Love Formula
RULES

Love Formula is a card drafting game for 2 to 4 players in which you attempt to set up couples you
support on their perfect date, while sabotaging the efforts of your opponents to do the same!
These are the original rules. The Kickstarter campaign includes all new art, some new cards, and rules tweaks. Theserules will give you a good understanding of the game mechanics and work with the print-and-play cards, but check out
the Kickstarter campaign from June 27th to July 20th, 2017 for all the latest!

Game MaterialsSetup• Love Formula Rules• 124 Game Cards› 57 Preparation Cards› 24 Couple Cards› 18 Obstacle Cards› 8 Reaction Cards› 17 Action Cards

1. Collect all 4 Parttime Job cards andhand each player aone of these cards.
Any excess Part-time
Job cards are set
aside and not used.

Game Objective

2. Shuffle the restof the cards and put
them in the center ofthe table. They formthe deck.

The objective of the game is to have the most
victory points when the game ends.

Game Phases
There are two phases to the game – the draft phase and the play phase. Play alternates betweenthe two phases, with the draft phase occurring first. Once each phase has been played twice, thegame ends.

Draft Phase 1© Gwin Games LLC | Patent Pending

Play Phase 1

Draft Phase 2
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Play Phase 2

Draft PhaseTo start the draft phase, deal each player 12 cards from the deck. These cards make up players’ starting
hands during the draft phase. Players may look at the cards dealt to them, but should not show them to other players. Then, players repeat the following steps until all cards in all players’ hands have been selected:1.
2.

Each player selects a card from their hand to keep, and places it face down in a pile in front of them.
When all players have selected a card, they pass the remaining cards in their hand to an adjacent player.
During the first draft phase of the game, players pass cards clockwise. During the second draft phase of thegame, players pass counterclockwise. If players have no cards in hand to pass, the draft phase is over.

During the draft phase, players may look at their own cards that they have selected and placed face down infront of them at any time.

Play PhaseTo start the play phase, players pick up the cards they selected during the draft phase. These cards make upeach player’s hand during the play phase. Each player adds a Part-time Job card to their hand. During theplay phase, each player also has a field. A player’s field is simply a space in front of them that contains certain
cards they or their opponents may play. The cards in a player’s field from the first play phase carry over tothe second play phase.
Whenever a card is
discarded during the playphase, place it face up in apile next to the deck. This
pile is called the discard
pile. Any player may lookthrough the discard pileat any time, but its order
may not be changed. Onceeach player’s hand is set,
the following steps arerepeated 10 times:
1.
2.
3.

4.

Each player selects a card, other than a reaction card, from his or her hand and places it face down to play it.
Once all players have selected a card, all players turn their cards face up to reveal them.
Each card has a priority value. Cards resolve in priority order - cards with higher priorities resolve first. So acard with priority 4 would resolve prior to a card with priority 3. If there is a tie, use a coin flip or die roll to
break the tie. This breaking of ties occurs before any player resolves any cards. A card “resolving” simply
means that its effect takes place. See the Card Types section for a description of what happens when eachtype of card resolves.
Immediately prior to, or immediately after a player resolves a card, other than a reaction card, that player
may move one preparation card on their field to any other valid position on their field. This may only bedone once per card resolution. See the Preparation Cards subsection of the Card Types section for an expla
nation of valid positions.

During the play phase, players may also play reaction cards if the trigger condition for a reaction card is met.
Players may always play reaction cards if the trigger condition is met. When a reaction card is played, it does
not resolve immediately. Other players may play reaction cards that respond to it, or to the same event thatthe currently pending reaction card is responding to. If such a response occurs, the reaction card played
later resolves prior to the reaction card played earlier. If this causes the earlier reaction card to no longer bea valid play, it is simply discarded.
During the play phase, players may also choose to discard any couple or preparation cards in their own fieldat any time.
When the play phase is over, any unused cards in players’ hands are discarded.
© Gwin Games LLC | Patent PendingPage 2

Card Types

Action Cards
1.
2.
3.
4.

Card Name
Priority
Card Type
Card Effect

When an action card resolves, simply perform the effectstated on the card. After the effect has occurred, the card isdiscarded.

Couple Cards
1.
2.
3.

Card Name
Priority
Required Preparation Cards

When a couple card resolves, its controller simply places it in
his or her own field. While this card is in a player’s field, oneof each of the preparation cards listed in the couple card’s
Required Preparation Cards may be attached to it. A couple
card with two requirements is worth four victory points atthe end of the game if both requirements are attached to it,
and a couple card with three requirements is worth nine victory points at the end of the game if all three requirements
are attached to it. A couple card is worth one victory point if it
does not have all its requirements attached to it.

© Gwin Games LLC | Patent Pending

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Card Types (continued)

Preparation Cards
1.
2.
3.
4.

Card Name
Priority
Card Type
Card Subtype

When a preparation card resolves, it must be placed in a valid
position in its controller’s field. There are two possible validpositions – attached to a valid couple card, or in a free slot. Avalid couple card is any couple card that lists the preparation
card as a requirement. Each player also has 3 free slots – onefor each type of preparation. So, a player may have one event,one location, and one item in their field and not attached toany couple card. If a preparation card resolves and has novalid position in which to be placed, it is discarded. (Recall,though, that preparations on a player’s field may be discardedat any time, and immediately prior to resolving any nonreaction card one preparation card may be moved within aplayer’s own field.) Each preparation card is worth one victory
point.

Obstacle Cards
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Card Name
Priority
Card Type
Card Subtype
Card Effect

When an obstacle card resolves, it must be attached to acouple card in an opponent’s field. If no such card exists when
the card resolves, it is discarded. There is no limit to the number of obstacles that can be placed on a couple. The couple
card an obstacle is attached to is referred to as the “affectedcouple.”© Gwin Games LLC | Patent Pending

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Card Types (continued)
Reaction Cards
1.
2.
3.

Card Name
Trigger Criteria
Card Effect

Reaction cards aren’t played normally. Instead, they can beplayed immediately whenever their trigger criteria is met.
When a reaction card is played, its stated effect takes place,and then the card is discarded.

Ending the Game
Once both the draft and play phases have been played twice, as stated previously, the game is over, and theplayer with the most victory points is the winner. Each of the following in a player’s field grants them victory
points:••••Each preparation card, including ones attached to completed couples, is worth one victory point
Each couple card without a complete set of preparations is worth one victory point.
Each couple card with two requirements is worth four victory points if it has both requirements attached.
Each couple card with three requirements is worth nine victory points if it has all three requirements attached.

If there is a tie, use the following tiebreakers in top down order to decide the winner.
••••

The player with the most preparation cards in their field wins.
The player with the most couple cards in their field wins.
The player with the least number of obstacle cards in their field wins
The player with the most cards in hand wins.

If there is still a tie, then the game is a draw.

Miscellaneous Other Rules••••

The Part-time Job card may not be discarded.
If you do not have any cards in hand except for Part-time Job and are required to discard a card, do nothing.
If you do not have any cards in hand except for Part-time Job and are required to make a choice between
discarding cards and doing something else, you may not choose to discard a card.
If you play a card during play phase 1 that takes effect in or lasts a certain number of turns, the turn countfor the card carries over into play phase 2. For example, the card Bullying has an effect that triggers at thestart of every turn for 4 turns. If Bullying is played on the 9th turn of play phase 1, its effect will end after ittriggers during the 3rd turn of play phase 2.

© Gwin Games LLC | Patent Pending

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