Split Second is a card-based wargame where the player controls a team of soldiers referred to as Operators in special operations and SWAT-style missions involving violent resolutions. The game is played using cards to represent the physical components of the battlespace, dice to resolve actions with uncertain outcomes, tokens for recording some effects, and a timer to apply pressure to the player's decision-making process. The player chooses a Mission from the Mission Dossier, which will include a roster of cards that represent the environment with pieces of cover, doors, and other elements referred to as Props as well as cards representing the opposition referred to as Hostiles. These cards are combined into small decks in a manner that uses randomization and fixed elements to form an Encounter. The same Encounter can play out differently each time it is played because of the randomization of the cards, forcing the player to think on their feet and adapt to changing circumstances. This also makes each scenario highly replayable. Unlike most games that use a board with spaces or miniatures on a playing surface, in Split Second the playing area is abstracted using cards to represent the battlefield. Ranges aren't measured in physical distance, but instead cards are placed into Areas that are split up by Area Divider cards. Movement between objects isn't made in any linear measurement, but in movement points as the combatants anchor themselves to and then move away from objects in the battlezone. —description from the publisher