Geckmen

The Vampire was designed as the ultimate control character. I wanted them to feel manipulative and commanding, able to bleed your opponents of their reasources while you stay one step ahead. The Vampire thrives on reading the table and applying pressure at just the right moments.

Vampire (Character Card) - Blood Number 6

Blood Ability: Name a card type (Spell, Relic, or Event). Every opponent may discard a card of that type. For each player who didn't (or couldn't) discard, you draw 1 card.

While Revealed: You may alter the blood dial positively or negatively.

The Vampire's Blood Ability creates a fantastic mind game. Do your opponents give up valuable cards to deny you draws, or do they hold onto them and let you build card advantage? And once you're revealed, you become the table's timekeeper, manipulating the Blood Dial to trigger (or delay) everyone's abilities.

Late game, the Vampire becomes a true puppetmaster, able to control the blood dial with far more precision than other characters, and being the dead center (being number 6 out of 12), allows for aggressive gameplans that rely on your blood ability.

That's this bloodthirsty spotlight. Thanks for slopping by!

Relics in Blood Rush are the primary way to score points and are the pieces players fight for control over. Relics in addition to points offer a varitey of passive, reactive or Action based utility.

The relic I wanted showcase today is the Blood Vial, one of the core relics since the creation of the game.

Blood Vial

Value 1 (One point at the end of the game)

Action: Blood 1 (Increases the central D12 by 1)

Action: Blood 2 - 5, then destroy this relic.

Exposed: The exposer of this relic may gain control of it. (When a player other than it's controller turns this card face up)

When designing Blood Rush, I always tried to keep in mind a core design princlple, that being, "You can never get ahead without helping someone else, and you can never hinder someone else without hindering yourself." While I've definitly broke this principle a lot, it helped me keep in the mind the amount of set up cards that should be needed in order to be game changing or game winning.

The Blood Vial was one of the first designs I think helped shape a lot of the game around it and how for example you have to throw it away in order to maximize its power. You sacrifice 1 winning point in order to maybe use your character's Blood Ability or use to prevent an opponent from being able to use their ability on their turn.

Game Introduction

Welcome to Blood Rush, a fast-paced strategic card game where your path to victory depends on the deals you cut, the choices you make, and your ability to adapt to an ever changing environment. Outwit your opponents, and rush towards victory!

In Blood Rush, players assume the role of different characters, each with a unique set of abilities and supporting strategies. The game is played in turns where players draw cards, play cards, and activate abilities. The central mechanic of the game is the Blood Dial, which influences the use of each character's powerful abilities. The game ends after the Final Feeding phase, and the player with the highest accumulated Value wins!

Card Types

Spells: Instant effects that provide advantages or disruptions. Once resolved, they go to the graveyard. 

Relics: Cards that remain in play and are controlled by a player. Relics are played face down if your character card is hidden and face up if revealed. They have a range of Values and may provide additional actions, rules, or conditions. All Relics that are hidden have a value of 0 and cannot have their abilities activated. 

Events: Cards that massively change how the game is played, often altering a core rule or introducing new one. Only one event can be in play at a time. If an event already is in play when another is played, replace the current one and put it into the graveyard

Characters: A unique hidden card given to each player at the beginning of the game. These cards all have a “Blood ability”, which can be used when the Blood Dial’s number equals the number on the card.

How to Play a Turn

Turn Start: Draw a card.

Take up to 2 Actions from the following. At any point before Turn End, you may, if the central blood dial equals your character card’s number, reveal your character card and use your blood ability. 

(No duplicate actions, unless otherwise stated)

Draw: Draw a card

Reveal: Turn a hidden (Face down) relic you control face up.

Expose: Turn a hidden (Face down) an opponent controls face up, [Trap effects], then Draw 1

Play a Card: Play a card from hand. (Remember relics enter hidden or revealed based on your character card.)

Activate: Activate an action ability on a relic or character card.

Blood: Discard any number of cards to increase the Blood Dial by the number of cards discarded.

Turn End: Increase the Blood Dial by 1

Blood Dial

A D12 die (1-12) that is central to gameplay. 

The Blood Dial increases or decreases based on actions and card effects.

If the Blood Dial would go beyond 12, it resets to 1.

How the Game Ends

Once all character cards in play are revealed (Face up) the game enters Final Feeding. All other players except the current players' turn, get one final turn. If at any point not all character cards are revealed (Face up) the game continues as normal until the Final Feeding conditions are met again. 

If Final Feeding concludes, the game ends and the player with the most Value wins. Certain game expansions include alternative ways of gaining points. In the instance of a tie. Here are a number of ways of determining the winner of the night.

Highest Value Relic

Number of alternative point sources