The GOTHIES Deckbuilding Game is set in the mythical Underworld of Xibalba where players enter the underworld as Dreamers, or Streya, where they can play head-to-head with the goal of waking the other player up in order to win the game. The game can also be played in a solitaire or cooperative mode where the players try and defend the well of Ceiba, or the gateway from the underworld to the real world, from attack by the monsters sent by the God of the Well. The God, who is no longer satisfied with the underworld, wants to send his monsters to the real world to expand his power. The Players begin the game with 45 Timestones (life total) 10 starter cards, 6 of which grant seed power (purchase new cards) and 4 have song power (attack). As players buy GOTHIE (creature) cards and Land (shield) cards from the Mercado (tableau) they add them to their decks, where they can achieve synergy bonuses based on the heart rune of the cards played. The game plays similarly to other head-to-head deckbuilders in this respect, but can be converted to play cooperatively using the same deckbuilding mechanics. In the coop mode, this plays very similar to a tower defense game like Castle Panic, but the threats all come from a single direction, and the monsters can attack the well and "possess" the GOTHIES that the players have in their played card zone. This ups the difficulty because the players' former GOTHIE cards now fight against them until they are restored. The game is for 2 players, and can be expanded to 4 with two sets. The game comes with 162 cards and counters to track timestones. -description from publisher