How to Play Oathen
Everything that you need to know in order to play Oathen can be found in the Oathen rulebook, but the best way to learn is to watch these quick instruction videos and jump into a live game at play.oathen.gg. If you encounter any situation where you need further details, the rulebook serves as a deeper guide for your questions.
Note that the first two of the videos below were created using Tabletopia. Oathen is a physical tabletop game with a digital port coming to Steam, and you can now also join the beta online at play.oathen.gg. The digital version is still early, so expect some rough edges while we build it out.
How a round works
Every round is broken up into three phases. In the Planning Phase, players simultaneously select up to four cards from their Skillbook that they think will be effective for the round. Once everyone has selected their cards, the Action Phase begins, and players take turns activating those cards on themselves or their opponents. At the end of the round comes the Cooldown Phase, where those cards are placed on your Cooldown Track for a set number of rounds based on their strength.
Try it: Nyxa’s first round
Pick the four highlighted cards from Nyxa’s Skillbook: a Prep, a Battle, an Enhancement and a Blitz. Then lock in your plan.
Hand 0 of 4 chosen
Skillbook
Hand
Played
Opponent
Played cards go onto your Cooldown Track. The stronger the card, the longer it’s out of the game. Once abilities shift off Cooldown 1 and back into your Skillbook, they become available again.
Your Skillbook 0 of 4 planned
Round 1. Plan your cards.
The arena
The arena is built from randomized tiles: a 5×5 grid for a duel, or 6×6 for three to six players. The tiles start hidden, like fog of war. Step into a hidden space and it’s revealed for the rest of the game.
About half of the arena are Barrens. The rest are temples, shrines and armories, traps like war camps and swamps, and treasure chests. Push an enemy into a pit trap and the arena does the work for you.
Lunging Stab is Nyxa’s quick strike. It can hit a target in her own space or in any of the eight spaces around her, and its cooldown is just 1. Pick it, then click Bravus when he’s in reach.
Throw Knife flies in a straight line in any of the four cardinal directions, and hits the first target it meets. Line Nyxa up with Bravus, pick it, and click a lit space in his direction.
Dark Grip is a Blitz Action: it can be played at any point while Battle Actions are being played, whether it’s your turn or not. The target gains a Root condition, which cancels out their next [Move] card.
Play a live game
Want to try Oathen right now? Join the beta at play.oathen.gg, and hop into our Discord to find opponents. The full rulebook is there whenever you need to settle a question.