Introduction to the Decktet

The Decktet is a deck of cards with suits, ranks, and named images. It is structurally unlike ordinary poker and tarot decks, meaning that you can do different things with it.

It is 45 cards altogether, but the core of it is the 36-card basic deck.

Basic features

The basic deck of 36 cards. There are six different suits:

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For each suit, there is an Ace and a Crown. Between them are other cards numbered 2 through 9. These each have two suits. For example, the Market is a rank 6 card with suits Leaves and Knots. Suits are not repeated at a rank, so there are three cards of each numbered rank. For example, these are the 6s:

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The extended Decktet

The extended deck cards are nine additional cards which can be added to the basic deck. Some do not use them at all, some games allow them as optional extras, and a few games require them.

For most purposes, you can start with the basic deck. Set the extra cards aside when you shuffle, just like you would with the Jokers in an ordinary pack of cards. If you want to spice up a game, you can add in the Excuse, the Pawns, or the Courts.

More information

  • The structure of the deck can be hard to wrap your head around, but there is some method to it.
  • Several of the Decktet games require suit chips: tokens representing each of the six Decktet suits.
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