📖 Complete Rules Reference

The definitive guide to Human Enough rules, covering energy costs, scoring formulas, effect types, and edge cases.

🎴 Game Components

Action Cards

Cards representing acts of kindness with four stats:

Stat Symbol Description
Time ⏱️ How much time the action takes
Heart ❤️ Emotional investment required
Spotlight Public visibility of the action
Connection 🤝 Social bonds created

Each Action card also has a Theme, Element (Fire, Earth, Air, Water), and Energy Cost.

Chaos Cards

Modifier cards with special effects. There are 9 effect types:

  • Link - Play additional Action cards
  • Draw - Draw additional cards
  • Energize - Modify your Energy pool
  • Sabotage - Reduce opponent scores or cancel effects
  • Combo - Conditional bonus points
  • Multiply - Multiply stats or totals
  • Aura - Persistent effects for the hand
  • Push - Energy-based bonuses
  • Rally - Card/element-based bonuses

🎮 Game Setup

Deck Configuration

  • All players share a single Action Draw Pile
  • All players share a single Chaos Draw Pile
  • Both decks are shuffled before the game begins

Starting Hands

Action Cards 7 cards
Chaos Cards 3 cards
Maximum Hand Size Unlimited during play; draw up to 10 between hands
Starting Energy 10 per hand

Win Condition

First player to win 10 hands wins the match!

⚡ Energy System

Energy limits how many cards you can play each hand. Every card has an Energy Cost based on its Power.

Action Card Energy Costs

Power Energy Cost Typical Rarity
3 1 Common
4-5 2 Common, Uncommon
6-7 3 Uncommon, Rare
8-9 4 Rare, Epic
10-11 5 Epic, Legendary

Chaos Card Energy Costs

Power Energy Cost Typical Rarity
1 1 Common
2 2 Common, Uncommon
3-4 3 Uncommon, Rare
5 4 Rare, Epic
6 5 Epic, Legendary

💡 Energy Strategy

With 10 Energy, you can typically play 3-5 cards per hand (average cost 2-3). Choose wisely between many weaker cards or fewer powerful ones!

🎭 Effect Types

🔗 Link

Play additional Action cards from your hand. Linked Actions count toward your score and may have bonus conditions.

Example: "Link 2 Actions. If they share an Element, gain +8."

🎴 Draw

Draw additional cards from either deck. Some Draw effects grant bonus points.

Example: "Draw 3. Keep 2. Gain +4 for each Chaos kept."

⚡ Energize

Modify your Energy pool. Can grant bonus Energy or reduce costs.

Example: "Gain +4 Energy. If you have a Fire Action, gain +2 more."

💣 Sabotage

Reduce opponent scores. Some Sabotage effects give you points too.

Example: "Reduce each opponent by 6. Gain +2 per opponent."

🛡️ Cancel

Block opponent effects targeting you. Works against specific effect types.

Example: "Cancel all Sabotage effects against you this hand."

🎯 Combo

Gain bonus points if conditions are met. Conditions checked at scoring.

Example: "If you played 3+ Fire Actions, gain +15."

✖️ Multiply

Multiply specific stats or your total score. Extremely powerful!

Example: "Multiply your Spotlight by 3."

🌟 Aura

Persistent effects lasting the rest of the match. Have both AURA (bonus) and DOWNSIDE (penalty).

Example: "AURA: +2 to all Link bonuses. DOWNSIDE: -1 starting Energy."

💪 Push

Bonuses based on Energy spent or remaining.

Example: "+2 per Energy spent this hand."

📣 Rally

Bonuses based on cards played, elements, or other factors.

Example: "+3 per unique Element you played."

📋 Effect Resolution Order

When cards are revealed, effects resolve in this strict order:

Priority Phase Effect Types
1st Cancel 🛡️ Cancel, Protect effects
2nd Aura 🌟 Persistent bonuses/penalties
3rd Energize ⚡ Energy modifications
4th Link 🔗 Play additional Actions
5th Sabotage 💣 Score reductions
6th Draw 🎴 Draw cards
7th Combo 🎯 Conditional bonuses
8th Push 💪 Energy-based bonuses
9th Rally 📣 Card-based bonuses
10th Multiply ✖️ Multipliers (LAST!)

⚠️ Critical: Multipliers Apply Last!

This is intentional and makes Multiply cards extremely powerful. All bonuses from Combo, Push, and Rally are added BEFORE multipliers apply!

🧮 Scoring Formula

Your final score is calculated step-by-step:

Step 1: Base Action Points

Base = Σ(Time) + Σ(Heart) + Σ(Spotlight) + Σ(Connection)

Sum each stat across ALL played Action cards.

Step 2: Apply Stat Multipliers

Modified = Σ(Time × time_mult) + Σ(Heart × heart_mult) + ...

If effects multiply specific stats, apply them now.

Step 3: Add Chaos Power

Score += Σ(Chaos Card Power values)

Each non-canceled Chaos card adds its Power.

Step 4: Add All Bonuses

Score += Combo + Link + Draw + Push + Rally + Cancel bonuses

Step 5: Apply Hand Multiplier

Score = (All above) × Hand Multiplier

Multiple hand multipliers stack multiplicatively.

Step 6: Subtract Sabotage

Final Score = max(0, Score - Sabotage Penalty)

Minimum final score is 0 (cannot go negative).

Complete Formula

Final = max(0, ((Σ stats × stat_mult) + chaos_power + bonuses) × hand_mult - sabotage)

Tiebreakers

If scores are tied, winner is determined by:

  1. Highest Spotlight total
  2. Highest Connection total
  3. Earlier seat position

❓ Special Situations

Hand Size Overflow

Effects can grant cards that exceed the 10-card maximum. You are NOT forced to discard. Normal draws won't add cards while at or above maximum.

Empty Draw Piles

If a draw pile is empty, reshuffle its discard pile to form a new draw pile. If BOTH are empty for a card type, that type cannot be drawn.

Linked Actions

Actions played via Link effects contribute to your score, trigger combo conditions, and are discarded normally at end of hand.

Saboteur Shield

Cards that grant "protection from Sabotage" give you shield counters. Each incoming Sabotage consumes one shield and is fully blocked.

Won-Hand Modifiers

Some effects add to or reduce won-hands counts. Won-hands cannot go below 0.

📚 Glossary

Action Card Cards representing kind deeds with Time, Heart, Spotlight, and Connection stats
Chaos Card Modifier cards with special effects that change gameplay
Element Fire, Water, Air, or Earth - thematic categories for cards
Energy Resource limiting how many cards you can play (16 per hand)
Hand A single round of play; first to win 10 hands wins the match
Link Playing additional Action cards from your hand via an effect
Match A complete game consisting of multiple hands
Power A card's strength rating, determines Energy cost
Rarity Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, or Legendary
Theme Action card category (e.g., Community, Education, Environment)