Dance Dance Revolution: The Card Game

Basis:
The game is based on the Konami arcade hit of the same name. Just like in the real game, your goal is to get the highest possible score on your song by stepping on the correct arrows. This is a fixed card game, so all players will be playing from the same deck. The game ends when a player completes their song. All players then total their points; the player with the highest score wins!

Cards:
There are 4 types of cards in the game. 
Song Cards: These represent the song you are trying to complete. All songs consist of exactly 16 steps, although the difficulty of these steps will vary by difficulty.
Step Cards: These will be played as you attempt to complete your song. These are always played on your songs.
Link Cards: These will help you as you attempt to complete your song. Usually played on your steps.
Interference Cards: These will hinder your opponents’ attempts to complete their songs. Usually played on opponent’s songs or steps.

Choosing a song card:
The first thing each player must do is to select a song card. There are four difficulties of songs:
Beginner: Beginner songs have a light blue square in the upper left. These consist of only basic steps (no link cards required!)
Light: Light songs have an orange square in the upper left. These will have a single double step or freeze arrow.
Standard: Standard songs have a pink square in the upper left. These consist of a few double steps and/or freeze arrows.
Heavy: Heavy songs have a green square in the upper left. These consist of many double steps and freeze arrows, and may have combination steps.
Obviously, which song you select should depend on your skill level at the DDR TCG. The advantage to choosing a harder song is you have more of an opportunity to gain points (since more difficult steps mean more points). However, harder songs are more difficult to complete, hence you may not get very far in your song before the game ends.
Song step sequences read from left to right, top to bottom. Each step is separated by a space.

Game play:
After each player has chosen a song card, the step, link, and interference cards are shuffled into a collective deck. Each player draws a hand of 5 cards.
Decide who goes first, and play proceeds to that player’s right, as follows:
1) Either draw a card, or discard up to two cards from your hand.
2) Play one Step card (optional)
3) Play one Link card (optional)
4) Play one Interference card (optional)
5) Reconcile your hand to 5 cards (discard if you have more; draw if you have fewer).
Once any one player has completed their song (AKA played 16 Step cards), the game ends, and all players total their points (see below). 
Note that this game does not have a discard pile; all “discarded” cards are shuffled back into the draw deck (hence, the term “discard” really means “shuffle back into the deck”).

Types of steps:
There are 3 basic types of steps in the game
A basic step is simply represented with an arrow
A double step is represented with two adjacent steps in braces
A freeze arrow is represented with a broken arrow
Each of these four steps may come in any of four directions (up, down, left, and right).
In addition, each Step card is rated on a scale of Perfect, Great, Good, and Boo (there is also a Miss Step card, with no direction). Each of these is worth a different amount of points, from +3 to -1.
Note that Miss Step cards do not count as a misstep.
In addition, you may encounter frozen double steps or triple steps in heavy songs. See the section on combination steps below.

Link cards:
There are 4 types of Link cards
Double step: A double step is played on your last-played Step card. Then, any time during your turn (including future turns; before you play additional Steps), you may play another Step card onto this card for free (doesn’t count as playing a Step, and hence doesn’t count as your one play for the turn). This turns the Step into a double step. This link card also adds 1 to your final score (in addition to the scores of both Step cards), provided this step is not a misstep. For purposes of this game, once you have played this card on a Step, this card and the other attached arrow count as part of that Step.
Freeze arrow: A freeze arrow is played on your last-played Step card. It turns it into a Freeze arrow, and adds 3 to your final score, provided the step is not a misstep. For purposes of the game, once you have played this card on a Step, it is counted as part of that Step.
Mine: A mine is played on any existing Step card (even one of your opponents’). This “negates” that Step (changes its value to 0 toward the owner’s final score). Attaching a mine to a double step or freeze step negates the entire Step (including any bonuses from the Link cards), but prevents it from being a misstep.
Quick restep: Choose one of your Step cards, and immediately discard it, replacing it with this Link card. Then, any time during a future turn, you may play another Step card onto this card (counts as your play for that turn). That Step card, however, is worth -1 of its regular score (to a minimum of 0). Note that you may restep a frozen Step, a Step that is part of a double step, or a bypassed step in a double step. 

Combination steps:
Combination steps require using multiple Link cards. There are three types of combination steps: Frozen doubles, triple steps, and frozen triple steps. You will only encounter combination steps in heavy songs.
Frozen doubles: Frozen doubles are where one arrow is held down while you step on another note. To accomplish this in the DDR TCG, you must first play the Step card for the frozen step (the difference from normal double steps is that order matters), and then freeze it. You must then play a double link card, and then attach the other step. Hence, to accomplish [  ], you would play Left step, Link: Freeze, Link: Double, (attach Right step). Note that you could not play the Right step first, since the step attached to the double link card does not count as playing a step (and therefore, cannot be affected by the Link: Freeze card).
Triple steps: Triple steps are meant to represent quick triples in songs. These are basically a step with two attached double link cards. For example, to accomplish [  ], you could play Right step, Link: Double, (attach Up step), Link: Double, (attach Down step).
Frozen triple steps: Combine the above two methods. For example, play Left step, Link: Freeze, Link: Double, (attach Up step), Link: Double, (attach Down step). As before, you would need to freeze the correct step first.

Interference cards:
When you play an interference card, do what the text says, then play it as the next Step in your sequence. While in play, Interference cards count as Steps. Unless you Link: Quick Restep or Link: Mine them before the end of the game, they will count as a misstep toward your final score. The Interference cards include:
Add Freezes: Choose an opponent. Their next step, if it is a basic step, is now a freeze arrow. This doesn’t apply if it is the last (16th) step in their song.
Beat: Choose an opponent. During your next turn, if the then next step in their sequence is a basic step, you may use your one step card play on their song instead. 
Cross Boomerang: Choose an opponent. Any double steps in their song that have not yet been completed must be completed as if they were turned 180 degrees.
Dark Mini: Choose an opponent. They may not play Perfect or Great steps for their next 2 steps.
Hidden: Choose an opponent. They flip their song card over (face down), and cannot look at it until they have completed 3 additional steps in their sequence (misstepped or correct)
N.G.: Choose an opponent. If their last-played Step is frozen, that entire step (including the freeze) provides -2 (cannot be fixed with quick restep).
Reverse Tornado: Choose an opponent. Their next double step becomes a frozen double (you can pick which of the two must be frozen).
Sudden: Choose an opponent. If their last-played Step is a combination step (triple steps, frozen double, or frozen triple steps), and they have not completed that step yet, it counts as a misstep (cannot be fixed with quick restep).
Tipsy: Choose an opponent. Their last 4 steps (13th-16th), if not yet started, now read from right to left (even if leftmost step is not a basic step).


Misstep:
A misstep occurs when you play the incorrect Step card in your sequence (for example, if your song wants Up and you play Down , the last step is considered a misstep). Missteps factor negatively into your final score (-2 each), but may be desirable to bypass a particularly difficult step to get to easier ones.
Note that Freeze steps and double steps that are bypassed (you continue the sequence instead of Linking the Step) count as a misstep. Double steps with one incorrect Step card also count as a misstep.
Also note that playing a Up then a Down would not make a double step; you would need to play either Up or Down and then play a “Double Step” link card, and then play the other step.
Also note that freezing a non-frozen step, or creating a double step on a non-double step counts as a misstep (even if the original step was correctly played).
Also note that “Miss” Step cards and Steps with linked mines do not count as a misstep.

Points:
Each Step and Link card is worth a certain point value (in parentheses at the end of the card text). These are added to your total.
Once the game ends (a player has completed their song), all players immediately go through their song sequence, discarding any missteps (this includes “Quick restep” cards without an attached Step and Interference cards), subtracting 2 from their final score for each misstepped step (misstepped double steps or combination steps count as one step).
Then, each player adds the point totals from all remaining Step and Link cards.
The player with the highest score is the winner! In the event of a tie, players draw cards from the top of the deck, adding points from drawn Step cards to their totals until there is a winner.
Note that the game immediately ends when any player plays their 16th Step card (the final step will never be a Freeze arrow or a double step).

How does this game involve strategy?
It seems like it’s all based on card draws? Well, that’s not exactly true. You have to know when to misstep to bypass or ignore a difficult step (say a double step) to get to ones you can actually do. You also have to make decisions on playing different Step cards, since they can be worth anywhere from +3 to -1 points each. In addition, messing up your opponents strategically is often crucial to a win.

I’m still confused:
Here’s an example that may clear things up…
Bob’s song sequence is as follows: (the last 8 steps of a Heavy song)
...  
He plays cards as follows:
Up step, Down step, Down step, Down step, Left step, Link: Freeze, Right step, Link: Double, Up step, Link: Freeze, Right step.
He has misstepped in two places. The third card was a down step when it should have been an up step. He also did not complete the Linked double step.
Note that this play is illegal:
Up step, Down step, Up step, Down step, Left step, Link: Freeze, Right step, Link: Double, Up step, Link: Freeze, (Left step attached to linked double), Right step.
Bob attempted to attach a Step to a Link: Double after already playing additional cards.
This play, however, is correct:
Up step, Down step, Up step, Down step, Left step, Link: Freeze, Left step, Link: Double, (Right step attached to linked double), Up step, Link: Freeze, Right step.
This sequence has no missteps.
This play is also correct:
Up step, Down step, Up step, Down step, Left step, Link: Freeze, Right step, Link: Double, Up step, Link: Quick restep (discards nothing; attaches Left step to linked double), Link: Freeze, Right step.
This sequence has no missteps.
This play is also correct, in a pinch:
Up step, Down step, Up step, Up step, Left step, Link: Freeze, Link: Quick restep (discards fourth card, replaces with Down step), Left step, Link: Double, Up step, Link: Freeze, Link: Mine (attaches to incomplete double step), Right step.
Bob fixed his first misstep with the Quick restep card, then negated his second (the incomplete double step) with a Mine, resulting in no missteps.

Game Credits:
The game, including cards and rules, was created by Alan V. http://ddrtcg.alanv.org. Card graphics and illustrations were captured/taken from Stepmania 3.9.