Shrine of Conflict/Sevenblade

Overview

The game of Sevenblades is a Conflict Game, accessible only through a Shrine of Conflict at the time of a tournament.

The gameplay of Sevenblades is analogous to the real-world game known variously as Liar's Dice, Perudo, Bluff, or Bullshit. Each player takes turns guessing the combined total of blades until someone denies the bid, and asks that the blades be shown.

Game Flow

Two duelists stand at opposite ends of the game table and select the other as an opponent. Each player then chooses a sevenblade from their inventory. Their blade is hidden from the opposing player and the public until the end of the game.

Once both players have selected blades, a random side is chosen to place a bid and begin the game. This person must make a claim. The second player must either raise the bet, or deny. Eventually, somebody will deny. If the denial is correct, he who denied wins. But if the Sevenblades, taken together, have the requisite number of blades, he who denied loses.

It is traditional when playing Sevenblade that the winner takes the loser's blade.

The Blades

Central to this game are the ritual weapons known as "Sevenblades". You will receive three whenever you participate in an event, including practice sessions. Each Sevenblade consists of seven weapon heads of various types (dagger, hammer, sword, etc.) branching from a central pole. It is not uncommon to have three of a single type of blade (i.e. three daggers). Four and five of a kind are less common, but not unheard of. Note: You can view Sevenblades in your inventory through your Special menu, as seen in the picture to the left.

Bidding

A bid consists of a quantity and type of weapon--for example "two daggers" or "three swords". Weapons have different values; a bid of four swords is higher than one of four daggers.

• Rank of weapons: Dagger, Club, Hammer, Mace, Trident, Axe, Sword.

Players alternate turns. On each turn, a player may either increase or challenge the current bid. The game ends when a player challenges. The challenger wins if the *combined* number of weapons in both players' Sevenblades is insufficient to match the bid; otherwise the challenged player wins.

For example, if Player A has chosen a Sevenblade with two axes while Player B has chosen a Sevenblade with one axe, and Player B bids three axes, Player A will lose if he challenges. If Player B had bid four axes, Player A would win a challenge.

The winner of a game takes the loser's sevenblade. (Players often agree to return lost sevenblades once a match is done; it is best to agree beforehand whether a game is "for keeps".)

Ranking

As with most Conflict Games, your rank advances when you have won two games more then you've lost. At the change of rank, wins/losses are reset and you can play against people you've played in previous ranks.

You cannot play if you have two losses, but can 'trade a win' to cancel out a loss and continue playing. However, wins count towards your total score when determining the top 7, 21 or 49 players; a player at Rank 3 with 2 wins (3.2) would be considered a higher rank then someone Rank 3 with 0 wins (3.0).

Losses count as negative wins. A rank 3 player with 1 win and 1 loss (3.0) would be a higher rank then rank 3 with 2 wins and 3 losses (3.-1).

Strategy

If someone feels it is against the character of the game to share observed strategies, feel free to delete this section. Below are some ones I've observed - feel free to add to this list.

• High Card: Find a blade with the a high number of a certain blade (i.e. 4+) and eventually bid high enough on that blade to make your opponent uncomfortable.

• Ambush: Play as if you have multiple of a certain type of blade, when in fact you have none (i.e. 4 axes) and when they bid higher (i.e. 5 axes), deny their bid.