Warning: Bouldering is inherently dangerous. If playing this card game puts you in an unsafe position or distracts you from climbing safely, do not play. Always prioritize your safety on the wall.

How to Play Beta Break

Introduction

Take a break from the beta by breaking the beta! Beta Break turns any boulder problem into a competitive game with your climbing friends. Every problem becomes a new challenge with a simple draw from the deck.

Who Can Play?

Beta Break is for climbers in a gym setting, ideally 2-5 players, though solo play works too. Familiarity with bouldering terms (send, dyno, problem, etc.) is helpful.

What You Need

• A deck of Beta Break cards.
• A boulder problem.
• Climbing friends.

No mats, dice, or tokens—just the cards!

Card Types

Beta Break includes 3 card types:

• Beta: Dictates how to climb the problem.
• Break: Augments the Beta, generally by requiring a specific move or hold be used during the attempt.
• Eliminate: Restricts which holds can be used on the problem.

Note: Start positions (hand/foot holds) and finish holds are immune to card effects unless otherwise specified by the card description.

Recommended Deck Setup

• Beta cards: 4 per player (with a maximum of 20).
• Break cards: 4 per player (with a maximum of 20).
• Eliminate cards: Subtract 4 from the number of handholds on the problem.

This is the recommended deck setup. But do experiment and have fun!

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How to Play

Setup

1. Choose a boulder problem (suggested difficulty: V0-V3).
2. Randomly choose a Beta card and a Break card to be the first active effects. Place these cards side-by-side, faceup.
3. Shuffle the deck and place it face-down. This is the Draw pile.

Turn Structure

1. Draw a card. The drawing player becomes the Climber.
2. The Climber follows the card’s effect. If the drawn card is a Beta or Break card, that becomes the active card of its type. Place the drawn card over the existing card of its type. All send attempts must honor this effect until a new Beta or Break card is drawn to replace the active card of its type.
3. The Climber attempts to send the problem while honoring the rules of the active Beta and Break cards.
4. The next player takes their turn.

Failing a Send

• The player becomes a Ghost Player
• Eliminate cards remain in play.

End of a Round

When the deck is exhausted, reshuffle all cards except the active Beta and Break cards. Continue playing with the newly-shuffled deck.

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Winning

The game ends when all but one Climber is a Ghost Player.

Ghost Players

Ghost players can move Eliminate effects but must first send the problem, ignoring Beta and Break cards.

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Glossary

• Player: All participants.
• Ghost Player: A player with 0 Health.
• Climber: The player attempting the send.
• Problem: The boulder route.
• Round: A full cycle of the deck.
• Send Attempt: An attempt to climb the problem.

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Special Rules

• Safety Rule: If the Climber feels unsafe, they can attempt the send without adhering to active Beta or Break cards.

Alternate Game Styles

Multiple Chances Mode: Each player starts with 3 Health. At no time can a player have more than the starting Health

• Failing a send:
• The Climber loses 1 Health.
• The next player can attempt to “Steal the Send.” If they succeed, they gain 1 Health. If they fail, they lose 1 Health
• At 0 Health, you are a Dead Player.

Hard Mode: Break cards must be honored for every move during an attempt (instead of during a single move).