Players will need a total of 40 cards each to play. A game is played between 2 Players.
A deck (Sketchbook) consists of 1 Visionary and 39 additional cards. At least 1 card must be a Splatterkin with a cost of 1 Inspiration.
A Player may have up to 3 copies of a card in their deck. Each Splatterkin can have 3 copies of each form it has. A Player may have multiple versions of a Splatterkin as long as the name is different.
Average time per game is 30-50 minutes.
1 Visionary
1 Showcase
1-2 Alterations per Splatterkin
2 Finishes per Splatterkin
3 Techniques
3 Drying Rack Splatterkins
Some card effects may allow you to have more than 1 Showcase.
Doodle and Original Splatterkins only can have 1 Alteration. Revisions may have 2.
The Canvas is your battlefield. This is where you summon Splatterkins, use techniques, apply alterations and finishes. You'll learn more about each card type later on. Paying attention to how you utilize your Canvas and all of your cards is key to victory!
If at any time you are confused by a term, please refer to the Glossary located at the bottom of the page for more information!
If you're more of a visual learner, scroll to the bottom of the page for videos that teach you the basics!
A Player wins the game by obtaining 5* Paint Drops.
Paint Drops are acquired by defeating the Opponent's Splatterkins in battle. For each Splatterkin the Player defeats, they gain 1 Paint Drop. A Player usually cannot obtain Paint Drops by using techniques, however, there are some cases where a technique will grant the Player a Paint Drop.
Standard Mode: Players play until 5 Paint Drops. This is the tournament official version.
Original Mode: Players play until 10 Paint Drops.
Speed Paint: Players play until 3 Paint Drops.
What is Inspiration?
Inspiration is considered to be the energy cost used to play all aspects of the game. The Inspiration of a card can be found at the top left corner of the card in the form of a number denoting how much of it there is. With non-Splatterkin cards (such as Techniques), the Inspiration value denotes how much that card costs to play. The Inspiration used to pay this cost comes out of the player’s Visionary’s current Inspiration value. With Splatterkin, their Inspiration value denotes how much they cost to dry, as well as how much health and attack they have at any given time. Visionaries, at most, can have up to 20 Inspiration. At the start of the game, tokens are placed on the Visionary equal to the amount they start with. Inspiration does not replenish at the start of your turn unless if gained through a card effect or talent.
CHARACTER / CREATURE CARDS
Visionary: The Visionary is a unique card that each deck may only have 1 copy of regardless of who it is.
The Visionary is removed from the deck and placed in its own area on the Canvas before the game begins. Like all cards, the Visionary has an Inspiration value in the upper left corner of the card. The Visionary costs nothing to play and their Inspiration is used to pay the Inspiration cost for the cards in the Player’s hand and on their Canvas. A Visionary cannot pay for a card's cost if they do not have Inspiration (from which they can spend from) equal to or greater than the card's cost. Visionaries may have a max of 20 Inspiration. Players can select any Visionary to include in their deck. You use tokens, dice or pencil and paper to track how much Inspiration your Visionary has at any given time: the amount will fluctuate as the game progresses, being earned back by card effects or talents such as Inspire. It does not replenish back to the starting amount at the beginning of your turn, so use your Visionary's Inspiration wisely!
Doodles: Doodles are baby Splatterkin.
They may only have up to 2 Inspiration and don’t need to dry (but still must be placed from the hand to the Drying Rack during a game to get on the Canvas, or from the Deck to the Showcase during the first Planning Phase). Doodles are of the Vibrant colorway, regardless of their Original version’s colorway.
Originals: Original Splatterkins are the most common of all the Splatterkin types.
They can be played to the Drying Rack as wet (played face down) and then dried (face up) on the next round if their Inspiration cost is paid for. They can also be played (skipping the wet/dry stage) to the Canvas by upgrading a Doodle that is already on the Canvas.
Revisions: Revisions are Splatterkin that have grown into their full potential.
Unlike Doodle and Originals, they can only be played to the Canvas if they are upgraded from a dry (face up) Original Splatterkin.
EFFECT CARDS
Techniques: Techniques are cards that grant the Player additional effects that they can use during a game. There are three types of Technique cards. A Player may only have a max of 3 Techniques on the Canvas at one time.
Instants: Instant Techniques will have the word “Instant” highlighted above their effects. To be played, an Instant must first be placed face down in the Techniques area of the Player’s Canvas. The Player then may choose, at any time during a Round, to flip any number of their placed Techniques face up. When they do so, they must pay the Inspiration cost on the card(s) and use their effects. Once the card’s effects are completed, the card is sent to the Drawing Board.
Constants: Constants are Techniques that are played the same way as Instants. However, once flipped face up and paid for, they remain in the Techniques area, continuously applying their effects to the game until they are interrupted by another Technique or removed to the Drawing Board or Trash Can.
Interrupts: Interrupts are Techniques that can only be used if the situation arises in which their effects can be used. For example, Glue Trap can only be played when an opponent's Splatterkin attacks. At which time its ability to stop said Splatterkin from attacking can be paid for and used. Like Instants, Interrupts can be played to the Canvas face down, and then flipped face up at any time, be paid for, have their effects used, and then be sent to the Drawing Board. However unlike Instants, Interrupts can also be paid for and played from the player’s Hand, have their effects used, and then be sent to the Drawing Board without ever touching the Canvas.
Finishes: Finishes are similar to Techniques, as they grant the Player the ability to use a wide variety of effects during a game. However, they differ in how they are played.
To play a Finish, the Player looks at its Inspiration cost, pays it using their Visionary, and then places it in the Finishes area of Canvas, which is to the right of the Showcase area (given they have a Splatterkin in the Showcase) or the Splatterkin itself (if it is in the Drying Rack). The ability the Finish has is then constantly active (similar to a Constant Technique), so long as the Splatterkin it is attached to is in the Drying Rack or Showcase area. Any Splatterkin can have up to two Finishes applied to it at a time. Finishes cannot be removed from a Splatterkin once applied unless by the effect of another card.
Alterations: Alterations are similar to Finishes, as they can be applied to a Splatterkin to grant it Inspiration!
To apply an Alteration, the player must simply place the Alteration in the Alteration area for free, which is to the left of the Showcase area (given they have a Splatterkin in the Showcase) or the Splatterkin itself (if it is in the Drying Rack). Some Alterations might have an Inspiration cost which is paid for by the Visionary prior to being applied to the Splatterkin. Doodle and Original Splatterkin can have 1 Alteration attached to them, whilst Revision Splatterkin can have up to 2. Alterations remain on a Splatterkin until the end of the round, which they are then removed at the start of your next turn, unless if its effect states otherwise.
TOKENS
What are Tokens?: Tokens are special effects that affect the flow of gameplay by either preventing or providing a benefit outside of normal gameplay. While they are not cards themselves, many card effects do refer to them so it is important to familiarized yourself with them.
Types of Tokens
Duality: Duality Tokens remain in effect until removed or the Splatterkin they are attached to is defeated. If a Duality Token is placed on a Splatterkin, it disables all talents that Splatterkin has.
Gem: Gem Tokens remain in effect for 1 round unless if an ability allows for it to remain longer. If a Splatterkin is the target of a card effect and has a Gem Token, you may stop the effect by discarding the Gem Token.
Ink: Ink Tokens remain in play until used. Each time damage is dealt by the specified means (attack, technique, etc) you will gain 1 Ink Token. When you are ready you may remove any amount of Ink Tokens you have stored to deal damage to a Foe equal to the amount of ink tokens you remove.
Set Up
The set up occurs only at the very beginning of the game. This gets both players ready to begin as soon as it becomes their turn.
1. Each Player places their Visionary to the left of their Techniques area.
2. Each Player searches their Sketchbook (deck) for a Splatterkin of their choice with 1 Inspiration. Both Players place their chosen Splatterkin face down (wet) in their Showcase area. Each Player then shuffles their Sketchbook, placing it to the left of their Visionary and draws 5 cards.
This ability to search for a Splatterkin of choice at the start of the game is exclusive to both Players. Once the Players advance to battle, they will only be able to use, dry, and/or place whatever Splatterkins they happen to draw from their Deck (sketchbook) or already have in their hand.
Mulligan Rule: During the start of the game, Players can discard up to 5 cards to the bottom of their Sketchbook and draw cards equal to the amount discarded. You can only do this once.
3. Each player rolls a dice. Whoever gets the highest number goes first. In the case of a tie, both players reroll.
4. Both players reveal their selected starting Splatterkin by drying them.
To reveal a Splatterkin, flip it face up to dry it. When a Splatterkin is dry, it is active and can be used to battle. At the beginning of the game, the Splatterkin that the Player chose to start with, is played for free. This Splatterkin must have an Inspiration cost of 1. Do not deduct the Inspiration cost from your Visionary at this time. The starting Splatterkin is the only Splatterkin that does not deplete a Visionary's Inspiration unless a card effect states otherwise. Remember, after this step, Players must pay the Inspiration cost for any Splatterkins that are wet so they may become dry and active.
5. Players move on to the Planning Phase, starting with Player 1.
Turn vs Round?
A Turn consists of a Player's individual Planning Phase and Battle Phase choices. A Player's Turn ends after they finish their attack during their Battle Phase. A Player may still play Techniques from their Hand or Canvas after their turn is over and at any time during the Opponent's turn if applicable.
A Round consists of everything that happens from the start to the end of both Players' Planning Phases and Battle Phases. A
Round is completed when both Players have each completed their turns and cannot continue. Once a Round is completed, a new Round starts, beginning with the Player that did not start the previous Round.
* During the Planning Phase, a Player may place any Techniques or Alterations on the Canvas as they like, and are able to, face down for free and pay the cost at a later time when activated (revealing the card). They may also place as many Finishes as they like, but must pay the Inspiration cost on the Finish before doing so. They may place Wet Splatterkins in the Drying Rack during their first Planning Phase.
Both Players may not use any effects on any of the cards they may have placed on the Canvas during their Set Up Phase (including their Visionary). After the Set Up phase has concluded and the first Planning Phase begins, Players may use their cards effects.
TURN ORDER
ROUND 1 BEGINS
A) Player 1 Planning Phase
B) Player 2 Planning Phase
C) Player 1 Battle Phase
D) Player 2 Battle Phase
ROUND 1 ENDS
ROUND 2 BEGINS
A) Player 2 Planning Phase
B) Player 1 Planning Phase
C) Player 2 Battle Phase
D) Player 1 Battle Phase
ROUND 2 ENDS
The beginning of the round alternates between the Players. This is important to remember as the game progresses! An easy reminder is that if a Player ends the round being the one who attacked then that Player is the one who begins the next round.
The active Player now has several steps to take. First, they must look at their Visionary and dried Splatterkins. If they have any Talents that happen at the start of the Turn or Round, they must use them, unless if they are optional. Secondly, they must draw back up to 5 cards if necessary, or draw just 1.* Thirdly, they can now choose to utilize their cards (either from their Hand or from the Canvas) however they like and are capable of.
Players must be sure to pay attention to their Visionary and Splatterkins at all times. Their Talents vary wildly and have many different scenarios in which they can or must be used.
* If a Player has less than 5 cards in their Hand at the start of their Planning Phase, they draw cards from the top of their Deck until they have 5 cards in their Hand. If they already have 5 cards, they draw 1 card instead. At the start of the game, a Player does not draw any cards as they already start with 5 in their hand, unless if prompted to by a card effect or talent.
As the first Round is underway, a Player may place Wet Splatterkins (a Splatterkin waiting to be playable) in their respective Drying Racks during their turn equal to the amount of open spots they have. If any Splatterkin is placed in this way, during the following Planning Phase, the Player may choose to dry the Splatterkin (make that Splatterkin playable) by spending their Visionary’s Inspiration to pay for the Inspiration cost of the Wet Splatterkin. Once dried, the Splatterkin is flipped face up and can be affected by Talents (such as “Inspire”), Techniques, Finishes, and Alterations. They can also have Finishes, Alterations and Upgrades applied to them.
Swapping Splatterkins
As long as a Player has not attacked yet during their turn, they may swap out a Splatterkin from the Drying Rack to their Showcase. When this is done, the Showcase they replace returns to the Drying Rack along with its Finishes and Alterations. The former Showcase keeps whatever damage it had occurred during its time as a Showcase. The new Showcase would keep any Finishes or Alterations it had acquired during its time on the Drying Rack. A Player may only swap their Splatterkin once during their turn.
When a Player is ready to go into battle, they end their Planning Phase. The second Player would then begin their Planning Phase. Once both Players have completed the Planning Phase, move on to the Battle Phase.
Be sure to have all Finishes and Alterations applied prior to entering the Battle Phase as well as any Techniques played face down and ready to be used if needed! This reminder does not apply to any Techniques that may be played from your hand.
During a Player's Battle Phase, they are capable of doing a few things. At any time, they can play certain Techniques from their Hand or Canvas, if applicable. They can also attack the opponent’s Showcase Splatterkin (the “Foe”) with their Splatterkin. Once they attack and can do no further moves, their Battle Phase and Turn for that Round ends.
When a Splatterkin attacks the Player should look at their Showcase Splatterkin’s current Inspiration value, and then reduce the Inspiration of their opponent's Showcase Splatterkin by that amount. If the Splatterkin is defeated, the Player who dealt the damage gains 1 Paint Drop.
Splatterkins that are defeated are sent to the Drawing Board (discard pile), alongside any Finishes, Alterations, or Revisions that were attached to them.
A Splatterkin that has been reduced to 0 inspiration is defeated. Splatterkins defeated by the effect of a Technique do not reward a paint drop. Paint Drops are earned through being attacked and defeated in battle.
If a Splatterkin is defeated, or removed from the Showcase for any reason, a Player may take one of their dried Splatterkin in the Drying Rack and place it in their empty Showcase. If a Player has no dried Splatterkin in their Drying Rack to choose from, they can’t place a Splatterkin in their Showcase. If this happens, and the opposing Player has yet to attack with their Showcase Splatterkin, they then attack the Player who doesn't have a Showcase Splatterkin to gain a Paint Drop automatically.
Damage remains on a Splatterkin until defeated or Inspired (healed).
Ending the Battle Phase
When a Player has exhausted all options that they can currently do for their turn in terms of attacking and using techniques, they end their turn. When their turn ends, it passes over to the other Player, who can now begin their Battle Phase. Once the second Player finishes their Battle Phase, both Players have completed the round and can begin the next one, starting with the first Player's Planning Phase, following the previous steps. This is continued until the Victory Conditions are met. Once the Victory Conditions are met then the game is over and a winner is declared!
Visionary needs Inspiration?
If your Visionary is running low on Inspiration you may discard 2 cards from your hand to the bottom of your Sketchbook. Your Visionary gains 2 Inspiration and may only do so once during your turn.
No Splatterkins?
If a Player remains without any Splatterkins in their hand or on the Canvas for two consecutive rounds, at the start of third round they can draw from their Sketchbook until a Splatterkin is reached. If possible, they must pay it's Inspiration cost to dry it instantly and placing it in their Showcase. If there isn't enough Inspiration, it is placed on the Drying Rack wet (face down). All remaining cards that were drawn are shuffled back into their Sketchbook.
Out of Cards?
There is no decking out in Splatterkins. When a Sketchbook runs out, take the cards from the Drawing Board, shuffle and use them as the Sketchbook to keep playing.
Upgrading Splatterkins!
Splatterkins can be upgraded to become stronger, keep previous talents and change the course of battle. A Splatterkin can only be upgraded to a version using the same name. For this example, a Player has a Doodle Splatterkin, Baubbles, as their Showcase. The Doodle Baubbles has an Inspiration of 1. During this turn, the Player draws the Original version of Baubbles. They wish to upgrade Doodle Baubbles to Baubbles.
In order to upgrade a Splatterkin, the previous version must currently be in play dried - it cannot be wet or affected by a card effect which prevents it from being upgraded. The Player will place the upgrade on top of the previous version, stacking it so the previous version's talents can still be seen underneath.
There is no cost to upgrade a Splatterkin. Take the upgraded version's Inspiration and add it to the current Inspiration. A Splatterkin is able to utilize both previous talents and any new ones it has obtained due to the upgrade. If a talent is specific to a certain version then disregard its effects.
For example, all Doodles have a talent that reminds the Player that they cannot exceed 2 Inspiration but also that Doodles don't need to dry. This is specific to the Doodle version and would not apply to the Original.
A player can upgrade as many Splatterkins as they are able during their turn, so long as the Splatterkins being upgraded are dry.
There are 7 different Colorways found in Splatterkins: Vibrant, Pastel, Dark, Monochrome, Metallic, Shimmerkin and Inkkin.
Vibrant: A rainbow border with bright colors. You can spot the Colorway symbol under the Inspiration cost, in this case it is a V. Most Techniques, Alterations and Finishes have this border as well!
Pastel: A border with soft colors. There is a P symbol under the Inspiration cost.
Dark: A dark green border. There is a D symbol under the Inspiration cost.
Monochrome: A black and white border. The symbol for Monochrome is Mo.
Metallic: A golden border. The symbol for Metallic is M.
Shimmerkin: A bright, glowing blue border is for Shimmerkins. The symbol is an S.
Inkkin: An all black border is for Inkkins. The symbol is an I.
Visionary: No border and no symbol. Most Visionaries work with all types of Splatterkin. Some might benefit their associated Colorway more than others.
Colorways can overpower other colorways!
By reading the chart clockwise, you can see that Vibrant overpowers Pastel and so on. A Colorway that overpowers another deals 1 additional damage to its weaker Foe.
If you read the chart counter-clockwise you can see which Colorway deals less damage. Using the Vibrant and Pastel example again, Pastel is weaker than Vibrant so it deals 1 less damage to its Foe. If it would reduce the damage to 0, deal 1 damage instead.
Example:
Prisma, a Vibrant Splatterkin, is facing off against Kikz, a Pastel Splatterkin.
Both have 3 Inspiration.
When they battle, Prisma will deal 4 damage due to overpowering Kikz's Pastel Colorway.
Kikz will deal only 2 damage since it is weaker to Prisma's stronger Vibrant Colorway.
Kikz would be defeated and Prisma remains on the Canvas with 1 Inspiration left.
Overpowering your opponent can give you the upper hand but don't forget your opponent can swap out a Splatterkin and potentially overpower you too!
When playing Splatterkins, keep the order of resolution in mind for Talents, Techniques, Alterations and Finishes. If both Players have cards in the same Layer, roll a dice to see which resolves first. Highest number wins.
Layer 5 Techniques - Interrupts
Interrupts resolve before all other effects as they can change the order of resolution by preventing or removing effects.
Layer 4 Techniques - Instants / Constants
Instants and Constants resolve after Interrupts. Constants are always active and Instants happen the moment they are activated.
Layer 3 - Finishes
Finishes range in what effects they give. They can be removed or stopped by Techniques.
Layer 2 - Talents
Talents take effect after Finishes. Talents range from being used the moment a Splatterkin dries, becomes the Showcase, or when certain conditions are met.
Layer 1 - Alterations
Alterations are Inspiration for Splatterkins. They are removed at the end of the round or can be removed by effect cards like Techniques.
Visionary: An artist with the unique ability to summon Splatterkins. Visionaries can be used with any Colorway.
Splatterkins: The creatures summoned to battle. There are Doodles, Originals and Revisions.
Colorway: Denoted by the symbol on the top left of the card and card border, Colorways classify the type of Splatterkin being summoned. Certain Splatterkins are stronger or weaker against other Colorways. To learn more see: "Overpowering Colorways"
Talents: Abilities that Splatterkins and Visionaries naturally have are known as Talents.
Inspiration: Inspiration is considered to be the energy cost used to play all aspects of the game. The Inspiration of a card can be found at the top left corner of the card in the form of a number denoting how much of it there is. With non-Splatterkin cards (such as Techniques), the Inspiration value denotes how much that card costs to play. The Inspiration used to pay this cost comes out of the player’s Visionary’s current Inspiration value. With Splatterkin, their Inspiration value denotes how much they cost to dry, as well as how much health and attack they have at any given time. Visionaries, at most, can have up to 20 Inspiration.
Friendly: A Friendly Splatterkin is a Splatterkin summoned by the same Player.
Foe: A Foe Splatterkin is a Splatterkin summoned by the opposing Player.
Wet / Dry: A Wet Splatterkin isn't ready to battle yet and must wait a round to Dry. A Dry Splatterkin is ready for battle and can begin gaining Inspiration. Wet Splatterkin are face down. Dry Splatterkin are face up.
Canvas: The Canvas is the battlefield where Players summon and battle their Splatterkins.
Sketchbook: A Sketchbook is a Player's deck. The Sketchbook is located to the left of your Visionary.
Drawing Board: The discard pile is called the Drawing Board. It is located on the bottom left corner of the Canvas under the Sketchbook. If a Player ends up decking out they shuffle their Drawing Board (discard pile) and then place it face down where the Sketchbook (deck) goes. Decking out is when you run out of cards in your deck to draw from. Splatterkins can be brought back from the Drawing Board by special effects.
Garbage Can: Any exiled cards go to the Garage Can located off the Canvas. Nothing returns from the Garbage can!
Drying Rack: Each Player has a Drying Rack that holds up to 3 Splatterkins. Players place Wet Splatterkins to dry on the Drying Rack during their Planning Phase.
Techniques: Any effect and spell cards are called Techniques. Players may have a max of 3 Techniques each on the Canvas at any time.
Alterations: Alterations are special cards that can be applied to Splatterkins which Inspire them to increase their attack and health. These are placed to the left of a Player's Showcase.
Finishes: Constant effects that directly apply to a Splatterkin are called Finishes. Finishes are placed to the right of a Showcase.
Showcase: The Showcase is a Player's active Splatterkin that will be battling.
Doodles: Doodles are baby Splatterkin that can only have a max of 2 Inspiration and don’t need to dry when first summoned. All Doodles are considered Vibrant.
Originals: Originals are the main form of a Splatterkin. Originals upgrade from Doodles or can be played on their own without upgrading.
Revisions: Revisions are the last form of a Splatterkin. They must be upgraded from an Original.
Upgrade: Upgrading is when you make a Splatterkin stronger by bringing it to its next form. The Upgrading line goes from Doodle to Original and from Original to Revision.
Overpower: When a colorway is stronger than another.
Hey Visionary! Are you more of a visual learner? Check out these how to play videos and follow along!
Splatterkins created and developed by AcyFaust. Published by Speedrobo Games. All rights reserved.
