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Once there was a young adventurer who rescued a mighty Djinn trapped in the heart of a swamp. Together, they built the magical city of Cardia.
Today, life in the city is flourishing. Yet four factions are struggling for power: the Rebellion from the swamp, the scholars from the Academy , the Guild with their mechanical contraptions, and the Dynasty, descendants of the adventurer.
Whoever wins the powerful signet rings, and thus the favour of the factions, becomes the next ruler of Cardia. Play your cards right and outsmart your opponent!
LB_NUMBER_OF_PLAYERS: 2
Game duration: 11 mn
Complexity: 1 / 5
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Play cardia and 1184 other games online.
No download, directly from your web browser.
With your friends and thousands of players from the whole world.
Free.
Rules summary
Overview
Duel for Cardia is a little like "Love Letter" but for two players. Each player has an identical deck of 16 cards. Each card has a number and a special ability or effect.
The players each play one card and duel. The card with the higher number wins a Signet Ring. The card that does not win activates an ability that may change the outcome of this or or other encounters.
The player who collects 5 Signet Rings first wins the game.
Gameplay
During each encounter, each player plays a single card from their hand face down. Both cards are revealed simultaneously. The card that has the higher number wins one Signet Ring. The card with the lower number activates its ability.
On a tie, no Signet Ring is awarded and neither ability is activated.
The game moves onto the next encounter, but the previous encounter's cards remain in place. Abilities may affect the winner of the current encounter, previous encounters, or future encounters, or have ongoing effects.
BGA defaults to playing two games. The winner of the best 2 out of 3 games wins.
Since cards are activated simultaneously, the accounting of Signet Rings is not determined until all cards are resolved. If both players have 5, the game continues until a resolved encounter breaks the tie.
End of Game
There are three ways the game can end.
- If a player has at least 5 Signet Rings, that player wins.
- If a player cannot play a card, the other player wins.
- A card ability activates and causes one player to win.
Abilities
Only the ability of the lower card is activated. The ability of the higher card is ignored.
There are two types of abilities: instant (lightning bolt) and ongoing (∞). Instant abilities are resolved once and only once. Ongoing abilities stay in effect for all encounters that take place after it is resolved. They don't affect past encounters. An "ongoing" symbol is placed on the card to indicate the ability is in effect.
Some abilities change the influence of other cards. When this happens, the corresponding duel is re-evaluated. Signet Rings can change sides or be removed in the event of a tie.
Variations
Deck I vs. Deck II
Deck I has more cards that affect the current encounter or future encounters. Deck II has more cards that change the influence of other cards.
Locations
When creating a game table, you can optionally select a location. Each location has a rule that applies to the entire game. Descriptions can be found when selecting the location in table setup.