Additional Game Modes

Free-for-All

Mode for 3 to 5 players to confront each other at the same time. It is the ideal format for a more casual and unpredictable gaming experience. The base rules of Kartomantik remain valid, with the following modifications and additions.

Priority

During a confrontation in Free-for-All, priority is passed based on Disadvantage, which is the number of players by whom one would be beaten individually by Power or Temperament:

• The player with priority is the player at an absolute disadvantage, meaning the one who would be beaten by every single other player.
• If the player with priority passes on an empty stack, priority goes to the player with the next greatest disadvantage after them.
• If there are multiple players with the same disadvantage, priority instead passes to the closest player, in clockwise order, to the player who is passing priority.
• If a player at a disadvantage passes, they cannot obtain priority again until another player performs an action, returning priority to the player with the greatest disadvantage.

When, on an empty Stack, all players have passed consecutively, the turn moves to the next phase.

Outside of the confrontation or in case of a stalemate, the player who won the last resolved confrontation has priority, and priority is passed clockwise.

In case it cannot be decided who has priority, rely on the base rules for priority.

The Stack

1. When a player with Priority performs an action, it is placed on top of the Stack. Priority passes immediately to the next player clockwise.
2. Players continue to pass Priority clockwise, adding actions to the Stack or passing.
3. The Stack begins to resolve only when all players have passed consecutively.

Resolution and Stalemate

• A player wins a Confrontation only if their total Power and Temperament (if necessary) would allow them to individually defeat every other player present in the Confrontation.
  Resolution proceeds normally, putting all opposing manifestations from the confrontation and stalemate into one's own empathic vessel. (It is recommended to have separate piles for each player)
• The Confrontation instead ends in a Stalemate in any case where there is no single winner. For example:
  • If the last manifestations to enter the Confrontation of the two players with the highest total power have the same Temperament.
  • If a chain of dominance is created between the Temperaments (e.g., Player A beats B, B beats C, and C beats A).

End Phase

Each time that, during the End Phase, a Stack initiated by a player resolves completely, priority passes to the closest player in clockwise order.

End of the Game

If a player cannot reach the required hand limit during recovery or loses the game, for example, due to two consecutive mulligans, the game DOES NOT end.
That player can no longer take part in Confrontations, but retains the right to play Wills and activate effects.

The game continues as long as at least two players are still able to reach the hand limit during their Recovery.

2vs2 Mode

Four-player mode for a team confrontation. It is designed for those seeking a group dynamic based on coordination between teammates. The base rules remain valid, with the following modifications and additions.

Deck Building

• Each deck must be composed of exactly 21 cards.
• The sum of the Points of all Manifestations in the deck must not exceed 400.
• As in the base rules, there cannot be more than one copy of the same card in your own deck.

Game Zones

The team shares a single Interzone extended to 4 total spaces. And they share the Field and Confrontation Zone.
Limbo, Deck, Hand, and Empathic Vessel remain separate instead.

Card Control

When a card's text refers to cards or effects under a player's control, consider also cards or effects controlled by their teammate.

The ownership and control of each card remain with the owner and cannot be shared.

Priority

Outside of the Stack, Priority is assigned to the team, as if they were single players, following the base rules (e.g., the team that would lose the Confrontation at that moment has Priority, or the team that won the last Confrontation).
When a team obtains Priority, the two players decide together which of the two will use it to perform an action (play a Will, activate an effect, etc.). If they choose to pass, Priority passes to the opposing team.

The Stack

To ensure that everyone can react, the Stack uses the Free-for-All logic:

1. When a player with Priority performs an action, it is placed on top of the Stack. Priority passes immediately to the next player clockwise.
2. Players continue to pass Priority clockwise, adding actions to the Stack or passing.
3. The Stack begins to resolve only when all four players pass consecutively.

Revelation

Each team can have a single First Manifestation on the field.
At revelation, the players of each team decide which of the two must choose the First Manifestation.
When both teams have chosen, the players uncover the chosen First Manifestation and place it on their side of the Confrontation Zone. Revelation and reaction proceed as per the base rules.

Resolution

• To determine the result of a Confrontation, sum the total Power of all Manifestations controlled by both players of Team A, against the total Power of all the Manifestations of Team B, as if they were single players, following the base rules.
• When a team wins the Confrontation:
  • The two players of the winning team decide between themselves in which of the two Empathic Vessels to put the opposing team's manifestations.
  • They decide which manifestations to put in the interzone, or at the bottom of the respective owners' decks.

End of the Game

If one or more players cannot reach the required hand limit during recovery, but their teammate can, the game does not end immediately, but the final turn is played. Those players can still participate and use all the cards at their disposal.

If a player loses the game, for example due to two consecutive mulligans, their team loses.

Point Calculation and Victory

At the end of the game, the team's score is calculated by summing the total Points present in the Empathic Vessels of both players, and counting the bonus points of both for the manifestations still in their decks. The team with the highest combined total wins the game.

In case of alternative win or loss conditions, they are shared by the players.

Bazaar Draft Mode

Auction draft mode for 2-6 players. Players compete to acquire the most valuable cards through a free auction system, then face off in a tournament where each player challenges every other player exactly once. Victory is measured by the ability to accumulate points across all tournament matches.

Draft Preparation

Dividing the Cards

Separate all cards from the set into 4 distinct piles

• Wills Pile: All Will cards (Ephemeral and Persistent)
• Minor Manifestations Pile: Manifestations from 0 to 15 Points.
• Medium Manifestations Pile: Manifestations from 20 to 35 Points.
• Major Manifestations Pile: Manifestations from 40 to 50 Points.

Shuffle each pile thoroughly.

Creating the Draft Deck

Based on the number of players, draw the indicated number of cards from each pile according to this table:

Combine all the drawn cards into a single deck and shuffle it thoroughly. This will be the Draft Deck.

Playing the Draft

Uncovering Phase

1. Uncover and place a number of cards from the Draft Deck onto the table equal to twice the number of players (e.g., 3 players = 6 uncovered cards, 4 players = 8 uncovered cards, etc.).
2. Determine the starting order with a die roll (whoever rolls higher goes first). Proceed clockwise from that player.

Selection and Auction Phase

Player Turn

1. The active player chooses one of the uncovered cards on the table. This opens an auction for that card.
2. Any other player can start the auction by making a bid (minimum 5 Points, or any multiple of 5).
3. The auction proceeds with players taking turns bidding, following these rules:
   • Other players: Can only raise the bid, offering an amount higher than the current bid (each bid must be in increments of 5 Points). There is no limit to the points that can be bid by a player.
   • Active player: Has a special right. After each bid from another player, they can choose to match the bid to become the highest bidder, or raise it themselves.
4. The auction ends when, after a bid has been made, all other players choose to "pass" and not raise the bid.
   • If no one made a bid, the active player takes the card for free.
   • Otherwise, the player with the final highest bid wins the card and notes down the Points spent, which will be used in the Debt Calculation.

If the active player lost the auction, they take another turn by immediately choosing another card. Otherwise, the turn passes to the next player.

Snake Draft Order

The draft follows a snake draft order to balance the advantage of choice. This pattern applies only within a single set of uncovered cards and resets each time the table is refilled.

Example with 4 players (A, B, C, D)

The selection for each group of uncovered cards proceeds as follows:

• Round 1 (Clockwise): The first player (A) chooses a card, followed by the second, and so on, up to the last player of the round (D): (A → B → C → D)
• Round 2 (Counter-clockwise): The last player (D), who just chose their first card, immediately starts the second round by choosing another. The order then proceeds in reverse. (D → C → B → A)

For the next set of cards, players start again from the first player as in Round 1, and so on.

Acquisition Limit

• Each player can acquire a maximum of 2 cards before the table is refilled.
• When it is the turn of a player who has already taken 2 cards, that player skips their turn and cannot participate in auctions until the table is refilled.

Refilling the Table

When all the uncovered cards have been taken, uncover new cards from the Draft Deck (a number equal to twice the number of players).

Conclusion of the Draft

The draft ends when

• The Draft Deck is depleted.
• Each player has acquired exactly 36 cards.

After the draft, each player builds a deck of exactly 30 cards, only one copy of each, from the 36 they acquired. Unlike the standard mode, there is no limit to the total Points the deck can contain.

Debt Calculation

Before the tournament begins, each player calculates their Debt:

1. Sum the Points of all Manifestations in your 30-card deck.
2. Sum all the Points spent in auctions during the draft.
3. Add the two previous values together.
4. If this total exceeds 500 Points, the excess amount is counted as Debt and must be recorded.

Example: A player has a deck with a total of 480 Points and spent 100 points in auctions. The total is 580 Points (480 Manifestation Points + 100 auction Points = 580 total Points). Since the player exceeded the 500-Point threshold by 80, they will have a Debt of 80 points.

Tournament and Victory Condition

Each player faces every other player exactly once. The matches follow the standard Kartomantik rules.

At the end of the tournament, each player sums up all the points earned in all matches played and subtracts their Debt points from this total.
The player with the highest final score wins the draft.

In the event of a tie between two or more players, the tied players face off in a tiebreaker match.