LEARN TO SLAY

MASTER THE RULES. BUILD YOUR POWER. UNLEASH YOUR TERROR.

RULES & TUTORIALS

START PLAYING IN MINUTES

GAMEPLAY

HELLBREAK is a visceral head-to-head tactical card game where you command a legendary horror monster in a battle to the death. Build your power, control key locations, and outmaneuver your rival through strategic card play, positioning, and brutal combat. Seize the battlefield and unleash your terror before the shadows close in.

CHOOSE YOUR MONSTER

Take control of a fearsome horror icon and prepare to destroy your rival.

SET THE BATTLEFIELD

Place your monster, location, deck, crypt, health stack, and tokens.

BUILD YOUR POWER

Collect resources, bid for initiative, and grow your vault each round.

TAKE ACTIONS

Play cards, attack enemies, scheme for control, use abilities, slumber, or pass.

UNLEASH THE HORROR

Choose the moment when your monster stops Lurking and goes Unleashed!

SLAY YOUR ENEMY

Keep damaging your enemy’s health stack until their monster is destroyed.

CARD TYPES

Identify Card Types in the upper-right corner of every HELLBREAK card. They define how each card enters the nightmare, what role it plays, and how it shapes the battle.

MONSTER

Title

Your central horror and primary combatant. Monsters are double-sided, shifting between Lurking and Unleashed forms, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

MINION

Title

Lesser horrors, servants, and allies that support your Monster. Minions attack, defend, trigger abilities, and help control the battlefield.

ASSET

Title

Weapons, items, and skills that strengthen your strategy. Assets provide lasting advantages, brutal upgrades, or sinister utility.

EVENT

Title

Sudden bursts of violence, fear, and chaos. Events create immediate effects, disrupt plans, and turn key moments into bloodshed.

LOCATION

Title

Dangerous places where the nightmare takes shape. Locations alter the battlefield, create strategic pressure, and reward players who control them.

ANATOMY OF A CARD

This diagram breaks down a standard minion card, highlighting the key information found on most HELLBREAK cards.

1. CARD NAME

The name of the card.

2. COST

In order to play this card, you must spend this much blood.

3. LOYALTY

In order to play this card, you must have these aspect icons in your vault. 

4. COMBAT

The amount of damage this card deals when it attacks or defends

5. ABILITY TEXT

Most cards have at least one ability that is active when in play.

6. RESOUCE BAR

The resources gained each round if this card is in your vault. 

7. COLLECTION DATA

HELLBREAK cards are printed in sets. The three letters are the set code, the number is the card ID, and the right letter is the rarity. 

8. TRAITS

These are descriptive words. They have no rules, but they may be referred to in card abilities.

9. HEALTH

The amount of damage this card can take before it is killed.

10. SCHEME BAR

The effects that occur when a character schemes, resolved from left to right. 

11. CARD TYPE

Monster, Minion, Asset, Event or Location. 

ANATOMY OF A CARD

This diagram breaks down a standard minion card, highlighting the key information found on most HELLBREAK cards.

ASPECTS

Every HELLBREAK card belongs to one of five aspects — each with its own identity, strategy, and brand of horror.

Cursed

Rituals. Resilience. Control.
Cursed characters endure, manipulate, and outlast anything that stands against them.

Deranged

Madness. Visions. Unpredictable violence.
Deranged characters thrive on chaos, turning instability into terrifying power.

Feral

Instinct. Speed. Savage strength.
Feral characters strike fast, react faster, and follow the most brutal path to victory.

Revenant

Vengeance. Death. Relentless.
Revenant characters are driven by unfinished business — not even death can stop them.

Void

The unknown. The inhuman. Cosmic power.
Void characters bend reality through science, spellcraft, and forces beyond comprehension.

ASPECTS

Every HELLBREAK card belongs to one of five aspects — each with its own identity, strategy, and brand of horror.

Cursed

Rituals. Resilience. Control.
Cursed characters endure, manipulate, and outlast anything that stands against them.

Deranged

Madness. Visions. Unpredictable violence.
Deranged characters thrive on chaos, turning instability into terrifying power.

Feral

Instinct. Speed. Savage strength.
Feral characters strike fast, react faster, and follow the most brutal path to victory.

Revenant

Vengeance. Death. Relentless.
Revenant characters are driven by unfinished business — not even death can stop them.

Void

The unknown. The inhuman. Cosmic power.
Void characters bend reality through science, spellcraft, and forces beyond comprehension.

BUILD YOUR POWER

Your Vault is your source of power. As the game progresses, you add cards to your Vault to build the resources and aspect icons needed to unleash stronger cards.

The more your Vault grows, the more dangerous your monster becomes.

AWAKEN STRONGER HORRORS

Loyalty measures how strongly a card is bound to its aspect. To play a card, you must pay its blood cost and have enough matching aspect icons in your Vault to satisfy its loyalty requirement.

To play COUNT ALUCARD, a player must spend 9 blood, and their Vault must contain at least 3 Cursed icons.

BUILD YOUR POWER

Your Vault is your source of power. As the game progresses, you add cards to your Vault to build the resources and aspect icons needed to unleash stronger cards.

The more your Vault grows, the more dangerous your monster becomes.

AWAKEN STRONGER HORRORS

Loyalty measures how strongly a card is bound to its aspect. To play a card, you must pay its blood cost and have enough matching aspect icons in your Vault to satisfy its loyalty requirement.

To play COUNT ALUCARD, a player must spend 9 blood, and their Vault must contain at least 3 Cursed icons.

OFFICIAL RULES LIBRARY

QUICK START RULES

Jump into the game with this condensed 2-page guide, found in the HellBreak 2-player starter set.

ENGLISH (14.5 MB)

ESPAÑOL (16.1 MB)

FRANÇAIS (15.3 MB)

LEARN TO PLAY

Contains complete rules, deck-building restrictions, and advanced concepts.

MASTER RULES

Includes detailed examples of keywords, timing windows, and specific card interactions.