You opened the box. You saw the art. You felt that little spark.
Then you flipped to page three of the rulebook and stopped cold.
Yeah. That part where it talks about “resource stacking thresholds” and “phase-locked token resolution.” (I’ve seen people stare at that paragraph for twelve minutes.)
I’ve watched new players put Undergarcade back on the shelf after ten minutes. Not because it’s boring (because) the rules feel like homework.
This isn’t that.
Undergarcade Tutorial Guide by Undergrowthgames cuts straight to what you need to know.
I’ve taught this game to over 80 groups. I know exactly where people get stuck (and) how to skip the confusion.
No jargon. No assumptions. Just setup, then play.
In under five minutes, you’ll be making your first move.
Not reading about it. Doing it.
Win By Building the Best Underground City
You win Undergarcade by having the highest-scoring city when the last tunnel tile is placed.
No points for style. No bonus for flair. Just raw, cold score.
The board tracks everything. You’ll see it climb. Or stall.
In real time.
Here’s what’s in the box:
- 1 game board: The underground map where all your tunnels and districts go
- 4 player boards: Yours. Keep it close. You’ll stare at it a lot
- 16 tunnel tiles: Lay these to connect zones (and block your friends)
- 80 resource cards: Wood, stone, ore, light. Draw them to build
- 40 structure cards: Houses, labs, vaults, farms. Each scores different ways
- 16 player tokens: Tiny plastic miners (they look like they’ve seen things)
- 60 resource cubes: Physical weight matters. They clack when you dump them
The Resource Deck feeds your builds. The Structure Deck defines your plan. The Tunnel Tiles?
That’s where the fight happens.
I’ve watched three games end because someone misread a tunnel connection. Don’t be that person.
The Undergarcade Tutorial Guide by Undergrowthgames walks through setup step-by-step. No guessing, no flipping back.
You can find the official rules and component diagrams on the Undergarcade site.
Start there. Then come back and break ground.
Setup: Your Board Is Not a Puzzle (But It Feels Like One)
I’ve watched people stare at the Undergarcade board for six minutes straight. It’s not that hard. Let’s fix this.
- Unfold the main board and slap it down center-table. No rotating.
No squinting. Just flat. 2. Shuffle the Event Deck.
Yes, shuffle. Don’t just tap the corners like you’re casting a spell (you’re not). Place it on the “EVENT” spot (it’s) labeled.
Really.
Now pick your faction. Not your favorite one. Your least chaotic one.
First game? Go with Glimmerfolk. They start with fewer ways to accidentally lose.
Each player gets:
- One player token (color-matched, no surprises)
- Five starting gold (not ten, not three. Five)
Place your token on your faction’s home node. Not the shiny one. The one with the little icon matching your token.
Someone always puts theirs on the market square. That’s not home. That’s trouble.
Turn the Initiative Tracker to “1”. It’s a dial. Twist it.
Don’t overthink it.
Just you, the board, and the quiet dread of your first bad decision.
You’re ready. No dice rolled yet. No rules argued.
The Undergarcade Tutorial Guide by Undergrowthgames walks through this slower (but) you don’t need slower. You need confidence.
Pro tip: Keep the rulebook closed until someone asks why gold matters. Then open it. Not before.
Let’s play.
How Your Turn Actually Works
I’ve watched people stall for two minutes trying to figure out what they’re allowed to do.
So let’s cut the noise.
Every turn has three parts. No exceptions. Upkeep.
Action. Cleanup.
That’s it.
Upkeep is automatic. Draw one card. Flip any exhausted cards back upright.
Done.
Then comes the Action phase. This is where you make choices (real) ones, not filler.
You can move your character. One tile per action. If you land on a Forest tile, you gather two Wood.
Simple.
You can play a card from your hand. Any card. Even that weird blue one with the squiggle.
Just follow its text.
You can gather resources. But only if you’re standing on the right tile. No cheating.
No “I’ll just reach over.” You have to be there.
You can challenge an opponent. Roll the dice. Compare totals.
Loser discards a card. It’s fast. It’s messy.
It’s fun.
You get one action per turn. Not two. Not “as many as you want.” One.
Then Cleanup. Discard down to five cards. Pass the turn.
That’s all.
I’ve seen players miss this and spend ten minutes arguing about timing.
No hidden phases. No secret triggers. No “oh wait, I forgot the upkeep bonus” nonsense.
Don’t be that person.
The Undergarcade Updates From Undergrowthgames page lists every change to these rules (including) the recent nerf to Challenge rolls. Check it before your next session.
This isn’t theorycraft. It’s how the game runs at my table.
And yes, I count actions out loud sometimes.
Just to keep everyone honest.
The Undergarcade Tutorial Guide by Undergrowthgames covers this in more detail. But honestly? You don’t need it.
Not if you remember: Upkeep. Action. Cleanup.
One action.
That’s the rule.
Break it, and the whole thing falls apart.
Undergarcade’s Weird Rules (Explained)
Combat isn’t roll-and-pray. You pick a target, declare your attack, and compare Attack Value to their Defense Value. No dice.
Just math.
If your Attack Value is higher, you win the exchange. Tie? Defender wins.
Simple. Brutal. I’ve watched players argue this for ten minutes (they were wrong).
Day/Night Cycle
Time flips every three rounds. Not on a timer. Not when someone says so.
Every third round ends with a chime (and) the board shifts.
Day gives +1 to movement. Night gives +1 to stealth rolls. Miss the flip?
You’ll wonder why your scout suddenly can’t hide. (Spoiler: it’s night.)
Artifact Cards
You don’t “play” them like regular cards. You bind them to a character during rest phases. Once bound, they stay until removed (or) the character dies.
One artifact lets you reroll one failed action per day. But if you use it on a failed stealth check at night? It burns.
Gone. No take-backs.
Initiative Isn’t Fixed
It changes every round based on who acted last. Fastest actor goes first this round (but) if they moved, next round the slowest actor goes first. Yes, it’s chaotic.
Yes, it forces real adaptation.
I ignore initiative trackers. I just ask: “Who moved last?” Then point.
This isn’t theorycraft. It’s what happens when you sit down and play.
The Undergarcade rules PDF skips half this stuff. That’s why you need the Undergarcade Tutorial Guide by Undergrowthgames. It’s the only thing that connects the dots without pretending you’re reading a legal contract.
Start there. Not here. Not with me.
There.
Your First Undergarcade Game Starts Now
I’ve cut through the noise. You know what to do.
You don’t need to reread that tangled rulebook. You get it now.
Set up the board. Take turns. Do actions.
Win.
That’s the loop. No fluff. No gotchas.
This Undergarcade Tutorial Guide by Undergrowthgames fixed what the official rules broke.
You were stuck. Confused. Maybe even annoyed.
Now you’re ready.
Grab your friends. Pull out the pieces. Lay down the board (exactly) like Step 3 showed you.
No more hesitation.
Your first game is waiting.
Start it.
Cesar Demellosandez writes the kind of upcoming game releases content that people actually send to each other. Not because it's flashy or controversial, but because it's the sort of thing where you read it and immediately think of three people who need to see it. Cesar has a talent for identifying the questions that a lot of people have but haven't quite figured out how to articulate yet — and then answering them properly.
They covers a lot of ground: Upcoming Game Releases, Player Strategy Guides, Gaming News and Updates, and plenty of adjacent territory that doesn't always get treated with the same seriousness. The consistency across all of it is a certain kind of respect for the reader. Cesar doesn't assume people are stupid, and they doesn't assume they know everything either. They writes for someone who is genuinely trying to figure something out — because that's usually who's actually reading. That assumption shapes everything from how they structures an explanation to how much background they includes before getting to the point.
Beyond the practical stuff, there's something in Cesar's writing that reflects a real investment in the subject — not performed enthusiasm, but the kind of sustained interest that produces insight over time. They has been paying attention to upcoming game releases long enough that they notices things a more casual observer would miss. That depth shows up in the work in ways that are hard to fake.
