Overview

Lost Worlds is a “combat picture book game” where two players each choose a fantasy character and engage in head-to-head combat. Each player holds the opponent’s book, showing how the opponent appears from their perspective. Players simultaneously select actions, cross-reference results, and turn to the corresponding page to see the outcome. The game uses no board — the books themselves are the game.

Components

Each character book contains:

• Character pages with illustrations showing the character from various angles and in various combat stances
• A character sheet with combat matrices (removed from the book and used by the player controlling that character)
• Body points tracker
• Action selection list

At minimum, 2 character books are needed to play.

Setup

1. Each player selects a character book.
2. Remove your character sheet from your book and keep it in front of you.
3. Hand your book to your opponent (they will display your character’s appearance).
4. Set body points to the starting value listed on the character sheet.

Turn Structure

Each combat round:

1. Action Selection: Both players secretly choose an action from their character sheet (by number). Actions include attacks, defenses, and special moves.
2. Reveal: Both players simultaneously announce their action number.
3. Cross-Reference: Each player uses their character sheet matrix to cross-reference their action against their opponent’s action. This produces a page number.
4. Turn to Page: Each player turns to the indicated page in the book they hold (the opponent’s book). The illustration shows the result of the combat exchange.
5. Apply Damage: Follow the instructions on the page — damage may be dealt to one or both characters. Reduce body points accordingly.

Actions

Actions vary by character but typically include:

• High Attack (swing at head/upper body)
• Mid Attack (swing at torso)
• Low Attack (swing at legs)
• High Block / Parry (defend upper body)
• Mid Block (defend torso)
• Low Block (defend lower body)
• Jump Back (avoid attack entirely)
• Wild Swing (powerful but risky)
• Special Moves (character-specific abilities)

Scoring / Victory Conditions

A character is defeated when their body points reach zero. The surviving character wins.

Some characters have more body points or stronger attacks, so matchups vary in balance.

Special Rules & Edge Cases

• Different characters have different action sets: A warrior’s options differ from a wizard’s.
• Asymmetric combat: Characters have different strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities.
• Page results are deterministic: The same action matchup always produces the same result.
• Adventure Sets: Expansion books add dungeon-crawl scenarios with multiple encounters.
• Multi-player variants: Team combat possible with multiple books.
• No dice, no luck: All outcomes are determined by player choices (pure strategy in action selection, though both choices are simultaneous).

Player Reference

Combat Round:

1. Both players secretly choose an action number
2. Simultaneously reveal choices
3. Cross-reference on character sheet for page number
4. Turn to that page in opponent’s book
5. Apply damage result

Win Condition: Reduce opponent’s body points to zero