How to Play Balaans | The Holodex · Games of the Galaxy

Designers:
Mike Corry

Playtesters:
Adrian Berger, Cole Thornhill, Shoya Haa'runi, Kenzie, Rick Scott

RULES FOR BALAANS

GOAL

Balaans is a dueling game for two players, in which players compete for control of 5 lanes in a card array. They defeat their opponents by playing higher Power cards, or using combinations of Power and Destiny cards to drain their opponent's chip stock.

CARDS

The game uses a deck of 60 cards split into two players decks, the Red and Black deck. Each player deck has 30 cards: 15 Power cards and 15 Destiny cards.

Power Cards - Each player has 15 Power cards which come in the values of 1-5. There are 3 Power cards of each value.

Destiny Cards - Each player has 15 Destiny cards with differing effects. Each player deck features:

x2 Deflect Cards

- Forest Maze

- Crystal Fortress

x2 Steal Cards

- The Lost Star

- The Starkiller

x2 Truce Cards

- Solar Accord

- Lunar Pact

x3 Buff Cards

- The Star of Hope

- Strength of Heart

- Wings of Courage

x3 Block Cards

- Determined Shield

- Warded Rampart

- Sealed Portal

x3 Destroy Cards

- The Black Star

- The End of Days

- The Dark Fate

The effects of these cards are described below.

SETUP

Player Decks - Each player has a deck of 30 cards. The deck is shuffled prior to beginning play.

Player's Chip Stock - Each player starts the game with 10 coins of equal value. This represents the player's wager. Before play begins, players must agree the stakes and the value of their chips.

Card Array - In a game of Balaans, players lay out up to 5 cards in a line from left to right. Opponents lay out their cards in the same line opposite. Every card laid out opens a 'lane', and your opponent contests control of that lane with their cards.

GAMEPLAY

WIN CONDITIONS

There are two ways to win a game of Balaans:

1 - Victory by Attrition — Deplete your opponent's Chip Stock. Once all 10 chips are gone, they must concede.

2 - Victory by Position — Control or hold 3 out of 5 lanes with the highest power card.

The first represents forcing an enemy to flee the battlefield, the second represents dominating the battlefield and capturing their force.

EXAMPLE

The black player has a VICTORY BY POSITION — this is shown by the green lanes. The cards in the blue lane are tied, and in the red lane, Red has the highest card.

A Victory by Position is achieved at the end of the opposing player's turn. If they can not reverse the win conditions during their turn, they lose.

THE ROUND

2. THE DRAFT

Each player draws 5 cards from their Player Deck.

1. CHOOSE STARTING PLAYER

To select a starting player, each player draws and puts down a single power card and reveals them simultaneously. The player with the highest power card is the first player.

Once a the first player has been chosen, discard those power cards, reshuffle the deck and draw a new card to replace the played power cards.

In subsequent games, the winner of the last bout goes first.

PLAYER TURN

1. DRAW A CARD

The Player draws a single card from their Player Deck.

2. PLAY CARDS

The player may then:

A) Play a Power Card on an Empty lane (or a Reset Position)

Reset Positions are described below.
B) Play a Power Card on top of a previous card

The card must be of equal value or one point higher or lower than the card it is played on.

C) Play a Destiny Card on top of a previous card.

Destiny cards may not be played on an Empty lane.

D) Play a Destiny Card Combo.

Combinations are covered below.

NOTE: When a player plays a Destiny Card on their turn, their opponent is allowed to take a React Action with their own Destiny Card or a Destiny Card Combo. If you only play a Power Card, your opponent MAY NOT take a React Action. React Actions are covered in more detail below.

3. Evaluate Victory Conditions

If your opponent has taken all 10 of your chips (Victory by Attrition) OR they hold 3 or more of the 5 lanes in the Array with a higher value power card (Victory by Position), you lose the game.

Victory by Position can only be achieved when both players have cards in all 5 lanes.

PLAYING POWER CARDS

Power cards must be played in a row of five positions opposite your opponent. Cards positioned opposite another are said to occupy a lane. These cards typically play against each other, and are scored against each other in a Victory of Position.

It is not required to mirror an opponent every time they occupy a position in an empty lane, but it is likely that this will happen eventually. Only when both players have cards in position in all five lanes can a Victory by Position be calculated.

PLAYING DESTINY CARDS

To use Destiny Cards, they must be played on an untapped Power Cards. Once a Power Card is tapped, the Destiny Card is activated and takes its effect.

1. PLACING & ACTIVATING DESTINY CARDS

Destiny cards (can only be played on top of Power Cards. The value of the Power Card beneath determines the Destiny Card's strength.

The Power Card beneath your Destiny Card may either:

A) Be immediately tapped to activate that Destiny Card. Rotate the Power Card 180° to indicate it is tapped. The card may not be used to power another Destiny Card.

B) Left untapped to activate a card on a later turn. Leave the card in its current position. If another card is played on top of the Destiny Card, the Power Card is still available to be tapped.

When a Destiny Card is activated by tapping a Power Card, it activates as a Card of equivalent strength. For example, a Destroy Card actvated with a Power (4) Card becomes a Destroy (4) Card.

Note: The value of the top Power Card in a lane still counts toward a Victory of Position regardless of whether it is tapped.

EXAMPLES

This DEFLECT card is played on top of a Power (3) Card. The card has not been activated.

This DESTROY card is played on top of a Power (3) Card. The card has been activated, and is rotated 180 to show it is TAPPED. The DESTROY Card takes effect with a strength of 3.

2. ACTIVATED DESTINY CARDS

Activated Destiny Cards take effect as follows:

DESTROY CARD — When a Destroy Card is activated, it targets the opposing player's Stock Chips. A Destroy Card with a Power (3) Card (Destroy 3) drains 3 of your opponent's Stock Chips. Using these cards to drain 10 of your opponents stock chips is one route to Victory by Attrition.

Destroy Cards may be played to a position and activated on a later turn.

BLOCK CARD — When a Block Card is activated, it blocks the power of a Destroy Card. A Block Card with a Power (3) Card (Block 3) would lower the strength of a Destroy (4) to Destroy (1). The targeted player loses 1 Stock Chip.

Block Cards may be played to a position and activated on a later turn.

BUFF CARD — When a Buff Card is activated, it transfers the power of the card beneath them to another card activated this turn. For instance, if a Player activates a Block (2) Card and a Buff (3) Card, the Block Card activates as a Block (5) Card.

Buff cards may remain inactive on the turn they are played. It is usual to play them in one turn and activate them later to power other Destiny Cards.

STEAL CARD — When a Steal Card is activated it drains the power of your opponent's card in the same lane. For instance, if Player A plays a Steal (3) Card opposite Player B's Power (5) Card, it is reduced to a Power (2) Card for the purposes of activating their destiny cards.

Steal cards can be played as a Passive or Active energy drain. If played as a Passive drain, they steal energy without tapping their own Power Card. If you play a Steal card as an Active Drain, it taps your power card and your opponents' card. The Steal card then becomes inactive. It will not effect new cards laid in the opposite lane.

If two Steal Cards of equal to or greater strength are played against each other, both of their Power Cards are drained/tapped, and both cards become inactive.

In the same way as being tapped does not change a Power Card's scoring value, their value for Victory by Position is unaffected by Steal Cards.

TRUCE CARD — When a Truce Card is activated, it prevents a Destroy or Steal Card from being played in the opposing position by your opponent. When played in this manner, the Truce Card is passive. It does not tap power to activate, but gains the strength of the Power card when opposed to a Deflect Card. It remains in place unless your opponents plays a Deflect Card of equal or higher power in the opposing position.

A Truce may also be played as part of a React Action. When played as part of a React Action, the Truce does tap power, and must have a strength equal to or greater than the opposing Destroy or Steal Card. Once played, both positions are tapped out.

DEFLECT CARD - When you activate a Deflect Card, you may move your opponent's card in the same lane to another lane. The power of the deflect card must be equal to a higher to the strength of an opposed Destiny Card. The number of lanes you can move your opponent's card (left or right) is 1 if their power is equal. If the strength of the Deflect Card is higher than it's opposite, you may move the opposite card by a number of extra lanes equal to the difference between them.

Deflects may also be played against Power Cards to 'fill' an empty lane. This allows them to be used to trigger a Victory by Position.

POSITIONS

if a Destiny Card is played on top of a previously played Destiny Card, it covers and supercedes the previous Destiny Card. If the Card is unactivated, the new Destiny Card is powered by the untapped card.

RESETTING POSITIONS

Playing a Destiny Card also resets the lane position. This means that any card may now be played on top without having to be of equal value or one higher or lower. All subsequent power cards have to follow the new power value.

REACT ACTION

When a Destiny Card is played, their opponent has the option of playing a REACT ACTION. A React Action can only consist of a single Destiny Card or a Destiny Card Combo.

DESTINY CARD COMBINATIONS

Destiny Card Combinations are special, pre-defined sets of three Destiny Cards which can be played all at once or 'in combination'. These combinations have unique effects and cannot be blocked. Combinations may be played as a React Action or on a Player's Turn.

There are four special combination hands in Balaans. They are composed of specific cards with individual identities. If you examine each card of each Destiny Type, you will see that these cards have a unique symbol, artwork or legend. For this reason, any Destroy, Block, Buff, Steal, Truce or Deflect Card is not as good as another. It must be the correct card of that type.

The majority of these card combos are mutually exclusive, meaning that the cards needed for several of these hands overlap — so you must choose which combos to use carefully. In some decks, colour coded marks are used to visually link the cards in one combination.

Once a combination is used, the cards are discarded and cannot be used for the rest of the game.

CARD COMBINATIONS

Strength of Heart, Determined Shield, The Lost Star

This hand is played against a single position. All of your opponent's power cards in that lane and two adjacent lanes are de-powered. Rotate them 180° to show they are tapped. Cards for this combo are marked with purple in the top right corner.

Determined Shield, Crystal Fortress, The Dark Star

This hand is played against a single position. The player may then re-arrange their opponent's top cards in the opposite position and 2 adjacent positions, in whatever order they choose. Cards in this combo are marked with red in the top right corner.

The Dark Star, The Star of Hope, The Lost Star

This hand is played against a single position. The player uses the opponent's opposite position power cards and his 2 adjacent positions as their own value for the purpose of a Victory By Position wind condition.

Crystal Fortress, Star of Hope, Solar Accord

This hand is played against a single position. The player may then re-arrange the positions of up to 3 of their own top cards on their own positions in any way they choose. Adjacency does not matter when re-arranging lanes. Cards in this combo are marked with yellow in the top right corner.

SUMMARY

The game of Balaans was introduced in Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Season 3, Episode 4: 'A DIfferent Approach'. In the episode, the character Omega observes patrons of a cantina on Lau playing the game of Balaans. She quickly learns the game, and begins hustling other players for credits. She plays a climactic game against a corrupt Imperial Officer with deep pockets, implied to the be the proceeds of bribes extorted from the cantina and other locals.

The Star Wars Databank describes Balaans as a game with 'a deck stacked with special cards that can deflect or buff, steal or call a truce, destroy or block', in which 'collecting three eastern stars is a sure path to victory.'

The episode trivia gallery states that a complete ruleset was designed for the game, and tested by the production team. A full game was animated for the episode, but cut down to preserve pacing. While this suggests that there is a full, canonical game in existence, it is impossible to know if these rules will ever come to light.

The trivia gallery states that a balaans deck 'consists of five red and five blue number cards, as well as face cards consisting of two 'destroy', two 'deflect', two 'bluff', two 'steal' and four 'block' cards; the game includes the near-unbeatable hand called Three Eastern Stars'.

The official episode guide on Star Wars.com includes the concept art for several cards with a few notes.

Additional card art released on X.com/Twitter showed additional card art from that in the episode guide.

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DESIGN NOTES

While the information released here is the sum of 'official' information we have about the game, there are some doubts about whether it is completely accurate, or 'canonical' since it is not stated on screen. There are also inconsistencies between some of the written information, the artwork and what is seen onscreen.

To begin with, the cards we see are red and black, not blue. It seems unlikely that there is only one of each number card used in the game. The trivia gallery states there are four block cards: in the concept art, we can see that cards marked with 'TRUCE' have also been labelled as block cards.

One of the key questions is whether a '30 card deck' is for a single player, or for both players. If a player's deck was as small as 15 cards, half of a 30 card deck, with 8 face cards (a destroy, truce, deflect, steal, buff and three blocks (the truce constitues a fourth), they would only have 7 'number' cards left. If 30 cards is for the whole deck, this severely limits the cards available to each player, and amount of cards available for strategic play.

Not only this, but in the episode itself, we can see that both players have a larger number of cards stacked on their side of the table. This suggests that 30 cards is better interpreted as the size of single player's deck. A complete game deck would therefor be 60 cards.

In designing our own version of Balaans, the Games of the Galaxy team treats the behind the scenes information loosely and broadly for maximum freedom in design and game options. 30 cards is taken to be the size of a single player deck, allowing for 15 'number' or 'power' cards. We have opted for a clean division of 15 number cards and 15 face cards, which we are calling Power & Destiny cards. This means adding 3 face cards to the player deck, otherwise there would be three spare 'Power' cards.

LICENSE INFORMATION

Fan-authored rules presented here are published under Creative Commons License CC-BY-NC-ND. No claim is made over names or concepts that cross over with the intellectual property rights of Disney and Lucasfilm.

Star Wars is owned by Disney and Lucasfilm, but we'd ask that you honour the work of fellow fans by observing the terms of the CC BY-NC-ND license. If you share these rules, please do so in the original formats provided and with full credit to the authors. Don't use them for commercial purposes without their knowledge or permission. Please don't rewrite, remix or derive your own rules from these works without prior consent. May the Force be with you!

RULES FOR BALAANS

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