One Card Duel

The game

A best-of-seven tarot duel against a hooded sorcerer, drawn in 24k-gilt linework on black cards with eye, moon and candle-smoke motifs. You hold one hand of three cards — the Dagger, the Vigil and the Mirror — in a three-way loop: Dagger beats Mirror, Vigil beats Dagger, Mirror beats Vigil. Each round the sorcerer telegraphs his card with one of three tells — the twitch of his eye, the flare of his candle, the glint of his ring — but from the fourth round on his signs shift beneath the moon, and sometimes his eyes flicker violet: he is lying. Play the Mirror yourself to fake the tell your own hand betrays. Every round won adds a sun pip to your row; first to four ends the duel.

How to play

• Press Enter (or Space, or click) on the title card to enter the circle; the same starts a rematch on the end screen.
• Press 1 to commit THE DAGGER (attack), 2 for THE VIGIL (guard), 3 for THE MIRROR (feint) — or click the card. The timer bar above your hand runs out in about five seconds if you hesitate, and fate chooses for you.
• Watch the sorcerer's tell while the circle holds: eye twitch, candle flare or ring glint reveal his card — until his signs shift between phases, and an occasional violet flicker means the tell is a lie.
• Win the exchange by playing the card that beats his: Dagger beats Mirror, Vigil beats Dagger, Mirror beats Vigil. Daggers meeting daggers draw blood on both sides (both score); vigil versus vigil or mirror versus mirror stirs nothing.
• First to four round wins takes the duel — the sun pips and gold score climb round by round. Press P or Esc to pause.