Ziusudra A trick taking board game

Ziusudra: Before the Waters (Playtest Build)

This is a playtest, not a finished game. Ziusudra is a physical card and board game I'm designing. This browser version lets people play it and tell me what works and what doesn't before the rules and components are final. Expect rough edges and rule changes between builds.

The game

The river is rising. Along its banks, the cities of Eridu, Sippar, Nippur, Uruk and Shuruppak hold the Me, the divine powers of civilization. You lead a house trying to claim those powers and hold the last cities standing when the Flood arrives. The game is named for Ziusudra, the king of Shuruppak who survived the flood in Sumerian myth.

It's a trick-taking card game combined with area control. The deck has 48 cards in four suits: Humans, Watchers, Giants and the Anunnaki, who can bind the lead suit and take the trick.

• Chapters 1–3: Collect. Each chapter, secretly choose a city and its Challenge, then play eight tricks. A Challenge might ask you to win at least one trick, win four or more, forecast your exact total, or take none at all. Control the city and complete its Challenge to claim its Me, a permanent power you can use in later chapters.
• Chapters 4–6: Battle. The Flood drowns a city before each chapter. Use your Me to fight for the cities that survive. Every city you hold scores points, and the payout grows each chapter.
• Laws revealed during the game change how the cards play.

At the end, the highest score wins: battle points plus one point for each Me and Challenge token.

Ways to play

• 3–4 players (Standard): play online with friends, fill empty seats with bots, or mix both.
• 2 players: two people plus an automated rival, the Watcher.
• Solo siege: you against the City Garrison. Claim Me before the Flood reaches 6.

Getting started

1. Click to launch, enter a name and accept gameplay recording (see below).
2. Create a room and share its eight-letter code with friends, or add bots to the empty seats. Solo siege is a good first game.
3. The full rules are inside the game, on the setup screen and under the Rules button during play.

If you close the tab, come back and choose Resume saved seat to rejoin your game.

What I need from you

I'm running this build to collect feedback. Press the Feedback button at any point in a game. Your note is saved with the exact chapter and trick, so I can see what was happening. I'd most like to know:

Were the rules clear? Where did you get confused?

Did your choices feel meaningful, or did the cards decide for you?

Did any city, Challenge, Me or Law feel too strong or too weak?

Did the game feel too long or too short?

Any bugs, crashes or anything that looked wrong.

You can also leave a comment on this page.

Good to know

Games are recorded. Moves and feedback are stored on the game server so I can study balance and reproduce bugs. You'll be asked to agree before you create or join a room.

Play on a desktop or laptop. Phones and tablets aren't supported yet.

Online only. You need an internet connection and a recent desktop browser.

The rules will change as I test them, so a later build may play differently.

EDIT: It does play on mobile as I just tested it, but it's pretty small and hard to read