects (other abilities). Similar to Bombard. [6]
• Lucky X - When the unit attacks or is attacked, you may re-roll up to X dice in each dice roll once. Natural dice effects are played on the final result. [6]
• Overkill - Any hits exceeding the remaining health of the defending unit can be allocated to another unit in the same arena. Armor, Shields, and other abilities do not apply to spillover damage, although the damage can be Evaded or Deflected. [6]
• Overload - Overload grants a unit additional power for a single turn but also inflicts damage to the unit. This is performed before the attack and applies only to that specific attack. [7]
• Pilot - Represented by a symbol, the type of unit it can pilot, and a list of abilities granted to the piloted unit. The type of unit it can pilot is the subtype on the unit card. You can only move a pilot once during your build step. [6]
• Reserves - Enables the use of certain abilities within the build zone (abilities are otherwise restricted in the build zone). [6]
• Retaliate X - Inflicts X dice of damage to the attacking unit. This occurs after the card attacking the card with Retaliate has attacked and whether the unit with retaliate gets discarded during the attack or not. Retaliate can only be used when attacked by units in the same arena. [6]
• Shields X - When a unit with Shields is attacked, the attacking unit's power is reduced by X for that attack. [6]
• Stun X - When a unit with stun damages another unit the damaged unit gets -X power until the end of that turn. [6]
• Upkeep: [Cost] - Some units require Upkeep, a cost that must be paid to keep them in play. This cost, often a choice, is paid during the Build Phase. [6]

• Attack of the Clones (Released in April 2002) [2]
• Sith Rising (Released in July 2002) [8]
• A New Hope (Released in October 2002) [9]
• Battle of Yavin (Released in March 2003) [10]
• Jedi Guardians (Released in July 2003) [11]
• The Empire Strikes Back (Released in November 2003) [12]
• Rogues and Scoundrels (Released in April 2004) [13]
• The Phantom Menace (Released in July 2004) [14]
• Return of the Jedi (Released in October 2004) [15]
• Revenge of the Sith (Released in May 2005) [16]

The "Parry" ability was originally designed for the Rise of the Empire expansion by Wizards of the Coast, which was never released. It was later incorporated into the game in the IDC's inaugural expansion, Fall of the Republic. It automatically prevents X damage when a natural 1 is rolled.

The fan-based message board site Rebelbasers.com received its first (and only) mention in the credits of the RotS Rulebook.

• "Wizards of the Coast - Leading Developer of Trading Card Games - Secures Rights to Star Wars Universe" on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• " The Force Will Be With You " — Star Wars Gamer 9
• "June 2004 DCI Banned and Restricted List Announcement—Star Wars TCG" on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)

• Star Wars Trading Card Game on Wikipedia
• "Star Wars Trading Card Game" on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Star Wars TCG on ccgtrader.co.uk (archived from the original on January 20, 2021)
• Star Wars Trading Card Game: Independent Development Committee on SWTCG IDC (archived from the original on February 2, 2022)