Overview

Cutthroat Caverns is a semi-cooperative card game where players form a party of adventurers fighting through a series of 9 encounters. The party must work together to survive each monster, but only the player who lands the killing blow earns the Prestige Points. The player with the most Prestige Points after defeating the final encounter wins. “Without teamwork, you’ll never survive. Without betrayal, you’ll never win.”

Components

• Initiative cards (numbered by player count)
• Attack cards (red combat icon) including Standard, Enhanced, Tactical Maneuvers, Feints, Stand-Ins, and Riders
• Action cards (blue oval icon) played from hand, sometimes out of turn
• Item cards (jewel-shaped icon) placed beside character sheet when drawn
• Encounter cards (monsters with Life Points scaling by player count)
• Character sheets with Life Point tracker
• Monster Life Tracker with yellow beads for creature LP and encounter number
• Green beads for player Life Points (starting at 100)

Setup

1. Shuffle Initiative cards equal to the number of players (remove highest-numbered cards first) and fan them face down on the table.
2. Shuffle the remaining cards (Attack, Action, Item) and place them face down as the draw deck.
3. Each player draws 7 cards as their starting hand.
4. Shuffle the Encounter cards and deal 9 face down to form the Encounter deck.
5. Each player takes a Character Sheet and places a green bead on 100 Life Points.
6. Place the Monster Life Tracker on the table with yellow beads for creature LP and encounter number.

Turn Structure

Each encounter follows this sequence:

1. Begin a New Encounter – Reveal the top Encounter card, read it aloud, set creature LP on the Monster Life Tracker based on player count. Players may use Potions. Draw Initiative cards.
2. Combat Round – Set Attack cards, resolve Player Turns, Total Attack Damage, Creature Attacks, Draw Initiative for next round, Draw a card.
3. End of Encounter – Award Prestige Points, discard/draw cards, advance to next encounter.

Actions

Set Attack Cards: Each player places 1 Attack card face down. Cards may be changed before the first is revealed but never after. If you have no Attack cards, set an Action card as a bluff (discarded without effect).

Player Turns: In Initiative order (starting with Player 1), each player flips their Attack card and inflicts damage or follows card instructions. Successfully played Attack cards go onto the damage stack beside the Encounter card.

Total Attack Damage: Sum all Attack card damage and adjust the creature’s LP. If the creature survives, it attacks according to the Encounter card’s rules.

Card Types:

• Standard Attack: Shows damage value; some have higher Special Attacks for the pictured character only (protected from unwanted Action cards).
• Enhanced Attack: Additional abilities affecting yours or others’ attacks.
• Tactical Maneuvers: Strategic moves that do not inflict damage.
• Feint: Cannot be made to hit or inflict damage by other cards.
• Stand-In (Double Strike, Opportunity Fire): Immediately replaced with new cards when revealed.
• Riders (Focus Strength, Slip Behind): Modify subsequent Attack cards; stand by until they modify an attack.
• Action Cards: Played directly from hand, sometimes out of turn or at a specific time.
• Item Cards: Placed face up beside character sheet when drawn; do not count toward hand. Potions are “tipped to drink” (rotated 90 degrees) and cannot be stolen once tipped.

Priority: If multiple players want to play a card simultaneously, the player with the Initiative card closest to 1 takes priority.

Scoring / Victory Conditions

• The player who lands the killing blow on a creature earns the Prestige Points listed on the Encounter card, placing the card in their scoring pile.
• After the last (9th) encounter is defeated, the player with the most Prestige Points wins.
• Ties are broken by drawing a random unused Encounter card and fighting it; continue until the tie is broken.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Dead Players: If a player dies, they are out. Remove the highest Initiative card from the game. At encounter’s end, surviving players may loot the dead player’s items in Initiative order.
• Hand Size: Maximum hand size is normally 7 cards. At end of encounter, players may discard any number of cards, then draw up to maximum. If you exceed maximum at any time, immediately discard down.
• Halving/Doubling Damage: Half means rotate the card to the next lowest damage value; double means rotate to the next highest. If no higher value exists, it cannot be doubled further.
• Healing Potions: Can be used to heal other willing players, granting the healer Prestige Points.
• Potions and Alchemist Fire: One-use items removed from play after use; can be used in negotiations between players.
• Token-based Encounters: Spread tokens out; players place Attack cards on specific tokens they wish to hit. Only the last token qualifies for bonus Prestige in a Bonus Round.
• Creature Attacks: Specific attacks (based on damage comparisons) are resolved before Initiative is redrawn; random attacks use the new Initiative draw to determine the victim.

Player Reference

Phase	Action
Begin Encounter	Reveal card, set creature LP, take Potions, draw Initiative
Set Attack	Place 1 Attack card face down
Player Turns	Flip and resolve in Initiative order
Total Damage	Sum damage, adjust creature LP
Creature Attacks	Specific first, then random (after new Initiative draw)
End of Encounter	Award Prestige, discard/draw to 7, advance encounter

• 9 encounters per game
• 7 cards starting/maximum hand size
• Killing blow earns Prestige Points
• Most Prestige Points wins