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Card Battle — rules

Objective

Be the first to 7 points.

The deck

47 cards total:

• 15 ◆ Red
• 15 ● Black
• 15 ♛ Royal
• 2 ✕ No cards (held in a separate pool — earned by die roll, not dealt)

Beats cycle

Same-suit battles are a tie — both cards discarded, no roll, next round.

Round flow

1. Both players hold a hand of 5 cards. Pick one to play (hidden).
2. Cards reveal at the same time.
3. The winner of the rock-paper-scissors comparison rolls a 6-sided die:
   • 1, 2, 3, 4 → +1 point
   • 5, 6 → pick up a ✕ No card from the pool (if any are left)
4. Both players draw back up to 5.

The "No" card

Whoever loses the battle may play a ✕ No card from their hand to block the winner's roll. The winner gets nothing that round.

Limits:

• Only the loser of a battle can play a No card — never as a regular battle card.
• There are 2 No cards total in the pool. Played No cards recycle back into the pool, so they can be re-acquired by future 5/6 die rolls — they're never permanently spent.

End of game

First player to 7 points wins. If both decks run out before either player gets there, whoever has more points wins (ties go to nobody).