How to Play Palworld TCG – Setup, Turns & Damage Rules

What do you need to play the Palworld Card Game?

• Main Deck: exactly 50 Pal, Gear, Event and Structure cards.
• Soul Deck: exactly 10 Soul cards. Souls are the resource used to pay card and ability costs.
• Counters: track life, Materials and Ingredients when cards create or consume them.
• A playmat: optional for casual play, but very helpful while learning the Base, Soul Area, decks and Graveyard.

Watch the official game tutorial

This 11-minute publisher tutorial shows the table layout, turn flow, card deployment, attacks, blocking and Damage Checks. Keep the current Quick Manual nearby for exact wording and any later rules updates.

Watch a community beginner walkthrough

This independent walkthrough gives new players another explanation of the basic flow. Use it as a visual companion; the current official rules and Q&A still control every ruling.

Community video▶By The Card GamerHow to play the PalWorld Official Card GameA second beginner-friendly look at setup, turns and playing a first match.Watch on YouTube ↗

How do you set up your first game?

1. Place and shuffle your Main Deck. Place the separate Soul Deck beside your Soul Area.
2. Set both life counters to 10.
3. Decide who goes first. The winner of the chosen method may choose first or second.
4. The player going second puts one Soul from their Soul Deck into the Soul Area in the stand state.
5. Each player draws five Main Deck cards.
6. Starting with the first player, each player may mulligan once. A mulligan returns all five cards, shuffles the deck, then draws five new cards; you cannot keep only some cards.

Need to build your own list first? Check the full deck-building rules, including colors, copy limits and Lucky cards.

What are the five phases of a turn?

What each card type does

• Pals form your team. They can attack, block and work at Structures. A Pal has Power for battle and Strike for player damage.
• Structures stay in your Base and create ongoing value. Many ask you to assign a Pal by resting it.
• Gear supports Pals or provides reusable effects after deployment.
• Events resolve a one-time effect, then normally go to the Graveyard.
• Souls are kept in a separate deck and rested to pay costs.

Practice one real TD01 engine turn

This example uses current Red/Blue Trial Deck cards and their printed effects. It is a rules practice line, not a claim that it is always the best play.

Stone PitETD01-008RibbunyETD01-024Weapon WorkbenchETD01-009

1. Look for a playable hand: Stone Pit plus a cost-2 Pal gives you a concrete early plan. A hand crowded with cost-6 to cost-8 cards is a sensible full-hand mulligan.
2. Spend three ready Souls: pay one to deploy Stone Pit, then two to deploy Ribbuny.
3. Work the Structure: rest and assign Ribbuny to Stone Pit. Its printed ability gives you three Materials and draws one card.
4. Convert the resource later: Weapon Workbench can consume one Material and assign a Pal to deal 800 damage to a Pal, then give all your Pals Strike +1 for that turn.

How do attacking, blocking and battles work?

Rest one of your standing Pals to attack. The target can be the opposing player, a Structure, or normally a Pal already in the rest state. Assault is the keyword that allows a Pal to attack standing Pals.

If a Pal attacks another Pal

Both combat Pals deal damage equal to their Power to each other. A Pal is put into the Graveyard when its damage is equal to or greater than its current Power.

If a Pal attacks a Structure

The Pal deals its Power as damage to the Structure's Durability. A Structure does not deal damage back.

If a Pal attacks the opposing player

The defending player may rest a Pal to block, changing the attack target to that blocker. The defender may also use legal Quick cards or Interrupt effects at their stated timing.

How do Damage Checks and the Lucky icon work?

If a player attack is not blocked or interrupted, put cards from the top of the defending player's Main Deck into the Graveyard one at a time, up to the attacker's Strike. If no Lucky icon appears, the defender then loses life equal to the full Strike. If a Lucky icon appears, the check stops and that life loss is cancelled.

First-game mistakes to avoid

• Do not mix the 10-card Soul Deck into the Main Deck.
• Do not attack a standing opposing Pal unless your card has Assault or another effect allows it.
• Remember that the first player skips their first Draw Phase.
• Damage clears in the End Phase, but a Pal or Structure destroyed before then still goes to the Graveyard.
• Keep a possible Interrupt or Quick response in mind before spending every Soul.