Wondering how to play Goblins and Gunslingers? You picked a good time to ride in. This western-fantasy trading card game is free to play right in your browser with no download, and the core loop is easy to learn in one sitting. This beginner's guide walks you through everything you need for your first match: how to set up, how the two resources work, what happens each turn, and how the game's open combat actually plays out. By the end you will know enough to sit down at the table and hold your own.
The goal and the setup
Both players start at 30 HP, and the win condition is simple: drop your opponent to 0 HP, or leave them unable to draw during their Draw Phase. You build a 52-card deck from a maximum of two main factions (Beasts are neutral and can go in any deck), keep your 2 Deputy cards off to the side, and open the game by drawing 7 cards. Your hand caps at 10 cards, so anything over that gets discarded automatically when you draw.
If you want to see the full rules laid out, the how to play page covers every edge case. This guide focuses on the parts you actually need for game one.
The two resources: Mana and Gold
Most card games give you one resource. Goblins and Gunslingers gives you two, and learning the difference is the single biggest step in mastering the game.
- Mana (the purple orb) ramps every turn. You have 1 mana on turn 1, 2 on turn 2, 3 on turn 3, and so on with no maximum. It fully refills at the start of each of your turns, so it powers your tempo and the size of plays you can make.
- Gold (the yellow resource) does NOT ramp. You get a flat 1 gold per turn, plus 1 extra gold for each instance of damage you deal to the opposing hero. Gold carries over between turns and pays for gold-cost cards, special abilities, and summoning your Deputies.
Cards cost mana and sometimes gold. On the cards you will see the format (Mana/Gold, Attack/Defense), so a creature listed as (3M/1G, 4/3) costs 3 mana and 1 gold and arrives as a 4 Attack, 3 Defense body. Because gold is flat and rewards aggression, poking the enemy hero early is how you bankroll your expensive bombs later. Our deeper breakdown of Mana versus Gold is worth a read once the basics click.
The four turn phases
Every turn follows the same rhythm. Knowing the order keeps you from misplaying:
- Draw Phase — draw a card. If you cannot draw, you lose, so respect your deck count.
- Resource Phase — your mana refills to your turn number and you collect your gold (1 base plus whatever your attacks earned you last turn).
- Action Phase — the meat of the turn. Play creatures and spells, summon a Deputy, and attack.
- End Phase — cleanup, then play passes to your opponent.
Open combat and the lanes
Combat here is not lane-locked the way some card games are. Goblins and Gunslingers uses open combat: any of your creatures can attack any enemy creature, regardless of where it sits. There are still rules that shape the battlefield, and they matter from your very first game:
- Cover Tokens block direct attacks on the enemy hero. As long as your opponent has cover up, you cannot hit their face, but any creature can attack a Cover Token to clear the way.
- The 5 Middle lanes are your standard placement. Creatures there can attack any enemy creature, or the enemy hero directly once no cover remains.
- The 2 High-Rise lanes hold only one creature each. High-Rise creatures cannot be targeted by single-target spells, which makes them a safe perch for a key threat. They can attack other High-Rise creatures or Middle lane creatures, but they can never hit the enemy hero directly.
We cover the full ruleset in our combat deep-dive, but the short version is: control the cover, protect your best creature up top, and pick your attacks to win the trade.
Keywords you will meet right away
Cards do more than just trade blows. A handful of keywords show up constantly, and recognizing them speeds up your decisions:
- Ambush — the creature can attack immediately the turn it is summoned.
- Quickdraw — it strikes first in combat, often killing its target before taking damage.
- Double Barrel — it attacks twice per turn.
- Overshot — excess damage spills onto the next target or the enemy hero.
- Flying — it bypasses Cover Tokens.
- Warrant — enemies must attack this creature first.
- Last Stand — it triggers an effect when it dies.
The full keyword glossary lists every one with examples. Keep it open in another tab for your first few games.
Your first game plan
Here is a simple plan that wins more games than it should for new players. Spend your early mana developing cheap creatures and chip the enemy hero whenever you can to build gold. Use Cover Tokens to stall when you are behind. Tuck a strong threat into a High-Rise lane so spot removal cannot touch it. Then, once your mana ramps high enough, drop your expensive closer and swing for the win. Do not hoard your hand: the player who controls the board usually controls the game.
Learn by playing
Reading about how to play Goblins and Gunslingers only gets you so far. The fastest way to learn is the built-in interactive tutorial, which walks you through resources, lanes, and combat hands-on against guided prompts. After that, build a deck and test it against the AI. Goblins and Gunslingers is free in your browser, no download needed, so saddle up and play your first hand today.