unSCruz 2027 · Luminous Mycelium

PLAYA
COURT

A gifted card game where every card is someone at unSCruz, drawn as a tarot court card. Pick a card. Flip together. Make a friend. Matches take two minutes, and cards travel the event as gifts.

How to playBecome a card
PLAYA COURTLUMINOUS MYCELIUM · 2027PLAYA COURTLUMINOUS MYCELIUM · 2027

How to play

Two players, one table, about two minutes. The standard match is best of 5 rounds.

6 cardsOne more than the number of rounds, so even the last round is a choice.
5 tokensBeads, bottle caps, anything. One per round, in a pile in the middle.
1 strangerOr a friend. Sit across from each other with space for your camp.

The cards you've played stay face up in front of you, in the order played. That row is your camp. The card you're playing this round counts as being in your camp; the cards still in your hand don't.

Each round

  1. Choose. Both players pick a card from their hand and place it face down.
  2. Reveal. Flip together.
  3. Burn Outs first. Any card that's Burnt Out is flipped upside down, and its ability stops.
  4. Jokers bend the rules. Apply any rule-changing abilities.
  5. Add up power. Start from the printed number, then add every bonus from abilities in both camps.
  6. Compare. If one card beats the other's class, it wins. Otherwise the higher power wins. Equal power is a tie.
  7. Score. The winner takes one token from the pile, plus every token in the Temple. On a tie, one token moves from the pile to the Temple and nobody scores.
  8. Camp. Both cards stay face up in their owner's camp, and any "If this wins" or "If this loses" abilities happen now.

Winning

  • The moment you hold 3 points, it's Exodus: the match ends and you win.
  • If all 5 rounds are played and nobody has 3, any tokens left in the Temple are discarded and the player with more points wins.
  • If the last round ties, the card with the higher printed power wins it and takes the Temple. If printed power is equal too, the round is a draw.
  • If the points end even, the match is a Whiteout: nobody wins.

Building your hand

  • One copy of any card name. At most one Legend.
  • Jokers are unlimited.
  • Your hand is fixed: no drawing, no deck.

The class ring

Every card is one of five tarot court classes, and every class beats exactly one other, no matter the power.

Because the ring has no top, a power-2 Joker can still knock out a power-9 King. No card is safe, and every reveal is a guess.

Vehicles and other cards with no class print their own matchups, such as "Beats Knight · Loses to Joker".

The class is printed under the card's name and again on the dark bar under the art. The Beats strip at the top of the rules box tells you which class it beats.
beatsbeatsbeatsbeatsbeatsJokerKingKnightQueenPage

Reading a card

  1. 1Power. Printed once, top left. 6 and 9 are underlined so a Burnt Out card still reads right.
  2. 2Name. The person or camp on the card.
  3. 3Class · camp. Its class and home camp.
  4. 4Camp badge. Match badges to spot camp combos at a glance.
  5. 5Art. A tarot portrait, with the sky in the class colour.
  6. 6Class · tags. Tags like [Build] are what abilities count and boost.
  7. 7Set symbol. The teal mushroom marks the 2027 set.
  8. 8Beats. The one class this card always beats.
  9. 9Timing. Only shown when the ability lasts one round.
  10. 10Ability. What the card does.
  11. 11Flavour. Just for fun.
  12. 12Rarity and number. Every 2027 card is Fire ▲.
  13. 13Event. Where the card comes from.

Abilities

No label
Works from the moment the card is played, for as long as it's in your camp. "Your [Build] cards get +2" includes the card itself if it's [Build].
This round:
Only lasts for the round the card is played.
If this wins: / If this loses:
Happens after the round is scored.
"Other"
"Your other [Dance] cards" means the card doesn't count itself.
"Either camp"
Counts cards in both players' camps.

Keywords

Burn Out
Flip the card upside down in its camp. Its ability stops working.
Revive
Flip a Burnt Out card face up again. Its ability works again.
Loud
Can't be Burnt Out.
Legend
You can bring at most one Legend in your hand.

Tags

Each card has one or two tags, taken from what the person is known for.

[Food][Sound][Dance][Fire][Glow][Art][Build][Care][Crew][Night][Vehicle]

An example match

Sam and Alex play best of 5. Each brings 6 cards; one stays in hand.

RoundSam playsAlex playsWhat happensScore
1Subwoofer · Knight · 7Dance Captain · Queen · 5Knight beats Queen. Sam wins.1–0
2Line Cook · Page · 4Camp Lead · King · 5Camp Lead is [Build], so "Your [Build] cards get +2" makes him 7. Page and King don't beat each other, and 7 beats 4. Alex wins.1–1
3Silent Disco · Joker · 2Art Car · no class · 6Art Car prints "Loses to Joker", so power doesn't matter. Sam wins.2–1
4Fire Eater · Page · 4Scaffold Crew · Knight · 4Fire Eater reads "This round: Burn Out a card in your opponent's camp." Sam Burns Out Camp Lead, so Alex's Scaffold Crew, a [Build] card, loses its +2. 4 against 4: a tie. One token goes to the Temple.2–1 · Temple 1
5Sunrise DJ · Queen · 5Lantern Keeper · Page · 4Queen beats Page. Sam wins the round's token plus the Temple. Exodus!4–1 Sam

They played a Gift Match, so Alex gifts Sam one card from Alex's camp, Alex's choice. That card leaves with Sam and turns up at someone else's table tomorrow.

Example cards

These are made-up examples. The real 2027 cards are people at unSCruz, with tarot portraits in place of these landscapes.

King · boosts a tag
Queen · empowers others
Knight · big and simple
Page · small, conditional boost
Joker · bends the rules
Vehicle · prints its own matchups

Formats and Gift Match

FormatRoundsHandPoints to winGood for
Quick121Meeting someone in line. A tie goes to the higher printed power; if that's equal too, it's a Whiteout.
Short342A fast match with a little strategy.
Standard563The way the game is meant to be played.
Long784Big combos: ongoing abilities have more time to stack up.

Gift Match

Optional stakes, in the spirit of gifting. Agree before the first flip. The loser gifts the winner one card from their camp, loser's choice. A Whiteout means no gift.

Become a card

Anyone 18 or older at unSCruz 2027 can become a card. It's free, and it's always opt-in.

  1. Sign up. Tell us your name or playa name, your camp, the class that fits you, and three things you're known for.
  2. Send a photo. It becomes your tarot portrait.
  3. Approve your proof. You see your finished card before anything is printed, and you can ask for changes.
  4. Change your mind any time before the print deadline, and you're out.

Sign up to become a card

Leave No Trace

A card on the ground is MOOP. Every pack is gifted in a box or pouch, and cards are printed on durable stock with no glitter or foil.

Play at a table or in camp, not on open ground. If you find a card, pick it up, and bring it back to the Playa Court table so it can be gifted again.

Questions

Is it free?

Yes. Playa Court is a gift. Cards are never sold or traded for money.

Do I need my own card to play?

No. Grab a gift pack and you can play straight away.

Can kids play?

Yes, the game is all ages. Only adults appear on the cards.

How is the art made?

Portraits are AI-assisted: your own photo is restyled into a shared tarot look, then checked by hand. The card design, layout and text are made by hand. You approve your portrait before anything is printed, and you're welcome to send your own artwork instead.

What happens to my sign-up info?

It's only used to make your card. Responses are kept private, emails are never printed or shared, and your photo is only used for your card art.

Is this an official unSCruz thing?

Playa Court is a participant-made gift for unSCruz 2027. It isn't an official unSCruz publication.