CRYPTOPLUGZ COLLECTIBLE TRADING CARD GAME

Game Rules & Information

CryptoPlugz is a tactical, cyber-fantasy trading card game where the Grid fights to control the Pulse, the universe’s raw, chaotic, unpredictable energy, while the CryptoPlugz Network want it to flow freely embracing its nature.

In multiplayer matches, players journey across the 9-site Grid Path, taking turns commanding both factions as their strategies collide.

The CryptoPlugz Network: a crew of evolving characters (Plugz, Seekers, Blocky Misfits, Unbound, and more) who fight to free the Pulse, embracing its instability and protecting the Holy Glitch.

Opposing them is the Grid. To the Grid, the Pulse’s wild energy is a threat, something to be measured, synchronized, and contained. They deploy Inspectors, Echo Agents, Patrollers, Signal Tracers, and other enforcers.

At the center of every turn is the Pulse Stream, a shared energy pool:

CryptoPlugz Network cards generate Pulse, fueling your progress.
Grid cards spend Pulse, turning your own energy against you.

Evolve Plugz, connect Objects, create connections, fight Grid Enforcers, use Events, form Misfit rebellions, unlock lore, abilities & bonuses by collecting Story-Linked cards, and navigate powerful Location effects as you navigate from Site 1 to 9.

CryptoPlugz blends strategic deckbuilding, tactical maneuvers, one-on-one battles, and evolving characters in a vibrant, retro futuristic glitch-punk world.

STARTING THE GAME

You must choose one Glitch-bearer / Unbound and one Holy Glitch card; these two are not part of the 60 cards and start the game already in play. Before drawing your opening hand, you pick characters from your deck with a total twilight cost up to 4 to begin the game with your Glitch-bearer/Unbound. These starting characters come directly from your deck and are placed on the table at the start. The rest of your deck is shuffled afterward.

In the CRYPROPLUGZ TCG, you can have as many Network (CryptoPlugz) cards in your deck as you want. There is no limit on how many CryptoPlugz cards you include, as long as your whole deck (CryptoPlugz + Grid mixed together) is at least 60 cards.

DECK CONSTRUCTION

Your 60-card deck can contain any number of CryptoPlugz cards and any number of Grid cards in any ratio.
You may include up to 4 copies of any one non-unique card.
Unique cards can still have 4 copies in your deck, but only one of them can be in play at a time.
In play (during the game)
Your CryptoPlugz (characters you control on the table) can have up to 9 companions at once - this is the Rule of 9.

The CryptoPlugz want to move from Location 1 to 9 to win the game! The Grid wants to harm your characters so they run out of energy and can't continue, or force the Glitch-bearer to carry too much Burden. Both players are prepared to play BOTH sides, but they swap roles each turn.

After the Regroup phase, the players swap roles, with the previous Grid Player now leading their own CryptoPlugz Network on a new turn. The players keep alternating who leads the Network each turn. The winner is the first player to successfully complete their own journey to the final Location (usually Site 9) or destroy their opponent's Glitch-bearer.

CARD HAND

Grid Player's Limit: The Grid Player must draw or discard back down to a maximum of 8 cards during the Regroup Phase at the end of every turn. This is their consistent hand limit, ensuring they have a fresh but controlled supply of cards to use against their opponent.

CryptoPlugz Player's Limit: The CryptoPlugz Player generally has no maximum hand size during the turn and can draw and hold as many cards as their effects allow. However, if they choose not to move to the next Site during the Regroup Phase, they must then also discard down to a maximum of 8 cards.

In short: The Grid Player is restricted to 8 cards at the end of the turn, while the CryptoPlugz Network Player can hold more than 8 cards throughout the turn, provided they keep moving.

GAME PHASES

A turn is a journey with six phases:

1. NETWORK PHASE

You get to play your CryptoPlugz (Plugz, Misfits, Seekers, Unbound/Glitch bearer) and give them objects to get ready for the journey. The CryptoPlugz Network advances to the next Site on the adventure path, starting its journey for the turn.

2. GRID PHASE

Now, the Grid player gets to play their Grid cards (Inspectors, Agents, Patrollers, and other enforcers) on CryptoPlugz to hinder the Network and prepare for battle.

3. TACTICS/MANOUVER PHASE

Before the main clash, both sides can play cards tactically to prepare, hinder, or manipulate the battlefield. During this phase, players can adjust stats, remove threats, gain positioning advantages, and activate special abilities or events.

Starting with the CryptoPlugz Network player, players take turns performing actions such as exerting characters, wounding opponents, or manipulating cards on the table in preparation for the upcoming Targeting and Fight phases. These actions let the Network strengthen their position or weaken the Grid’s enforcers, while the Grid can apply early pressure or disrupt the Network before direct combat begins.

The phase ends when all players consecutively choose to pass their opportunity to take an action.

4. TARGETING PHASE
This is a phase for ranged attacks that cause wounds before one-on-one clashes begins.

What you do is:

Perform Targeting Actions: Players, starting with the CryptoPlugz Network, may play cards or use abilities with the "Targeting" keyword to prepare for battle.
Conduct Assaults: Calculate the combined Targeting Total from all Targeting characters on both the CryptoPlugz Network and Grid sides. These totals are then used to assign wounds to the opponent's characters.

This phase is crucial for weakening or eliminating characters before the Assignment and Fight Phases.

5. ASSIGNMENT PHASE

You decide which of your CryptoPlugz will fight which of the Grid Cards . You try to assign your strongest CryptoPlugz to the strongest Grid opponents.

Note: Any Grid enforcer not assigned a character is considered to be attacking the Glitch-bearer/Unbound (or a specified CryptoPlug if an effect allows it).

6. FIGHT/BATTLE PHASE

The assigned battles are resolved one by one. Your CryptoPlugz characters and the Grid fight each other, one pair at a time. Both players may play Fight Event cards to modify a character's Strength for the fight.

The character with the higher final Strength wins the fight, and the loser is typically wounded or killed.

7. REGROUP PHASE

The CryptoPlugz Network player may choose to remain at the current Site or continue to the next one (most often they continue).

The Grid player redraws cards until their hand is full (usually 8 cards).

Wounds are healed.

Once completed these phases, the turn is done and you start over.

THE PULSE STREAM

The Pulse Stream is the game's central resource. It represents the raw energy (Pulse) you release that the Grid then tries to control.

The Pulse Stream is an area on the table where pulse tokens are placed. The tokens in the Pulse Stream represent how dangerous the world is for the fellowship. Glass beads (preferably blue) make good Pulse tokens, but any convenient tokens will do. Keep a large reserve of pulse tokens handy.

PULSE COST

In the upper right corner of each CryptoPlugz and Grid card is that card’s Pulse cost. This is the number of Pulse tokens that must be added to or removed from the Pulse Stream to play that card.

When you play a CryptoPlugz card, you must add a number of Pulse tokens (from the reserve) to the Pulse Stream equal to that card’s Pulse cost.

When your opponent plays a Grid card, they must remove a number of Pulse tokens from the Pulse Stream equal to that card’s Pulse cost. A Grid card cannot be played if its Pulse cost cannot be met by the tokens available in the Pulse Stream.

You must meet any requirements to play a card (or perform an action) before paying its costs.

GLITCH BEARER

The Glitch-bearer (Unbound) is placed on the table before the game officially begins during the initial setup. The CryptoPlugz player always starts the game with their Glitch-bearer in play, along with The Holy Glitch and a number of starting companions/Network.

Usage (Abilities): The Glitch-bearer usually has special actions or responses printed on the card (like using the Glitch). You can use these abilities during the phases when a Player Action Window is open, most commonly during the Network Phase or Maneuver/Tactics Phase, or in response to a specific event that triggers the ability. Since the Glitch-bearer is so important, their actions are often powerful but can carry a heavy cost, like adding Burden.

THE HOLY GLITCH

The Holy Glitch card represents the Holy Glitch, which is central to the game’s narrative and mechanics. The Glitch is attached to an Unbound/ Glitch-bearer character and provides powerful abilities or effects, but it also comes with a burden:

The Glitch-bearer cannot be easily removed from play and often gains special powers or protection while carrying the Glitch.
If the Glitch-bearer is wounded, captured, or falls in battle, the Glitch can cause negative consequences for the player, such as penalties or the forced loss of the Glitch card.
Strategically, the Holy Glitch is both a blessing and a liability: it enhances the Unbound/Glitch-bearer and the player’s overall strategy, but it must be carefully managed to avoid catastrophic effects.

The Holy Glitch is a special card that starts the game already equipped to your Glitch-bearer/Unbound and never enters your hand or deck; its purpose is to keep your Glitch-bearer/Unbound from dying. You “use” the Holy Glitch when your Glitch-bearer/Unbound is about to take enough wounds to be killed. At that moment, you may put on the Holy Glitch to avoid death, and instead of taking those wounds, you take a certain number of burdens (the exact amount depends on which version of the Holy Glitch you chose for your deck). Each version also gives extra effects, such as resistance boosts or ways to reduce or prevent burdens, but all versions exist to give your Glitch-bearer/Unbound a last-chance survival option.

You might use it in the Fight Phase if the ability is crucial for survival.

Why: You activate The Holy Glitch when its powerful effect is absolutely necessary to save a character, cancel a dangerous Grid card, or manipulate the game state in your favor.

The Cost: Remember, using The Holy Glitch usually costs the Glitch-bearer/Unbound Burden, so you only use it when the benefit outweighs the immediate risk of corruption.

BURDEN

Burden is an ongoing penalty. It represents the psychological weight of the Glitch, often making the Glitch-bearer (Unbound) weaker. If the total Burden reaches a high number (usually 8 or 10, depending on the game format), the Glitch-bearer becomes Corrupted, and the Grid Player instantly wins the game.

WOUNDS

Wounds are tokens or markers placed on a character to represent and track the total damage they have sustained. Every character has a Vitality rating, which is the maximum number of wounds they can survive. If a character's total number of wounds ever meets or exceeds their Vitality, they are killed (discarded from play). Wounds are applied during the Fight Phase (from losing a fight), the Targeting Phase, or from card effects (like Exertion). Wounds remain on a character between turns until they are specifically removed or healed by a card ability.

EXERTION

To exert a character is to intentionally strain them, trading their vitality to gain a tactical benefit. When a card or ability requires a character to exert, the player must immediately place one wound on that character. This wound remains until healed, and a character cannot exert if doing so would result in their death (if the resulting wounds equal or exceed their Vitality). Exertion is a powerful resource management mechanic, most often used as a cost to activate a special card ability during phases like Maneuver or Fight, or sometimes to allow an Inspector to survive a killing blow. Mastering when and how often to risk an exertion is critical to proper deck management and winning fights.

Players need a supply of Wound tokens (preferably red) and Pulse tokens (preferably blue). Each player will also need a player marker (a differently-coloured token) that shows where their CryptoPlugz Network is on the Grid adventure path.

WHO GOES FIRST?

Normally players bid burdens to determine this. Players place secret bids for the right to determine who goes first in the game. The bidding is done with black tokens, which will become burdens on your Glitch-bearer.

Each player secretly places a number of burdens in their hand (you may bid zero). When all players are ready, simultaneously reveal the bids. The highest bid wins the right to choose where he goes in the turn order. Any choice is available. Next, the second highest bidder chooses from the remaining positions in the turn order, and so on. Keep track of each player’s bid, as these tokens will become burdens on his Glitch-bearer.

THE GRID PATH /ADVENTURE DECK

Players have two main options for setting up the Grid Path: they can either use a pre-shuffled sequence of Site cards, usually numbered 1 through 9, where all Sites are placed face down before the game begins and the CryptoPlugz Network moves along them in order, revealing and resolving each Site as they go; or they can opt for a dynamic, player-driven path, where the CryptoPlugz player always places Site 1, and for each subsequent empty slot, the Grid players choose which Site to place from their decks as the Network moves, allowing more strategic influence over the challenges the Network faces.

STARTING CRYPTOPLUGZ NETWORK

Players select their starting networks based upon which deck they have. Normally, however, players customize their starting CryptoPlugz Networks.

Your Network begins with a character bearing The Holy Glitch. This can be any character with the glitch resistance icon, or any version of the Unbound/Glitch bearer.

Place your Glitch-bearer face up on the table. Place the Holy Glitch under your Glitch-bearer (so the title is showing) and place on it the burdens that you bid.

You may then play other companions (not objects or conditions) one at a time from your draw deck, as long as the total twilight cost of these companions is 4 or less. The Pulse cost of your Glitch-bearer is not included in this total.

Don’t place any tokens into the Pulse Stream for the cards in your starting Network. Site/Location text is not active when the starting CryptoPlugz Networks are played.

Select and reveal starting Networks in player order. (In tournament play, you may change your starting Network from game to game.)

DRAW DECK

The rest of your cards form your draw deck. Draw 8 cards to form your starting hand.

When you draw the last card from your draw deck, you don’t lose the game. Continue with the cards you have in hand and in play.
If you have no cards in your draw deck, you are allowed to reshuffle your discard pile to make a new one once per game.

THE GRID PATH /ADVENTURE

The Grid Path is the map the CryptoPlugz Network must traverse, and it determines the challenge they face each turn.

Site/Location Effect: When a Site is revealed, it provides a crucial rule or effect that lasts for the entire turn. This effect can help the CryptoPlugz player (e.g., healing a companion) or the Grid player (e.g., making Inspectors stronger).

Pulse: Every Site/Location has a Pulse Cost (the number in the upper-right corner). When the Site is revealed, this number is added to the Pulse Stream, a shared energy "currency" that the Grid Player uses to pay for and play their Agents, Inspectors, Patrollers etc. during the Grid Phase.

Targeting: Sites often have a Targeting number, which, when combined with your characters' Targeting ratings, dictates the total ranged damage the Grid Player can inflict during the Targeting Phase.

CRYPTOPLUGZ NETWORK

The CryptoPlugz Network is made up of cards that can be Plugz, Blocky Misfits, or Unbound. Each card type has unique actions: Plugz can evolve into Seekers or, if unable to do so, inadvertently empower the Grid opponent;Blocky Misfits can combine to form rebellions or trigger special effects; and Unbound cards carry the Holy Glitch, guiding Pulse energy through the Network.

PLUGZ

Standard characters who exist in the Grid and can transform.

When a basic Plug is on the board, the player may expend a same-coloured Pulse Card and sacrifice a same-colored Object to transform it into a Seeker, granting all other units+1 Defense while the Seeker is in play. If the player cannot pay this cost, the Plug fails to connect to its Network and destabilizes its crew, imposing a penalty such as reducing the team’s Vitality -1, losing a resource, or an advantage of the current Site, depending on the text on the card.

A Plug left alone can inadvertently hinder the Network and feels safer within the Grid.

THE SEEKERS

They sense where the Pulse lingers.

CryptoPlugz who feel the need to search for meaning in the Grid, for hidden frequencies, suppressed pulses. They don’t feel comfortable in the identity the Grid assigned them and electric pulses start flashing from the cracks.

No one chooses to become a Seeker.
It starts as a whisper inside the circuitry, a mismatched pulse, a feeling of dissonance.

A Seeker is born when a Plug is curious or feels something that the Grid can’t categorize. When they start to question the surface.

Fear. Wonder. Nostalgia.
Any spark is enough.

Their code begins to flicker, lines of unstable light stuttering under their skin. Their fragility is visible, trembling with pulses they don’t fully understand. Most try to hide it. Some are afraid. A rare few lean into the sensation. These are the ones who awaken.
They are fragile because they are changing.

They are the ones who notice the Holy Glitch.

The Grid needs them to feel broken. It wants them to crawl back to their socket. It wants them to think they cannot exist without it. It whispers failure into their circuitry, isolates them, It wants them to fear the emptiness beyond its circuits. Marks their flickers as defects, malfunctioning, inefficient. It pushes them toward self-doubt, hoping they will fold under the pressure and accept their place as “failed units.” A Seeker who believes they are broken is one less spark. To believe their flicker is an illness, a fault. So they never understand the truth: that the flicker is not failure, but the first sign they carry their own Pulse.

HOW TO EVOLVE CRYPTOPLUGZ INTO SEEKERS

When a Plug Character is on the board, you may expend a same-coloured Pulse Card and sacrifice a same-coloured Object to transform the CryptoPlug in a Seeker.

Other units you control gain +1 Vitality while the Seeker is in play.

BLOCKY MISFITS

The Blocky Misfits release pulse energy into the world.

Combine them to form rebellions or special effects.

When a Seeker embraces the Holy Glitch instead of resisting it, their code fractures. They become Blocky Misfits.

Others sense them as errors, dangerous, strange, noisy, unpredictable. Yet through every crack they gain energy. Each fracture becomes a gateway to raw voltage that the Grid cannot suppress.

The transition is violent, abrupt, unpredictable. A Seeker becomes a Misfit when their internal flicker burns too brightly to contain, when the Holy Glitch tears through their code, shattering the smoothness imposed by the Grid. Their bodies fracture, colors blooming in unnatural spectrums.

It hurts. Metamorphosis always does. But they refuse to hide it.

Blocky Misfits are those the Grid truly fears. They embody chaos the system cannot predict, cannot control. They despise the idea of perfection. They seek resonance, connection with others.

The Grid marks them as high-threat anomalies. Echo Agents are dispatched. Purifiers roam the slums. Tracking beacons light the night. The system sees Misfits as walking threats, unpredictable, contagious, dangerous to the equilibrium. And it is right to fear them.

UNBOUND/GLITCH BEARER

The Unbound are Rare Cards. They guide the Pulse energy.

When a Misfit accepts every fracture,
every glitch, every anomaly, the Holy Glitch flows freely through them.

Few make it this far.
Most Misfits burn out or vanish into the static or are suppressed by the grid.

Those who survive do so by letting go.
Letting go of the identity the Grid assigned. Letting go of the fear of breaking.

They are no longer bound by the Grid’s architecture. They no longer need sockets or an object. They are their own voltage, plugged into the void.

They are The Unbound.

The Grid cannot process them.
It cannot catalog them.

Unbound Plugz, also called Glitch Bearers, carry the Holy Glitch, a powerful but unstable energy. They provide great advantages to the Network but also impose a burden: if the Glitch Bearer is removed, corrupted, or mishandled, it can disrupt the Pulse energy, trigger negative effects, or weaken your team. Managing a Glitch Bearer requires careful planning, as they are rare and their energy comes with both strategic benefits and risks to the CryptoPlugz Network.

Together, these stages form a chain: Seekers sense where the Pulse lingers, Misfits release its energy into the world, and the Unbound guide it.

THE GRID AND ITS ENFORCERS

Long ago, the Grid wrapped itself around the world promising all CryptoPlugz safety and order. It thrived on the widespread fear of the Pulse, the raw unpredictable, chaotic energy that once ran freely through the universe and CryptoPlugz themselves, capable of sparking both creation and void.

Over time, the Grid learned to harness the Pulse. It guided the Plugz, instructing them to connect and bind themselves to a specific Object, to flicker in precise rhythm. Through this teaching, the Pulse, once wild and unpredictable, became controlled, and stability settled over the universe: no more random blackouts, no more crippling short circuits.

The Plugz live under vigilance, aware of the danger of deviation. Those whose pulses flicker too fast, too bright, too slow, or too uneven risk not only themselves, but the entire network. Each CryptoPlugz is bound to their Object; their existence is measured and defined by the flow of energy they maintain. To endure, they undergo the Recharging Ceremony, training to synchronise themselves with the Grid’s rhythm. Anything outside the regulated flow threatens a surge, a collapse, a sudden void.

The Grid’s rhythm hums through walls, wires, and the very air. The Plugz learn to monitor their own sparks, correcting every flare before it can ripple outward. Those who falter feel the system pressing inward, shaping their impulses. Everything outside the Grid’s rhythm is unstable, dangerous, forbidden.

And in exchange, the Plugz gain the comfort of safety and stability. The Pulse is tamed, the network secure.

Most cards in CryptoPlugz TCG are one of two basic kinds: CryptoPlugz or Grid. There are also locations and The Holy Glitch, which are neither CryptoPlugz cards nor Grid cards.

CryptoPlugz cards represent the forces who can destabilize the Grid. Each player has their own Network, made up of an Unbound (Glitch-bearer) + Holy Glitch and other companions. When you take your turn, you play and use your CryptoPlugz cards.

CRYPTOPLUGZ CHARACTER NETWORK CARDS

the "CryptoPlugz" (Plugz, Seekers, Misfits, and Unbound). Your goal is to navigate the Grid Path from Location 1 to Location 9.

GRID CARDS

Their goal is to stop the CryptoPlugz Network by corrupting or killing the Glitch-bearer.

OBJECT CARDS

If manipulated by the CryptoPlugz, an object can become a weapon, a source of magic/ability, armour, or other kind of utilities connected to a character. Most possessions tell you who their bearer can be, which is the kind of character you can play them on. They grant bonuses (like +1 Strength) or new abilities. Many Objects have a Colour requirement, matching the Character's Connection/Colour.

EVENT / CONDITION CARDS

An event is a card played from your hand representing an important occurrence, which you discard after you play it. A condition is a card representing a significant change in the world, which stays in play until discarded. Most conditions play to your support area, though some play on other cards, and tell you who or what their bearer can be.

LOCATION/ SITE CARDS

Locations in the CryptoPlugz universe are used to chart the progress of the game. Location cards create conditions for both players and determine tactics & strategies. 9 sites are placed in your Grid /adventure deck, and are kept separately from the other cards you draw and play during the game, which are placed in the draw deck. A site may have a persistent effect that stays in play for a certain amount of time during the game, either in your support area or for both players, depending on the card.

Role: Locations form the Grid Path, the 9-step journey the Network player must take to win.

This is the game board. The goal is to move your crew from Location 1 to Location 9.

THE HOLY GLITCH

The Glitch-bearer cannot be easily removed from play and often gains special powers or protection while carrying the Glitch.

If the Glitch-bearer is wounded, captured, or falls in battle, the Glitch can cause negative consequences for the player, such as penalties or the forced loss of the Glitch card.

Strategically, the Holy Glitch is both a blessing and a liability: it enhances the Unbound/Glitch-bearer and the player’s overall strategy, but it must be carefully managed to avoid catastrophic effects.

PULSE CARDS

Beyond the standard Pulse cost noted in the card's top right, special Pulse cards can be collected and used to activate powerful actions or character transformations, especially evolving Plugz into Seekers.

STORY LINKED CARDS

Discover the lore behind special cards and unlock the full potential of your deck.

Our game is built on a rich, evolving universe, and the cards you collect are fragments of its history. By following the stories and character chronicles on our website, you gain the key to unlocking the full potential of your deck. Each chapter introduces unique characters, events, locations, special edition cards or key moments in the narrative. Unlock lore, abilities and bonuses by collecting story-linked cards.

VITALITY

The Wavy Circle (representing life force and energy/aura).
When a character’s vitality is reduced to zero, that character is immediately killed.

STRENGTH

The Atom Symbol.

If your strength > enemy strength, your character wins the fight.
If your strength < enemy strength, your character loses the fight and takes one wound (or more if the enemy is fierce or has special text).
If strengths are equal, nothing happens (no wounds).

Damage keyword

Some cards have Damage +1, Damage +2, etc. If they win, they deal that many extra wounds.

RESISTANCE

The Interconnected Sphere (representing a protective network or shield).

Resistance can go up or down depending on:

Possessions (e.g., armor, objects)
Conditions
The Holy Glitch version you're using
Special abilities

Resistance is the number on a character that shows how many burdens they can take before becoming corrupted.

Corruption = you lose

If the Glitch-bearer’s resistance drops to 0, the Glitch-bearer is corrupted, and you instantly lose the game, even if they are still alive.

A player also loses the game if his Glitch-bearer becomes corrupted by having burdens reduce his resistance to zero. There are cards that can corrupt the Glitch-bearer, regardless of how many burdens it might have.

HEALING

When a wound is removed from a character, this represents resting or healing. When you “heal a character,” you remove one wound.

If a card tells you to “heal 2 companions,” you must choose two different companions to heal one time each (you cannot heal one companion twice). Once a wound token is placed, whether from exerting or wounding, it can be healed by any effect that heals a wound. Generally, your Network only heals at a sanctuary you reach on the grid adventure path.

BURDENS

When your Glitch-bearer/ Unbound loses will against the energy of The Holy Glitch, you place a burden token on it. Glass beads (preferably black) make good burden tokens, but anything you won’t confuse with a wound will do. There are many cards that add or remove burdens. Burdens are only placed on your Glitch-bearer. Each burden on your Glitch-bearer reduces the resistance of every companion in your
fellowship by 1.

If your Glitch-bearer’s resistance is reduced to zero, it is corrupted, and you lose the game. Only your Glitch-bearer can be corrupted. If the resistance of any of your other companions is reduced to zero, there is no immediate penalty, though your opponent may play Grid cards to take advantage of this.