I’m not sure if I should draw the card above or to the right of my current location. Based on a roll of the die, I draw the card above.
Card Draw: Jack of Spades [Black Royal] Gain 1 Insight
Prompt: A peer who generally respects your Rival more than you makes a sneering remark about how your Rival’s focus on you is dulling their edge. They can’t imagine why your Rival is putting in so much effort over you.
Hmmm! This one will require some creativity since no mutual interest has been expressed publicly, or even privately. Still, I have an idea that is not exactly how the prompt reads, but honors the spirit of the prompt.
Using the Oracle at RPGSolo: Did Erik see me walk over to Gwen at the Frozen Feast? (50/50) No
“What’s up with you two?”
“Huh?” I was jolted back to reality by Erik’s question. I was taking some time between games to catch up on sorting some used comics for the store. My mind had drifted while examining the various covers and I didn’t notice my friend approaching. “Up with who?”
“You and Gwen.”
What did Erik know? For that matter, what could he know? There’s nothing to know.
“Ummm, nothing?” I stammered. “Why . . . why would you ask that?”
“I just beat her in a game of Ramen, Go!” he explained. “And not just beat her, I wiped up the table with her.”
“Way to go!” I congratulated. “That’s not an easy task.”
“Thanks, but Gwen wasn’t herself. At least she wasn’t playing like herself. She seemed distracted and barely had her mind on the game. She kept looking at something. When I turned to see what it was, do you know what I saw her looking at?”
After a moment, I realized Erik was waiting for me to answer his rhetorical question.
“No idea. What was she looking at?”
“You, dude! You!”
My face went warm. I was sure I was blushing, but I still tried my best to hide my reaction.
“I . . . uh . . . have no idea why she would be looking at me? Are you sure it was me?”
“Absolutely sure. And I’m as stumped as you. You two aren’t exactly buddy-buddy? When’s the last time you even thought about gaming with her.”
“Never.”
“See?” Erik agreed. “Wait a minute! I heard she’s been talking to Art and Elaine about playing Wyvern’s Retreat for the Holiday Bowl. Do you think she’s trying to come with a more convincing argument against you? Or maybe she’s just worried the Board will choose your game because you’re a member?”
“Yeah, maybe that’s it,” I said, relieved that Erik was assuming antagonism and hoped he would move onto another subject.
“Whatever it is, you better be careful, Lance, or she’s going to push Andromeda Factions out of the running. Hey, how long till you're done with those comics?”
“I don’t know? Another ten minutes?”
“Wayne is setting up a game of Gem Squares. I’ll have him wait for you if you want to play.”
“Sure. I’ll be there in a moment.”
I’ll draw the card to the right.
Card Draw: The Second Joker! Well, that stinks, I’m not ready for this story to end. Thankfully, the developer caters to the player and encourages them to play in a way that is the most enjoyable and fun for them. Therefore, the rules specifically state that if the second joker is drawn before you are ready to end the game, “it’s not cheating to shuffle the second joker and the remaining card around and keep going.” Before I even started, I decided that if I found the second Joker before at least half the cards were drawn, I would reshuffle the remainder and continue.
Second Card Draw: Ace of Clubs (black) Lose 1 potential
Prompt: It’s possible your Rival has a kind of honor, but whatever that is doesn’t preclude them from pulling an absolutely underhanded stunt this time. How does this sour your feelings?
I have a great idea for this scene and one that would not alter the current attitudes between the characters. For that reason, I will use one of my “Insight” points and not lose the potential. I am still at 2 potential. Per the rules, since I used my Insight, I may choose to skip this prompt, but of course, I’m not. I think I’m going to have fun writing this scene.
I really wish Erik hadn’t told me anything. Despite my meeting with Gwen on Wednesday night, I hadn’t thought too much about her this morning. Sure, we “agreed” to play a game today, but I’m sure she was only being friendly; a way to end our talk without it sounding so final. That morning, when she never asked me to play, instead of taking the initiative and possibly being rejected, I just put it out of my mind.
But when Erik said she kept looking at me, I had to wonder why? Was she wanting to play a game? Or was she afraid I was going to blab about her secret? Whatever it was, I had to be careful or else Erik might sense I was thinking about something other than our game. Or worse, he might see me glancing over at Gwen.
I wonder what he would think? He only knows us as rivals. And for very good reason. He remembers what happened at that Turf Wars Tournament, and how she infuriated me that day.
If anyone at the “Dice & Deck” did not know I had the “E-Tent,” as it was more commonly known as, I don’t know what they were doing. I was very proud to show it off, drawing “oohs” and “ahs” from everyone. Kids who didn’t even know me had no choice but to listen as I told them about my good fortune. And yes, I even showed it to Gwen, who acted unimpressed, as though it was the fifth one she saw that day. What did she know? She preferred board games.
The card became a permanent fixture in my deck, and I played it with great success over the next several weeks. The regional Turf Wars tournament was fast approaching, and I wanted to be ready.
The Saturday of the tournament finally arrived. Never before had I approached the check-in table with more confidence than I had that day. As part of the process, a game monitor reviewed your deck to make sure it met the tournament’s required size and make-up and didn’t contain any illegal cards. As my deck was being reviewed, Gwen was checking in next to me.
“You probably should’ve stayed home, Gwen,” I told her. “I’m pretty sure we know who’s going to win this tournament.” Arrogant and prideful. That was me.
“You?” she questioned, as if she didn’t know I was talking about myself. “We’ll see.”
The monitor handed my deck back to me. I wished Gwen good luck -- again, dripping with sarcasm-- before heading off to prepare for my first match.
The tournament followed the typical double-elimination format. It consisted of four rounds, and once you lost two matches, you were out. After the fourth round, the player with the best win-loss record was declared the winner. In the case of a tie -- which happened often -- secondary statistics of the final game were used to determine a winner, such as the number of insects lost.
My first match was against a boy several years younger than me. I think he only came to the store to play in the tournament because I didn’t recognize him from the normal Saturday morning crowd. I won the game quickly and never had a chance to draw my “E-Tent” card. No worries. I was sure I would have ample opportunity later.
My next match wasn’t quite as easy. My opponent was Morgan, and she played her ladybug deck with great skill. It wasn’t until I was able to combine my Spider with “Intricate Web” and knock out her last insect. The game took much longer than the first, but still, I had not yet drawn my prized possession.
Unfortunately, for my third game, I was paired with the winner of the last Turf Wars tournament. He usually played at the “Card Cave”, a game store across town, but still had an infamous reputation at the “Dice & Deck.” Regardless of what cards I may have had in my deck, I knew this one would be hard to win. And I was right. I may not have been defeated immediately, but I still lost with well over half my deck undrawn.
However, despite the loss, I relished seeing Gwen get up from her match two tables down, defeated for the second time and out of the tournament. Our eyes met. I smiled victoriously, having outlasted her. She glared back at me with a sneer that ever so slowly turned up into a wicked grin.
She’s crazy, I thought, and turned away.
However, what I found more curious than Gwen's enigmatic smile was the fact that, in three matches, I still had not seen my “Impenetrable ExtermoTent.” I revealed “Penetrating Gas” a couple of times but was never able to complete the devastating combination.
Going into the final match with one loss, I knew I had no chance of winning the entire tournament; a tournament won with anything less than a perfect win record was unheard of. But I still wanted that final win. I didn't want to be officially eliminated.
My opponent was Mark Mitchel. He hung out at the “Dice & Deck” often enough, but he mostly came to compete in the tournaments. It was no surprise he had made it to the end and even less of a surprise that so far he was undefeated that day. We were evenly matched and our game turned into an epic battle. He squashed my centipede. I snuffed his dung beetle. He repelled me with “Mint Sprigs.” I washed him away with “Hose Spray.”
Neither one of us truly had the advantage. The match came down to the final few draws of our decks. I was down to my last card. If this card didn’t win it for me, I would have nothing left to draw on my next turn and would have lost. But that didn’t concern me. I had laid out “Penetrating Gas” several turns ago and only needed the “E-Tent” to win. With just one card left in my deck, it could only be the “E-Tent”, and I was sure Mark wouldn’t be able to defend against it.
I smiled confidently and stared right at him as I flipped my final card face up. Mark watched as I did . . . but didn’t flinch. Confused, I looked down and saw . . . “Cookie Crumb.”
Cookie Crumb!? That was the weakest power-up I had in my deck! What happened to my “Impenetrable Extermo Tent?” I frantically began looking around to see if it had fallen while Mark made his final play, winning the match and remaining undefeated.
I picked up my discard deck and feverishly thumbed through it, looking for my lost card. I knew I hadn’t played it, but maybe it was stuck behind another. No luck. Next, I opened my backpack and began rummaging through it. No “E-Tent.” Helplessly, I scanned the room, hoping beyond hope I would find my rare treasure sitting on a table or lying on the floor.
“I think you dropped this.”
I turned to see Gwen. Her hand was extended toward me, holding the missing card. I quickly snatched it back, a mixture of confusion and relief running through my body.
“You dropped it when you were checking it,” Gwen explained. “I knew you didn’t want to lose it, so I kept it safe for you.”
Realization struck me at once. That little . . . witch had it the whole time. That’s why she was smiling earlier and why she was smiling now! She knew I was counting on it to win.
I wanted to yell.
I wanted to scream!
I . . . I . . .