Lane card game

About

1. Every creature you meet is a card. Collect them in your binder and play three-lane matches against the plaza hosts at the card table. This replaces the old 1v1 card battle in 1.20.

Rules

1. Each player: 20 Rider HP (some hosts change it), 3 lanes (Left Deck, Pipe, Right Deck), one creature per lane.
2. Deck: any size within the cup's build budget (total Cost; Open: 12–30 cards, 50 build). Max 2 copies, legends 1. No item cards.
3. Turn: draw 1 · max energy +1 (cap 6), refill · then any of:
4. play a creature into an empty lane (it rests this turn),
5. swap two of your creatures (1 energy, once a turn),
6. retire a creature (free),
7. one rider trick (once a turn).
8. End of turn: each ready creature hits the creature across, or the rider if the lane is empty. No hitting back. Damage past a knockout carries to the rider.
9. Win: other rider at 0. Empty deck: lose 1 HP per missed draw.
10. Catch-up: first player skips the opening draw; second player starts with +1 card and +1 energy on their first turn.
11. Pipe lane: the scene condition gives one type +1 ATK there.

Types

1. Loop, +2 damage on advantage: Shore → Wild → Sky → Street → Shore.

Abilities

How cards are made

1. Bigger creatures cost more; rarer ones get an ability. Fierce creatures hit harder, tanky ones have more HP. Fliers are Sky type.

Rider tricks (energy)

Collecting

1. First catch or sighting of a fish, bug, wild animal or farm animal = its base card. Choosing a pet = its card.
2. Repeat catches or sightings = +1 card XP (max 3 per card per day). Winning with a card = +1 XP.
3. Levels 1–5 (XP 0 / 3 / 8 / 15 / 25). Level 5 = max: the creature can go on the Vert Showcase (and follow you, planned).
4. Packs (coins only, 60): one machine per activity — bait shop (fish), bug jar stand (bugs), feed store (livestock), pet shop (pets), plaza (wildlife). 3 variants of cards you own (holo, sunset, night, snow, signed), never a duplicate; all owned = card XP; every 10th pack has a gold variant.
5. Old cards convert once: every owned 1v1 card carries over, level 0–10 → 1–5, wins → Open trophies. Old bug book, wildlife journal and fish log backfill base cards.

Binders

1. Collectables → Trading Cards, Fish Log and Bug Log all open the binder (on that set's tab). The shell log and drive-in menu log stay separate.
2. One tab per set: Wildlife, Bugs, Fish, Farm, Pets. A tab shows only when you own its content (missing DLC hides). Each tab shows found / total.
3. Pages of 24 sleeves, a group filter, arrow keys to turn pages. Creatures you haven't met are silhouettes ("???").
4. Click a card you own: big card with Cost / HP / ATK, type, rarity and ability. Flip for the journal side: level and XP bar, times found, best size (fish), when to find it (wildlife). Front picks which variant you show.

Card faces

1. The creature's own sprite on a painted frame themed by set, over a scene for its type: Wildlife = field guide (green, ruled paper), Bugs = specimen label (double border, serif italic name), Fish = tackle box (blue enamel, rivets), Farm = county fair (red gingham border), Pets = pet show (pink dotted), World = old map. Cost gem and art window take the type colour (Shore blue, Wild green, Sky lilac, Street orange); ATK red and HP green badges; rarity pips (gold for legends). Variants are finishes: Holo (moving rainbow sheen), Gold (gold frame and sheen), Sunset, Night (moon), Snow (flakes), Signed (rider signature). Sheen stops under reduced motion.

Matches

1. Talk to a host in the plaza (walk up, E): their talk card has Play cards · <cup>.
2. Collectables → Card Table also lists the hosts you can play now, with their cup: Hiro, Parsley, Rita, Gary, Arlo, Mullen, Sage, Lavender, Kira and Miso (plaza), Brigid (street, Bug Cup), Moby (Fish Cup, needs fishing), Bodie (Farm Fair, needs Crop Circles), Miso's Pet Show needs Pets.
3. The match opens as a strip along the bottom; the scene stays visible. Top: the host, their house rule, HP, hand and deck. Left: the 3 lanes (cups rename them: Shallows / Reef / Deep, Pen / Show ring / Barn) with the Pipe condition. Right: your HP, energy, hand, your 3 rider tricks (set by your equipment), Swap, End turn, Leave.
4. Click a card then a lane; tricks that need a target ask for one; Swap = click Swap then two lanes. The host's turn plays out with short pauses.
5. Your deck is built for you from your cards to fit the host's rules (best value per Cost). If you own too few, cheap commons are lent; loaners earn no XP.
6. Win: +1 XP to each of your cards in the deck, a trophy for that cup, and the first win per host each day also opens a free pack of that cup's set.

The card table

1. Card table in the plaza (between the checkers table and the roulette wheel): ride up and press E, or click it. Pick one of the plaza hosts (portrait, cup, house rule) and the match strip opens. Hosts who play elsewhere show as a hint line ("Brigid on the street, Moby at the dock, Bodie at the farm").
2. Old 1v1 battle retired: the talk card's old "TCG Battle" / challenger button is hidden; HQ Cards opens the binder. Lane match wins count for the dailies that used old battle wins.
3. Twitch !cup shore, wild, sky or street: chat votes the Pipe-lane type for the next match at the table (one vote per chatter, 10 minutes). Cheering only, no stakes. The table shows "Chat picked Sky for the Pipe lane (2 of 2 votes)".
4. Guests (Friends MP): at a friend's table you play the NPC hosts on your own game; card XP and the cup trophy go home, at most 5 wins a day ; no free pack (packs only in your own world). The host's save is never touched. No wagering anywhere.
5. Table trophies : First Table Win (guest eligible), Chat's Pick (home only), Friendly Match (guest eligible).

Cups

Cups

1. Themed cups run on the same engine; each set maps its groups onto the 4 types with its own names.

Hosts' house rules

Hosts' house rules

1. Who you play sets the rules, from their personality (cast personality traits; rules only, no new character facts).

Cards (3025)

Related

• Card types BetaThe six card types and which one beats which.
• Livestock cards BetaThe farm animal cards: stats and types.
• Pet cards BetaThe nine pet cards: stats and types.
• Trading cards BetaCollect creature cards in a binder and battle Hiro one-on-one.
• Wildlife cards BetaThe wildlife cards: stats and types.