The rules explained on this page are simplified for easier understanding. For the technical ruleset, please click the link. Some mechanics are still in-progress and may be missing (like dragons).
Cards
Cards are drawn and discarded.
There are five types of cards, based on Tarot cards.
Wands (defence units with health points)
Swords (attack units with attack points)
Cups (support cards that can attach to Wands or Swords)
Coins (currency used to buy things)
Spells (unique effects)
Wands, Swords, Cups, and Coins are “suits” just like Diamonds/Hearts in regular playing decks. Their number values go from 1-10, and then Page (11), Knight (12), Queen (13), and King (14). For example, the Queen of Swords is an attack unit with 13 attack points, and 6 of Coins may be converted to 6 coins.
At the start of the game, both players choose to upgrade one Spell in their hand to become a Champion (your Champion is permanent for the game and gives you special abilities - it is the character you are playing as).
Map
A simplified version of the DTC map is shown with letters.
The grey rectangles show the “zones” or areas on the map.
The Castles represent the players, and have 70 health points by default. The zones around the Castle are for defence units, and the opponent can attack them with attack units.
The zones with the dotted lines are wilderness zones, where units are hidden by default. On the left, there are two zones per "outpost” or shop, and controlling them allows players to purchase items from the outpost.
Overall, there are four paths between the two Castles, including the two “lanes” down the center and the two wilderness paths. There is also a River dividing the map, which cannot be crossed until one of the players builds a dam structure (not shown in this image).
Other rough representations of the map below:
Purchases
Players can purchase/build structures. Structures are built at the end of the turn they are purchased, and they require you to pay both coins and manpower (manpower = value from Swords or Wands or Cups), so they are more expensive than outpost items.
Players can also purchase items, such as potions and runes, if they control an outpost. Players control outposts by moving their defence units into each outpost’s defence zones.
Summoning/Moving/Attacking
The rules for how each type of unit (attack unit, defence unit, or spell unit) can be summoned, moved, or used to attack are laid out in the full rules document.
Game States
DTC is a turn-based game (with some real-time elements).
There is a day/night cycle (2 turns in day, 2 turns in night), and during night, players cannot move into or within the wilderness.
The order of events at the beginning of the game is as follows:
Decks are shuffled and players receive their starting hand.
The game randomly decides who goes 1st and who goes 2nd.
1st player bans 2 Champions (banned Spells cannot be chosen as Champions but can still be cast as Spells).
Turn 1 — The 1st player draws 2 cards, selects a Champion, and plays out their turn.
Turn 2 — The 2nd player draws 2 cards, selects a Champion, and plays out their turn.
Etc.