One of the very few customs that the Lilitai inherited from their free ancestors was the practice of playing card games. It is generally believed that some members of the crew aboard the Rotomem must have had an interest in Holocene-era Earth, as despite their convenience and utility, playing cards are relatively rare among the Cossipian tribes, being mostly supplanted by ex dominis or newly-invented forms of gambling. Like many customs in Lilitic culture, playing cards take up a semi-religious significance. This article details the cards themselves and the surviving games.
The deck is divided into six suits (livasa), each consisting of twelve cards (polikrete), which are numbered from zero to eleven. In some games, the zeroth card may be promoted to twelfth. The suits are divided as follows:
The suit of Collars (fídoséete, or fíe) represents the burdens of the individual as she makes her way through life.
The suit of Hope (tshayekíe, or tsha) represents the dreams and objectives that the individual seeks to accomplish through her life.
The suit of Blood (múbedine, or múne) represents the efforts and labours the individual must perform to manage her burdens and accomplish her objectives.
The suit of Quills (stíete, or stíe) represents the orderly procession of fate that will carry the individual through her life if she follows a careful plan; i.e., the Authors. See Lilitic Fate.
The suit of Winds (shúthímasa, or shúsa) represents the irregular forces of fate that occur spontaneously. Like the quills, these forces may be good or bad. See Lilitic Fate.
The suit of Twists (telmezríasa, or tesa) represents the effects of the environment and civilization on the individual. These cards all have special names and meanings in most games, which are described later in this article.
The Collars, Hope, and Blood suits are generally grouped into a larger category called the 'Choices' (manazekíete), and the Winds and Quills suits are classified as 'Forces' or 'Choosers' (manazekwíasa). The Twists may also be considered Forces in some games. Frequently, games involve pairing a Force with a Choice. In part because of this, most games involve small player numbers.
0. Zelteta: Life.
1. Ighina: Thought.
2. Haspina: Magic.
3. Zelmota: Beauty.
4. Víglina: Money.
5. Shistoina: Dreams.
6. Zelamekhtina: Marriage.
7. Akoa: Moon.
8. Pléa: Planet.
9. Atsha: Star.
10. Thela: Self.
11. Stillanivía: The Oracle.
Cards are generally called numericí suit, e.g. mí shúsa for One of Winds. This is an abbreviation from numericúí il suit, e.g. mítúí il shúthimasa. The twists are usually named explicitly, unless the card game in question uses them only for their numeric and suit properties as normal cards.
In writing, these are often abbreviated to the face value followed by the first letter of the suit, e.g. 7T for Akoa. In the game rules below, English abbreviations are used for convenience (B, H, C, Q, W, T).
Each player has three lots (manazelíete), one for each type of Choice. Her goal is to keep the sum of the Choices' face values in all three lots as equal as possible. Every Choice card is accompanied by a Force card that describes the difficulty in surpassing that Choice. Twists are considered a Force, and zeros are high (i.e., valued at twelve instead of zero.)
Cards from the hand are played in pairs of Choice and Force, and they may be played onto the player's own lots or the lots of another. A hand consists of only one pair of cards. A hand may be discarded at the start of a player's turn, in which case a new hand must be drawn afterwards. Forces and Choices are always kept in separate discard and pickup piles. A player must draw a new hand after playing. Pairs can never be split.
When a pair containing a Force card from either the Quill or Wind suits, it forces the removal of all pairs in that lot with a lower Force value that belong to the opposite Force, e.g. 5Q trumps 4W, 3W, 2W, and 1W. Twist pairs are never removed. Removed pairs are added to the discard piles.
The discard piles may be reshuffled into the pickup piles when the pickup piles are depleted. The game generally ends after a set number of rounds or reshuffles.
Scoring for each player is performed by adding two differences: the difference between total Choice face value in the Collars and Blood lots, and the difference between total Choice face value in the Hope and Blood lots. The face values of Force cards are not involved in the final scoring.
It is common to see an additional pre-summing step in scoring, where either Quill or Wind cards are ignored in a given lot because they are overwhelmed in total face value by the other suit, or where one is subtracted from the other.
In subtraction scoring, Wind and Quill cards are generally considered opposites in the final differencing, as well. A player with the final cards
Some variants stipulate that some or all of the Twist cards can be used to remove pairs from lots with impunity, or that they must be used in this manner. The most common variant rules are:
Zelteta, Stillanivía, and/or Shistoina used to remove cards regardless of face value or lot.
Thela, Zelamekhtina, Víglina, and/or Haspina used to remove cards regardless of face value, as long as the suit of the card being removed matches the suit that the Twist was drawn with.
Other variations may moderate the ways in which players can modify lots, e.g. by making a temporary set of lots each round that is applied to the lots of the round's leader only at the end of the round. During the round these temporary lots are subject to the same rules for trumping as any other.
Gendeneía is a metaphor for individuals struggling to live a fulfilling and balanced life. A player with too many Blood cards is considered to be working too hard; with too many Collars cards, to be overburdened; with too many Hope cards, to be overambitious; with too few Collars cards, sheltered; with too few Blood cards, lazy; with too few Hope cards, unfulfilled. The Winds and Authors are personified through the Winds and Quills suits, and the players themselves represent supreme beings (generally, the original Author or Wind) playing favourites with mortals. The immobility of the Twist cards may seem paradoxical, but the Lilitai consider their spirituality to come from inside themselves—belief and faith can, after all, only affect one's own actions.
Deck and Terminology
The deck is divided into six suits (livasa), each consisting of twelve cards (polikrete), which are numbered from zero to eleven. In some games, the zeroth card may be promoted to twelfth. The suits are divided as follows:
The Collars, Hope, and Blood suits are generally grouped into a larger category called the 'Choices' (manazekíete), and the Winds and Quills suits are classified as 'Forces' or 'Choosers' (manazekwíasa). The Twists may also be considered Forces in some games. Frequently, games involve pairing a Force with a Choice. In part because of this, most games involve small player numbers.
The Twists
Card Naming
Cards are generally called numericí suit, e.g. mí shúsa for One of Winds. This is an abbreviation from numericúí il suit, e.g. mítúí il shúthimasa. The twists are usually named explicitly, unless the card game in question uses them only for their numeric and suit properties as normal cards.
In writing, these are often abbreviated to the face value followed by the first letter of the suit, e.g. 7T for Akoa. In the game rules below, English abbreviations are used for convenience (B, H, C, Q, W, T).
Games
Gendeneía ("Lacking")
Each player has three lots (manazelíete), one for each type of Choice. Her goal is to keep the sum of the Choices' face values in all three lots as equal as possible. Every Choice card is accompanied by a Force card that describes the difficulty in surpassing that Choice. Twists are considered a Force, and zeros are high (i.e., valued at twelve instead of zero.)
Cards from the hand are played in pairs of Choice and Force, and they may be played onto the player's own lots or the lots of another. A hand consists of only one pair of cards. A hand may be discarded at the start of a player's turn, in which case a new hand must be drawn afterwards. Forces and Choices are always kept in separate discard and pickup piles. A player must draw a new hand after playing. Pairs can never be split.
When a pair containing a Force card from either the Quill or Wind suits, it forces the removal of all pairs in that lot with a lower Force value that belong to the opposite Force, e.g. 5Q trumps 4W, 3W, 2W, and 1W. Twist pairs are never removed. Removed pairs are added to the discard piles.
The discard piles may be reshuffled into the pickup piles when the pickup piles are depleted. The game generally ends after a set number of rounds or reshuffles.
Scoring for each player is performed by adding two differences: the difference between total Choice face value in the Collars and Blood lots, and the difference between total Choice face value in the Hope and Blood lots. The face values of Force cards are not involved in the final scoring.
Variations
It is common to see an additional pre-summing step in scoring, where either Quill or Wind cards are ignored in a given lot because they are overwhelmed in total face value by the other suit, or where one is subtracted from the other.
In subtraction scoring, Wind and Quill cards are generally considered opposites in the final differencing, as well. A player with the final cards
3B/2Q 2B/5Q
2C/8W 4C/3W
9H/6Q 1H/1W 3H/5T
would have 5/Q Blood, 8/W Collars, and 8/Q + 3/T Hope. This would give a total score of 13 C-B + 6 H-B = 19 points.2C/8W 4C/3W
9H/6Q 1H/1W 3H/5T
Some variants stipulate that some or all of the Twist cards can be used to remove pairs from lots with impunity, or that they must be used in this manner. The most common variant rules are:
Other variations may moderate the ways in which players can modify lots, e.g. by making a temporary set of lots each round that is applied to the lots of the round's leader only at the end of the round. During the round these temporary lots are subject to the same rules for trumping as any other.
Rationale
Gendeneía is a metaphor for individuals struggling to live a fulfilling and balanced life. A player with too many Blood cards is considered to be working too hard; with too many Collars cards, to be overburdened; with too many Hope cards, to be overambitious; with too few Collars cards, sheltered; with too few Blood cards, lazy; with too few Hope cards, unfulfilled. The Winds and Authors are personified through the Winds and Quills suits, and the players themselves represent supreme beings (generally, the original Author or Wind) playing favourites with mortals. The immobility of the Twist cards may seem paradoxical, but the Lilitai consider their spirituality to come from inside themselves—belief and faith can, after all, only affect one's own actions.
