Detailed rules for real table questions.

1. Setup

Game setup

• Each player prepares 1 Driver, 1 Vehicle, and a deck of exactly 40 cards.
• Driver and Vehicle are chosen before the game and remain for the full game.
• Deck can contain Fuel, Items, and Utilities in any ratio.
• Duplicate limits by rarity: Common 4, Uncommon 3, Rare 2, Mythical 1.
• Shuffle the deck and draw 7 cards.
• Hand can exceed 7 during the turn, but you discard down to 7 at the end of your turn.
• Turn order is decided by d20 roll, highest goes first, then clockwise.
• Players agree the finish-line threshold and all begin at position 0.
• Any opening-hand card that must be played immediately resolves before the game begins.

2. Turn order

Turn structure

1. Resolve start-of-turn effects.
2. Draw 1 card. If it must be played immediately, do so.
3. Untilt Fuel used on previous turns.
4. You may place 1 Fuel from hand.
5. Roll a d6 for base movement.
6. Update position.
7. Main action window: play legal cards and use legal abilities.
8. End of turn: discard down to 7 if needed, then pass.

Fuel placement rules

• You cannot place Fuel if you already have 8 Fuel cards in the Fuel Zone.
• Some cards provide multiple fuel points while still using 1 Fuel slot.

Movement formula

d6 + Driver Speed + Vehicle Speed + relevant passive modifiers

Main action window

• Place Items into primary and or pocket slots.
• Use Utilities if you can pay the cost.
• Activate Driver abilities by burning Fuel.
• You may burn Fuel to discard an Item in your primary slot.
• Primary discard costs: Common 0, Uncommon burn 1, Rare burn 2, Mythical burn 3.
• You may have at most 2 Items placed: 1 primary face-up, 1 pocket face-down.
• An Item placed this turn usually cannot be used until your next turn unless card text says otherwise.
• When your primary Item is used, discard it. The pocket Item flips face-up and becomes primary.
• Items have 2 abilities, offensive and defensive. You choose 1, never both.
• Used Items and Utilities go to discard after resolving.

3. Zones of play

Zones

• Deck: face-down 40-card pile.
• Hand: drawn cards; cards in hand cannot be used defensively.
• Driver Zone: chosen Driver for the full game.
• Vehicle Zone: chosen Vehicle and its passive abilities.
• Fuel Zone: up to 8 Fuel cards, though total fuel points may exceed 8.
• Primary Item Slot: face-up Item used first.
• Pocket Item Slot: face-down reserve Item.
• Discard Pile: used Items, Utilities, burnt Fuel, and other discarded cards.
• Position Track: current race positions.

4. Keywords

Core terms

• Tilt: rotate a Fuel card sideways to show use this turn.
• Burn: permanently discard a Fuel card from Fuel Zone.
• Fuel Points: usable amount of fuel a card provides when tilted or burnt.
• Primary Item: the face-up Item in your primary slot.
• Pocket Item: the face-down Item in your pocket slot.
• Passive Ability: always active while in play. In Slipstream, passives belong to Vehicles.
• Trigger: ability that activates when a specific condition is met.
• Activated Ability: ability with a cost.
• Hit Threshold: number an attacking Item must meet or exceed to hit a defender who rolls dodge.
• Undodgeable: cannot be avoided with a dodge roll.
• Suppress: negates an effect entirely.
• Reflect: redirects the final effect to a different legal target.
• Override: replaces the normal outcome with a new stated outcome.

5. Timing windows

Timing

Start-of-turn window

• Resolve all effects that say "At the start of your turn..."
• Automatically played cards that trigger here also resolve here.

Movement window

• Roll d6 for movement.
• Apply Driver and Vehicle Speed plus passive modifiers.
• Update position.

Main action window

• Place Fuel if not already placed this turn.
• Play Utilities.
• Activate Driver abilities by burning Fuel.
• Place Items into primary and or pocket slots.

End-of-turn window

• Discard down to 7 if needed.
• Formally end your turn.

Reaction window

• Triggered when another player takes an action that targets you or affects the table.
• You may defend with a legal reaction, such as a placed Item, reactive Driver ability, agreed reactive Utility, or dodge roll.
• Dodge roll is d20 + total Handling if the Item is dodgeable.
• You cannot place new Fuel during this window.

6. Driver abilities

Driver abilities

• Driver abilities are activated abilities that require burning Fuel.
• Each Driver shows its Fuel burn cost.
• To use a Driver ability, burn that many Fuel cards from your Fuel Zone.
• Driver abilities normally can only be activated during your Main Action Window.
• Some Driver abilities can be used in response if their text says so.
• All passive effects belong to Vehicles.

7. Actions outside turn

Outside your turn

• You cannot freely play cards during another player's turn.
• You may only act when a reaction is allowed.
• You may use Items defensively only if they are already placed.
• You cannot use Items from hand as defense.
• Dodge attempt is d20 + total Handling if the Item is dodgeable.
• Some Driver abilities can be used defensively if their text allows it.
• Fuel cannot be placed during another player's turn.

8. Item resolution

Item resolution

1. Declare the Item and choose offensive or defensive mode.
2. Choose targets.
3. Allow responses.
4. Resolve dodge rolls if applicable.
5. Apply effects, including suppressions, reflections, overrides, and other modifications.
6. Discard the used Item after resolution.
7. If position changes during resolution, continue resolving based on the new position unless card text says otherwise.

9. Winning

Winning the game

• Reaching the finish line is not an instant win.
• When your position first reaches or exceeds the finish threshold, place your marker at the finish.
• The game continues until it is your turn again.
• At the start of your next turn, if you are still at or beyond the threshold, you win.
• If you are knocked back below the threshold before then, you have not won yet.
• Multiple players can be at or beyond the finish line at once. The first to complete a full round there wins.

10. Edge cases

Edge cases

Negative positions

• Burnout: position cannot go below 0; extra negative movement is ignored.
• False Start: position cannot go below 0, but excess negative movement becomes penalties.
• Handicap: position cannot go below 0, and extra negative movement grants compensation.
• Bagging: allow negative positions.

Tied positions

• If multiple players are tied, the current player may choose among them, or the table may use an agreed random method.
• Any tie-break method is valid if agreed and applied consistently.

11. Utility subtypes

Utility subtypes

• Boost Utilities: increase movement or adjust position.
• Fuel Utilities: add, untilt, or manipulate Fuel.
• Defensive Utilities: block, reduce, reflect, or suppress incoming effects.
• Item Utilities: swap, steal, move, or alter Items.
• Position Utilities: move racers or interact directly with the track.
• Meta Utilities: draw, search, manipulate hand size, or interact with discard.
• One Utility may belong to more than one category.
• Specific card text overrides general descriptions.

12. Conflict resolution

Conflict resolution

• Suppression resolves first.
• Override resolves second.
• Reflection resolves third.
• Normal resolution happens after those.
• When multiple effects try to resolve at once, active player chooses order of their effects first, then each other player in turn order does the same.

13. Simultaneous triggers

Simultaneous triggers

• Active player resolves all of their triggered abilities in any order.
• Then each other player resolves their triggers clockwise, choosing order for their own triggers.
• If several players are equally legal targets, use the table's agreed tie-break method.

14. Power scaling

Power scaling

• Higher rarity cards are generally stronger or more complex.
• Common cards can still counter higher-rarity cards in the right circumstances.
• Some cards have broad effects that can answer high-rarity threats.
• Deckbuilding, timing, and clever play matter more than raw rarity.
• Higher rarity offers explosiveness, flexibility, or consistency, but never guarantees victory.