MORANA › Teach It in Five Minutes
FOR THE ONE WHO BRINGS THE GAME
Teach MORANA in Five Minutes
Every table has one person who teaches. This page makes you good at it: the exact script for the first five minutes, three rules of thumb for each starter, and the four mistakes every first game contains. Games run about 15 minutes for two players.
The script, in six sentences
Say these six things, in this order, laying the cards out as you go. Do not explain anything else before game one starts.
- The goal: first player to 13 Slava wins. You score by holding Sites, the three locations between us.
- The economy: every turn you get Embers equal to the turn number. Turn 3, three Embers. No resource cards, no mana screw, we always grow at the same speed.
- The commit: each turn we both choose cards from hand and place them face down at the Sites, at the same time. Committing nothing is allowed, and sometimes it is a bluff.
- The reveal: we flip together and resolve what happens. The stronger side holds the Site, and held Sites pay Slava.
- The Open Grave: when a Spirit dies it goes to your Nav, FACE UP, where everyone can read it. Dead Spirits can be brought back, usually stronger. Your graveyard is not a discard pile, it is your second army, and I can read yours too.
- The Offering: once per turn, at day's end, you may sacrifice one of your own Spirits on purpose to feed that engine. Now let us play; I will explain cards as they appear.
That is the entire pre-game speech. Everything else, keywords included, teaches itself at the table when the card shows up. The full rules live in the
rules reference and the gentler
quickstart whenever you need them.
Hand them the right starter
Give the new player whichever deck fits their taste; all three are balanced against each other in simulation, a claim we back with the public balance dev log. Then give them exactly three rules of thumb, and no more. These are the same tips printed on our Learn-to-Play sheet:
FOR THE DEFENDER
THE HEARTH ABIDES
Go tall, not wide. Stack one Site until it is unbeatable. Chur Boundary-Stone even wins Power ties there: his card says so.
When unsure, reinforce the Site you already hold. A held Site pays 1 Slava every single turn.
Hold The Long Vigil until you control two Sites. 4 Embers for 2 Slava is a bargain. For 1 it is not.
FOR THE ATTACKER
THE DEEP DEVOURS
Commit Clash Spirits where the enemy already paid. Removing a 4-cost body with a 2-cost Rusalka Drowned-Maiden is how this deck wins, and your King makes every Clash hit 1 harder.
Do not save Drowning Pull for a perfect target. 1 Ember to defeat any Power 3 or less Spirit is good on turn 2 and great on turn 5.
Race, and mind the comeback rule. You want 13 before Turn 8, and the player who is BEHIND resolves first at each Site: when you lead, expect their answer to land before your cards do.
FOR THE ENGINE LOVER
THE RITE TURNS
Dying is fuel. A Spirit stranded at a lost Site is not wasted: Offer it at Dusk, then Reborn it later for 1 less than its printed cost.
Reborn early and often. Domovoi Hearth-Ward returns permanently bigger, Bolotnik Swamp-Lurker returns Clashing. The wheel is your engine, not your emergency.
Veles first, then the big turn. While Veles the Cattle-God stands, your Reborn Spirits enter with +2 Power and your first Reborn each turn pays 1 Slava.
The four first-game mistakes (everyone makes them)
- Forgetting the Offering exists. It is free, every turn, and it is how the wheel turns when nothing dies.
- Spending every Ember every turn just because you can. Committing nothing is a legal bluff, and bluffs win Sites.
- Reading only your own Nav. Their Nav is tomorrow's threats, printed face up.
- Chasing one loud Site. Two quietly held Sites pay 2 Slava a turn; one contested one pays at most 1.
Say the first two out loud before the game; let them discover the other two. Losing a Site to a bluff you warned them about is a better teacher than any rulebook.
Become the teacher in two games, alone
The fastest way to teach well is to have played twice. The First Duel runs free in your browser against the game itself, no account, no download, and it enforces every rule for you. Play it once as the Hearth and once as the Deep and you will never need to check a rule mid-teach. If your table prefers paper, the free print and play puts real cards on the table tonight.
Frequently asked
How long does a game of MORANA take?
About 15 minutes for two players once both of you know the loop. A first game with teaching included usually fits inside half an hour.
Is MORANA hard to learn?
The rules fit in one breath: gain Embers equal to the turn number, both players commit cards face down at three Sites, reveal together, hold Sites to score Slava, first to 13 wins. The depth lives in the cards and in reading your opponent, not in the rulebook.
What is the best way to teach a card game to a new player?
Teach the goal first, then the turn loop, then play immediately and explain cards as they appear. Hold advanced details until after game one. Give the new player a starter deck, three simple rules of thumb for it, and let the first game be the lesson.
Which starter deck should a new player use?
Hand a defensive player THE HEARTH ABIDES, an aggressive player THE DEEP DEVOURS, and a combo lover THE RITE TURNS. All three are balanced against each other in simulation; the choice is about taste, not strength.
Can I practice MORANA alone before teaching it?
Yes. The First Duel runs free in the browser against the game itself, no account and no download. Playing it twice is the fastest way to become the teacher at your table.
The teaching script and tips match the Learn-to-Play sheet shipped with our playtest kit, and rules statements reflect the current public ruleset at campaign stage. THE RITE TURNS starter is the newest of the three decks and its list may be refined by playtesting before print.