Who goes first in X-Code?

Rule details

This answer covers the English Version 1.0 training rules for 2–8 players. The four training missions are levels, not player counts or distinct first-player rules.

For the first training mission, put the Code board and Time board in the center. Return three Wild cards to the box, shuffle the remaining cards and deal three to each player. Place the remaining cards face down as the draw pile on the Time board and put the timer on its round space.

Once everyone is ready, turn over the timer and begin. The source does not assign the timer flip to a selected individual or choose a starter, leader, seating order or tie-break.

Everyone acts simultaneously and may draw one card, discard exactly three cards, swap one card with a neighbor to the left or right, or play a set of three cards as often as they like. Swapping requires both offered cards to be on the table and their arrows to allow the exchange; these actions are not individual turns.

The first-training hand limit is ten cards with two players, nine with three, eight with four, seven with five, six with six and five with seven or eight. At the limit, a player may not draw; exceeding it means immediately discarding their entire hand face up.

A matching set of three Code cards goes on its Code-board space. A set of three Time cards goes on the Time board and immediately turns the timer over. Wild cards may replace Code or Time cards in a set, but a set cannot consist of three Wild cards.

Training mission 2 uses no Wild cards and nine Time cards, with the same hand limits. Mission 3 uses no Wild cards and six Time cards, reducing each hand limit by one. Mission 4 uses six Wild cards and three Time cards, restores the mission-2 hand limits and requires sets of four to crack parts of the code. These changes do not introduce an individual starting player.

The team wins together if it completes every Code-board space before time runs out; otherwise it loses together and may try again. This is a shared outcome, not a tie-break for an individual starter.

After the fourth training mission, the manual introduces using a key to open Mission Blue. The later secret mission rules are outside this four-page training source and this answer.