Technical Details
This page documents the gameplay flow used on this site. Canonical draft rules remain in the primary repository.
Turn Sequence
One turn executes in this order: attack declaration, damage path resolution, suit effects, reinforcement, then pass.
flowchart LR
A[Select Front-Row Attacker] --> B[Choose Opposing Column]
B --> C[Resolve Damage
Front -> Back -> LP] C --> D[Apply Suit Effects] D --> E{Column Open?} E -- Yes --> F[Reinforce] E -- No --> G[Pass Turn] F --> G
Front -> Back -> LP] C --> D[Apply Suit Effects] D --> E{Column Open?} E -- Yes --> F[Reinforce] E -- No --> G[Pass Turn] F --> G
Gameplay Loop
The game alternates active player turns until a victory condition is met.
flowchart TD
S[Setup
Shuffle, Draw, Deploy] --> T[Player Turn] T --> V{Victory Check} V -- No --> O[Opponent Turn] O --> V V -- Yes --> X[Game Over]
Shuffle, Draw, Deploy] --> T[Player Turn] T --> V{Victory Check} V -- No --> O[Opponent Turn] O --> V V -- Yes --> X[Game Over]
Statechart
State-level view of turn progression and terminal conditions.
stateDiagram-v2
[*] --> Setup
Setup --> TurnStart
TurnStart --> SelectAttacker
SelectAttacker --> SelectTarget
SelectTarget --> ResolveDamage
ResolveDamage --> ApplySuitEffects
ApplySuitEffects --> Reinforce: open slot exists
ApplySuitEffects --> PassTurn: no reinforcement needed
Reinforce --> PassTurn
PassTurn --> VictoryCheck
VictoryCheck --> TurnStart: no winner
VictoryCheck --> GameOver: LP <= 0 OR no draw/reinforce
GameOver --> [*]
Suit Ability Timing
Suit effects are applied in the turn step after base damage path resolution, and each suit keys off a specific damage location or board context.
| Suit | Role | Trigger Window | When It Triggers | Practical Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamonds | Shield | Post-front-break overflow context | When front Diamond is broken and overflow would continue to back row | Adds shield equal to Diamond value to absorb overflow before back-row damage |
| Hearts | Shield | No-card-behind context | When there is no card behind the Heart card (only player behind) | Adds shield equal to Heart value to absorb overflow before LP |
| Clubs | Weapon | Overflow to back-row context | When damage overflows from front card into back card | Increases pressure on back-row defense |
| Spades | Weapon | Direct LP context | When damage reaches the player LP step | Increases direct LP threat |
Victory States
- LP defeat: A player reaches 0 Life Points.
- Resource defeat: A player cannot draw or reinforce (out of cards).
Ace Exception
- A front-row Ace is not discarded by non-Ace direct attacks.
- A front-row Ace is discarded when directly attacked by another front-row Ace.
- Outside this discard exception, Ace value still behaves as a normal value-1 card in damage math.