Maximus Card Game
Written on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:10:15 +0000 - Last updated on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:28:08 +0000Definitions
- Player: a person who participates in a round of the Maximus OSCG ("Maximus")
- Maximus Open Source Card Game (OSCG): the card game described here, a.k.a. "Maximus"
- Card: a single unit of gameplay used in Maximus
- Drain: refers to the act of turning a card sideways. To drain a card generally indicates that the card has been "used" and serves to indicate that it cannot be used in like manner until the next turn. With some exceptions, all card powers require that the card be drained, as does an attack.
- Jiggawatt: refers to the points required to play cards. Jiggawatts are usually obtained through draining Resource cards, but can be obtained by other means. Jiggawatts carry over through turns; i.e. if you drain a Resource but don't want to spend the Jiggawatt, you'll have that Jiggawatt available next turn.
- Power: refers to an ability printed on a Unit card that can be used generally once per turn. When activating a power, if it has a name, you must speak its name. If a power requires that you drain a certain card(s) or spend Jiggawatts, you must do those before draining the Unit. Powers are not attacks, even if they do damage. Unit cards may have multiple powers. Some Unit cards have powers that activate when certain conditions are met, such as when the Unit is played or a player does something. Self-activating powers do not require that you drain the Unit. You may not activate a power of a drained Unit.
- Attack: refers to an offensive action declared by a player against another player, in which the attacking player specifies a Unit card on their Field and has it "attack" a Unit card on another player's Field. In battle, whether or not a defending unit is drained matters: if the defender is drained, the attacker's Offense points are subtracted from the defender's Health points. If the defender is not drained, the defender's Defense points are first subtracted from the attacker's Offense strength before being applied to the defender's Health (however, defending in this way does not require that you do drain the Unit). At the beginning of a player's turn, the player is required to un-drain all of their cards. A player may only declare an attack during their own turn. A player may declare multiple attacks during their turn. After an attack, the attacking Unit must be drained unless stated otherwise. Drained Units may not attack.
- Damage: refers to any situation where a Unit loses Health points. Most Damage follows the damage calculation rules for attacks, which specify that un-drained Units only suffer (original damage amount - Unit's Defense points) damage; but some Damage may be specifically labeled "Unblockable Damage", which always hits a Unit full-force. Some Units may also be able to inflict Unblockable Damage through attacks, or gain the ability to through a power.
- Rank: refers to a "row" of Unit cards on a player's Field. In most circumstances, only the frontmost Units may declare attacks or be attacked; therefore, Units behind the front rank are effectively shielded from attack. Note that powers can be used by any Unit and can target any Unit, unless the power in question targets "an attackable Unit" specifically. Also note that, if a Unit is destroyed, the Unit right behind it becomes eligible for battle.
- Destroy: refers to the act of forcing a card on the Field to be sent to its owner's Graveyard. The loser in a battle is "destroyed", but some powers may "destroy" cards outside of battle.
- Discard:refers to the act of sending a card from your hand to the Graveyard.
- Sacrifice: refers to the act of willfully sending a card on your Field to your Graveyard, often to pay for a cost. Sacrifices don't count as "destruction".
- Resurrect:refers to the act of bringing a card from your Graveyard to the Field or to your hand. "Resurrect" alone means that either destination is allowed; "resurrect to the Field" or "resurrect to your hand" are more specific.
- Recruit:refers to the act of searching for and adding a card directly from your Deck to your hand or to the Field.
- Play: refers to the act of using a card in your hand. For Unit cards, this means that the card is placed on the Field. For Verb cards, this means that the effect of the card is activated. In most cases, to play a card requires a jiggawatt cost to be paid. Some cards require more than just jiggawatts (i.e. Unit sacrifices, discards...). You may play as many cards as you want during your turn, provided you can afford to.
- Fusion:refers to the act of playing a Unit card by "combining" two or more existing Unit cards controlled by the same player. Fusions may or may not require jiggawatts. Any effects and Equipment that applied to the original Units are transferred to the fused Unit card. The existing Unit cards that make up a Fusion are placed underneath the Fusion Unit. At any time, you may "de-fuse" a Fusion Unit into its original components - the Fusion is sent to the Graveyard and any damage it had on it can be distributed among the component Units. In a card power, the keyword "Fuse" refers to Fusion.
- Evolution: refers to the act of playing a Unit card by "evolving" it from a weaker Unit. The Evolution Unit often represents a stronger form of the original Unit. The procedure for Evolving is roughly similar to that of Fusion, but with the exception that Evolutions can't be "de-evolved" into their weaker forms. In a card power, the keyword "Evolve" refers to Evolution.
- Unit Card: a card that, once played, remains on a "Field". These are known as "Monsters" or "Creatures" in other games; note that Unit cards in Maximus also refer to "Continuous Spells" or "Enchantments" in other card games. All Units are valid targets for an attack unless specified otherwise.
- Avatar Unit Card: a special Unit card that represents the player within the game. This Unit is normally situated in the very last rank so as to protect it from being destroyed, as a player loses the game if their Avatar Unit is destroyed. However, these can often have amazing powers.
- Equipment Card: a card that can only be attached to an existing Unit. These modify Units' point values, give them new powers, or alter them in other ways. If the associated Unit is destroyed, the Equipment Card may be placed on another Unit. Some Equipment Cards can only be attached to specific types of Units. Some Equipment Cards may also be played as Unit Cards and vice-versa.
- Verb Card: a card that, once played, is sent to the Graveyard zone immediately after activation.
- Resource Card: a card that is placed face-down and remains in play afterwards. Resource cards are not considered to be on the Field, but some cards or card powers may specifically target Resource cards. A Resource card can be drained once per turn to produce 1 jiggawatt. Note that there is not a type of card called "Resource" - any card may be used as a Resource card, but once a card is placed face-down in the Resource zone it cannot be reclaimed for its original purpose.
- Field: the zone in which Unit cards are played. A "player's Field" refers to cards controlled only by that one player; "the Field" refers to all cards in this zone. There is no limit to how many cards may be placed on the Field; however, there is a maximum of 3 ranks.
- Hand: the pool of cards available for a player to use at any given moment. In Maximus, the size of the hand starts at 6 initial cards and cannot exceed 8.
- Graveyard:the pool of cards that have been destroyed, used, or discarded. Generally cards in this zone cannot be reused, although some card effects may allow you to reclaim cards here.
- Deck:the total number of cards available for a player to use, minus cards in the other zones of play. At the beginning of the game, this constitutes the entirety of the cards the player may use. Once per turn, a card is drawn from the top of the Deck and added to the hand. Other cards and card powers may allow you to further manipulate your Deck. If you run out of cards in the Deck, you lose the game. The allowed range of total cards in the Deck is 40 to 60.
- Type:refers to any number of "keywords" that a Unit card can have associated with it. This not only means classes like "spellcaster" but also races like "elf" or factions like "dark-side". Many powers and card effects work only on Units of a certain Type. Units may have multiple Types and there is no set list of Types for the Maximus CG.
- Offense Points: refers to how much damage a Unit could potentially inflict in battle.
- Defense Points:refers to how much damage a Unit could shield itself from in battle.
- Health Points:refers to the health of the Unit. When a Unit is played, it starts out with Health Points equal to the HP number given on the card. Whenever it takes damage, it loses a number of Health Points. Once this number reaches zero, the Unit is destroyed. If the Avatar Unit's Health Points are depleted, that player loses the game.
- Turn:refers to the timeframe in which a player has an opportunity to attack, activate powers, or play cards. At the beginning of a turn, the player draws a card. Attacks, powers, and cards may be activated in any order during a turn. Once the player announces their turn is over, the next player's turn begins.
- Loss: A player loses if:
- their Avatar Unit is destroyed
- they run out of cards in their Deck
- a power or card effect declares them a loser.
- Win: A player wins if she is the last player standing, or if a power or card effect declares her the winner.
- Banned/Restricted Lists: maintained by the OSCG community and its maintainer(s). Since the Maximus OSCG is unique in that its community produces the cards, its community also manages which ones are allowed in play. Note that, during a match of OSCG, both players may agree to allow certain cards.
- Unrestricted: normally, players may carry 4 copies of any card in their deck.
- Restricted: refers to a card that, having been deemed too powerful for unrestricted use, is limited to 1 copy per deck.
- Banned: refers to a card that, having been deemed too powerful for sanctioned play, is not allowed at all.