Cards of the Haunted Gate

#### Draw cards. Read the signs. Banish the spirits.

A strange disturbance at a construction site leads a young Taoist into a forgotten graveyard. Resentful spirits awaken and the haunted passes open. What began as a paid job becomes a journey to put restless souls at ease—with playing cards in your hands.

The Game is a single-player, turn-based card adventure combining East Asian supernatural folklore, poker combinations, and branching routes. Travel through eight stages, from deserted village roads to a bottomless abyss, facing spirits, elite enemies, and the boss guarding each stage.

#### How to play: read the enemy, build a hand, and strike

Each turn, choose one to five cards from a hand of eight. Make a single-card play, pair, three of a kind, four of a kind, full house, flush, or straight flush. Your hand type, the ranks of its scoring cards, and bonuses determine damage. Two sevens make a pair; three nines make three of a kind. Preview the damage before committing.

Check the enemy's displayed intent: should you attack while it charges, or prepare protection against an incoming blow? After you play, an enemy that survives and has not been prevented from acting carries out its announced action. If combat continues, refill your hand and begin the next turn. Every selected card is spent, but only the highest-damage valid combination within your selection scores. Selecting more cards is not always better.

#### Redraw your fate and use suits to your advantage

Select unwanted cards and spend a limited redraw to replace them. Redrawing does not itself trigger an enemy action. Decide whether to play a smaller combination now or keep searching for a key card.

Three or more of the same suit among your scoring cards add an effect: hearts heal, diamonds grant protection, spades pierce armor, and clubs inflict damage over time. Use up to one special card per turn for effects such as damage, protection, cleansing, or canceling an enemy action. Healing items can also restore health during combat.

#### Choose your route and shape your strategy

Follow connected nodes on a branching map. Fight ordinary spirits, elites, and bosses, and visit chests, encounters, shops, and lantern rest stops. Winning earns jade coins and a choice of one offered reward. Depending on the options, recover health, strengthen hand damage, or obtain special cards and relics. Some relics change the rules: one lets red suits count as the same suit, and black suits do the same. Balance supplies and growth against the risks of stronger enemies.

#### Clear eight stages, then return with your discoveries

Defeat each stage's boss to advance and clear all eight stages to complete the journey. Reaching zero health ends that attempt. Relics and upgrades belong to the current attempt, while spirit energy and unlocked memories persist between attempts. Choose from three difficulty settings and try a different route or approach on your next journey.

#### Carry your discoveries into the next attempt

- Eight stages and eight bosses with different supernatural abilities and behavior patterns.

- Nine relics and nine basic special cards to combine into different strategies.

- Three difficulty settings that test card selection, redraws, and resource management.

- Spirit energy and unlocked memories persist between attempts; revisit memories in your collection.

- Autosave, with mouse and keyboard controls.

The cards are in your hands. Play it safe, or redraw your fate?