How the game works
Where a card lands matters
I designed a set of sixteen cards, with two copies of each of the eight monsters. Both sides draw cards from the box and choose where to place them on a map divided into cliff, forest, ocean and swamp. A card whose habitat matches its placement can flip and use its flip ability. Matching the terrain also lets the player draw two region coins from the box. The board has a separate special coin for starting the game and for effects that call for a toss.
Coins can become an ability or occupy a slot
Two coins matching a monster’s region let it use its coin skill. There is another use for mixed coins: one coin from each of the four regions counts as one monster card and occupies a monster slot. I gave the coins these two uses so that drawing them affects later placement, as well as the next skill a player can use.
Once one side has played all of its cards, the side with the higher score on the board wins.
The eight monsters
I gave each monster a flip ability and a separate coin skill. The cards share the same cut outline and gold frame, while the illustrations change when a card flips. The pairs below show both sides of the original artwork.
Cliff
Aquilae
- On flip Sorcery
- Toss the special coin and call heads or tails. Guess correctly to draw four coins at once. Guess wrong and you cannot draw region coins for two rounds.
- Two cliff coins Phantasmagoria
- Choose two cards to swap. Both must match in whether they have flipped and whether they have already used their coin skill.
Griffin
- On flip Territorial Awareness
- On the opponent’s next turn, they cannot place a card on matching terrain.
- Two cliff coins Roar
- Recover the opponent’s defensive skills, or draw two more coins if the opponent has at least two unused defensive skills.
Forest
Behemoth
- On flip Child of the Forest
- Resist an eviction targeting your side’s cards.
- Two forest coins Trap
- The opponent cannot use coins to activate a card skill on their next turn.
Symbiont
- On flip Symbiont
- Take two unused region coins from the opponent, with a draw of two from the box as the fallback.
- Two forest coins Transformation
- Change the allegiance of one card. The original rule sheet does not specify the direction of the transfer.
Ocean
Skate
- On flip Purification
- Remove the opponent’s negative effects, including Binding, Transformation and Trap.
- Two ocean coins Tsunami
- Gain one opportunity to move cards from either side.
Kraken
- On flip Parenting
- On the next turn, the card that flips can use a card skill twice.
- Two ocean coins Resonance
- Reuse a card skill or coin skill that has already been used.
Swamp
Noctua
- On flip Binding
- Name an area where the opponent cannot place cards on their next turn.
- Two swamp coins Predation
- Choose one card to evict.
Monstrum
- On flip Muddy
- Resist a negative effect on one of your own monsters.
- Two swamp coins Devour
- Resist one negative effect, including eviction or movement, and send it back to the opponent.
Map, illustration and packaging
From slots to a landscape
I first drew the four regions and their slots as a diagram. In Inkarnate I developed the terrain around that arrangement and replaced the rectangular placeholders with the outline of the actual card. The board marks exactly where a card can go while still reading as a connected landscape.
Draw the monsters, then work out how to hold the deck
I sketched the creatures before placing them inside the narrow cards. I carried the border and central crest into the packaging, and tried a sleeve that slides open so the top of a card can be seen and held.
Printing and table setup
Compare matte and glossy prints
I tested the cut outline and compared matte and glossy finishes on the same Noctua artwork. The two prints let me compare how the dark illustration and the gold lines read under light.
See how the pieces sit on the map
On the table, the white outlines show open slots even when a region already holds a monster. I placed the coins beside their cards so they could stay visible without covering the art.