Deck building 101

If you have a standard deck of 54 cards and enjoy deck building games, you may want to try Card Capture: a set of very simple rules that allows you to use one of the playing card decks you may have sitting in your cupboard. Alternatively, you may print out the files on BGG that the designer Lucas Gentry illustrated with a robot rebellion theme. I happened to have an unplayed Tichu deck and used the cards like a traditional pack.

Just to be clear, this game is very, VERY simple. It distills deck building to its basic elements: you start with a hand of low number cards and only the Jokers to boost them. As you progress, you incorporate higher numbers into your deck, and make it stronger, until you beat all the high number cards. You also get the chance of discarding or sacrificing weaker cards, especially at the beginning.

You first separate the 2s, 3s, 4s and the two Jokers from the deck: these cards will comprise your personal deck. You draw a hand of four cards, and then reveal four cards from the main deck: these will be the enemies you have to capture. Besides the regular numbers from 5 to 10, Jacks have 11 health, Queens 12, Kings 13, and Aces 14. Your goal is to beat each enemy, let's say a 7 of spades, with card(s) that match its suit and value. So, a 3 and a 4 of spades in your hand is enough to capture it. Jokers double the value of any other card.

If you cannot beat any enemy in your current line of four, you have two options: if the last enemy in the line is a regular number enemy, you discard it along with one card from your hand (the enemy captures your card). If it is a court card or an Ace, you have to sacrifice two cards from your hand. Last in line court card enemies cannot be discarded, they can only be captured.

With a little bit of luck -if the first rounds don't contain very strong enemies-, the game is winnable. If you feel like taking a standard deck out for a spin, you may take a look at this very light, quick and fun choice.

#CardCapture #Gentry