CyberDramon's Digi-Dex Encyclopedia

Digi-Battle Rules

[Anything in brackets like these are something I've put in that Bandai didn't bother putting in any of the starter rule inserts]

A. Set-Up

Note: 2 sets of 30 card decks are required to play Arena rules.
1. Each selects a Rookie card from the deck, and places it face down on the Duel Zone.
2. Each shuffles their remaining 29 cards, deals himself or herself 10, and places the remaining 19 cards face down Online.
3. Each turns over the Rookie card on the Duel Zone.

Players now see which card their opponent has played note it's BATTLE TYPE: (Red), (Green), or (Yellow). They then refer to the chart on their card showing the amount of DIGIMON POWER they can blast at that type of opponent. As you learned from playing STREET Digi-Battle, the player that displays the higher amount of Digimon Power has the advantage.

The players now review the 10 cards in their hand and consider strategy. To increase the amount of Digimon Power you can blast at your opponent, you'll probably want to Digivolve to the next level. Proceed to the DIGIVOLVE phase.

Tip: When you have played Arena Digi-Battle several times and have become familiar with the rules, you can advance to creating your own customized battle deck! You can create battle decks using any 30 cards you choose, as long as you do not have duplicates. Collect and trade cards for high performance. Learn the Digimon "family trees" that Digivolve to the most powerful cards. (Hint: To find "family trees" notice the backgrounds behind the Digimon.)

B. Digivolve

Both players review their hands, and if they have a card that Digivolves their Digimon to the next level, they may place it face down on the DIGIVOLVE ZONE. This new next-level card must show the name of the Digimon currently on the Duel Zone in its DIGIVOLVE REQUIREMENTS box, and you must be prepared to fulfill any other Digivolve Requirements stated there.

1. Flip a coin to decide who goes first.
2. Player who goes first turns over the card on the Digivolve Zone and places it face up on top of the card on the Duel Zone.
3. Player completes turn by fulfilling any Digivolve Requirements shown on the next-level card.
For example:
Digivolving from Rookie to Champion requires moving 1 or 2 [or 3] cards from Online to Offline as "payment." (See example below.) [Due to the fact that this site is running out of space, the examples in the rules aren't given. I might add them in later if I can]
Digivolving from Champion to Ultimate or from Ultimate to Mega requires that you either:
a) Place a DIGIVICE Power Option* card on the POWER PORT, or
b) DNA Digivolve, which means you must play 2 lower-level cards instead of 1. You do this by placing the second Digimon (the one not showing on the Duel Zone) face up on the Power Port when you turn over the next-level Digimon on the Duel Zone.

*Note: There are two other Power Option cards that can be used in the Digivolve Phase. They are ULTRA DIGIVOLVE and DIGIVOLVE TO CHAMPION. See instructions in the EFFECTS section of each card for use. [Bandai never edited the rules insert from the orignal one for Starter 1. There are much more than 2 cards that can be used.]

After the first player has finished Digivolving, the second player notes any changes in DIGIMON POWER, and may respond by either:
4. Digivolving as shown above, or
5. Deciding not to Digivolve and saying "Pass." If the player has a card face down on the Digivolve Zone, he [or she] must move it Offline, in other words "Use it, or lose it."

If a player does not have a card in hand to Digivolve [or a card that they can play, and want to play, in the Digivolve Phase], he or she must pass. If both players do not have cards in hand to Digivolve [or can play, and want to play, in the Digivolve Phase], proceed to the BATTLE phase.

You may only Digivolve one level per Duel. After each player has either Digivolved or passed, the Digivolve phase is over. Proceed to the Battle phase.

C. Battle

Starting with the winner of the coin toss, players now take turns playing POWER OPTION cards on the POWER PORT, one card per turn. Each Power Option card has an EFFECT that you can use to try for an advantage over your opponent. Some Power Option cards have Use Requirements attached to their Effect. You must complete these Use Requirements as part of your turn for the Effect to come into play. Keep track of how the dueling Digimon's relative strength changes with each card played, as shown by comparing DIGIMON POWER.

Continue taking turns until a player runs out of Power Option cards to play, or decides to stop playing them, and says "Pass." The other player may continue to play Power Option cards until he or she runs out of cards or decides to stop.

When the play stops, the player displaying the most Digimon Power wins the Duel.

Winner scores points depending on the Digivolve Level (Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, Mega) of the defeated opponent, as shown in the SCORE section at the bottom of the winning card.

Winner adds the new points to his [or her] score counter.

Winner keeps all Digimon on the DUEL ZONE. Defeated player sends all Digimon, except the Rookie, OFFLINE. Both players send all Power Option cards Offline.

Winner goes first in the next Duel.

In the event of a tie, all Digimon remain on the Duel Zone and all Power Option cards are sent Offline. No points are scored. Winner of the previous Duel (or of the coin toss) goes first in the next Duel.

The first player to score 1000 points (or a lower number agreed upon by the players before starting) wins the game.

D. Regroup

First, you must restore your hand to 10 cards by drawing from the ONLINE deck. Players may discard as many cards from their remaining hand to OFFLINE as they wish, and draw as many new cards from the Online deck as needed to restore their hand to 10 cards. (This is the only time when you may restore your hand.)

When there are not enough cards remaining in the Online deck to restore your hand to 10 cards, draw down to zero, then send ALL the cards on your side of the board, except the Rookie, Offline. Shuffle them and place them face down Online. You may then draw as many as needed to restore your hand to 10 cards.

Note: If at any time during play the number of your Online cards goes down to zero (either by your action or your opponent's), you must send ALL the cards on your side of the board, except the Rookie, Offline. then shuffle them and place them face down Online before resuming play.

At this point, the players have the option of changing their Rookie (if they have one showing on the Duel Zone). To set up a change, place the new Rookie face down on top of the old Rookie. (The old Rookie remains under the new Rookie.) If you have a Champion card with the Requirements to Digivolve your new Rookie to the next level [*see below], place it face down on the Digivolve Zone. When it's your turn, you'll turn over both the new Rookie and the Champion in the Digivolve Zone, and you'll send the old Rookie Offline.

Players may prepair to Digivolve any Digimon on their Duel Zone by placing the next-level card (with the correct Digivolve Requirements) face down on the Digivolve Zone.

Winner of the last Duel initates ['initates' would mean "goes first in"] the new Duel by starting at step #2 of B. DIGIVOLVE. If the last Duel ended in a tie, the player who went first last time initates the new Duel.

Tip: Take time to become familiar with your Digimon. They each have a unique personality. Many of them have Special Abilities, and some of them have powerful Special Effects that you can use to your advantage in DIGIMON DIGI-BATTLE!

[* The rules say 'If you have a Champion card with the Requirements to Digivolve your new Rookie to the next level,...'. That rule in perticular is a little off since Bandai never updates the rules. Take Goburimon for example: Goburimon can DNA with Snimon (Champion) to Tekkamon (Ultimate). The 'next level' would seem to indicate that the levels go from Rookie to Champion, but then Digivolving from Goburimon to Tekkamon should be banned because it's from Rookie straight to Ultimate. The fact that it isn't means that something is messed up in the rules, and it also effects how you use Digivolve cards like Shining Digivolution and Ultra Digivolve.

I'll be putting up a supplimental rules list that fills in all the holes in the current rules based on things printed on various Digi-Battle cards, common sense, and the original Hyper Colliseum rules that's currently being translated by a friend of mine that reads Japanese (Hyper Colliseum is the orignal Digimon card game from Japan. Digi-Battle is a watered-down, altered version of Hyper Colliseum. Basicaly, Bandai America messed up the orignal game, and now we have problems like this...).]