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How to Play

Challengers!

1-8 players 45-45 min 7.1 Board Game Geek Rating

Players build decks with diverse characters like wizards, aliens, and krakens, each offering unique abilities. Through seven tournament rounds, you battle opponents by maintaining flag control to earn trophies and fans. Strategic deck management and character synergies determine who advances to the final showdown for ultimate victory.

Published 2022

Challengers!

Get Ready

Setup the game with these step-by-step instructions before diving into your turn.

1
Shuffle player decks
Each player shuffles their personal deck of cards before each match
2
Determine starting player
The player with the Trophy showing the highest round number reveals their top card first and begins in flag possession
3
Position at parks
Players check their Tournament Plan to see which colored park they play in for each round
4
Prepare card piles
Separate cards into Level-B-Pile and Level-C-Pile for the Deck Phase drafting

On Your Turn

What you can do during your turn.

1
Check Tournament Plan
Look at your current round to determine if you pick from Level-B-Pile or Level-C-Pile
2
Draw cards
Draw 5 cards from your chosen pile
3
Pick cards for deck
Select up to your allowed number of cards (2 from Level-B or 1 from Level-C) to add to your deck
4
Discard unwanted cards
Place all remaining drawn cards in the discard pile
5
Draw again if needed
You may draw another set of 5 cards and pick additional cards up to your limit
6
Remove cards optionally
You may remove your Talent card and/or Newcomer cards from your deck, returning them to the game box
7
Start with flag possession
The starting player reveals their top card, which enters flag possession
8
Attack to capture flag
The attacking player reveals cards from their deck one at a time, adding their power together
9
Calculate total power
Sum the base power of revealed cards plus any active card effects and bonuses
10
Capture the flag
When your total power matches or exceeds the defender's total power, your topmost revealed card takes flag possession
11
Apply card effects
Resolve any triggered abilities (e.g., "During the attack" bonuses, "In flag possession" effects, "Flag loss" effects)
12
Move cards to bench
After losing the flag, place all your revealed cards on separate spaces of your bench
13
Fill bench spaces
Each card occupies one seat on your bench; track empty seats for certain card effects
14
Use exhaust pile
Some effects allow moving bench cards to your exhaust pile to free up bench seats
15
Collect fans
Certain cards grant fan tokens when their effects trigger (e.g., Clown grants 2 fans when getting flag possession)

Winning

How to claim victory.

1
Run out of cards
A player loses the match immediately when they have no cards left in their deck to reveal
2
Claim the Trophy
The winner of the match takes the Trophy card for that round
3
Move to next round
After a match, collect all your cards and check your Tournament Plan for your next park location
4
Play all rounds
Continue through all seven rounds of the tournament, facing different opponents
5
Calculate final score
After round 7, add up all fans depicted on collected fan tokens and on the backs of your Trophy cards
6
Qualify for final
The two players with the most total fans advance to play in the final match
7
Win the tournament
The winner of the final match wins the game

watch & Learn

Let the pros teach you with these top videos.

Jouer à Challengers!

Jouer à Challengers!

Instructional

(1093) Challengers! - unboxing (PL)

(1093) Challengers! - unboxing (PL)

Unboxing

MORE VIDEOS

FULL rules

Looking for the full details? Grab the complete rulebook as a downloadable PDF.

PDF RULEBOOK

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