Follow the Author
Designed by Mycake
Players 2
Length 30 minutes
Extra Material Something to keep score with

A battle for lexicographical superiority.

Equipment

An extended decktet, pencil and paper.

Gameplay

The game is made up of a number of rounds, with each round consisting of two hands, the alpha hand and the omega hand. After each round the player who dealt the omega hand last round deals the alpha hand the next round.

Play is for a set number of rounds (which should be even, so each player deals first in the round the same number of times). 8 rounds is recommended, but this can be adjusted for a shorter/longer game as desired.

Dealer deals each player 11 cards, and place the remaining cards to one side, they will be used for the omega hand of the round. Each player should have space for a pile where they can put cards that they have won, whcih will be referred to as their 'store'. Before play commences, each player should select a card from their hand and place it face down in their opponent's store.

Play begins with non-dealer, who selects a card from their hand and places it face up between the players.Play then alternates, with a player on their turn placing a card from their hand slightly overlapping the previous, so that the name, rank and suits of all cards played so far can be seen, with the constraint that the title of the card played must come later alphabetically than the previous (but note Aces). Certain points are scored during play of the hand, these are detailed at Scoring.

Play continues in this fashion until one player cannot lay any card, at which point the other player can continue playing legal cards (if they chose to). When they have played all the cards they wish, all cards played to the table are placed face down in that players store. That player then starts a new sequence by playing any card face up to the table.

A player wins the hand as soon as they play the last card in their hand. They immediately place all cards played in the current sequence in their store, and can examine all cards left in their opponent's hand, choosing to place any they wish into their own store. Cards they do not wish to add to their store a placed to the side face down. They will take no further part in the round.

After the alpha hand, each player secretly selects one of the six suits to be their Scoring suit for the round (see Scoring). This can be done by writing it down on a piece of paper which is kept face down until after the omega hand, or by secretly taking a suit chip from a stash of many of them and concealing underneath a cup or some such thing.
Each player then secretly selects one of the six suits to be their opponent's Danger suit for the round (see Scoring). This is done in much the same fashion, taking care not to mix the two up.
There is no restriction on the choices made by either player.

The player who didn't deal alpha hand deals for omega hand. Dealer deals 11 more cards to each player from the leftover deck to each player. There should be one card left over, place this to the side.
This hand then plays as the previous, beginning as before with players adding a face down card to each other's store. When the hand is finished the winner of the hand can examine the one remaining card in the same fashion as their opponent's unplayed cards, choosing to either add it to their store or discard it.

The round is then scored.

Aces

If during a hand a player holds an ace, they may play this on any card, so long as the ace is of a suit belonging to that card. The next player then has two choices.
The first is to terminate the sequence, in which case the player laying the ace puts cards played in their store, and leads to the next sequence. Alternatively, they may choose to continue the sequence by playing any card (except another ace), with play then continuing as normal. A player may not lead an ace unless they have no other option, in which case the usual rules for following an ace apply.

Scoring

During the round

Certain points can be earned during play of the hand:

  • If a player plays a card of the same rank as the previous card played they score a point. If it's the same as the previous two cards they score two points, and so on.
  • If a player plays a card such that the last three or more cards are ranked in a conscetive run although not necessarily in order), they score on for each card in the run. For instance, if the last three cards played were 9, court.png, 8, then a player laying a pawn.png will score 4 points.
  • The first player to play all the cards in their hand scores a point.

After the round

After the round, players reveal their scoring suit and the suit they have selected as their opponent's danger suit. If a player's danger suit is revealed to be the same as their scoring suit, they do not have a danger suit for this round.

Players then each go through their store, counting every card that have neither their scoring suit nor their danger suit (except for the Excuse). Whoever has the least such cards scores a point for Sagaciousness. If the count is the same neither player gets this point. These cards are then placed to the side, taking no further part in scoring.

They additionally discard any card that has both their scoring suit and their danger suit.

The remaining cards are then examined and points allocated as follows:

  • If a player has the Excuse they score 2 points.
  • Whoever has the most cards in their scoring suit scores 1 point for each of these cards.
  • Whoever has the most cards in their danger suit loses 1 point for each of these cards, and additionally loses the value of the highest number card (2-9) they hold in that suit, if any.
  • Either player having any pair of cards of equal rank in their scoring suit scores 3 points for each pair
  • Whichever player has the longest run of consecutively ranked cards in their scoring suit scores 1 point for each card in the run.
  • Whichever player has the most personality cards in their scoring suit scores 3 points for Sociability.
  • If either player has three or more place cards in their danger suit they lose 1 point for each, for Vulnerability.

This table summarises potential points available:

Name Points
During Play
Same rank 1 for each card played consecutively of the same rank after the first
Run 1 for each card in run
Finish First 1
End of the Round
Sagaciousness 1
Excuse 2
Most Scoring Cards 1 for each card
Most Danger Cards - (number of cards + rank of highest number card)
Pairs 3 per pair
Longest Run 1 for each card in run
Sociability 3
Vulnerability -1 for each place card

Example Round

To come.

Ordering Reference

The Author (2moons.pngknots.png)
The Bard (crown.pngsuns.png)
The Battle (4wyrms.pngknots.png)
The Betrayal (8wyrms.pngknots.png)
The Borderland (pawn.pngwaves.pngleaves.pngwyrms.png)
The Calamity (crown.pngwyrms.png)
The Castle (7suns.pngknots.png)
The Cave (7waves.pngwyrms.png)
The Chance Meeting (7moons.pngleaves.png)
The Consul (court.pngmoons.pngwaves.pngknots.png)
The Darkness (9waves.pngwyrms.png)
The Desert (2suns.pngwyrms.png)
The Diplomat (8moons.pngsuns.png)
The Discovery (5suns.pngwaves.png)
The End (crown.pngleaves.png)
The Excuse
The Forest (5moons.pngleaves.png)
The Harvest (pawn.pngmoons.pngsuns.pngleaves.png)
The Huntress (crown.pngmoons.png)
The Island (court.pngsuns.pngwaves.pngwyrms.png)
The Journey (3moons.pngwaves.png)
The Light Keeper (pawn.pngsuns.pngwaves.pngknots.png)
The Lunatic (6moons.pngwaves.png)
The Market (6leaves.pngknots.png)
The Merchant (9leaves.pngknots.png)
The Mill (8waves.pngleaves.png)
The Mountain (4moons.pngsuns.png)
The Origin (2waves.pngleaves.png)
The Pact (9moons.pngsuns.png)
The Painter (3suns.pngknots.png)
The Penitent (6suns.pngwyrms.png)
The Rite (court.pngmoons.pngleaves.pngwyrms.png)
The Sailor (4waves.pngleaves.png)
The Savage (3leaves.pngwyrms.png)
The Sea (crown.pngwaves.png)
The Soldier (5wyrms.pngknots.png)
The Watchman (pawn.pngmoons.pngwyrms.pngknots.png)
The Windfall (crown.pngknots.png)
The Window (court.pngsuns.pngleaves.pngknots.png)

Variants

Back and Forth

Play is the same as for the main game except that during the omega hand, cards must be played in reverse alphabetical order.

Cribbage Finish

Play is the same as for the main game, but is played to a pre-decided score (e.g. 121). As soon as a player crosses this threshold they win.
Points gained during a hand (such as pairs) are added immediately. Points added after the round are added in the order listed in the table in Scoring. In categories where both players can score/lose points whoever dealt the alpha hand for the round scores points first.

More Players

Notes

Designed by Mycake.
Any comments/suggestions thoroughly welcomed!

Comments

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