Begin with a small tribe in unknown lands. Grow your population, sail and march into uncharted terrain, and develop new technologies — all while your rivals reach for the same horizon. Even the greatest civilizations may rise and fall within the blink of an eye.
Blink alternates between two phases each round. In the card phase you play melds in a trick to win initiative. In the map phase those same cards become actions: populate tiles, explore new land, move armies, and fight. Card suits match terrain types, so what you can do on the map depends on the hand you build. Over the game you upgrade your deck, balance your population to unlock larger melds, and bank the right cards for scoring.
This rulebook covers the base game only. The Wasteland & Disaster expansion and the experimental Trade module are described in their own booklets.
Score the most Victory Points — by holding land on the map at the end, and by banking strong cards into your VP row along the way.
1Card phase. Everyone plays a meld — a poker-like card combo. Highest score wins initiative.
2Map phase. Spend those same cards as actions: populate, move, explore, fight. A card's suit decides which terrain it can act on.
Winning initiative lets you act first and use all your cards; rivals earn gold for the cards they can't play. Over the game you upgrade your deck, unlock bigger melds, and bank cards for scoring — until someone is down to their last units on the board or the advanced deck runs out, triggering the end. New here? Read §01–06, set up with the standard map (§03), and keep the Quick reference (§14) at hand.
Score the most Victory Points (VP). You earn them by keeping units on the map and by retiring strong cards into your personal VP row as you upgrade your deck. The game ends soon after a player has 2 or fewer units left on their board, or the advanced deck runs out. Then everyone plays one final round and scores.
Separate the 80 cards into a starting deck and an advanced deck:
| Players | Starting deck | Advanced deck |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ranks 6–10 | Ranks 11–15 |
| 3 | Ranks 3–10 † | Ranks 11–18 † |
| 4 | Ranks 1–10 | Ranks 11–20 |
Draw two rank-3 cards at random and include them; remove the other two permanently. Note which two suits are missing from your drawn rank-3 cards, then remove the rank-18 cards of those same two suits from the advanced deck. Example: you draw rank-3 Plains and rank-3 Forest → remove rank-18 Mountains and rank-18 Ocean. No suit is now overrepresented across either deck.
Deal 10 random starting-deck cards to each player. Draft simultaneously over four rounds — you may freely change your mind and pass on cards you kept in an earlier round:
| Round | Receive | Keep | Pass clockwise |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 (dealt) | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
| 3 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| 4 | 2 | All 10 | — |
You always hold exactly 10 cards throughout the game \u2014 at any moment they are split between your hand, your personal discard (melds already played this cycle), and the meld currently on the table. Cards retired to your VP row through upgrades are no longer part of this 10.
Each player places all 20 units on their board — 5 units per terrain track (Plains, Forest, Mountains, Ocean). Starting meld-size limit is 3.
For your first game, use the standard layout: each player takes the bottom unit from their Plains track and places it on a Plains starting tile. Arrange the Plains tiles around a cluster of central Mountain tiles so that no two Plains tiles are directly adjacent.
| Players | Central Mountain tiles |
|---|---|
| 2 | 1 Mountain tile between the two Plains starting tiles |
| 3 | 1 Mountain tile; each Plains tile touches it, none touch each other |
| 4 | 2 Mountain tiles in the centre; Plains tiles alternate around them |
The central Mountains prevent early combat, giving new players time to learn expansion before fighting begins. For experienced players, use a predefined asymmetric map or draft starting tiles randomly.
After drafting, in seat order: take one tile of your choice from the bag, place it adjacent to your starting tile, then take the bottom unit from its matching terrain track and place it on the new tile. Every player begins with 2 units on the map. (Skip this step at 2 players.) Choose freely — this tile anchors your early expansion where your drafted hand is strongest.
Put remaining tiles in a bag. Draw twice the player count face-up as the open tile market.
Sort the advanced deck face-down by rank, highest at the bottom (equal ranks in random suit order). Turn the top 4 cards face up beside it.
Place white initiative dice showing 1 through player count within reach. The black die always shows 1 and belongs to the trick winner. Place the red die nearby. Choose a starting player and give them the black die — they lead the first round.
Your cards represent the ideas and plans your leaders use to win political influence — and so, initiative on the map. The card phase is a single trick: no one ever takes anyone's cards, you always keep your own, and there is no must-follow suit rule.
| Meld | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single | Any one card. | 9 Mountain |
| Straight | Two or more consecutive ranks of the same suit. | 3·4·5 Forest |
| Set | Two or more cards of the same rank, any suits. | 7 Plains + 7 Forest |
| Friends of ten | Two cards whose ranks sum to exactly 10, 20, or 30. Any suits. | 3+7, 8+12, 11+19 |
| Super meld | Overlapping combination of the above. A card may satisfy multiple types simultaneously. | 9P + 10P + 9F (set of 9s overlapping a Plains straight) |
3-player round, everyone at meld limit 3. Ada leads with a 5·6 Plains straight — score 11. Ben plays 9 Plains + 9 Forest — a valid set (same rank, different suits) — score 18. Cleo plays a single 12 Mountain — score 12. Ben wins (18). The red die is set to 2 (Ben played 2 cards). Ben may use both cards as map actions. Ada may use 1 of her 2 cards — the blocked card earns her 1 gold. Cleo played only 1 card, so she simply uses it and earns no gold.
Each meld goes face-up to your personal discard. Once your hand is empty, pick up the full discard at the end of your map phase — not mid-trick. This lets you see your full 10 cards before committing to upgrades. Then pick up and continue.
After all players have acted: check end-game trigger, refill tile market to twice the player count, winner leads.
The four terrain types match the four card suits. Each has a distinct strategic character:
| Terrain | Character | Defence bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Plains | Highest population capacity. No defensive value — but the easiest terrain to grow and the fastest path to a higher meld-size limit. | none |
| Forest | Moderate capacity. The defensive bonus makes it worth holding under pressure. | +1 |
| Mountains | Low capacity, strong defence. Can attack and be attacked normally. A powerful defensive anchor once established. | +2 |
| Ocean | Low capacity but uniquely powerful for expansion: exploring from Ocean reveals two connected tiles instead of one, and units move freely across open water in a single action. | none |
Population limits, populate costs, and permanent terrain bonuses are all shown on your player board — see the §10 terrain effects table.
Each played card acts on a tile of its matching terrain that holds or is adjacent to one of your units.
| Action | Effect |
|---|---|
| Populate | Take the bottom unit from the matching terrain track and place it on a tile you occupy or are adjacent to, within the population limit. Cost: 1 card for Plains and Forest; 2 same-suit cards for Mountains and Ocean until row 3 of that track is unlocked, then 1 card. Re-entry: if you have no units on the map at the start of your map phase, Populate ignores the adjacency requirement this turn — place the unit on any unoccupied tile matching the card's suit. |
| Move | Move one of your units from or onto a tile of the matching terrain — the card’s suit can match either the tile you leave or the tile you enter. On land: one step onto an unoccupied tile, or any distance across tiles you already occupy (destination within its population limit). Land↔ocean crossing costs one full move. On ocean: any distance across open, unoccupied water in a single action. Population cap: you may never have more than 5 units on one terrain type — if a track's 5 units are all on the map, you cannot move or advance another unit onto that terrain. |
| Explore | Take a tile from the market whose terrain matches your card's suit. Place it adjacent to one of your units following the placement rule: (1) the tile must touch one of your units; (2) among those positions, maximise the number of existing tiles it touches; (3) tie-break by preferring the same terrain type. Optionally move one unit one step onto the newly placed tile. Ocean explore: place two connected tiles instead of one. The first must be an Ocean tile — if the market has none, draw one directly from the bag. The second can be any terrain from the market. |
| Combat | Triggered when a unit moves onto an opponent's tile. See §09. |
When a unit would move onto a tile held by another player, combat is resolved instead of movement.
Cleo (3 units, attacking from Plains) moves against Ben's Forest tile (2 units, +1 defence = strength 3). Cleo spends 1 gold for +1 = strength 4. Ben declines. Cleo wins 4–3; difference is 1, so 1 unit advances onto the forest. Ben's 2 units return to the Forest track on his player board, ready to be redeployed. Cleo's surviving unit may go onto the Forest tile or stay on her original Plains tile — whichever fits within the population limits.
Your board holds 5 units per terrain track, read bottom to top. When you populate, remove the bottom unit and place it on the map, revealing the bonus on that slot. Units lost in combat return to the board and are placed back from the bottom.
After movement or combat, sync the board: rearrange units so each track matches your current population on the map by terrain type. Use the minimum rearrangement needed. You may wait until the end of your turn.
Your board is a census: each track accounts for all 5 units of its terrain, so you may never have more than 5 units on any one terrain type on the map. A Move or combat advance onto a terrain whose track is already empty is not allowed. (Populate can never break this rule — it always draws from the matching track.)
Your meld limit starts at 3. The board has two thick horizontal lines. When all four tracks have cleared the same line, the limit rises:
| Milestone | Condition | Meld limit |
|---|---|---|
| Game start | All units on board | 3 |
| First increase | All units below the first line placed on the map across all four tracks | 4 |
| Second increase | All units below the second line placed on the map across all four tracks | 5 (max) |
The meld limit is personal — each player tracks their own. Spreading evenly across all four terrains is the fastest path to a higher limit.
| Track level (meld limit) | Plains | Forest | Mountains | Ocean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 · limit 5 | — | — | — | — |
| 4 · limit 5 | Pop. limit 4 | Pop. limit 3 | Pop. limit 2 | Pop. limit 2 |
| 3 · limit 4 | — | — | Populate: now 1 card | Populate: now 1 card |
| 2 · limit 4 | Pop. limit 3 | Pop. limit 2 | — | — |
| 1 · limit 3 | — | — | — | — |
| Start · limit 3 | Limit 2 · 1 card | Limit 1 · 1 card | Limit 1 · 2 cards | Limit 1 · 2 cards |
| Permanent | — | +1 defence | +2 defence | Explore: 1 ocean + 1 any |
Read each track from the bottom (Start) up: removing a unit reveals the next level. Population limits rise as a track is cleared, and Mountains and Ocean drop to a 1-card populate cost at level 3. The permanent bonus (bottom row) is always active.
Your board also holds your personal discard (melds played), your gold, and your VP row: five card slots where retired cards are placed in ascending order of rank, packed from the left — slide cards to make room. Cards are placed face up, or face down (at most 2 face-down cards; you may look at your own face-down cards at any time).
You earn 1 gold for every meld card you don't spend as a map action — whether blocked by the action limit or voluntarily skipped. Gold persists between rounds.
After your map actions (or when picking up your discard at the end of your map phase), pay 1 gold to retire one card to your VP row and take any card from the card market into your personal discard. Repeat any number of times. When the effect of a card says "upgrade goes directly to hand," the new card skips the discard and enters your hand immediately. Refill the card market from the advanced deck after each take.
Ada just played her last hand card. At the end of her map phase she picks up her 10-card discard. She has 3 gold and retires her 2 Plains (into VP row) for a 14 Ocean from the market, then retires her 3 Forest for a 15 Mountain. Her 10 cards are now the 8 left in hand plus the two market cards waiting in her personal discard — they join her hand the next time she picks up. Those retired cards still score at the end — unless she burns them for their effects.
Every card has a printed secondary effect. Cards reach your VP row through upgrades. A VP row card may be used once for its effect, then is permanently removed to the global discard — that card no longer scores.
Take the card from your VP row — revealing it if face down — and trigger its effect during the appropriate phase (card phase or map phase, as the effect text indicates). Then place it on the shared global discard pile — it is permanently out of the game. This frees one VP row slot and provides a powerful benefit, but costs you end-game points.
Many cards carry the effect "Allow N mismatched." Trigger it from your VP row during the card phase, before scores are compared. It lets you treat up to N cards in your current meld as mismatched, where each mismatch is one of two changes:
Each mismatch applies to a different card of your meld — you may not change both the rank and the suit of the same card. "Allow 2 mismatched," for instance, lets you adjust two separate cards (re-rank one and re-suit another, re-rank both, and so on).
A mismatch counts only for forming the meld. It never changes a card’s value: every card still scores its printed rank, and in the map phase still acts on its printed suit. The effect simply lets an almost-complete meld count as valid.
Your VP row holds at most 5 cards. When a sixth would arrive, you must first remove one to the global discard (permanently out of the game). Any card that leaves your row — used, discarded, or scored — is always revealed. The global discard is a shared face-up pile near the card market — nothing can retrieve cards from it.
Triggered when: a player ends their map phase with 2 or fewer units on their board, or the advanced deck is exhausted (the card market can no longer refill). Complete the current round, then play one complete final round — every player gets at least one full turn to catch up. Combat is the sharpest tool: units knocked off the map stop scoring. Then score.
| Source | How to count | Max |
|---|---|---|
| Units on the map | Count your units currently on the map at game end. | 20 |
| VP cards | Cards currently in your VP row. | 5 |
| Largest valid meld | Find the largest valid meld you can form from your VP cards. Count the cards in it. | 5 |
| Median rank | Reveal any face-down cards — your VP row is already in rank order. Score the rank of the middle card of your row; with an even count, the higher of the two middle cards. e.g. cards 6·9·14·16·20 → median 14; cards 5·8·13·17 → high half is 13 & 17 → median 13. | 20 |
Most VP wins. Gold breaks ties.
1. Card phase. Leader plays meld; clockwise everyone plays (1 to limit, no pass). Score = sum of ranks; ties → earlier player. Winner: black die, leads next round. Red die = winner's meld size.
2. Map phase. Initiative order (1 first). Non-winners use one fewer card than winner (min 1); blocked/skipped cards = 1 gold each. Suit must match terrain. Sync board after.
3. End of round. Check trigger · refill tile market to 2× players · winner leads.
Populate Move Explore Combat
Skip a card for 1 gold · upgrade a card (1 gold) · boost combat +1 (once/side) · redraw tile market · use a VP row effect then discard that card.
Before scores are compared: apply N mismatches to your meld — each shifts a different card’s rank by ±1 or re-suits it, for meld formation only (printed scores and map actions unchanged). Card is then removed from the game.
Effects are used from the VP row during your turn; the card is then removed permanently. If two players trigger Auto-win trick in the same trick, the effects cancel: the trick is scored normally (both cards are still spent).
| Rank | Plains | Forest | Mountains | Ocean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gain 1 gold | Move (matching) | +1 combat | Move (matching) |
| 2 | Populate (matching) | Populate (matching) | +2 combat | Explore from market (matching) |
| 3 | Gain 2 gold | Move (any) | +3 meld score | Move (any) |
| 4 | Populate (matching) | Gain 1 gold | +6 meld score | Explore from market (matching) |
| 5 | Gain 3 gold | Populate (matching) | Auto-win trick | Explore from market (matching) |
| Rank | Plains | Forest | Mountains | Ocean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Populate (any) | Move & Populate (matching) | +9 meld score | Explore from bag (matching) |
| 7 | Gain 3 gold & Populate (matching) | Allow 1 mismatched | Auto-win trick | Move (any) |
| 8 | Meld limit +1 this round | Move (any) & Populate (matching) | +6 meld score OR +2 combat | Explore from bag (matching) |
| 9 | Populate (any) | Allow 1 mismatched; gain 1 gold | All meld cards usable as actions this round | Explore from market (any) & Move |
| 10 | Gain 3 gold OR Populate (matching) | Allow 1 mismatched | Auto-win trick | Explore from bag; gain 1 gold |
| Rank | Plains | Forest | Mountains | Ocean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Populate (any); gain 1 gold | Allow 1 mismatched | All meld cards usable this round | Explore from bag & Move (any) |
| 12 | Upgrade 1 card (→ hand directly); gain 2 gold | Allow 2 mismatched OR gain 3 gold | +9 meld score | Redraw half the tile market |
| 13 | Free upgrade (no gold cost; → discard) | Allow 2 mismatched | Meld limit +1 this round | Redraw half the tile market; choose which to keep |
| 14 | Allow 2 mismatched; gain 1 gold | Meld limit +2 this round | Explore (any) from bag | Populate ×2 (matching) |
| 15 | Allow 2 mismatched | Meld limit +2 this round; gain 1 gold | Explore from bag & Populate (matching) | Populate ×2 (any) |
| Rank | Plains | Forest | Mountains | Ocean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Allow 2 mismatched; gain 2 gold | Meld limit +2 this round | Explore (any) & Move (any) | Populate ×2 (any); gain 1 gold |
| 17 | Allow 2 mismatched | Meld limit +2 this round; +6 meld score | Explore (any) & Populate (matching) | Populate ×3 (matching) |
| 18 | Allow 2 mismatched; gain 3 gold | Meld limit +2 this round; +9 meld score | Explore ×2 from bag (matching) | Populate ×3 (any) |
| 19 | Allow 2 mismatched | Meld limit +2 this round | Explore ×2 & Move (any) | Populate ×3 (any); gain 1 gold |
| 20 | Allow 2 mismatched; gain 3 gold | Meld limit +2 this round; allow 2 mismatched | Explore ×2 & Populate (matching) | Populate ×3 (any); Explore from bag |
Played a game? Tell us how it went.
Scan the code or visit deep-diversions.com/blink/feedback.html — it takes about 4 minutes and directly shapes the next version of Blink.