Triple Triad Tutorial

[*Larien*]

Triple Triad Tutorial

Introduction
Triple Triad is a card game originally from Square Enix's (then Squaresoft) Final Fantasy VIII. While still a game where the main goal is to collect every card, the original is slightly different from this one. For example, in FF8, you could only play against the AI, there were less optional rules, there was only one copy of certain cards in the game, and you couldn't win any credits - only eventually transform cards into items to use in FF8 proper.

Basics
You must be given or purchase your first set of cards. You need at least five to play a game. Each card has four numbers which indicate the strengths of each side of the card, 1 through 10 (A). Some cards have an elemental icon on them, which only comes into play during the elemental rule (see below). Cards are also grouped into levels based on the overall total of their values.

The game itself is played on a 9x9 grid where each person takes turns placing a card from their hand. Score is determined by the number of cards in "control" of a particular player, with each person having a score of 5 to account for their respective hands of five cards each.

The way that you gain control over cards is a simple comparison exercise. When you place a card, the sides of that card compare to the sides of any of your opponent's cards already on the board that touch. If your card is higher, you now control that card. If lower, nothing happens, and both cards remain in control of their respective owners. When all 9 spaces are filled, the match ends and the points are counted based on who is in control of what. The one with the highest is the winner (the person who had the second turn automatically gets a free point for the card still in their hand, so ties are possible).

Prizes
Normally, all cards regardless of their end-game control situations, return to their original owners at the end of the match, and the prize rule goes into effect. Unlike FF8, I've made this optional.

• None: Nobody gains or loses any of the cards they played with.
• One: The winner gets to keep a single card of their choosing from the loser's hand.
• Difference: The winner gets to keep the number of cards of their choosing from the loser's hand based on the amount of points the won the match by (could be 2, 4, or 5 - since that's the most in a hand).
• Direct: Both players keep the cards that they had control of at the end of the match. Both players could potentially gain and lose cards regardless of who won the match.
• All: The winner gets to keep all of the cards from the loser's hand.

vBTripleTriad
Playing Triple Triad on the forum against other people is pretty easy. First get some cards, and decide who you want to play against. Fill out the form picking what rules you want to enable, and wait for the other person to accept or decline the match. When the match begins, good luck!

There is also an AI which is limited in the frequency you can play it. The difference is that you play for and win credits, instead of winning or losing cards. The AI is designed to make the best possible move based on the cards it has and the situation the board - so it is a decent enemy but by no means impossible.

A quick hint is to always play defensively to the corners (unless wrap is enabled). Buying all of the cards is not much fun, so try to win them from others. There is also trading and scorecard statistics. I hope you have fun! If you have any other questions, please ask or search the web - but keep in mind that any tutorial you find may not be for my particular incarnation of Triple Triad, but an upgrade to make it easy to play with other people.