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{{Infobox_Game|
<h1 align=center>INTRO</h1><p>3Stica ("Threestica") is a quick little abstract territory-based war game, being the unholy union of the original [[Gnostica]] rules (and, by extension, a Tarot deck), a set of FATE/Fudge dice, and a "3house" set of Looney Pyramids. The cards make up an oft-changing board, and players move Looney Pyramids around the board as minions. Every card has a power, and when a player has one of his pyramids on a card, he or she may use the power of that card through the minion. Players also have a hand of cards which allow them to use those powers through any of their minions. Cards are worth points while occupied, and the game ends when the deck is exhausted an agreed-upon number of times (once per player, for a normal game). Playing time: 15-30 minutes</p>▼
subject_name=3stica|
designer=Kiltedfox|
image_link=|
description=What if Gnostica and Risk had a baby? |
min_players=2|
max_players=5 |
game_length=Medium|
trios_per_color=3|
number_of_colors=1 per player |
other_equip = deck of [[Tarot cards]], [[FATE dice]], turn marker |
setup_time= 5 Min|
min_playing_time=15 Min|
max_playing_time=30 Min|
complexity=Medium |
strategy=Medium |
random_chance=Medium |
game_mechanics=Modular board, Card game, FATE dice|
theme =Mystical|
release_year=2017|
game_status=Playtesting|
footnotes =|
BGG_Link=|
}}
==INTRO==
▲
<li>Between two and five lifeforms, near-sentient or better
<li>A 3HOUSE set of Looney Pyramids (each player takes one color)^▼
<li>A deck of tarot or Gnostica cards (or 3stica cards: coming soon)†▼
<li>Fudge/FATE dice (minimum three, but preferably three per player)‡▼
<li>One turn marker, with two distinct sides (I use a large coin for this)
▲<li>A [[:Category:3HOUSE|3House]] set of Looney Pyramids (each player takes one color)
▲<li>A deck of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot tarot] or [http://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/gnostica Gnostica] cards (or 3stica cards: coming soon)
<small><p>
<h3>GLOSSARY</h3>▼
<
<li>POWER -- A special effect each card has, detailed below.
<li>MAJOR -- Black cards, with individual names and unique powers. Valued 1-28. (all major arcana, when played with a tarot deck)
<li>MINOR -- White cards, with one of four generic powers (create, move, grow, or attack). Valued 1-14. (all four suits of minor arcana, when played with a tarot deck)
<li>VALUE -- Both Major and Minor cards have a value in the top center of the card. Major cards are always higher-valued than Minor cards
<li>PYRAMID -- Nine Looney Pyramid game pieces, three of each size and all of one color, per player. Sometimes pyramids are called
<li>MINION -- Any of your pyramids on a card which is activated, or any pyramid allowed to act via other game effects, is a 'minion' for the current turn
<li>TERRITORY -- Any card currently in play on the board is a territory; only three pyramids are allowed per territory
<li>ORIENTATION -- A minion may point (laying on its side) in any four of the cardinal directions, or straight up (targeting its own territory)
<li>TARGET -- The pyramid(s) or territory a minion is pointing to; a minion may only affect the pyramid/territory targeted, but a minion may always target itself, regardless of orientation.
<li>WASTELAND -- The space at the outside edge of the current gameboard, one card wide (i.e., blank spaces)
<li>VOID -- Any area more than a card's width away from the board (that is, past the wasteland).
<li>STASH -- The unplayed pyramids you have in reserve.
<li>PIP -- The little dots embossed into the lower left-hand side of each pyramid face
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<li>DRONE -- Two-pip Looney Pyramid (three per player)
<li>QUEEN -- Three-pip Looney Pyramid (three per player)
<li>CREATE -- Add a new pawn to the board OR play a card to the board (Cups, when played with a tarot deck)
<li>MOVE -- Move or push one pyramid for your minion's value OR push an empty/friendly territory (Rods/Wands, when played with a tarot deck)
<li>GROW -- Replace a pyramid with one size larger OR replace a territory with one of greater value (Discs/Coins/Pentacles, when played with a tarot deck)
<li>ATTACK -- Reduce target pyramid by the difference between rolls OR replace a territory with one of lesser value (Swords, when played with a tarot deck)
<p>Each player starts with a complete set of nine pyramids. Deal out five cards to each player, then tile nine cards face-up in a three-by-three grid. These are the first nine territories comprising the play area; place the remaining cards face down as the draw pile (leave room for discards).</p>
<p>To start the game, every player ‘bids’ a card at once. The player with the highest value Major card wins the bid; if nobody bid one, then the player with the highest value Minor card wins the bid. If there is still a tie, set aside the bid cards and repeat until someone wins the bid. The player to the right of the winner fills his hand to five from the bid cards, as does each player anticlockwise around the table. Finally, the winner claims the remaining card(s) and takes the first turn, with play proceeding clockwise.</p>
<p>Your score is the total value of territory occupied solely by your pyramids: Major territories are each worth 2 points, while Minor ones are 1 point. Wastelands count for nothing.</p>
<p>When the discard pile must be reshuffled, flip the turn marker; once the cards have been exhausted again, the players each take another turn, the game ends, and players take score. The player with the highest score wins the game.</.
On your turn, you must choose *ONE* of the following:<br>
<li>If you have no pyramids on the board, you must create a pawn in any empty territory or wasteland.
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Then, give the turn marker to the next player, clockwise.</p>
<li>CREATE - Add one of your pawns to the target territory, but only if there are fewer than three pyramids -- of any ownership -- in that territory already. It may be placed in any orientation. If no pawn is available in your stash, you may not create a new one on the board.<br>▼
==== CREATE ====
Alternatively, create a territory by placing a Minor card from your hand into a targeted unoccupied (or friendly) wasteland. You may not create in the void - nothing lives in the void. Any pyramids on the target wasteland remain there in the same orientations, even though the territory under them has changed. If you don't have a Minor card in your hand, you cannot create a territory.▼
▲
▲ Alternatively, create a territory by placing a Minor card from your hand into a targeted unoccupied (or friendly) wasteland. You may not create in the void
==== MOVE ====
Alternatively, you may push a territory in the direction the minion is pointing, but only if the territory is not occupied by enemy pyramids. When a territory is pushed, all pyramids remain in their original space, with orientations intact. The territory may be pushed up to as many spaces as the minion has pips. The territory may be pushed through any space, but must land in an unoccupied (or friendly) wasteland. If a territory lands in a wasteland you control, place the territory under your pyramids. You may not push a territory into the void.
<li>GROW - The target pyramid is replaced by the next size up of the same color. If it is yours, you may orient it, but not otherwise. If there isn't a pyramid of the next size up in the appropriate stash, you cannot take this action.<br>▼
==== GROW ====
▲
Alternatively, you may grow the target unoccupied (or friendly) territory. Discard it and replace with one from your hand worth more than the original territory; thus, a Minor card can be grown into a Major territory, while any card may be replaced with a higher-value card of the same type. Any pyramids on the targeted space remain there, in the same orientations, even though the territory under them has changed. If you don't have an appropriate card in your hand, you cannot grow that territory.
<li>ATTACK - Roll as many fudge/Fate dice as pips on the attacking and defending minion(s). If the defender's player rolls lower (each "+" is worth one, each "-" is worth negative one, and a blank side is worth nothing), they are reduced by the difference between rolls (if the attacker rolls 3, and the defender rolls 1, a queen would be reduced to a pawn). Any roll less than zero counts as zero, and if both rolls are equal, nothing happens. If the defender rolls a higher score than the attacker, they may shrink the attacker by one size; if any pyramid would be reduced below one pip, it is destroyed. If no pyramids of the correct size are in target player's stash, it shrinks to the next smaller one. Attacking pyramids roll one time per attack, and each defending pyramid rolls separately. Any minion may target itself without rolling and regardless of orientation; it may shrink itself by up to as many pips as it started the turn with. If you attack your pyramid in this manner, you may orient after shrinking. <br>▼
==== ATTACK ====
Alternatively, you may attack the target unoccupied (or friendly) territory. Discard the it and replace with one from your hand worth one less point than the original; thus, a Major card can be shrunk to a Minor territory and a Minor can be reduced to a wasteland. Any card may be replaced with a lower-value card of the same type. Any pyramids on the targeted space remain there, in the same orientations, even though the territory under them has changed, unless you destroy a territory and it leaves minions in the void (remember -- nothing lives in the Void). If you don't have an appropriate card in your hand, you cannot use this action.▼
▲
▲ Alternatively, you may attack the target unoccupied (or friendly) territory. Discard the it and replace with one from your hand worth one less point than the original; thus, a Major card can be shrunk to a Minor territory and a Minor can be reduced to a wasteland. Any card may be replaced with a lower-value card of the same type. Any pyramids on the targeted space remain there, in the same orientations, even though the territory under them has changed, unless you destroy a territory and it leaves minions in the void (remember
<p>When a Major card is played or activated, multiple actions may be taken by a single minion, or multiple minions may each take a single action. When playing Death, two different minions may attack, or one minion could attack twice; if Lovers is activated, one of your pyramids could move off of the Lovers and can still use Lovers' grow action, or a pyramid on Lovers could use move to push away one of your pyramids, and that minion could still use grow.<br>
<b align=center>Please note that you may not reverse the order of a Major card with two different powers
<li>Fool: Turn over the next card from the draw pile and play it. Repeat once. As with all actions, using the powers of these cards is optional.
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<li>World: Has the power of any Major territory on the board.
<li>A pushed territory may have to rotate 90 degrees to fit the board's horizontal-vertical tile pattern; this has no in-game effect.
<li>As a general rule, when you do something to one of your own minions, you may change its orientation; however, if you do something to an enemy's pyramid, you may not change its orientation.
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<li>Yes, a minion using the Sun can place a Major territory in a targeted wasteland without first creating a Minor territory. Similarly, you can create a Drone without a pawn in your stash.<br>
▲<p></br>^A "3HOUSE" set is three [[icehouse piece|Looney Pyramid]] stash sets. If you already have your own pyramids, you need three of each size of one color, per player.<br>
▲†Originally, [[http://www.ginohn.com/wunder201005/games/Gnostica/GnosticaRules.html Gnostica]] was played with a Tarot deck; if playing 3stica with them, Cups = create, Rods/Wands = move, Discs/Coins/Pentacles = grow, and Swords = attack. My thanks to [[https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/gnostica this fine designer]] for being the main inspiration behind this game.<br>
▲‡Fudge dice are six-sided dice with 1:3 odds of getting each symbol: a plus (+), a minus (-), and a blank face. Anything with identical odds - like a deck of cards with one suit removed, three chips in a bag, <i>et cetera</i> - may be substituted.</p>
[[category:2-player]]
[[category:3-player]]
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[[category:FATE Dice]]
[[category:Half hour]]
[[category:Playing
[[category:Tarot
[[category:Non-stacking]]
[[category:Games_Under_Development/Playtesting]]
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