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Scarp

Scarp is the standard playing card deck on Mercury. It consists of 45 cards: one through ten of the suits LIGHT, SHADE, DEATH, and LIFE; an essence card for each suit, and a ghost card. The deck is a symbolism of life on Mercury during and after the Starsiege. The suits are described below.

Light

Light represents the danger of the open surface of Mercury, where the blazing sun and the risk of discovery by the Cybrids can destroy fragile Life.
Essence: Sun
Colors: WHITE with GOLD borders
Theme: Ally to Death, enemy to Shade, and destroyer of Life.

Shade

(Shadow or Darkness, alternatively), represents the underground passages of Fantasma Colony, where Life can flourish without fear of discovery or immolation.
Essence: Stone (occasionally Rock or Tunnel)
Colors: BLACK with SILVER borders
Theme: ally to Life, enemy to Light, and destroyer of Death.

Death

Represents the Cybrids and the deadly conditions of the Mercurian surface, is white in this game, unlike most.
Essence: Knife (occasionally Sword or Flame)
Colors: WHITE with SILVER borders
Theme: Ally to Light, enemy to Life, and destroyer of Shade.

Life

(Hope, alternatively.) Representing itself, Life on Mercury hides in the shadows from the various deaths that await it on the surface.
Essence: Rose (occasionally the Tear or the Mouse)
Colors: BLACK with GOLD borders.
Theme: Ally to Shade, enemy to Death, and destroyer of Light.

Scarp Games

Scarp

Sequence of Play
Each player draws five cards. Each player then names a suit and the top card of the deck is revealed until one of the named suits comes up. The player who named that suit goes first. (The revealed cards are reshuffled into the deck.)
The player who is taking her turn chooses a card in her hand and places it on the table. This is a Challenge card. The player then chooses a suit opposite this card's suit as the Challenge suit.
The other player must respond to this challenge if possible or desired. To successfully defeat this challenge, the player must display cards that total to the Challenge card's number. At least one of these cards must be of the Challenge suit. All cards displayed must be of the same color (i.e. you can answer a Challenge card of Eight of Light, Challenge suit Darkness, with a six of Darkness and a two of Life, but not a two of Death.)
If the challenge is successful, the victor draws a card from the deck. Otherwise, the challenger does so. The Challenge card is discarded.
Play progresses until:
1. A player has ten cards of one color plus either Essence card for that color in her hand, or
2. No cards remain in the deck, or
3. A player folds. In case one, that player wins. In case two, the player with the most cards wins. In case three, that player loses.

There are several special cards and combinations that come into play:
an Essence card: If a player has an Essence card, she may
1. use it in place of any card of that suit,
2. discard it to draw three cards, or
3. discard it to force a player to discard half her hand (she may choose which cards). If a player uses the card against a Challenge card, that card is brought to the player's hand instead of being discarded, and the player does not draw.

the Ghost card: This can be used in the following ways:
1. A challenged player may discard it to reveal a challenger's hand and use her cards in addition to her own to answer a challenge. Any cards so used are stolen to the victor's hand.
2. Discard to draw five cards.

Emp: An emp consists of three cards of the same color in the player's hand. It may be discarded to draw three cards: one from the draw deck, one at random from the opponant's hand, and one chosen from the discard pile.

Shrike: A shrike consists of three cards of the same suit. A Shrike can be discarded to issue a reverse challenge. (see below). A Shrike can also be used as an Emp. If a second Shrike is played in one turn, it may be used to choose a card from the remaining draw deck and shuffle the discard pile into it.
Reverse challenge: A reverse challenge is the result of a Shrike. The challenged player halts the challenge against her and retaliates with her own. If the other player can meet the challenge, the first player must proceed with the original challenge. If not, the first player may use the opponant's hand in addition to her own to meet the original challenge.

Quake: A quake consists of three cards of the same numerical value. This combination may be discarded to draw the entire contents of the discard pile. If the resulting cards number greater than ten, the player must discard cards down to ten, her choice.

Antipoker

Antipoker is similar in object to poker but the scoring is based on math rather than order. Each card is worth its numerical value (except Essences and Ghosts, which have special functions) and the value of a hand is determined mathematically.
The players draw a hand of six cards, and, in sequence, discard however many cards they wish and replace them from the top of the deck. Betting proceeds, if desired, and the resulting hands are revealed and calculated.
To calculate the hand, first the value of the cards themselves is determined. For example:
Rose 2Shade 1Life 6Life 7Life 3Light.
An Essence doubles the value of its suit's cards, and a Ghost doubles the value of all cards in the hand (including doubling the effect of an Essence card). Thus, the 1, 6, and 7 of Life are worth a total of 28. Add the 2Shade and the 3Life and the total is 33.
Next, determine the value of any Force, which consists of five or six cards of the same color. The first five cards in the example hand is one Force. To determine the value of a Force, multiply the values of the cards by 3 if it is a Force of five, or 4 if it is a Force of six. The black Force here has a total value of 90. (2 + 1x2 + 6x2 + 7x2) = 30 x 3 = 90. (Rose doubles the three Life cards and counts as a Life card though it has not value of its own.)
Next, determine the value of any Elements which consist of three or more cards of the same suit. Multiply the value of all these cards by the number of cards of this suit. In this example there is an Element of four for the Life suit, for which the value is 112. (1x2 + 6x2 + 7x2) = 28 x 4 = 112.
Lastly, determine the value of any triples or quads, which consist of three or four cards of the same numerical value. The value is determined by adding the cards together and squaring (for triples) or cubing (quads) the total. There are no triples or quads in this example. (note: if the card in question is an Essence card, the value for each equals ten.)
The value of the hand is the total of these. (33 + 90 + 112) = 235. This is a rather good hand.

Paradigm

This game is one of the most frustrating, because several times each game, all one builds is destroyed and each player must start from scratch. This game has a maximum of four players. The play sequence is as follows.
At the beginning of the game, each player chooses a suit. The top card of the deck is drawn until one card of each suit has been shown. The players each pick one card from their suits and the remaining cards are reshuffled.
The players place their cards face up on the table. Every turn, the first card of the deck is displayed to all players.
The player using the card's suit draws it. From this point, she may:
1. Place it in her hand. The cards in hand may be used at any time.
2. Place it on the table.
3. If the card is of greater value, she may place it on top of any card on the table.

The player's overall score is determined by the piles of which she controls, i.e. those where her suit has the top card. The face value of the cards in each pile is multiplied, and the piles added together.

Essence cards: When an Essence card comes up, all cards of the opposite color are removed from the table. The Essence card is discarded.

Ghost card: When the Ghost comes up, all cards are removed from the table.

Error: an Error consists of three consecutive cards in a player's hand, i.e. 2, 3, and 4 of Shade. The player may discard these cards to cancel any move in the game: an opponant processing a card, or the effect of an Essence. (Errors do not effect the Ghost.) All affected cards are discarded.
The winner is determined by the final scores after the last card has been drawn from the deck.