How a game of TFT works

A game of Teamfight Tactics has 8 players. Each of you builds a team of champions on your own board, and the boards fight each other automatically: you make the decisions between fights, not during them. The goal is simple. Be the last player still standing.

Everyone starts with 100 health. Lose a fight and you lose health; run out and you are knocked out of the game. The first player out places last, the next one just above, and the last one standing places first. A top four finish counts as a good game.

The game is split into stages, and each stage into rounds. The first stage is short and played against monsters. From then on most rounds match you against another player's board, and a few rounds each stage are against monsters that drop loot: gold, items and units. A lost fight costs more as the stages go on: 2 base damage in stage 2, 17 by stage 7, plus a little for every enemy unit still standing.

Champions come from your shop. Each round it shows 5 champions, every one with a cost in gold: cheap ones are common, expensive ones rare and stronger. Gold comes in every round, and you can spend 2 to refresh the shop for a new set. Every player buys from one shared pool of champions, so a copy on someone else's board is one you cannot find.

Your level decides how many champions you can field: one per level, so 6 at level 6 and 9 at level 9. Experience arrives every round, and you can buy more at 4 experience for 4 gold. Higher levels also make pricier champions show up more often in the shop.

Copies make champions stronger. 3 copies of the same champion combine into a 2-star, and three 2-stars into a 3-star, 9 copies in all. Every champion also has traits. Field enough different champions that share a trait and the whole team gets its bonus, with a bigger bonus at each higher breakpoint.

Items finish the picture. Components drop from monsters, and any two components combine into a finished item. A champion holds up to 3. Once a stage everyone meets on the carousel, a shared draft where each player picks a champion holding an item; players with less health pick earlier.