The steps below are designed to help new players learn the Core Rules as quickly as possible.

It is possible to play online using Discord, or in person with printed cards and tokens. Choose Online if your gaming group is not physically located together, or are not available at the same times, so that play can be conducted asynchronously. In Person play promotes richer role playing and table talk, but requires that you download and print the Core Rules Content Pack ahead of time.

You're going to be playing a person, called an Actor, in conflict with an NPC Actor(s). In the Core Rules, Actors are defined by Aspects and Attributes, and you need to know what those are, and what they mean. When you can look at the following stat block and know what it means, you've mastered Actors to the point where playing online in Discord will make sense: R1/1(27/0)-M3(3/3/3)-B3(3/3/3)-S3(3/3/3)

Rock-Paper-Scissors is a Dominance Loop, and you already know how to play that, right? No-Dice RPG uses Dominance Loops to determine which Aspect beats another Aspect, and which Attribute wins, ties, or loses against any other Attribute. You'll be constantly comparing the cards you played to those of the GM, trying to figure out what card beat the other, so it's best to keep a cheat sheet printed out, or consult online help while playing.

If you will be playing online, Join our Discord server, and find an Conflict# channel not in use, then type “/tnt help” to learn how to use the bot. If you will be playing person, print cards & tokens enough for the number of players. For your first hand, both you and the GM should play Actors with identical stat blocks shown in Step 2 above. Each player will need 3 Aspect cards, 9 Attribute cards, 3 tokens for each Attribute (27 total), a Wildcard token, and there needs to be 2 Pot Tokens for the table.

Conflicts between two or more Actors are resolved by Playing one or more Hands, just like Poker. The set of steps to Play a Hand is called the Contract, and the set of rules that defines how to resolve a Contract is called the Core Kernel.

A Conflict begins with the GM:
Setting the Scene–this means describing to the player(s) where they are, what the environment is, who their Actors are, what position they are in, and what their motivations are. This is to facilitate role playing, and it is what will drive the cards you play. Cards represent the Actions your Actors take while role playing.

A Hand starts when a Player (or the GM):
Takes an Opposed Action–at any point during or after the GM has set the scene, one Actor needs to go all agro, and do something another Actor will want to prevent. Just say what your Actor does, but not so specifically that the opposing player can guess exactly what cards you are going to play. This is called creating Bluff Space. The player who took the first Action is Under-the-Gun (UTG), and must play play cards and bid first for the hand.

Hands are Resolved by:
Following the Contract Steps–if playing in person, just walk through all 6 steps of the Contract in order, playing cards and tokens as described. If playing online, the bot will walk you through these steps automatically. If at the end of the Hand the Conflict has not been resolved by how the outcome effected the role playing, play another Hand!