Scope: Contention Games’ base board game, using the publisher’s rulebook. The companion app is optional.
Slay the Spire is a cooperative deck-building adventure for one to four players. Each person controls a character and improves a separate deck as the group climbs an Act map. This walkthrough follows the decisions you make from setup to a boss.
1. Choose a character and start Act I
Ironclad and Silent are the publisher’s easier first-game choices; Defect and Watcher ask for more experience. Take the corresponding starting deck, board and character material, then use the Act I setup and map. The first encounter teaches how rows and rewards work before the branching path becomes more demanding.
2. Follow the map
After clearing a room, move along a printed connection to the next node. Encounter and Elite spaces create fights. An Event presents a choice; a Treasure space grants a relic. At a Campfire each player chooses Rest to heal 3 HP or Smith to upgrade a card. At a Merchant, players can spend gold on cards, potions or relics, and each may pay to remove one card. Gold can help another player’s purchase there.
Choose the route with current HP and deck needs in mind. An Elite is a tougher fight, while a Campfire before the boss may let a weakened party heal. The group chooses one path together.
3. Resolve a combat round
Combat alternates a shared Player Turn and an Enemy Turn. At the start of the Player Turn, reset Energy to 3 and Block to 0, draw five cards and roll the die once for effects that use it. Players can discuss targets and play cards, potions and abilities in the order they choose, paying each card’s Energy cost. Check whether an effect targets one enemy, a row or something else before moving damage and status tokens.
On the Enemy Turn, remove leftover enemy Block, then resolve enemy actions in their specified order. Enemies generally attack the player in their row; an all-player symbol changes that target. If any player’s HP drops to zero, the party loses immediately. Repeat rounds until the enemies are gone or combat ends another way.
4. Take rewards and improve decks
Read the rewards on the defeated enemy. You may skip a reward. For a card reward, reveal three cards from your character’s reward deck and add one or none. A mediocre extra card can dilute a strong deck. Upgrades flip a card to its improved side; removal takes a card out of the deck. Relics, potions and gold offer different tools for later rooms. Potions can be given to another player outside combat; ordinary cards and relics cannot be traded.
5. Fight the boss and decide whether to continue
The Boss space uses the boss card at the top of the map. Defeating it completes that Act. After rewards, the party may stop and count the Act as its chosen ending, save to continue another time, or move to the next Act. The rulebook estimates roughly 60–90 minutes per Act and advises extra time for a first play.
For deeper decisions, see the strategy guide; for boss rewards, saving and Act IV, see the Act guide. The game hub covers who should buy it.
Source and edition note
Contention Games official rulebook (PDF), checked October 2, 2026. Follow the card and scenario text when an effect differs from this overview.