New Arcanum is a card game played with Arcanum Cards. The game first appears in Outrider when Treylin Greyfell and co attempt to find work at the Upper Cellar Alehouse in New Grolyn.
Game Play
New Arcanum is played by any number of players greater than two with each player using his or her own deck, which can be comprised of any number of cards collected, regardless of repeating cards (as full decks are rare, players collect as many cards as they can).
Prior to opening hand, players will ante. Whoever opens the game plays any single card. The next player will player two cards in an attempt to beat the prior hand played. The next player must then attempt to beat that hand, continuing play until the highest played hand wins.
Order of Arcanum Hands
Hands ordered from lowest to highest.
- Single card
- Pair of same card or Pair of numbers
- Higher number pair (card or numbers ), Three of a kind (card or numbers) or a Triple Run
- repeat in increasing increments
=Note on Runs
In order for a run to beat the prior hand, at least one card must be a higher number than the highest numbered card in the prior hand. A run must also be comprised of more cards than any x of a kind; example: to beat a 3 of a kind one must use a run of four cards. Runs must always be of the same suit.
Example of Play
- Player 1 opens with a low card: 1 of Golds (The Lovers)
- Player 2 beats with a pair of 2s: The Prophet and The Martyr
- Player 3 beats with three of a kind: 3 copies of The Huntress (4 of Greens)
- Player 4 beats with a run of 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Greys, winning the game.