Market Melee™ includes 165 cards, representing crypto assets, stablecoins, actions, and market events.

Total Cards:
Cryptocurrency Cards (50): Digital assets with listed values that fluctuate due to game effects.

Stablecoin Cards (75): Fiat-backed digital holdings, used for transactions.
Action Cards (17): Strategic tools to gain advantages or sabotage others.

Event Cards (18): Major market-wide impacts that shift the game.

Market Melee Cards (5): Wild e ects that accelerate the game’s end!

Other Components: Portfolio Tracker Sheets (Coming soon) Expansion Packs (Coming Soon)

To maintain clarity and fair play, players should call out each move as they take their turn.

🔴 Call Out Your Actions
When taking an action, say exactly what you’re doing:

• “Passing a card to my left for Market Correction.”
• “Buying a cryptocurrency” (and announce the name).
• “Selling [crypto name]” and its value.
• “Holding this turn.”
  

🔴 Call Out Drawn Cards
Each time you draw an Action or Event card, say what type it is:

• “Drawing an Action Card: [Card Name]”
• “Drawing an Event Card: [Card Name]”
  

🔴 Call Out the Start of Each Round
Before the first turn of a new round, announce:

• “Starting Round [#]!”
  

🔴 Call Out Market Melee Events Immediately
If a Market Melee card is drawn, it must be announced loudly:

• “Market Melee Event! [Card Name]”
  

Buying & Selling Rules

• You can only sell ONE cryptocurrency asset type per turn (e.g., all Dogecoin, but not Dogecoin and NEAR).
• If you can’t afford a purchase, place the card in the Cryptocurrency Discard Pile and skip your Action/Event phase. Your turn immediately ends, and play passes to the next player.
• Sold cryptocurrency cards go into the Cryptocurrency Discard Pile, not back into the main deck.
  

Action/Event Card Rules

• Action Cards provide strategic advantages or disruptions.
• Event Cards impact the entire game and can affect individual or multiple players.
• One Card Per Turn Rule If you play an Action/Event card from a previous turn, you do not draw another one that turn.
• Event Ownership Rule If you draw an Event card that affects a specific cryptocurrency and you don’t own that asset, discard it immediately with no effect. This includes both value increases and decreases.
• Action/Event Hand Limit Players may hold up to 3 Action/Event cards. Only one may be played per turn. Cards over the limit must be discarded at the end of your turn.

To maintain organization and ensure smooth gameplay, Market Melee™ uses separate piles for different card types. This system tracks game progress, prevents confusion, and ensures proper reshuffling when decks run out.

Card Piles

• Cryptocurrency Discard Pile Holds all sold cryptocurrency cards for reshuffling later.
• Market Melee Discard Pile Stores all Market Melee cards after they are played.
• Action/Event Discard Pile All Action and Event cards are placed here after use, regardless of whether they affect one player or all players. There is no need to separate individual or global effects.
  

Reshuffling Rule (When Decks Run Out)

If any deck (Cryptocurrency, Stablecoin, or Action/Event Deck) runs out of cards, follow this procedure:

• Shuffle the respective discard pile (e.g., Cryptocurrency Discard Pile, Market Melee Discard Pile, or Action/Event Discard Pile).
• Restart the deck with the shuffled cards and continue play.
• Do NOT reshuffle the Market Melee Discard Pile – these cards remain visible for tracking.

These cards introduce game-changing moments and can trigger the end of the game!

1. Black Swan Event All players discard one random crypto card or pay a $200 penalty. The drawing player is also affected.
2. Stablecoin Tax All players with $250+ in stablecoins must pay $200 to the bank. The initiator is also affected.
3. Regulatory Freeze Choose another player to skip their next turn. If they hold more crypto types than you, you get skipped instead.
4. Falling Knife Draw a crypto card. If you or the next player hold it, you must liquidate all of that asset into stablecoins.
5. Wild Swap Each player places one crypto card face-down. Cards are shuffled and redistributed. If no crypto is available, swap a stablecoin.
   

When 3 Market Melee Cards are played, the game ENDS immediately!

⚠️ Wild Swap and similar cards can drastically change portfolios—use with caution in late rounds.

Ways the Game Can End:

Core Endings (Default Play Mode):
Portfolio Threshold Victory: The game ends when the first player reaches a specific cryptocurrency value, typically $1,100 (adjustable).
Market Melee Mayhem: The game ends once 3 Market Cards are played, with the highest total cryptocurrency value winning.
Crypto Collector Victory: The game ends if a player collects one of every cryptocurrency asset type (e.g., ETH, BTC, ADA, DOGE, SOL, etc.).

Optional Alternate Endings (Creative Play Modes):

8 Rounds (Fast & Competitive): After 8 rounds, the player with the highest cryptocurrency value wins.
10 Rounds (Balanced & Strategic): After 10 rounds, the player with the highest cryptocurrency value wins.

Stablecoins do not count toward the final tally in these modes unless the group agrees to an alternate scoring system.

Additional variations:

• Total Portfolio Value : Highest combined crypto + stablecoins.
• Stablecoin Leader: Most stablecoins.
• Single Asset Dominance: Most of one chosen crypto type wins.