Abstract Network NETWORK PANT SK ATALANTA GAME FILES Name: Abstract Network Components: One deck of twelve cards. Introduction: Abstract Network is a one to three player abstract card game played using only twelve special playing cards. A game with many simple yet strategic options, a game of strategy and pattern recognition. Players take turns placing cards on an imaginary square/invisible grid of four by three (4x3) with the goal of connecting cards to form their chosen symbol and preventing their opponents from connecting theirs. It is a puzzle to solve and a race to solve it first. ages: 8+ Mechanisms: Players: 1-3 (best with 2) Pattern Building Game Time: 15-20 minutes Category: Card Game Play syle description Abstract Stategy ‘Strategie card game puzzle Puzzle ‘gon + Ludus Credits Theme: Abstract Game Concept, Art & Design - {ockult, magick, oracle) QuadranteIsegrim Licence:_CC_BY NC SA Licensing inquiries: abstractcardgames@gmail.comOverview Objective: ‘Arrange the cards and be the first to form (up to) five of your chosen symbol, according to the ‘chosen difficulty level Setup Determining who takes the first turn: If not determined otherwise, use a coin or dice roll to decide which player goes first. The player who goes first chooses which symbol they want to Play out of available symbols, in a two player game you could chose either square or circle, Diamonds are meant for player number three or the deck-A.| Shuffle the deck and distribute the cards equally among the players, players place one card each according to limitations of card placement. Refer to the illegal moves section for directions on card placement, Gameplay Players take tums taking one of these actions: Place a card from their hand ‘Tum a card on the table around Move a card to a new empty spot ‘Switch the locations of two cards on the table. Cards may be moved or rotated by any one of the players. Cards may not be returned to your hand, Players are forbidden from reversing their opponent's most recent move. ‘Once a player has no remaining cards in their hand they are given the following additional choices: which could rearrange more cards on the table in one single action. '* Move top row below the existing rows or move the bottom row up above the existing '* Move the rightmost column to the leftmost side or move the leftmost column to rightmost side. © Move a card from the outer side of the grid to the opposite side of the grid and slide the other cards in that row or column into place to make room for the moved card. Winning the game ‘The first player to form (up to) five of their chosen symbol wins the game.Rules of the Game The players start the game by placing one cards each on the table. Position the cards so that they touch each other on either a side or on a comer. Players may place a card, turn a card around, reposition a card, or switch the places of two cards. All cards are placed within an invisible grid that is four cards by three cards, Additional actions: When a player has no remaining cards they have further choices, which could rearrange more cards on the table in one single action. Move top row below the existing rows or move the bottom row up above the existing rows. Move the rightmost column to the leftmost side or move the leftmost column to rightmost side. Move a card from the outer side of the arid to the opposite side of the grid and slide the other cards in that row or column into place to make room for the moved card. This makes it easier to assemble many of your chosen symbol in one move or to disrupt your opponent's strategy Your main goal is to be the first to assemble (up to) five of your chosen symbol. But as you move cards around the grid you have to be aware of the placement of your opponent's symbol and take their moves and strategy in mind, Assembling a symbol: A portion of each symbol is placed along the edges of the cards, Circles and squares require four correctly placed cards for the symbol to be connected, while the diamond shape only need two cards to be placed correctly. Move and place cards so that you form ‘enough of your symbols without giving your opponents the opportunity to connect theirs. Don't let your opponents be the first to solve the puzzle! Winning the game: The first player to form the required number of their chosen symbol wins the game BEGINNER: 3 INTERMEDIATE: 4 EXPERT: 5 Actions on a player's tur: Players take one action during their tum, Either place a new card on the table OR manipulate a card (or cards) that is already in play. table or outside the invisible grid. The player can rotate the card as ils placed to fit within thought out strategy. Placing a card on the table: Choose a card from your hand and place it on the table. ‘The card must be positioned so that it touches another card, either on a side of @ comer, The card must be placed with the long side against long side and the short side against the other short side. It cannot be placed apart from the other cards on the q) ‘Turning a card on the table around: Tum any one card 180 degrees. Moving a card to a new spot: Move a card up to two connected card spaces away from its original placement horizontally or vertically or one space diagonally. Cards may not be moved over an existing card, only be moved to emply spaces on the gyi.‘Switching two cards on the table: You may swap the positions of any two cards fon the table Neither may be tumed as moved, original orientation must be maintained. A player with a empty hand: When a player has no remaining cards they are given additional choices, which could rearrange more cards on the table in one single action, | i Move the rightmost column to the leftmost side OR Move the leftmost column to rightmost side. | : Move the top row below the existing rows OR move the bottom row up above the existing rows. aan ‘As you move a row or a column of cards, you may not rearrange order of cards in that row or colurnn, Move a card from any outer position of the grid to its opposite side position and slide the other cards accordingly to make room within the grid keeping its original orientation. It does not necessarily need to be the cards in the comers. ‘The player can choose any outer positioned card from any row fr column, slide the other cards in that row or column into place to make room for the moved card. You may not slide cards diagonally in any direction, As you slide cards in a row or a column, you may not rearrange order of the other cards in that row or column.Legal and illegal card placement, moves or actions Limitations of card movements: As a card is repositioned, it can move up to two connected card spaces orthogonally (in a straight line both left, right, upward or downward) from its original placement. The Player may choose to move diagonally but is then only allowed to a move ONE space away from its original placement. ‘The card may not be moved over an existing card placed on the table, only over empty spaces within the grid, not jump over to the opposite i side of a card even if there is a empty space within range, nor move ‘the card into a space occupied by another card. The player may move the card diagonally between two cards on the table (On the other hand, you could switch places between any two on the table existing cards, regardless spacing between, A card on the table may not be repositioned in such a way that it forms spaces between laid cards or isolates another cards. This limitation may result in cards getting into a temporary locked position during parts of the game. But even if a card cannot be moved, it may still be tumed around, Limitations of card placement: As the player chooses a card from his hand and places it on the table, the card must be positioned so that they touch another card, either on a side or a comer. The card must be placed with the long side against long or short side against short or comer against comer. It cannot be placed separated from other cards on the table or in a place where it breaks the invisible rid Exempli gratia: Makes a fourth row or a fifth column. You know how fast things else may escalate Picking up cards: ... is not allowed, laid card is a played card. Cards may still be moved or rotated within the grid by any one of the players, but they cannot be retumed to the hand. Moving or switching a card and turning it in the same action is not allowed. A player must choose a single action, either to put a new card on the table or manipulate a card (or cards) that was already placed on the table. Since both moving and tuming are separate actions, the player must choose one of the two to perform, End of rulesAddendumExempli gratia: Movements and Placements Moving a single card before there are any other cards on the table doesn't count as an action as it does not matter how it moves. It is not positioned in relation to anything. When the second card is put on the table, cards got positional relationship to each other, and any repositioning counts as an action. Placement of cards dictate the following possible card placements and possibilities where to move, The card must be positioned so that they touches another card, either on an side or a comer, The cards must be placed with the long side against long side and short side against short or touching a comer. It cannot be placed separately from other cards on the table or in a place where it breaks the invisible grid Moving and placing cards on the grid should be with a strategy in mind, you could use temporarily locked cards to your advantage, as same is for placement that could benefit or limit card movernents. Grey areas jn the pictures indicates possible placement for the next card, Green areas in the pictures indicate possible places where to move that highlighted card. Red areas in the pictures indicate spaces that are out of reach. You may move a card two spaces vertically or horizontally, or one space diagonally from its original placement. ‘The card may not be moved over an existing card placed on the table, only over empty spaces within the grid. The player could move the card diagonal between two on the table existing cards, but not jump over to the opposite side of a card even if there is a empty space, nor move the card into a space occupied by another card.Diagonals tend to restrict movements of the cards and temporary lock centrally placed cards. Cards placed in straight rows and columns ensures greater freedom of movement. In general, itis difficult to recommend whether a player should rather be adding a new card on the table instead of moving a card that is already there. But a player who adds new cards to the table should place them so that the player limits the opponent's options, Diagonal placement of cards is one such strategy, something you also may see when the card is placed in cross formations. 7 " tile = Even the placement of cards in cross formation is there a difference between the diagonals and straight lines in terms of the movement of the cards, oon the table. But as you come this far in the game, it's more often the outer frame of the grid that prevents the card placement or movement. The placements of cards in diagonal restrict the other player's possibilities to reposition cards on the table, unlike the same amount of cards in a cross formation with straight lines. It does not limit the other player's ability to deploy a ew card on the table but it may make the ‘opponent to rather place a card instead of moving one. Remember that you can always switch places between any two on the table existing cards, regardless of spacing between.‘What if you handle incomplete columns and rows? ‘An incomplete row or column manipulates in the same way as a complete when columns and rows are moved. Even one card could be considered as an column or row in this case. It is recommended and can be considered as good gameplay to declare clearly on the individual card will be moved as an row or column, What if you move a row or column in such a way cards is separated from the others? Eventually you will encounter the rare occasions when one of the Players kept the cards on hand and the second player want to move a row or column in such a way that one or more cards are separated from the others, This move is forbidden in line with the limitations of card movements, A card, row or column may not be repositioned in such a way that it forms spaces between laid cards or isolates cards. ‘At any time there is a card(s) that become separated after an action, previous move must be reversed. The player may choose another action instead, What if there is a tie? If both players get the right amount of their chosen symbol to win in the last move, there is a tie. This is only possible in games ‘where the players is to form three symbols. if you want to prevent a tie, either choose to form more symbols or give the player who made the last move the victory.Optional rulesAdvanced play Asymmetric difficulty levels If you, as an experienced player, face an opponent who is less experienced than yourself, you can choose to play this game with asymmetric difficulty levels. Maybe you allow your opponent to put together fewer symbols (e.g. three against five) or you let the less experienced player choose the diamond shape as their symbol to assemble, Diamond shapes only need two cards facing each other to create the shape, unlike circles and squares, which need four Remember This! Not under any circumstances chewing on cards is allowed! Adjustable difficulty levels During the learning and training phase, you may decide that each player should assemble three of their symbol, it makes a easier and faster game, which may appeal to some players as a regular game option. Intermediate game level is connecting four symbols. The expert game level is to connect five of your chosen symbol and as you get more comfortable with the way the game is played, then this level be your standard, unless you prefer that quick easy game. A note on three player games This card game puzzle is primarily a two player game, with the option of a third player. As mentioned before the diamond shape only need two cards facing each other to create the shape and this is the reason in a game of three players the player third in tum gets diamonds. if you feel that the game becomes unbalanced, due to the third player got an easier task, let the player with the diamond shape pput together one more symbol than the other players. It is highly recommended that you choose to play the Abstract Network variation “The Mist" with three players. Drafting ‘Advanced players may want to have the choice of drafting cards. Although there are not many cards in the deck, there might be cards they prefer or not want the opponent to start with. This is something you could sort with house rules. Here is a suggested solution to this: All cards are shuffled and put in a pile on the table, Player one take four cards from the card pile, chooses two and passes the other two to next player. Next player takes four cards from the card pile and chooses four from among the two in their hand and the four from the pile, then passes the two remaining unwanted cards to the next player. In a two player game the first player (whom now received two cards) take the remaining cards from the pile and chooses six cards from among all the cards that player now has available, The unwanted cards are passed on to player two. In a three player game it isthe third player who takes the remaining cards in the deck and chooses four cards from all the cards that player now has available, The unwanted cards are passed on to player one.Alternative setup: Abstract Network — The Mist You start the game with all the cards, placed in the four by three grid, facing down on the table. As in the original game, the opponents choose their symbol and the game difficulty level. Since all cards already is on the table you are allowed all the different actions from start Instead of the placing card action you could flip one card around and place in the same spot facing up. The difference is that you choose between moving cards and flipping them face up. As you flipping the card face up, you are not allowed to tum it around in the same action and you may never flip a face up card to become faced down. You are allowed to tum faced down ‘ard around, switch places between faced down cards, slide them et cetera. If you switch place between a card facing up and a card facing down the card remains in their current states, they only change places. The objective is the same as in the original game, main goal is to be the first to assemble (up to) five of your chosen symbol according to the chosen difficulty level Abstract Network — The Tides of Magick You struggle with the tides of magical powers as you gain and lose strength during the course of the game. You play the game according to the rules of those in the original game with the exception that the amount of actions vary from turn to turn Player one starts out with three (3) actions in the first tum, two (2) in the next and one (1) in the tum after that and then back again to two, three, two, one, two ... until one of the player has fulfilled the end goal Player two has the opposite pattem of actions per tum, Starts out with one (1) action in the first tur, two (2) in next and three (3) in the third and then back again to two, one, two, three, two ... until one of the player has fuffilled the end goal, This forces the players to a new way of planning their strategies, both to have a strategy for what to do and what to prevent the other player to be able to. The objective is the same as in the original game, main goal is to be the first to assemble (up to) five of your chosen symbol according to the chosen difficulty level. Abstract Network — Solitaire You start the game with all the cards, placed in the four by three grid, facing up on the table. As in the original game the player choose between circle and square, the diamond shape Is for the Deck A.|. As you play the solitaire game you have limited actions. You may choose to either turn a card around 180 degrees or move a card from any outer position of the grid to its opposite side position and slide the other cards accordingly to make room within the grid, The objective is the same as in the original game, main goal is to be the first to assemble {up to) five of your chosen symbol according to the chosen difficulty level. Deck A.I : If al any point there is three diamond shapes within the grid, the player loses!Abstract Network — The solitude of the Golem You start the game as in the regular solitaire game with all the cards, placed in the four by three grid, facing up on the table. As in the original, the player choose between circle and square, the diamond shape is for the Deck A.|. As you play the solitaire game you have limited actions. You may choose to either turn a card around 180 degrees or move a card from any outer position of the grid to its opposite side position and slide the other cards accordingly to make room within the grid. AAs before, if at any point there is three diamond shapes within the grid, the player loses! This time the Deck A.I, has actions and turns of its own: The player and the deck takes tums as if there were two players. All choices of the Deck A.l. follows a specific sequence. Repeat as many times necessary unti either the player or the deck A.1. wins the game, 1) Moves left op card to the bottom ofthat column and slides the other cards to make room, 2) Moves the top right card to the left ofthat row and slides the other cards fo make room. 3) Moves the bottom right card to the top ofthat column and slides the other cards to make room. 4) Switching places between the two middle cards on the gri. '5) Moves the rightmost column to the leftmost side, 6) Turn the left bottom card around 180 degrees. the sequence Randomness: If you want the deck to act more unpredictable, use a six sided dice to randomize the deck choices, assign dice number to the number in the sequence. The objective is the same as in the original game, main goal is to be the first to assemble (up to) five of your chosen symbol according to the chosen difficulty level. Note on the Solitaire Games: If you find it difficult to resolve, increase the amount of shapes the A.l has to assemble. The Solitaire Games could both be used as training and as cooperative games.The optional card number nine If you want to lessen the possibilities of forming the diamond shape you could replace the ninth card from the deck with a new card without the diamond half. This reduces the number of possible diamond shapes, which can balance the game between players and the deck of A.|. or player three, The ninth card of any deck is always the loneliest card, The cards in the tarot or oracle decks always have similar points of reference and each card with the number nine reflects elements of solitude, seclusion, anticipation and heightened awareness. These cards emphasize our relationship with ‘ourselves, the strength and wisdom achieved in being alone, and the full ramifications of that very isolation, ‘good and bad. Therefore, it cannot be anything but right that to give this deck a friend for card number nine. Optional game setup A suggested game setup is to skip the first step and start with two cards already placed on the table, This can be perceived as a loss of a strategic moment but players can still manipulate the card positions. Shuffle the deck and distribute the cards equally among the players, but deal only 5 cards each and put the last two on the table side by side. This will avoid the special start condition who states that that players has to place two card first before be able to do other actions. Optional movement restrictions The flow of movement and current of power End of gameWhat about the Ley line indicators? Ley lines (Ley, tea’ ‘A clearing’ are hypothetical alignments of a number, of places, of geographical, of geometrical shapes and objects interest. A leyline always start with a hill, mountain or landmark visible from a great distance or if as an imaginary straight line between significant numbers and/or shapes. Ley requires it to have a start (or finish) point in the shape of a hill The ley line indicators that is marked on the playing cards are ment for the above mentioned game variation and as use in an other game of you add these cards to it. In short your objective is to create connections of cards and create the strongest connected line. To gauge the strength of the line is to ook at its length, accuracy of deviation, number of ley-markers and their individual significance, it must bbe long enough and start and end propery. The use of real magick in a card game Real card magick is unusual now a days and you often hear more about card tricks and magic. Player comments like “| don't think levitation should be permitted’, "I can't levitate, so this would give my girifiend a huge advantage over me." and ‘I think if you can levitate your cards that should be an ‘automatic victory” is frequent. And, Yes!, the use of real magick in card games could be unbalanced or even unfair if one of the players have not leamed already as a young apprentice. The use of magick in this game is only permitted if it is a mutual agreement between players, I you use magick, the rules of thumbs is this: Teleportation of playing cards should be avoided as the cards may wear out prematurely by traveling through the void. Levitation is okay if it is used for moving cards. Illusion is at all ‘occasions forbidden. Summoning cards should be avoided and may taint the deck with evil Please do not Vaporize cards if you lose a game! Note/Disclaimer Abstract Network does not claim to be an accurate representation of magick, but as forces of magick influences each other, it require you to think a few moves ahead. Credits and thanks Many thanks for your help and support. How big or how small your tribute ever is, |lam grateful for your effort, time and inspiration Thank you! Aleister Crowley, Doris Coton de Tulear, Ada Nilsson Lidstrém, Frans Nilsson Lidstrém, David Sals, Magnus Carlsson, Cecilia Kjellman, Edmund England, Erik Andersson Sundén, Sindre Finnay, Erik Andersson Sundén, Nico B. Austin Willams, Johan Brandstedt, Gary Hoddinott, Oliver Barnum, Scott Allen (Narrow Gate Games) and Robbie Antenesse (Robbie A. / Alamantus) land the rest of you who read this. BnG080S 8 Spb On 0 Roe SSoSen Seco ee]