DINN RULES

introduction to dinn

Dinn is a fast-paced action card game where you harness legends and myths from all of human history and literature. You must use strategy, and luck to defeat your opponent.

Each player begins the game with three Heart cards. Play takes place over a series of rounds. During each round, both players reveal one Hero and up to two Equipment or Action cards. In addition to various game-changing effects, these cards contribute to the Heroes’ Power. After all cards are resolved, the player with the weaker Hero must shatter a number of their Heart cards.

When your opponent’s last Heart card is shattered, you are victorious!

We highly recommend that you watch the below video, and read through the entirety of this rules page before you start playing.

Quick Play

This quick play section will introduce you to the core concepts of the game, but if this is the first time you’re playing Dinn, we recommend that you read through the entire rule page prior to starting your first game.

objective

Shatter all of your opponent’s hearts.

Setup

1. Each player places 3 Heart cards face-up on the playing surface.
2. Each player shuffles their 36-card deck and places it on the playing surface.
3. Each player draws eight cards from their deck to start the game. If you have no Heroes in your hand after drawing eight cards, shuffle your hand back into your deck and draw cards equal to the number of cards shuffled into your deck. Repeat until a Hero is drawn.
4. Mulligan ruling: provided a player has at least one Hero in their hand, once per game during the game setup, they may shuffle their hand back into their deck and draw eight new cards.
5. After you have shuffled your deck, placed your hearts, and drawn eight cards you may now proceed to play the game by following the round structure.

Round Structure

A game of Dinn is played through a series of rounds. Some games can last a single round, and some games last many rounds. Additionally, each round is broken up into phases. These phases are outlined below.

1. Start of Round Phase
   1. Start of Round abilities trigger.
   2. Draw two cards from your deck. (Skip on the first round)
   3. If you have no Heroes in your hand, shuffle your hand back into your deck and draw cards equal to the number of cards shuffled into your deck. Repeat until a Hero is drawn.
2. First Reveal Phase
   1. “Start of First Reveal” abilities trigger.
   2. Both players play a Hero from their hand face down.
   3. Both players reveal their chosen Hero simultaneously.
   4. Hero abilities activate.
      1. Please note: Although Heroes are revealed simultaneously, the ability of the Hero with the highest power activates first. If both Heroes have equal power, then the tie is broken by the Hero with the most hearts, then most attributes, then a coin flip.
   5. “End of First Reveal” abilities trigger.
   6. If any player does not have any hearts in play, they lose the game.
      1. Please note: This may result in a tie.
3. Second Reveal Phase
   1. “Start of Second Reveal” abilities trigger.
   2. Both players may play an Action or Equipment card face down, or they may pass.
      1. Please note: Attributes limit what action and equipment cards you can play with your Hero.
      2. Please Note: If a player chooses to pass, the opponent may take back a face down Action or Equipment card and play a different one, or choose to pass as well.
   3. Both players reveal their chosen facedown card simultaneously (if any).
   4. Action or Equipment card abilities activate. The card owned by the more powerful Hero activates first.
      1. Please Note: The power bonus printed on an equipment card may change activation order before abilities resolve.
   5. “End of Second Reveal” abilities trigger.
   6. If any player does not have any hearts in play, they lose the game.
      1. Please note: This may result in a tie.
4. Third Reveal Phase
   1. “Start of Third Reveal” abilities trigger.
   2. Both players may play an Action or Equipment card face down, or they may pass.
      1. Please note: Attributes limit what action and equipment cards you can play with your Hero.
      2. Please Note: If a player chooses to pass, the opponent may take back a face down Action or Equipment card and play a different one, or choose to pass as well.
   3. Both players reveal their chosen facedown card simultaneously (if any).
   4. Action or Equipment card abilities activate. The card owned by the more powerful Hero activates first.
      1. Please Note: The power bonus printed on an equipment card may change activation order before abilities resolve.
   5. “End of Third Reveal” abilities trigger.
   6. If any player does not have any hearts in play, they lose the game.
      1. Please note: This may result in a tie.
5. Round Resolution
   1. Calculate the total power of both sides, respecting all equipment bonuses in play, and all effects that modified any card.
   2. The player with the lower total power shatters hearts equal to the heart value of the Hero they played.
   3. If any player does not have any hearts in play, they lose the game.
      1. Please note: This may result in a tie.
6. Cleanup
   1. “End of round” abilities activate.
   2. Both players discard all in-play cards, sending them to the graveyard.
   3. Start the next round.

card types

Heart cards

Used to track a player’s life, Heart cards are shattered and moved to the graveyard when a player’s Hero is defeated. When all of a player’s Heart cards are shattered, that player loses the game.

When you play a triple-heart Hero, you’re risking losing the game if you lose the round. If you play a single-heart Hero, you only risk shattering a single heart if you lose the round. Play your Heroes thoughtfully with this in mind.

Hero cards

Base Power

This value indicates how strong the Hero is. It may be modified by subsequent Equipment and Action cards, and that total will determine the winner of the round.

Hearts

Each Hero has from one to three Hearts. This indicates how many of the player’s Heart cards will be shattered if this Hero is defeated.

Attributes

The game of Dinn has six primary Attributes. Each primary Attribute has three sub-Attributes. The Hero’s Attributes determine which Equipment and Action cards can be played with it. Having more Attributes makes it easier to play other cards.

Card Ability

Each card has a specific ability. Some take place immediately when they are revealed. Others influence the Power calculation at the end of the round.

Puzzle Clues

The text and codes here are instrumental in solving the card’s puzzle in order to unlock more cards and advance Dinn’s story.

Art

Aside from the pleasing aesthetics, each card’s art may also contain clues to unlocking it’s unique puzzle.

Equipment cards

Power modifier

This value is added to your Hero’s Base Power to determine the stronger Hero at the end of the round.

Attributes

An Equipment card’s Attributes must all be present on the active Hero in order for the card to be played; therefore, cards with more Attributes are harder to play.

Card Ability

Unless otherwise stated or implied on the card itself, all abilities activate immediately upon reveal. 

Action cards

Attributes

An Equipment card’s Attributes must all be present on the active Hero in order for the card to be played; therefore, cards with more Attributes are harder to play.

Card Ability

Unless otherwise stated or implied on the card itself, all abilities activate immediately upon reveal.

Deck construction

Deck construction is a large component of Dinn. You may customize your deck as much as you’d like with the following constraints.

1. You may not have more than one copy of any card in your deck.
2. Your deck must contain exactly 36 cards.
3. You must have 12 Hero cards in your deck.
   1. You must have three (3) triple-heart heroes;
   2. You must have four (4) double-heart heroes; and
   3. You must have five (5) single-heart heroes.
4. Your deck must contain 12 equipment cards. 
5. Your deck must contain 12 action cards. 

setup

1. Each player places 3 Heart cards face-up on a playing surface.
2. Each player shuffles their 36-card deck. Your opponent may also choose to shuffle your deck.
3. Each player draws a hand of 8 random cards from the top of their deck at the beginning of the game. If you do not draw a Hero, please read this ruling.

gameplay details

draw 2 cards

Each round, other than the first, begins with each player drawing two random cards from the top of their deck.

There is no limit to the number of cards you may have in your hand.

If a player runs out of cards in their deck, that player shatters a heart at the beginning of each round where they fail to draw at least one card.

First Reveal: Hero

Select a Hero card from your hand and place it face down on the playing surface. Once both players have played a Hero card face down on the playing surface, they reveal them simultaneously.

Each player should read the name, power, and ability of their Hero once it is revealed. Starting with the Hero with the higher power.

Once you know what Hero your opponent has played, you now know if you should play offensively, or defensively.

Second reveal: Equipment or action

Select an Action or Equipment card and place it face down on the playing surface. Once both players have played an equipment or action card face down on the playing surface, they reveal them simultaneously.

Each player should read the name, and ability of their Action or Equipment card once it is revealed. 

In order for a card to be legally played, all the Attributes on the Equipment or Action card must also be present on the player’s active Hero.

If the Hero card does not have all the necessary Attributes, the Equipment or Action card cannot be played. If an illegal card is mistakenly played, remove it from the game, and the player does not get to play a replacement.  Please note: A card removed from the game is not sent to the graveyard. Simply place it somewhere away from the playing surface. 

If you have no card you wish to play, declare “Pass”. Your opponent then has the option of changing the card they played, or also declaring a “Pass”. If your opponent does play a card, their card is revealed and its effects are resolved normally.

Second reveal: Equipment or action

The third reveal is played exactly like second reveal.

Select an Action or Equipment card and place it face down on the playing surface. Once both players have played an equipment or action card face down on the playing surface, they reveal them simultaneously.

Each player should read the name, and ability of their Action or Equipment card once it is revealed.

If you have no card you wish to play, declare “Pass”. Your opponent then has the option of changing the card they played, or also declaring a “Pass”. If your opponent does play a card, their card is revealed and its effects are resolved normally.

Determine the Winner of the Round/Game

After the third reveal, and all card abilities have been resolved, total the value of each Hero’s Power. Begin with the Base Power and modify it by all applicable Equipment and Action cards in play.

The Hero with a lower Total Power loses the round. That player must then shatter a number of Heart cards equal to the number of Hearts on the Hero they played.

In the case of a tie for Total Power, no Heart cards are shattered. Simply continue to play with the Clean Up phase.

If at any point a player no longer has any heart cards in play, they have lost the game. Separate the Heart cards from the graveyard, and you’re ready to play again.

Clean up

Move all played Hero, Equipment, and Action cards to their owner’s graveyard.

If both players still have Heart cards in play, begin the next round by drawing two random cards from the top of their respective decks.

Please note: Any card abilities that alter a card are only active during that round unless otherwise specified. Once a card is in the graveyard, it is effectively reset.

For example, if you play a card that adopts another card’s Attributes when that card is sent to the graveyard, it does not keep the adopted Attributes. The card reverts to whatever Attributes it originally had prior to activating its ability (unless otherwise specified).

appendix

terminology

Negate

In Dinn, to negate an ability means to treat a card as if it has no Card Ability text. Negating an ability does not affect base power on Hero cards, or base power increases on Equipment cards.

Battle

The final calculation of Total Power during the third reveal of a round is considered a “battle”. If a Hero references “defeating” or being “defeated” in its ability, it is referring to the third reveal Total Power calculation.

Shatter(ed)

In Dinn, when a heart card is discarded from the field to the graveyard, it is “shattered”. If a card references shattering a heart, or a heart being shattered, it is in referring to the process of moving a heart from in play to the graveyard/discard pile. 

Clarifications

Searching your deck

If a card ability requires that you search your deck for any reason, you must shuffle your deck afterward.

Sharing information

If a card’s ability relies on the information your opponent cannot reasonably possess, you must share this information.

 

For example, if a Hero increases their Power based on the number of Equipment cards in your hand, you must reveal your entire hand to your opponent.

what happens if I don’t have a hero in my hand?

if you do not have a Hero card in your hand after drawing from your deck at the beginning of a round, you may shuffle your hand back into your deck, and draw cards equal to the number of cards you shuffled back into your deck.

 

If a player, through card abilities, does not draw from their deck at the beginning of the round, and they have no Heroes in their hand, they must randomly select a Hero card from their deck and add it to their hand.

 

At the beginning of a round, if a player does not have any Hero cards in their hand OR their deck, they lose the game.

What is a “graveyard”

In Dinn, the graveyard is the discard pile. If you discard a card from your hand, it is sent to the graveyard. If a cards ability asks you to “discard” a card, it means you should send it to the graveyad.

 

The cleanup phase has you send all the cards that were played during the round to the graveyard.

Card Ownership

If a card ability would add a card that you do not own to your hand, deck or graveyard, that card is instead sent to the original owner’s graveyard.

 

An example would be a card that exchanges ownership of two in-play equipment cards. If for any reason the equipment card you recently exchanged would be sent to your hand, it is instead sent to the original owner’s graveyard. This rule’s intent is to insure that the original owner of any card does not lose visual sight of the card.

Shattered Hearts

Heart cards are placed in the graveyard when shattered. Additionally a heart card in the graveyard is considered a “shattered heart”.

 

Shattered hearts are not technically considered cards and do not count towards the number of cards in your graveyard. They cannot be added to your hand. They cannot be added to your deck. If an ability would have you interact with your graveyard or field in a random way, both Heart cards, and Shattered Hearts would be ignored by that ability.