Codename: Oracle
Codename: Oracle Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Game Components
- One CIA themed 50 card Zener deck
- One Soviet themed 50 card Zener deck
- Two Player Action Reference Boards
- Two life counters
- Rulebook
Starting the Game
- Each player looks though their deck, chooses any 5 Zener cards from it and places them face down, in any order, in a single row near them. This area is referred to as the "Code Row."
- Each player shuffles his Zener deck and deals 20 cards face down in a 5 column by 4 row grid. This area is referred to as the "Mind-field." See diagram below.
[Diagram: a grid of five columns by four rows of face-down Zener cards, bracketed on the right and labelled "Mind-field"; directly beneath it, a single row of five face-down cards labelled "Code Row".]
- Each player draws 5 Zener Cards. This forms the players' hands. Remaining Zener Cards are placed near the player, forming the draw deck.
- Each player takes the player board corresponding to their color and sets their life total to 9.
- Decide randomly who will go first.
Order of Play
A Player may do each of the following in any order on their turn:
Note that each action, excepting #4, may only be performed once by a player on their turn.
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Look at up to 2 cards in their Mind-field and place them back in the same position face down.
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Swap the position of two cards in their Mind-field without looking at them.
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Discard a card from their Mind-field without looking at it. Discard piles should remain face down. Replace the discarded card with a card from your hand.
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Reveal a single set of cards in their own Mind-field and perform the following actions if applicable:
- If the set is invalid, return those cards to their positions face down. Revealing an invalid set ends your turn (see page 5).
- If you reveal a valid set, perform the action that set calls for (see page 6). You may reveal an additional set this turn.
Note: Each valid set revealed entitles the player to reveal an additional set, so chains of 3+ sets are possible.
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Make an attempt to guess your opponent's Code Row.
- To guess an opponent's Code Row, focus your psychic energy and indicate each card, one at a time. For each card, declare which symbol appears on the card. The opponent reveals correctly guessed cards and then returns them to their face down position. For each card you guess incorrectly, take 2 points of psychic damage.
At the end of your turn, draw cards until you have 5 cards in hand. If, at the end of your turn, your Zener card deck becomes exhausted, shuffle your discard pile and place it face down to create a new draw deck and continue drawing until you have 5 cards in hand.
Winning the Game
A player wins the game under the following conditions:
- That player uses an action to correctly guess each card in his opponent's Code Row.
- That player deals enough psychic damage to his opponent to move his life counter to zero.
If players are both dealt lethal damage in the same turn, the game ends with no winner.
Valid Card Sets
Strike
A Strike is any set of 3 or more matching cards in a single column.
When revealed, a Strike deals 1 psychic damage to your opponent. That player must then reveal the code card for the corresponding column to you. After a Strike has been revealed, discard all cards which make up that Strike. Deal cards, without looking at them, face down to replace the discarded ones.
Strikes also have special effects depending on card type (see page 6).
Shield
A Shield is any set of 3 or more adjacent matching cards in a single row.
When revealed, a Shield is turned face up. A Shield remains face up in your Mind-field until it is hit with a Strike. Whenever a Strike is made from a corresponding column, prevent that damage and ignore all special effects associated with that Strike. Discard all cards in the Shield and deal cards, without looking at them, face down to replace them. You may reveal a Shield as a response to a Strike on your opponent's turn.
Shields also have special effects depending on card type (see page 6).
Focus
A Focus is a set of 4 adjacent Zener cards forming a square in 2 columns and 2 rows.
After the Focus is revealed and the resulting action is taken (see "Special Effects", page 6),discard the revealed cards and replace them in the Mind-field with four new cards, placed face down without looking at them.
Special Effects
Star
- Strike: Deal 2 psychic damage instead of 1. Ignore non-star shields.
- Shield: Deal 1 psychic damage to your opponent when a star shield is discarded.
- Focus: Deal 3 psychic damage to your opponent.
Square
- Strike: Your opponent discards his hand.
- Shield: When this shield is discarded, you may swap the position of 2 cards in your Code Row.
- Focus: Replace a single card from your Code Row with one from your hand. Discard the replaced card.
Wave
- Strike: Your opponent sets their hand aside and then picks up the corresponding column and another single card of your choice from their Mind-field and shuffles those cards together. Your opponent then deals those cards back out into the spaces from which they were taken without looking at them.
- Shield: When you discard a wave Shield, you may look at the cards you deal to replace them. Deal these cards in any order you wish.
- Focus: Reveal each corresponding column in your opponent's Mind-field. Treat any valid set revealed in this way as having been revealed by you. After all valid sets have been resolved discard all cards in both columns and replace them as normal. Discard valid sets as normal. Revealing no valid sets ends your turn as normal. (A wave focus revealed in this way is invalid).
Circle
- Strike: Your opponent discards a single card of your choice from the corresponding column. Replace that with a card of your choice from his discard pile.
- Shield: Your opponent reveals the code card for the Striking column.
- Focus: Choose a card type. Your opponent reveals all cards of that type in his code row.
Cross
- Strike: Gain 1 life.
- Shield: When you discard this Shield, you may replace it with cards from your hand.
- Focus: Gain 3 life.