fogus · December 3, 2025 20:19
diff --git a/corvo.txt b/corvo.txt
 ============================================================
                        CORVO
 ============================================================

 /this is a work in progress/

 A strategic 2-player card game combining tactical hand
 building and combination-based shedding.

 Required Materials:
 - Standard 52-card deck
 - Paper and pencil for scoring
 - Optional: doubling cube

 Overview:
 - Phase 1: Hand-building phase where players play tricks
  to sculpt their final Phase 2 hands.
 - Phase 2: Climbing/shedding phase where players play
  combinations to shed cards. Winner is the first to shed
  all of their cards.

 ============================================================
 Phase 0 - The deal
 ============================================================

 Players shuffle and cut and then burn two cards from the
 deck before dealing out 13 cards to each player. The 
 remaining 24 cards are put between the players. 

 ============================================================
 Phase 1 – Hand Building
 ============================================================

 1. Reveal the top card to set the trump suit.  

 2. Players alternate playing one card per trick. Highest card
   of the led suit or trump wins, following standard 
   trick-taking rules.

 3. Winner of the trick chooses one card to take into their
   hand:
   a) the revealed trump card
   b) one of the two cards played in the trick
   c) the blind top card of the draw pile  

 4. Loser then takes one of the remaining options into hand.

 5. The unchosen cards are removed from the game. If neither
   player chooses the blind top card, it is kept face-down
   when removed from play.

 6. Repeat until all 24 of the draw cards are exhausted.  

 7. Player winning the most Phase 1 tricks starts Phase 2.
   If there was a tie, then the last trick determines the
   Phase 2 start player.

 ============================================================
 Phase 2 – Climbing / Shedding Play
 ============================================================

 1. Players alternate turns playing legal combinations
   from their 13-card Phase 2 hand.  

 2. Legal combinations:
   - Single: any one card
   - Pair: two cards of equal rank
   - Triple: three cards of equal rank
   - Five-card poker hands:
     * Straight (any 5 consecutive ranks)
     * Flush (any 5 cards of same suit)
     * Full House (3 + 2 of same rank)
     * Straight Flush (consecutive 5 of same suit)

 A 4-of-a-kind bomb can be played in response to, and beats,
 any of the combinations above.

 3. Determining a winning combo:
   - Combos must match the type of the previous play, or
     beat a previous 5-card poker hand with a higher
     hand type.
   - When comparing same type:
     * Higher rank beats lower rank
     * If ranks tie, suit rank determines winner: 
       Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs

 4. Turn continues until a player cannot or chooses not
   to play a higher combination. The player who played
   the last combination leads the next turn.

 The player who sheds all of their cards first wins the 
 round, and calculates their round score.

 ============================================================
 Round Scoring
 ============================================================

 The round winner scores the number of cards left in the 
 opponent's hand.

 ============================================================
 Variant – Doubling Cube
 ============================================================

 - Cube ownership: initially given to the player who wins
  the most tricks in Phase 1.

 - Cube starts at value 1; cube owner may propose a double
  **before playing a combination on their turn**.  

 - Opponent may accept or decline:
  * Accept: game continues at doubled value; cube ownership
    switches to the opponent.  
  * Decline: opponent immediately loses at current cube
    value multiplier.  

 - Leftover cards × cube value determines points if this 
  variant is used.

 ============================================================
 Rationale
 ============================================================

 Corvo was designed to combine the strategic strengths
 of Big Two and German Whist:

 - German Whist contributed Phase 1 hand-building, trick
  play, and partial information tension. German Whist's 
  downside is that, by itself, it is a straightforward
  trick-taking game with limited scoring depth. Phase 2
  of Corvo solves this by introducing Big Two–style
  combination play, allowing players to make multi-card
  strategic plays and shed cards in meaningful ways,
  creating richer tactical decisions and a more engaging
  scoring dynamic. I'm burning two cards before hands are
  dealt to add some hidden information to an otherwise
  perfect information GW mode. Phase 1 could still be
  PI if none of the face down cards are taken or if every
  face down card is eventually played in the trick phase.
  This is not likely to happen very often in practice.

 - Big Two contributed Phase 2 combination climbing play;
  in 2-player Big Two, strategic tension is lost because
  using 26-card hands would give perfect information,
  while smaller hands reduce gradual revelation. Phase 1
  of Corvo solves both problems by letting players
  sculpt their Phase 2 hands through trick play with
  partial information, preserving uncertainty and
  enabling gradual hand revelation.

 - By focusing scoring on leftover opponent cards, the
  game simplifies scoring. My hope is that
  the game is engaging enough to motivate two great
  friends or family members to play matches up to 
  1M points!

 - The doubling cube is optional for now, but I hope it
  adds a strategic meta-layer, rewarding skillful
  judgment on when to escalate stakes.

 - The game is named Corvo after Baron Corvo (aka
  Frederick Rolfe), whose life inspired the two-phase
  structure. He frequently cultivated intimate
  relationships (i.e. Phase 1), only to later burn those
  relationships to the ground through scandal and betrayal
  (i.e. Phase 2). See AJA Symons' biography, The
  Quest for Corvo, which explores these aspects of his
  life in exquisite depth.
	============================================================
	CORVO
	============================================================

	/this is a work in progress/

	A strategic 2-player card game combining tactical hand
	building and combination-based shedding.

	Required Materials:
	- Standard 52-card deck
	- Paper and pencil for scoring
	- Optional: doubling cube

	Overview:
	- Phase 1: Hand-building phase where players play tricks
	to sculpt their final Phase 2 hands.
	- Phase 2: Climbing/shedding phase where players play
	combinations to shed cards. Winner is the first to shed
	all of their cards.

	============================================================
	Phase 0 - The deal
	============================================================

	Players shuffle and cut and then burn two cards from the
	deck before dealing out 13 cards to each player. The
	remaining 24 cards are put between the players.

	============================================================
	Phase 1 – Hand Building
	============================================================

	1. Reveal the top card to set the trump suit.

	2. Players alternate playing one card per trick. Highest card
	of the led suit or trump wins, following standard
	trick-taking rules.

	3. Winner of the trick chooses one card to take into their
	hand:
	a) the revealed trump card
	b) one of the two cards played in the trick
	c) the blind top card of the draw pile

	4. Loser then takes one of the remaining options into hand.

	5. The unchosen cards are removed from the game. If neither
	player chooses the blind top card, it is kept face-down
	when removed from play.

	6. Repeat until all 24 of the draw cards are exhausted.

	7. Player winning the most Phase 1 tricks starts Phase 2.
	If there was a tie, then the last trick determines the
	Phase 2 start player.

	============================================================
	Phase 2 – Climbing / Shedding Play
	============================================================

	1. Players alternate turns playing legal combinations
	from their 13-card Phase 2 hand.

	2. Legal combinations:
	- Single: any one card
	- Pair: two cards of equal rank
	- Triple: three cards of equal rank
	- Five-card poker hands:
	* Straight (any 5 consecutive ranks)
	* Flush (any 5 cards of same suit)
	* Full House (3 + 2 of same rank)
	* Straight Flush (consecutive 5 of same suit)

	A 4-of-a-kind bomb can be played in response to, and beats,
	any of the combinations above.

	3. Determining a winning combo:
	- Combos must match the type of the previous play, or
	beat a previous 5-card poker hand with a higher
	hand type.
	- When comparing same type:
	* Higher rank beats lower rank
	* If ranks tie, suit rank determines winner:
	Spades > Hearts > Diamonds > Clubs

	4. Turn continues until a player cannot or chooses not
	to play a higher combination. The player who played
	the last combination leads the next turn.

	The player who sheds all of their cards first wins the
	round, and calculates their round score.

	============================================================
	Round Scoring
	============================================================

	The round winner scores the number of cards left in the
	opponent's hand.

	============================================================
	Variant – Doubling Cube
	============================================================

	- Cube ownership: initially given to the player who wins
	the most tricks in Phase 1.

	- Cube starts at value 1; cube owner may propose a double
	before playing a combination on their turn.

	- Opponent may accept or decline:
	* Accept: game continues at doubled value; cube ownership
	switches to the opponent.
	* Decline: opponent immediately loses at current cube
	value multiplier.

	- Leftover cards × cube value determines points if this
	variant is used.

	============================================================
	Rationale
	============================================================

	Corvo was designed to combine the strategic strengths
	of Big Two and German Whist:

	- German Whist contributed Phase 1 hand-building, trick
	play, and partial information tension. German Whist's
	downside is that, by itself, it is a straightforward
	trick-taking game with limited scoring depth. Phase 2
	of Corvo solves this by introducing Big Two–style
	combination play, allowing players to make multi-card
	strategic plays and shed cards in meaningful ways,
	creating richer tactical decisions and a more engaging
	scoring dynamic. I'm burning two cards before hands are
	dealt to add some hidden information to an otherwise
	perfect information GW mode. Phase 1 could still be
	PI if none of the face down cards are taken or if every
	face down card is eventually played in the trick phase.
	This is not likely to happen very often in practice.

	- Big Two contributed Phase 2 combination climbing play;
	in 2-player Big Two, strategic tension is lost because
	using 26-card hands would give perfect information,
	while smaller hands reduce gradual revelation. Phase 1
	of Corvo solves both problems by letting players
	sculpt their Phase 2 hands through trick play with
	partial information, preserving uncertainty and
	enabling gradual hand revelation.

	- By focusing scoring on leftover opponent cards, the
	game simplifies scoring. My hope is that
	the game is engaging enough to motivate two great
	friends or family members to play matches up to
	1M points!

	- The doubling cube is optional for now, but I hope it
	adds a strategic meta-layer, rewarding skillful
	judgment on when to escalate stakes.

	- The game is named Corvo after Baron Corvo (aka
	Frederick Rolfe), whose life inspired the two-phase
	structure. He frequently cultivated intimate
	relationships (i.e. Phase 1), only to later burn those
	relationships to the ground through scandal and betrayal
	(i.e. Phase 2). See AJA Symons' biography, The
	Quest for Corvo, which explores these aspects of his
	life in exquisite depth.
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