Gardener of Thoughts: Genesis

= Genesis =

The dawn of intergalactic travel is so close that its electric body galvanizes the minds of thousands of scientists and millions of wannabe colonists.

Quantum engineering, 3D printing and artificial intelligence are pervasive branches of science, intertwined with every aspect of daily life. Everybody has access to them, everybody uses them.

The graviton is tamed and has sent the solar system abuzz, teeming with ships, robots and people.

But the dark side of humanity is showing its claws. The human civilization has been polarized by the people who want to acquire and maintain their power over the masses. The earthlings and the spacelings of this world are in conflict.

One man has breached the very wheelwork of Nature and has found a way to go anywhere in an instant, jumping through space as if walking through open doors between worlds.

The leaders of the United Planets Alliance are trying to find this man and obtain control over the greatest achievement of mankind: the obliteration of any barriers of space.

It is your destiny to intervene and set mankind on its path to the future you wish for.

Join your forces with others like you, breathe life into your faction, take part in events happening in the solar system and beyond, and bring ruin or triumph to a world which finds itself in the agony of childhood.

No man or woman has ever been closer to the future of this world. Reach up and embrace your destiny, for you have the power to bring change!


= Description =

The Gardener of Thoughts Card Game (GOT CG) is a competitive card game for 2 players, with a science fiction theme and atmospheric lore.

The game can be played by casual players right out of the box with excellent balance. There is a single deck of cards, no other play components. Advanced players may add custom cards.

The main mechanics are: shuffled cards, card drawing, turns, card playing, abilities (whose rules are applied when cards are played), and combo actions (= combining the abilities of multiple cards played in a single turn).

The system's logic is based on the diversity of the (rules of the) abilities present on the cards, and has an emphasis on combo actions. Combo actions emerge fluidly from the abilities, and have to be created on the spot by the players. To master the game, a player has to master combo actions.

The typical game duration for veteran players, without advanced gameplay, is (consistently) 30 minutes. Beginner players (who already know the rules) need about 60 minutes.


= Gameplay Synopsis =

Most of the time, a player has to engage (= play from hand) during his / her turns cards whose total sway (= numeric card value) is at least equal with the total sway of the cards engaged by the rival, thusly obstructing the rival.

Normally, during a turn, a player may engage only 1 card, but the abilities of the engaged cards allow for more cards to be engaged or drawn. This multiple engagement of cards is called combo action and forms the game's logic. Combo actions with 10 cards are not rare, and even with more than 20 have been seen.

From time to time, a player will not be able to obstruct the rival because he / she will not be able to create combos that are strong enough. In such a case, the player must discard 1 card from his / her reserve. Reserve is a play zone of each player, zone which contains a number of cards which is fixed at the beginning of the game; the number is normally 3, but advanced players can increase it by recruiting (= choosing) cards at the beginning of the game.

By discarding a reserve card each time when a player can't obstruct the rival, the player will have fewer cards to engage during the last turn of the game, the turn which will determine the winner of the game. However, simply having more or fewer cards in the reserve at the end of the game doesn't guarantee winning or losing the game, it just increases or decreases the chances. This is because each player also has some random cards in his / her hand, and this randomness affects the ending.


= Pricing =

To make reading the lore enjoyable, jumbo cards are used and this raises the production cost alone to $35. The lore is a highlight of the game. On the game's homepage, you can read the lore and see for yourself that it deserves to be read from the cards.

If you want to print the cards yourself (at a local photo shop) at the minimum possible price, you can download the cards from the game's homepage, but the quality and handling of the GameCrafter cards is much better.