The game is played over several rounds, the first to win 5 rounds is the winner. At the start of each round, the two Swordsman figures are placed onto the two end spaces of the board. The cards are well shuffled and each player is dealt 5 cards which he looks at without showing them to his opponent. The rest of the cards are placed face down in a pile by the board. The players decide who is to start, the start player then alternates in every subsequent round.
Players play alternately.
The player can decide whether to move forwards or backwards. The swordsman may not move off the board, nor may he move onto or over the space occupied by the other swordsman. At the end of his turn the player takes a replacement card or cards from the pack until he once again has five cards in his hand, then his opponent takes his turn in the same way. Cards played are put face down in a pile so that only the last card played is visible. Players may not search through this pile to see what cards have been played earlier.