Overview

"The Shipwreck Arcana is about cleverly conveying information."

This is a cooperative game; the players win or lose together.

If the players reach 7 doom (as indicated by the red tracking token around The Hours), they lose. (In the The Restless Hours variant, the players lose if the deck is empty and they need to draw a card.)

If the players score 7 points (as indicated by the green tracking token), they win.

Rules summary

The Meromorph Games website also has a rules summary.

Each fate is a token numbered 1 through 7. There are three of each fate (so, 21 fate tokens total) in a bag that players drawn from. Discarded fates are returned to the bag.

Each player has a number-line of tokens numbered 1 through 7 in their color. Players cannot interact with their own number-lines; they're used by the rest of the group to help keep track of what the group knows. They have no direct effect on gameplay.

Four arcana cards are active (in play) at any given time. Fates played on the arcana cards are called visible fates. Whenever an arcana card is removed from play, any visible fates on it are discarded and returned to the bag, and it is replaced with the top card of the deck.

Each fate has a number of hours ("pips", or ♢) shown on its right side. (Fates numbered 1 through 3 have one pip; 4 through 6 have two pips; and 7 has three pips.). Each arcana card has a duration, indicated by the number of moons shown near its bottom edge. When the number of hours (pips) of visible fates on an arcana card is greater than or equal to its duration, that arcana card will fade at the end of the turn. Faded arcana cards become single-use faded powers that can help the group. See "Faded powers" for more information.

To the left of the active arcana cards is The Hours, which looks like an arcana card but is not considered one (per the official rules). Players may play a fate on The Hours only if they cannot play a fate anywhere else; those fates move to the leftmost arcana card (which may cause that card to fade). Tracking tokens around The Hours are used to indicate the group's current doom and score.

Turn

On each turn, one player (or, in the Two-player Challenge Variant, one hand) is the active player. The rest of the players are "the group". The active player may not communicate with the group in any way except by using faded powers and playing a fate.

Each turn is split into several phases.

- The active player draws new fates until they have two in their hand. These are secret from the other players.

- The active player plays one fate on an arcana card, obeying its text.

- The group is allowed to discuss openly and then may predict (guess) what the active player's remaining fate is (or may pass).

- If a prediction was made, then it is resolved. Correct predictions score one point; incorrect predictions give one doom.

- Then, each arcana card is checked to see if it will fade. When a card fades, any visible fates on it are discarded, it is replaced with a card from the deck, and it is flipped over. The back of each card shows a faded power that the players may use to help themselves. If a card fades on a turn when a correct prediction was not made, it will give two doom!

Then, the next player becomes the active player, draws until they have two fates, and the game continues!.

Arcana cards

For more details on how each arcana card is intended to work, take a look at the official Meromorph Games FAQ, which is excellent!

Faded powers

When a card fades, it becomes a faded power that the players can use to help themselves. The available faded powers are shown below the active arcana cards.

At most one faded power can be used per turn, regardless of who uses it.

Most faded powers can be used in one of four windows. There are powers that the active player can use either before playing or after playing their fate, and there are powers that the group (the remaining players) can use either before making a prediction or after making a prediction.

There are two faded powers that attach to an arcana card and change how it behaves. The name of any attached powers are shown just above the active arcana card that they're attached to.

For more details on how each faded power is intended to work, take a look at the official Meromorph Games FAQ, which is excellent!

Interface notes

In your hand(s), just-drawn fates are shown with a blue border. Some arcana cards and faded powers (such as Shells (Old?)) behave differently if a fate has been drawn this turn or not.

The visible fate that was played most recently is shown with a blue border.

A fate that has been selected (for example, as the target of a faded power) is shown with a red border.

Variants

The Restless Hours

In this higher-difficulty variant, The Hours is replaced with The Restless Hours. Before the game starts, 15 cards will be chosen at random from the selected card set(s) to create the arcana deck, and discarded cards are not returned to the deck.

There is no doom tracker in this variant; instead, players lose if they need to draw an arcana card and the deck is empty.  An arcana card is removed from the bottom of the deck each time the players' doom would advance.

Both fading and things that would normally give doom bring the players closer to defeat; be careful!

The Restless Hours is an official promo card.

Two-player Challenge Mode

In this higher-difficulty variant, each player plays two hands (labeled "A" and "B"). They will alternate between those hands on each of their turns.  Hidden fates for each hand are kept separate.

The extra turns will put more pressure on arcana cards to fade. See the official rulebook for details.

As its name suggests, this option is only available when there are exactly two players at the table.

Common questions

- When an arcana card's text refers to "my visible fates", that refers to visible fates played on that specific arcana card. Visible fates on other arcana cards are not included.

- If something allows the group to make multiple predictions, they get one doom only if none of those predictions are correct. (They do not get one doom per incorrect prediction.)

Tips

1. Avoid Card Fading: Ensure that you manage your cards effectively to prevent them from fading away. This is crucial for maintaining your options throughout the game.

2. Consider All Scenarios: Take the time to evaluate every possible outcome before making a move. Aim to choose the fate that offers the best strategic advantage.

3. Limit Use of Old Fates: Try to avoid playing old fates unless absolutely necessary. If you do use an old fate, make sure it leads to a precise solution to your current problem.

4. Read Cards and Powers Thoroughly: Before making any decisions, carefully read the cards and understand their powers. This knowledge will help you make informed choices and enhance your gameplay.

TODO

- Show pictures of the above, plus "pips", the numberline, fate tokens, etc. (This should probably wait until we have the final token assets in place!)