Ausnahmezustand is the German edition of Nightfall: Martial Law. It is an expansion for Nightfall. It is not playable without the base game. It contains 207 cards opposed to the 312 cards of Martial Law. Martial Law is a standalone game, playable on its own. Nightfall is a deck-building game featuring direct head-to-head combat. Before the game begins, there is a draft to determine which cards are available for purchase, and by whom. During this draft players select two cards from the set for their personal archives, and they also select cards to put into the common area. The cards drafted into personal archives may only be purchased by the player who drafted them. After the table has been set with the private and common cards, players begin play. The meat of Nightfall is in the chaining mechanic. Each card has a main color and two linking colors. If you can match the main color of a card to one of the linking colors of the previous card, you can chain those cards together. Once a chain is started, players all get an opportunity to link additional cards onto the chain during that turn. Cards in the chain resolve in reverse order: first in, last out. Instant effects fire off as cards come off the chain, doing damage to your opponents or bringing characters into play to defend you and attack your opponents. The object of Nightfall is to put wounds into your opponents’ decks and end the game with the least amount of wounds in your deck. But beware: the more wounds a person has, the more enraged they become and the faster their deck works.