bylok / play LEGAL FICTION POKER EDITION

FIFTY-TWO CARDS. A FEW LOOPHOLES.

Legal
Fiction.

House rules are negotiable.

Queens can count as kings. Aces can score from your hand.
Choose your cards. Change one rule. See what happens.

1–2 Learn the rules3 Move the words4 & 6 Face two bosses

Solo · six blinds · no account required

Explore the folklore edition ↗
A♥♥A♥
K♠K♠THE KING OF TECHNICALITIES
QUEEN MOONLIGHTS AS KINGQueens count as kings.

An impeccable hand.
A questionable interpretation.

START HERE

A hand, a rule, a tale.

Reach the round’s target before your hands run out. Choose a gentler or harder invitation each round; its target and reward are shown before you commit.

  1. Choose up to five cards. The preview shows exactly what they will score. Play hand plays them; Discard draws replacements.
  2. Try a rule. Tap a slot, compare an owned rule, then confirm. You start with one rule change per played hand.
  3. Clear the round. Take a free rule or coins, then visit the stall. The word grid opens in round three.
Hands, discards and scoring

A new run starts with four hands and three discards per round. Discarding replaces selected cards without using a hand, but never restores rule changes or pushes.

Your strongest qualifying poker hand scores. If upgrades let you play more than five cards, all selected cards are spent. Held cards only score when a rule allows it; they never help form the hand.

Open Why this score? to see each effect. The scoring table stays fixed even when rules change your cards.

Rules and the word grid

In rounds one and two, try complete rules in your slots. Confirming spends a rule change; playing a hand restores your allowance.

After round two, those rules become words. In each workshop, arrange them freely: tap a word, then an empty space. Unused words stay in Spare words.

During grid rounds, tap a word and a direction to preview a push. Check the formed rules and score, then confirm. A push moves that word and any in its way one space; an edge blocks it. You start with one push per played hand.

Words must touch. Read rows left to right, then columns top to bottom; a word may serve both. Incomplete fragments do nothing. Every complete rule is explained beside the grid.

Shops, pockets and curios

Every clear pays for unused hands, unused discards and interest. Before each shop, take one free rule or leave it for 3 coins. Shops follow rounds one through five.

Four random curios appear at the stall. Each copy can be bought once. Refreshing costs 2 coins, then 1 more each time; the price resets next round. Fully collected curios leave the pool.

Bottled rain adds discards, bottled noon adds a hand, and red thread doubles your next played hand. Unused items stay in your pockets between rounds. Lasting keepsakes can reward saved coins, spent discards, or your final hand. Their effects appear in the exact score preview.

You begin with two pockets. Capacity upgrades can add slots, grid space, moves, hands or discards. Other upgrades reward resources left over. Current limits appear in your run summary.

After round three, Bag of Words can appear. Buy and open it for 4 coins, then keep two of five words. The bag is consumed; its words stay in your spares for this run.

Your deck and poker hands

A standard 52-card deck: thirteen ranks in four suits. Number cards score their face value; J, Q and K score 10 chips; aces score 11.

Aces can be low in A–2–3–4–5 or high in 10–J–Q–K–A. Straights never wrap. Open Poker hands during play for the fixed scoring table.

Bosses and later rounds

Round three gives you time with the word grid. In round four, the Comptroller moves a tile before each hand. Your words remain yours; repair sentences or make new ones.

Round five offers another chance to grow. In round six, the Bellkeeper shifts a whole row before each hand, wrapping its end word to the other side. A free workshop precedes every grid round.

Your rule collection

Each owned rule explains its effect. Choose cards to see the exact score before you play.

THE STANDARD DECK · 52 CARDS

Every card has a part to play.

Thirteen ranks in four suits: spades ♠, hearts ♥, clubs ♣ and diamonds ♦. Rules change how a card scores this hand; its printed identity stays on the card.