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Zarcana
John Cooper

territorial control on a board of cards Tarot, with CCG-like card effects
:Players	Players:	2 - 4
:Time	Length:	Medium
:Complexity	Complexity:	Medium
Trios per color:		5
Number of colors:		1 per player
Pyramid trios:
Monochr. stashes:		1 per player
Five-color sets:		5
- - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - -
deck of Tarot cards or playing cards
Setup time:		5 minutes
Playing time:		30 minutes - 60 minutes
Strategy depth:		Medium
Random chance:		Medium
Game mechanics:
Theme:		War, Mystical
BGG Link:		Zarcana

Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 1996

Zarcana was designed by John Cooper, circa 1996, one of the first games created for the pyramids beyond Icehouse. Pyramids are used to occupy territories on a board constructed out of cards. Players use the abilities of occupied cards or play cards from their hand in order to maintain territorial advantage; hand management is also a critical part of the strategy. Zarcana has been described as Pikemen meets Magic:the Gathering.

Zarcana was obsoleted by Gnostica, which was designed to be easier to learn and more strategically challenging.

External Links[edit | edit source]

The rules are available online and updated in PA format
Andy Looney likes Zarcana better.
Zarf (Andrew Plotkin, world's biggest Zarcana fan) has made some custom Zarcana pieces and a handy-dandy rules reference.
Cerulean's custom-built Tarot-less Zarcana deck: The Gallery, has all the game text on the cards.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox_Game|
   subject_name=Zarcana|
-  designer= [[John Cooper]]|
+  designer=John Cooper|
   image_link=|
-  description=territorial control on a board of cards, with CCG-like card effects|
+  description=territorial control on a board of cards Tarot, with CCG-like card effects|
-  players=2+|
+  min_players=2|
+  max_players=4|
-  stashes = 1 single-color stash per player |
+  sets=5|
-  other_equip = deck of [[Tarot cards]] |
+  stashes=1 per player|
-  setup_time= 5 minutes |
-  playing_time=45&ndash;120 minutes |
+  setup_time=5 minutes|
+  other_equip = deck of [[Tarot cards]] or playing cards |
-  complexity=High |
+  min_playing_time=30 minutes|
-  strategy=High |
+  max_playing_time=60 minutes|
-  random_chance=Medium |
+  complexity=Medium |
-  mechanics= [[Modular board]], [[Card game]]|
+  strategy=Medium|
-  theme = [[Mystical]] |
+  release_year=1996|
-  footnotes =|
+  game_status=Complete|
-  BGG_Link=[http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/10996 10996]
+  game_length=Medium|
+  random_chance=Medium|
+  theme = War, Mystical|
+  BGG_Link=[https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/10996/zarcana Zarcana]|
 }}
@@ Line 24: / Line 28: @@
 == External Links ==
-* The rules are [http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Ginohn/games/Zarcana/rules.html available online].
+* The rules are [http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Ginohn/games/Zarcana/rules.html available online] and [https://www.looneylabs.com/sites/default/files/pyramid_rules/ZarcanaRules5b.pdf updated in PA format]
 * Andy Looney [http://www.wunderland.com/WTS/Andy/Games/IPreferZarcana.html likes Zarcana better].
 * Zarf (Andrew Plotkin, world's biggest Zarcana fan) has made some [http://www.eblong.com/zarf/arcana-pieces.html custom Zarcana pieces] and a handy-dandy [http://www.eblong.com/zarf/zarcana-rules.html rules reference].