Prism Connect: Durarara!!

Prism Connect is a Japanese collectible card game featuring images from anime. The Prism Connect Durarara!! pack was released the year after the Durarara!! anime aired. Other series that have been made into Prism Connect packs include K, Natsume's Book of Friends, Uta no Prince Sama, High School DxD, Fate/Stay Night, and Fate/Zero, among others.

General
Game requirements:
 * Two players
 * Two decks
 * A play mat
 * A life counter

Deck
A deck is made up of 40 cards and can contain up to three duplicates of any card. All cards in both players' decks must be from the same series.
 * Card Types
 * Character cards are the primary playing cards and depict characters from the series
 * Event cards are discarded after one use and used to support character cards and disadvantage the opposing player. They depict events from the series.
 * Scene cards are permanent once played and used to support the character cards and disadvantage the opposing player. They depict scenes from the series.
 * Card Layout
 * Cards can be red, yellow, green, or blue. The color does not affect the card's ability. The series logo is found on the bottom left corner, and the card's number and rarity are found in the bottom right (ex. 03-070 means this is card number 3 out of 70 cards of this type total). In the top left corner, under the Character/Event/Scene label, is the cost of the card. A bonus icon is located in the top right corner and is used when using a Connect Attack (more on cost and Connect Attacks under Gameplay). Names or titles centered below the main image are written in Japanese. The body of text below the title explains the effects of the card.
 * On character cards only, to the right and above the name are the CP (Character Points, the character's attack power) and rank, which determines how much damage is dealt to the opponent after a successful attack. Most characters are Rank 1 which will deal 1 damage if the defending player loses the attack.
 * Aside from event and scene cards being horizontal and lacking rank and CP, the layout of these cards is the same as a character card.

Play Mat
The Prism Connect play mat has five areas: the Deck, Discard, Front, and Back Areas and the Connect Gauge.
 * The Deck Area of the mat contains the Prism Connect logo, also found on the back of the playing cards. This is where players place their decks.
 * The Discard Area is behind the Deck Area and is where players build their discard pile by placing discarded cards.
 * The Connect Gauge is to the right of the Deck Area and is where cards are placed after a successful attack.

The field is made up of the Front and Back Areas, located on the far left of the mat. Cards in these areas are considered in play.
 * The Front Area is to the left of the Deck Area and is colored orange. This is where character cards are placed to attack or block. One copy of any character card may be in this area at a time, so no duplicates are permitted.
 * The Back Area is to the left of the Discard Area and is colored blue. The effects written on the cards of characters are void as long as the card remains in this area. Duplicate cards are allowed in the Back Area.

Life Counter
A life counter can be any tool that helps players count life points, including a calculator, dice, or sheet of paper.

Objective
Each player starts with 25 life points. The goal of the game is to make your opponent's life points reach zero. The first player to achieve this is the winner.

A player also wins if their opponent has no cards left in their deck, discard pile, or Connect Gauge.

Rules

 * If a player's deck runs out, they shuffle together all the cards in their Connect Gauge and discard pile and place them in the Deck Area.

Cost

 * The cost of a card is found in the top left corner of the card and is met when the amount of characters a player has in play (in the Front and Back Areas) is equal to or greater than the cost of the card being played.
 * The cost of a card must be met before a card can be used to attack.

Setup

 * 1) Players shuffle first their deck and their opponent's deck and place their deck in their Deck Area.
 * 2) Both players draw 6 cards. One redraw is allowed, where the player may place as many cards from their hand as they wish on the bottom of the deck (not shuffled in) and draw the same number of cards from the top.
 * 3) The players determine who plays first. Dice roll, rock-paper-scissors, etc.
 * 4) The player going second places one card from the top of their deck face-down in the Connect Gauge.

Gameplay
At the start of each turn, the player draws one card from the top of their deck. The first player does not draw a card during their first turn.

A turn consists of a main phase, an attack phase, another main phase, and an end phase.

Main Phase 1
A player may partake in any number of the following actions in any order:

Character appearance:
 * May be completed only once per turn.
 * Place a character from the hand into the Front Area, as long as that same character is not already in the Front Area. The character card is played in active state but cannot attack in the turn it is played.
 * Place a character from the hand into the Back Area. Duplicates can be in the Back Area at the same time, but a character placed in the Back Area cannot return to the hand in the same turn.

Character return:
 * May be completed only once per turn.
 * A character card from the Back Area can be placed in the Front Area in the same state (active or rested) if the cost has been met, one card of the same type is discarded from the player's hand, and the same card is not already in the Front Area. A character cannot attack in the same turn it is returned.

Playing an event card:
 * Multiple event cards can be played, but no duplicates of an event card can be played during a turn. Card can be played only when the cost is met and during the timing written on the card. Event cards are placed in the discard pile after use.

Using a scene card:
 * May be played in the Back Area as long as the cost written on the card has been met. Only one copy of a scene card can remain on the field, and they will remain after the turn has ended.

Using effect text:
 * Found centered on the card underneath the title, the effect text can be used only once per turn.

Attack Phase
The following series of events is followed in order:

1. The attacking player chooses which character in their Front Area they want to use to attack.
 * Attack: the attacking player moves a character from rested state (sideways) to active state (upright)
 * A character can attack only once per turn
 * A character can not attack if it is new to the Front Area that turn, whether it was just played or moved up from the Back Area
 * Connect Attack (see rules below): if the attacking character has orange-bordered text above their rank that reads "Connect Attack X," the attacking player has the option of initiating a Connect Attack

2. Play event card or use effect text
 * Either player may play an event card or use the effect text on a character card in their Front Area if the conditions specified in the text have been met.

3. Blocking an attack
 * The opposing player may change a character from active to rested state to block an attack by turning a character sideways from the upright position.
 * If a block occurs, go to 4. If not, skip to 5.

4. Play event card or use effect text
 * Either player may play an event card or use the effect text on a character card in their Front Area if the conditions specified in the text have been met.

5. Retiring a Character
 * In the event of a block
 * Compare the CP of the attacking and blocking character
 * The character with the lower CP is retired. Retired characters are moved to the back area
 * The character with the greater CP remains in the front area
 * If the characters' CP are equal, both characters retire
 * In the event of no block
 * The attacking player will place the top card of their deck face-down in their Connect Gauge
 * The defending player reduces their life by the rank value of the attacking character (found next to the CP on character cards). Most characters are Rank 1.

6. Play event card or use effect text
 * Either player may play an event card or use the effect text on a character card in their Front Area if the conditions specified in the text have been met.

7. Return to Step 1. The steps of the Attack Phase may be repeated as many times as the attacking player wishes, as long as they have characters in active state in their Front Area that they wish to use to attack

When the player no longer wishes to attack, Main Phase 2 begins.

Main Phase 2
The same as Main Phase 1

End of Turn
The following series of events is followed in order:
 * 1) Complete effects played during the Attack Phase that occur and the end of the turn. If there are multiple, the attacking player decides the order.
 * 2) If the attacking player has more than six cards in their hand, they must place cards from their hand into the discard pile until they have six.
 * 3) Effects that last until the end of the turn end.

Connect Attack Rules
A Connect Attack differs from a regular attack in that it uses cards that have been placed face-down in the Connect Gauge throughout the course of the game. These cards support the attacking character. The attacking character will have "Connect Attack X" written on their card, where X is the attacking value of the character. The attacking player may use the number of cards in their Connect Gauge equal to the amount of X.

To initiate a Connect Attack, flip up the first face-down card placed in the Connect Gauge. Cards must be used in the order they were added; players cannot choose which cards from the Connect Gauge to use. The attacking character in the Front Area receives the added rank of the character in the Connect Gauge. The Connect Attacking character is not affected by the opponent's Event cards or effect texts.

Check for a bonus icon in the top right corner of the Connect Attacking card. There are three possible icons:
 * +1 Rank: the character initiating the Connect Attack will have +1 rank until the end of the turn
 * +1 Life: the attacking player receives a bonus life point
 * Draw: the attacking player draws one card from their Deck

The defending player may block a Connect Attack, with two differences from the regular Attack Phase:
 * The defending player receives damage equal to the rank of the Connect Attacking character minus their blocking character's rank (this is after an icon bonus has been applied).
 * The Connect Attacking character will not retire to the Back Area, even if the blocking character's CP is greater, but will be sent to the discard pile after use.

The attacking player does not place a card from their Deck into their Connect Gauge after a Connect Attack. The Connect Attacking card is moved from the Connect Gauge to the discard pile, regardless of whether or not the attack was successful.