Front Page |
Contact |
Gallery |
|
Asunder
HighlightsDescriptionRulebookGallerySample CardsPrint ItBuyLicenseHow It Was CreatedEpic SoundtracksFluonsHistory
Highlights
The presented game is a preview of version 2, but the linked rulebook and cards are still for version 1.5, which is different. Scifi themed, fast paced, two-player, competitive and cooperative card game. Core card pack with 180 cards, playable out of the box. Setup: Shuffle the cards. Each player draws 7 cards. Rounds with plot and obstruct: A player plots by playing any number of cards, with any total card valor. The rival obstructs successfully by playing any number of cards with a total card valor which is equal with or higher than what was played during the plot. Multiple cards may be played with combos. Objective: Win most rounds in order to get extra cards which may be used to win the finale and the game. Typical duration (when the rules are known): 30...45 minutes. Minimum player age: 12.
Description
The presented game is a preview of version 2, but the linked rulebook and cards are still for version 1.5, which is different. The Asunder card game (ACG) is a competitive and cooperative card game for two players, with a science fiction theme and atmospheric artwork and lore. Main mechanics: competitive play (= rounds of plot - obstruct turns), cooperative play (= adventures), turns, randomness from shuffled cards, hand (= ops) capacity of 7 cards, card drawing, card playing (= engaging), card abilities (= rules applied when cards are played), combos (= combination of the abilities of multiple cards played in a single turn), leveling up and reusing preferred cards (through the portal deck), extensibility (with expansion packs and custom cards), and only cards (= no tokens or counters). A game may be played with a mix of the competitive (with plot - obstruct turns) and cooperative (with adventures) modes, but also exclusively in either mode. The players are mostly relieved from having to decide which actions they have to execute at each turn, since they may mostly only execute the actions of the abilities of the cards from the hand, which makes the game easier for beginners. The gameplay is about adaptation to the environment on the spot. The charm of the gameplay, and its appeal to advanced players, comes from the diversity of the rules of the abilities, and has an emphasis on the combos which emerge fluidly on the spot. To master the game, a player has to master combos. In addition to the usual competitive combo-based play, exceptional strategy and diversity are added with the portal mechanics (allowing leveling up and reusing preferred cards) and with the adventures mechanics (allowing cooperative play). The rules create a balanced gameplay, but also create the potential for decisions which can easily switch the balance. There is just enough pressure for the players to feel that they might lose at any moment, but without making the casual players feel like it's impossible for them to win against advanced players. At the end of the game, you realize that you're playing for fun and for twists in what you thought was your win. The progression of a game is made of consecutive rounds, with each round made of 2 turns, one for each player. During the first turn of a round, the first player must execute a plot. If the plot doesn't occur, the game ends and the second player wins. During the second turn of a round, the second player may execute an obstruction. The obstruction can be either successful or failed. The end of an obstruction always leads to a new round (or to the end of the game). Playing consists of turns during which the players may execute various actions. During a turn, a player may play only 1 card, but its ability may allow for more cards to be drawn, played or moved to other play zones. Playing multiple cards in a series is called a combo. Combos with 10 cards are not rare, and even with more than 20 cards have been seen. During a plot, the player has to play from hand, during his / her turns, as much total card valor (= numeric value) as possible. During an obstruction, if the player's total valor of the cards is smaller than the total valor of the cards played by the rival, the rival wins the round. A player may fail to obstruct the rival because he / she isn't able to create combos which are powerful enough, so the player loses the round while the rival wins the round. In such a case, the rival gets extra cards which increase his / her chances to win the finale and the game. While the short-term goal of the game is to play more valor then the rival during each round, the objective is to win most rounds in order to get extra cards which may be used to win the finale and the game. Everything builds toward the finale.
Rulebook
The presented game is a preview of version 2, but the linked rulebook and cards are still for version 1.5, which is different. Here are the rules in PDF format. Here are the rules in LibreOffice format. This is for anyone who wants to edit the rulebook.
Gallery
In version 2 of the game, the artwork of the cards will be generated with AI. The visual style is a work in progress, using Midjourney's reference style feature. To produce the visual style of the images, over 900 AI generated images were used as individual reference styles in order to understand the visual styles that they can produce across prompts, in over 60'000 generated images. A custom-built application was used to automatically organize the selected images per reference style, each in its own folder, in order to easily see the result of each reference style. It's difficult to choose a style because most of them are irreproducible across prompts (usually due to the change in scale), and the background usually doesn't fit the desired theme.
Sample Cards
In version 2 of the game, the cards will have AI art. Sample front of cards:
Sample back of cards:
Print It
The presented game is a preview of version 2, but the linked rulebook and cards are still for version 1.5, which is different. If you want to print the cards yourself, download the archive with cards (saved as image files). The simplest way to print the cards is at a photo shop, on 125 * 88 millimeters / 4.9 * 3.5 inches (B7, ISO 216 format) photo paper. The cards are so large because it feels very good to look at the large artwork and read the lore. If the cards were normally sized playing cards, it would feel claustrophobic to look at the artwork and read the lore, but it can be done if you want to reduce the print cost. The texts of the cards can be seen here. You can download all the card artwork, as wallpapers, from here.
Buy
The presented game is a preview of version 2, but the linked rulebook and cards are still for version 1.5, which is different. You can purchase a professionally printed copy from GameCrafter. The price is just the production cost. This print is merely a convenience for people who want to have one, it's a non-profit operation. The cost is significantly higher than if you were to print the cards at your local photo shop because GameCrafter doesn't offer bulk prices when buying one game copy at a time. They do offer bulk prices when buying multiple game copies at a time, and the price can get reduced to half for many copies. Advantages of the GameCrafter cards: they are also printed on the back, the handling and shuffling are much better due to the card stiffness and rounded corners. The card size is 136 * 86 millimeters / 5.4 * 3.4 inches. The box size is 229 * 156 * 57 mm / 9 * 5 * 2.3 inches.
License
See the rulebook. The following lore is in the public domain:
How It Was Created
The cards were created with Mosaic. The artwork for version 2 was generated with AI. To produce the visual style of the images, over 900 AI generated images were used as individual reference styles in order to understand the visual styles that they can produce across prompts, in over 60'000 generated images. A custom-built application was used to automatically organize the selected images per reference style, each in its own folder, in order to easily see the result of each reference style. For the general design principles, see What is a game?
Epic Soundtracks
For soundtracks to listen to, for an epic experience, see this.
Fluons
You can read here a technical / mathematical explanation of what fluons / portals are.
History
Version 2.0.0This is a preview of the next version. The new rules and cards are finished. The artwork will be generated with AI, but a visual style must first be chosen. 2025 Massively revamped the rules. The overwhelming part of the rules remain compatible with the previous versions, but the terminology has changed to some extent, some existing rules were modified, and new rules were added. There are now 180 cards (48 new). The existing cards are slightly changed, some lore was replaced. The artwork is generated with AI. Added the portal mechanics, with the "Portal" and "Purpose" play zones separate for each player, which allows the players to level up and reuse preferred cards. This is a more complex version of the previous "Recruiting" and "Experience". Added the adventure mechanics which require the players to cooperate in order to reach a goal. Any card can be played as an adventure. Added the feat mechanics, with the "Feat" play zone (for the won adventures) and the "Saga" card attribute, which makes a card engageable only if an adventure with the same name was won. This is useful for expansion packs. At the end of a round, the round winner gets extra valor which increases his / her chances to win the finale of the game. Made it explicit that a pair of turns, plot - obstruct, makes a round, and that players can win rounds (not turns). Added the "Reserve" play zone, separate for each player. The custom cards are put in this play zone at the beginning of a game. Added the "Void" play zone where cards are discarded (= removed from the game). Removed the factions in order to make the game more flexible and more balanced with the new rules. Removed unlocked abilities. Removed epic cards. Renamed the play zone "Timeline" to "Expanse". Renamed the card attribute "Sway" to "Valor". Added the "Endeavor", "Epic", "Maven", "Omen", "Timewarp", "Treacherous" and "Twist" abilities. Removed the abilities "Covert", "Enlist", "Persuasion", "Ruin", "Strike", "Triumph", "Valor", "Vengeance" and "Warfare". Renamed the ability "Engineering" to "Fulcrum". Renamed the ability "Logistics" to "Temerity". Renamed the ability "Omen" to "Foresight". Renamed the ability "Rescue" to "Evasion". Renamed the ability "Vision" to "Sway".
Version 1.5.12023.09.20 Added epic cards. Added some clarifications.
Version 1.5.02023.09.07 Changed the name of the game from "Gardener of Thoughts" to "Asunder". Significantly revamped the rulebook. The rules remain compatible with previous versions. Made it explicit that several turns make a round, and that players can win rounds. Merged the reserve play zone into the experience play zone; cards may be put in it only with abilities. Merged all the abilities; some were previously listed as custom abilities. Added unlocked abilities, with massive strategy implications for advanced players.
Version 1.0.152014.06.22 Replaced the "Secondary ability" with the "Recruitable" custom rule.
Version 1.0.13Corrected the "Omen" ability rules: "The player may take and look at 4 cards from the top of the destiny, may move 1 of the cards to the ops, and must put the others at the bottom of the destiny, with their faces down, in any order. The card to move to the ops must have either no faction or the player's faction. This ability may be executed only if the player has less than 7 ops cards."
Version 1.0.8Added the "Endurance" custom ability.
Version 1.0.7Corrected a rule in the "Winning turn" section to balance the gameplay: "If the turn loser has no reserve cards, or there are no destiny cards and no ops cards (for both players), the game ends and is won by the turn winner." This correction is useful for when a player has a covert card during the finale, because engaging this card may have (until now) ended the game too abruptly. Added a rule in the "Obstruct" section to balance the advanced gameplay: "If there are no destiny cards, each player must move the experience cards to the ops."
Version 1.0.6Corrected the rules of the "Sabotage" custom ability.
Public Release12.05.2014 Public release of the simplified version of "Gardener of Thoughts" card game version 1.
|
|
