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Battle Mode — turn the table on your opponents

Strategy · May 30, 2026

Battle Mode

Battle Mode is a separate game mode picked in the lobby (or vs bots on the main menu) alongside Classic. The rules are identical except for one rule addition: every two build piles you complete arms an attack.

How an attack works

  1. Complete two build piles during your turn(s). The pile-finish counter sits next to your seat — you can see it tick 1/2, then 2/2.
  2. When the counter hits 2/2, the attack picker opens.
  3. Pick a card from your hand — any number, any wild. That is your shot.
  4. Pick an opponent. The picker shows each opponent's stockpile size and their current top card.
  5. The card flies across the table with a whoosh, slams into the chosen stockpile at a random non-top index, and everyone at the table sees the animation and hears the impact.

The receiving player's stockpile grows by one. The card lands buried, so it does not immediately disrupt their next play — but it pushes their stockpile top further from the finish line.

Why it matters

  • A player who is one card from emptying their stockpile is suddenly two.
  • Wilds are devastating shots — they bury usefully and waste a card the attacker did not need anyway.
  • Defensively: complete piles when you can use the points yourself, but be aware that letting an opponent finish two in a row hands them a free shot.

Solo Battle Mode

Pick Battle Mode before starting a solo match. Bots play the same rules: when they arm an attack, the AI targets the lowest stockpile with the highest card in its hand. That means staying near the front of the pack draws fire — sometimes coasting in second place is the safer line.

Where it shows up in the UI

  • The lobby room cards show a small Mode chip — orange flame icon means Battle Mode, plain chip means Classic.
  • The seat HUD shows the attack-arming counter (0/2, 1/2, 2/2).
  • When an attack lands, the impacted player's stockpile flashes and the flying card is visible to every player and spectator.

Tips

  • Don't stockpile wilds for attacks. Wilds win games. A 12 in your hand with no place to play it is the perfect projectile.
  • Watch the pile counter, not the leader. Whoever just finished a second pile is the immediate threat — they can shoot before they discard.
  • In best-of series, the loser of round 1 attacks first in round 2 — the pile counter resets each round.

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