Fall Dawn – Basic Rules & Gameplay Overview | Card-Only Dungeon Crawler

About Fall Dawn, from BoardGameGeek:

Fall Dawn is a competitive dungeon crawler card game driven by exploration, character building, and strategic bluffing. Players take on the role of Erranti, wanderers fleeing a cataclysm advancing from the East known as "The Dawn"-a phenomenon that erases reality itself. Your goal is to reach the safety of the last fortress cities, but entry is only granted to those who pay in Alaxite, the green crystals harvested from monsters that serve as the source of magic in this world. GAMEPLAY OVERVIEW 1. Starting Gear and Strategy At the beginning of the game, you buy your equipment. This choice defines your initial combat style: you can focus on high damage, a defensive build, a balanced approach, or a character specialized in ranged attacks. Once equipped, you begin your journey toward a kingdom in the West. Only one player will survive by securing enough Alaxite, the green crystals extracted from monsters which are the source of magic. 2. The Turn Loop Each turn follows a specific sequence: The Setup: Three Path cards are placed at the cardinal points: North, South, and West. The Camp always remains to the East. The Event: An Event card is drawn from one of three chapters: The Escape, The Journey, and The Dawn. These cards modify game dynamics, affecting combat or Camp activities, providing immersion into the lore of Narwar. Phase 1: The Promise: Starting with the first player, everyone moves their Errante card to a path they intend to explore. This is the negotiation phase where you can agree to form alliances to defeat the most threatening monsters. Phase 2: The Choice: Every player secretly selects one of their four cardinal direction cards. This represents your actual destination. All cards are revealed simultaneously, showing who kept their promise and who betrayed. In summary, the game revolves around the alternation of these two phases. You must read the other players' eyes, understand their intentions, and decide who can be trusted and who cannot. Unpredictability is always present. The moment of maximum tension occurs just before the simultaneous reveal of the actual choices, where surprises and betrayals are guaranteed. 3. Combat and Rewards Winning a clash grants rewards based on a grid on each Path card. There are four types of loot: Alaxite, Gold coins, Valuable resources, and Rare resources. The grid shows that the larger the party, the smaller the individual reward. This means that at the beginning of the game, you will be more motivated to form alliances. However, toward the end, once you are equipped with more powerful weapons, you will try to face threats alone, pushing other Erranti away with the help of Spell and Condition cards. After exploration, rewards are assigned. Players who went to the Camp (East) earn 2 Gold coins and can buy or sell resources. 4. The Player's Hand, Spells, and Conditions The resources you draw make up your hand. These can be Equipment cards, which are used to either complete or replace your current gear on the table. However, they can also be Spells and Conditions, which remain secret in your hand. This hidden information provides an additional element of surprise, as other players do not know what tools you have at your disposal. Spells allow you to boost your stats, force other players to keep a promise, or even change the positioning of the Erranti. You can hold up to six cards in your hand, allowing for a high number of strategic combinations. 5. Facing the Dawn The game consists of 15 turns. The final turns belong to "The Dawn" chapter: the difficulty increases as the cataclysm reaches you, putting your Errante's abilities to the test. Even if you have become powerful through magical equipment and high stats, the final turns will challenge you to the limit. Victory Condition: The winner is the player who has obtained the most Alaxite. The game relies on calculating the intentions of others and manipulating their choices to your advantage. In the event of a tie, the player with the most Gold wins. If a tie still persists, the winner is determined by calculating the total combined value of all Equipment and Resource cards.