How to play

Focus is your budget for the Cycle. It refills at the start of every Cycle and your maximum grows, so bigger cards become affordable over time.

Exact rule: Spent to play cards and use abilities. You start with 3 and gain 1 maximum each Cycle, up to 8. Refills every Cycle.

TempoFront has no turns. Both players share a clock: cheap actions let you act again sooner, heavy actions hand your opponent several actions in a row.

Exact rule: Every action adds its Time cost to your Timeline (0–12). The player with less Time acts next; ties go to the player with Initiative. A player at 12 Time can no longer act this Cycle.

Presence decides who holds each Front when the Cycle is scored.

Exact rule: At the end of each Cycle, each player's Presence on a Front is the sum of their Entities', Attachments', and Site's Presence there. Higher Presence controls the Front; ties control nothing.

Dominion is the territory victory: hold the board for enough Cycles and you win.

Exact rule: At the end of each Cycle, a player controlling at least two Fronts gains 1 Dominion. Reaching 6 Dominion wins the match.

Integrity is the aggressive victory: break through a Front and hit the enemy Leader directly.

Exact rule: Each Leader starts with 20 Integrity. Reduce the enemy Leader to 0 to win. Drawing from an empty deck costs increasing Integrity (fatigue).

When both players have spent the same Time, the Initiative holder acts first.

Exact rule: Breaks Time ties. Initiative alternates between players each Cycle.

Each Cycle both players act until they pass. At the end, whoever controls more Fronts gains Dominion.

Exact rule: A Cycle ends when both players have passed or reached the end of the Timeline. Fronts are then scored, Focus refills, Time resets, and Initiative swaps.

Holding a Reaction lets you punish or cancel an opponent's big play.

Exact rule: After a main action is declared, the other player may play one Reaction in response before it resolves. Responses resolve first.

A Counter-Response is the final word: after it, the chain resolves.

Exact rule: After a Response, the acting player may answer with one Reaction of their own. The chain has at most two Reactions and resolves last-in, first-out.

Reacting is never free: it pushes you back on the shared clock.

Exact rule: The Time a Reaction adds to its player's Timeline when declared, instead of its play Time.

Deploying puts a unit on the board. Vanguard units fight; Support units are safer.

Exact rule: Play an Entity from hand into an empty friendly Vanguard or Support slot by paying its Focus and Time.

Striking clears the way. If a Front is empty on the enemy side, your Strike hits their Leader's Integrity.

Exact rule: A ready Entity attacks the nearest enemy on its Front (Vanguard first, then Support, then the enemy Leader). Vanguard-versus-Vanguard and Ranged defenders retaliate simultaneously.

Shifting lets you reinforce the Front that matters most this Cycle.

Exact rule: Move a friendly Entity to an empty slot on an adjacent Front for 2 Time (1 if Mobile), once per Cycle.

Damage stays on Entities between Cycles, so wounded units remain easy targets.

Exact rule: An Entity whose damage reaches its Vitality is defeated and moved to its owner's discard pile, with its Attachments. Defeat triggers then resolve.

Scouting finds the right card for the situation.

Exact rule: Scout N: look at the top N cards of your deck, choose one to put into your hand, and put the rest on the bottom.

Preparing plans ahead: pay a little Time now to make a key card cheaper when it matters.

Exact rule: For 1 Time, move an eligible card from hand to your Reserve. Playing it this Cycle applies its printed discount; unused Prepared cards return to hand at refresh.

Most Entities must stand in the Vanguard to attack and can only hit the closest enemy. Ranged Entities can attack from the back row and pick their target.

Exact rule: May Strike from Support. May target either enemy Entity on its Front (or the enemy Leader if none). Always retaliates when struck.

Armor 2 means each hit deals 2 less damage. Many small hits struggle against Armor; one big hit does not.

Exact rule: Armor N reduces each instance of damage dealt to this Entity by N, after Barrier and Protected. Silenced Entities lose Armor.

A Barrier absorbs one hit no matter how large. Break it with a small hit before sending the big one.

Exact rule: Prevents the entire next instance of damage to this Entity, then is removed. Barrier applies before Protected and Armor.

Entities normally need a Cycle before they can attack. Rapid Entities can attack right away.

Exact rule: Enters play ready, so it may Strike during the Cycle it is deployed.

Mobile Entities reposition cheaply, letting you contest a different Front without falling behind on the Timeline.

Exact rule: Shifting this Entity costs 1 Time instead of 2.

Structures are anchors: they add Presence or effects where they stand but never attack or change Fronts.

Exact rule: Cannot Strike and cannot Shift.

Stun takes an Entity out of the fight for a while without destroying it.

Exact rule: A Stunned Entity cannot Strike and its activated abilities cannot be used. Expires as its duration states.

Root pins an Entity where it stands so it cannot rescue another Front.

Exact rule: A Rooted Entity cannot Shift.

Silence turns a special Entity into a plain body with just its stats.

Exact rule: A Silenced Entity loses its keywords (such as Armor and Ranged) and its abilities do not trigger or activate.

Expose sets up a kill: the next hit lands harder.

Exact rule: Exposed N adds N to the next instance of damage dealt to this Entity, then is removed. Applies before Barrier.

Protection is a one-time shield that softens a single hit.

Exact rule: Protected N reduces the next instance of damage to this Entity by N after Barrier, then is removed.

Fronts are where Entities fight and where Presence is scored.

Exact rule: One of three lanes (left, center, right). Each side has a Vanguard and a Support slot per Front, plus one shared Site slot.