How to play guide for The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls

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This page will serve as a basic **how to play guide for *The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls***. Feel free to edit this guide with any tips, tricks, and suggestions.

2-4 players (up to 6 is fine) take turns playing loot cards and using items to kill monsters that yield more items, loot, and sometimes get souls. The first player to end their turn with 4 souls is the winner. Cooperation, barter, and betrayal are encouraged.

1. Randomly select your characters and their starter items, and give each player 3 Loot Cards and 3¢.

2. Shuffle the monster, loot, and treasure decks and place them on the table.

3. Take the top 2 cards from the monster deck and place them face-up on the table. These are the current active monsters. If a non-monster card is revealed then put that card on the bottom of the deck until 2 monsters are revealed

4. Take the top 2 cards from the treasure deck and place them face-up on the table. These are the current store items.

5. Cain always starts first, if no one is playing Cain then the saddest player starts first or rolling the die and whoever gets the highest is fine.

6. All players start with their character card deactivated (turned sideways) and their starting item charged (not turned sideways)

At the start of a player's turn, the player charges their active items and player card (turns them upright), draws 1 Loot Card, and moves on to the Main Phase.

### Main Phase

During a player's turn, the player can do any/all of these things in any order

1. Play 1 Loot Card (You can also do this in response to any action during your turn).

2. Purchase 1 store item or purchase the unknown top card of the treasure deck. (All store items cost 10¢)

3. Attack 1 of the 2 monster cards, or the unknown top card of the monster deck.

4. Activate their player card to use 1 more Loot Card. (player cards can be saved and activated on another player's turn in response to any action)

### Ending Phase

When a player ends their turn

1. Heal ALL players and monsters

2. Discard down to 10 loot cards if you have more than 10 in hand

3. Pass the turn to the person to your left.

And that's pretty much the game! Repeat this until a player gets 4 Souls, once they get 4 Souls they win. What really makes this game interesting is the items you get along the way, as well as the player interaction. The mechanics will be further explained below.

**Charging and Activating Items:** At the start of your turn, you charge all your active items (gold border) and your player card, when your items are charged it means you can use them by turning them sideways, using their effect. Once you use an item you can't use it again until it's your turn again.

**Combat**: To damage a monster you roll your D6, if you get a roll equal, or more to the number shown on the monster card, you damage that monster equal to the damage on your player card. You must keep attacking until either you or the monster is dead, if you kill the monster you get the reward and replace that card.

**Death**: If you die for whatever reason, discard 1 non-eternal item you control, discard 1 Loot card, lose 1 penny, and deactivate all your items and player card.

## Tips and tricks

* If Eden gets an item that has "Destroy this" as the first part of its effect then that item cannot be used.

## See also

* Release date
* Comprehensive Rules (v1.3) by Jon Paull (@jonzo11)