Back in Action

This blogpost refers to the “Back in Action” Trickdraw card. You may have received it by backing the Trickdraw Kickstarter, by requesting it to be used with a Promotional Edition, or by some other top secret means. “Back in Action” is not part of the base game. Its use is entirely optional.

This is the first card in Trickdraw to interact with the discard pile. As such, it is important when playing with this card to keep the discard pile tidy, and to stay mindful of which card is on top. This is not necessary for normal Trickdraw gameplay (but still recommended).

How do I include it in the deck? After you’ve had a chance to play the base game without Back in Action, shuffle all 4 copies into the deck and play as normal. Note: since we are still in the process of testing this card, we aren’t sure if 4 is the correct quantity. Feel free to also try with 2 or 3 copies (we think 1 is too few). Regardless of how many you choose to shuffle, email us your thoughts about the card at info@housefishballoon.com. It helps us out a lot to hear what you think! Below I’ve outlined the rules and some specific interactions. If you have further questions, please include them in your email so I can note them in future rule clarifications (such as the expansion rulebook!).

Card Text: “Activate the effect of the top card of the discard pile.”
What does “activate” mean?

Cards in Trickdraw “activate” whenever they are played or flipped face up. When a card is activated, you read the card and do exactly as it says. For example, if you play a Prophecy, it activates. If you flip a face down card face up, revealing a Prophecy, it activates the same. Therefore, if Prophecy were the top card of the discard pile, and you played Back in Action, you would activate Prophecy exactly the same way.

But what happens when you “activate” a card like Rally or Local Hero? If you play a Rally face up from your hand, it “activates” in that it is now in front of you, granting you points. Since its effect is ongoing, it is considered to be continually “active” until it flips face down. Similarly, if you flip a face down card face up, revealing a Local Hero, it is now “active” until it flips face down (regardless of whether its currently granting you points or not).

Now what if we use Back in Action to reactivate one of those cards? Does Back in Action gain that effect indefinitely (Local Hero until the end of time)? No. Back in Action only reactivates a card’s effect as Back in Action is played to the field. I’ll break down some examples for what happens if the following cards are in the discard pile:

Insurance Fraud: Simple enough. Upon playing Back in Action, flip three of your cards face down (this can include the Back in Action you just played). No further action needed.

Trickdraw: Simple enough. Discard a card from your hand to activate. Steal a card in play. You may flip it. The only thing to note is that as with all discard effects, you MUST discard a card to activate them. If you don’t have enough cards in your hand, you cannot activate the card.

The Treasure: If you have the Key or the Temple, you win! If not, nothing happens.

Local Hero: You gain 3 points if over half your cards are face down, and no points if they are not. Remember to include Back in Action when counting face down cards. After gaining these points, check if you’ve won the game. If you haven’t, then nothing happens. You don’t keep the points past the moment you play Back in Action.

Rally: You gain as many points as you have Rally cards. If you have no Rally cards, you gain no points. As with Local Hero, check if you won the game. If you did, great! If not, nothing happens. You don’t keep the points past the moment you play Back in Action.

Diplomacy, Thieves Guild, Money Talks, Black Market: The effects of these cards are activated for the duration of the Back in Action effect. That means until you play another card, activate another card. or pass the turn, you can utilize their benefit (once). For example, if you activate

Diplomacy: you don’t have to discard a card if your next action this turn requires you to discard a card. Obviously, if you’re out of actions, then activating Diplomacy does nothing.