What is BattleCON?

BattleCON is a new dueling card game being developed by Level 99 Games. Since this is a new company, they've relied on getting the word out to generate pre-orders to help finance the first run ...and they've been rather successful. As of this writing, they've generated orders well beyond their goals and the first print should be released shortly. To help further promote their new game, and to give players a chance to play online, this official Vassal demo was created using 4 of the 12 characters that will be included in the final product. You must have the Vassal engine v3.1.15 or higher to play BattleCON.

BattleCON Rules

This document is not intended to teach you the rules of the game. Rather it's instructions that will show you how to apply the rules within the Vassal online format. You can get a full version of the rules by viewing the print-and-play version here. Once you've read the rules, the following will describe how to apply those rules in this mod.

Module Icons    

Here's a description of the icons used in the Vassal demo.

- Standard Vassal controls for Undo, Step Forward, and Server Connect.

- Opens/closes the main game table.

- Opens/closes the Green and Red player hands. Only the button that belongs to you will be selectable.

- In the rules, it states that you may view the other player's hand to become familiar with their weapons. This is problematic in Vassal so this button will allow you to review all the character card sets as well as the base card set.

Choosing a Character

The first thing the players will see when the game starts is a character selection mat with a "Start Game" button at the bottom. Either player may click this button. The game will randomly select between the green or red player and display an icon for that player in the upper left corner. A selection button will appear under each of the characters. The player indicated by the colored icon will select a character by clicking the corresponding character button. The other player may then select a one of the remaining characters.

Once the players have selected their character, the main game table and their player hand will automatically open. The rules indicate that each player may then decide to discard 2 styles and 2 bases from their hand. This has been changed and these discards have now been pre-determined and will be displayed on the game table in the Discard 1 and Discard 2 areas.

Game Play

Each player may now drag a Style card and a Base card from their player hand to the Attack area on their side of the game table. Note that the cards in your hand have a symbol in the middle. This is a masking symbol that indicates that although your cards are face up to you, they are still face down to your opponent. Cards that are face up without this symbol can be seen by both players.

Once you've placed your cards on the game table, click the lock symbol next to your Attack area to lock in your play. Cards will not be revealed until both players have locked in their play. This is to prevent accidentally revealing the cards prematurely.

When both players are locked in, either player may click the  button to flip the cards and the results of the duel are played out. The controls are used to keep track of each player's life points.

Clashes

In the event of a clash, either player may click the  button. This will send the Base cards used in the attack to the Clash Temp area of the game table. Each player will then play a new base card, lock it in, and the Reveal button is clicked again.

If clashes continue until all the base cards in the player's hands have been used, a  button will appear next to each player's Clash Temp area. Each player would click their Retrieve button to return the base cards back to their hand and play continues.

Recycling

Once the results of a beat are concluded, each player clicks their button. This will send the Discard 2 cards back to their hand, shift the cards from Discard 1 to Discard 2, and shift the cards from the Attack area to Discard 1. Players may now begin a new beat.

Tokens

Unless a token is to be placed in a specific location, players may place tokens somewhere near the Attack area to show they are "in play". They will float above the cards and can be moved freely.

Credits & Contacts

BattleCON Developer - D. Brad Talton Jr.
Official BattleCON Demo Vassal Mod Developer - Rich "Dr Nostromo" Johnston
BattleCON Illustrations by D. Hirajeta, Z. Crescent, K. Lin, F. Fontes, P. Butler
©2011 Level 99 Games LLC, all rights reserved.

This demo may be freely distributed provided there are no modifications and all files from the original package are included.

For more information and contact links on the game itself, visit Level 99 Games.

For issues concerning the Vassal Demo, contact Dr Nostromo.

Thanx for playing!