Be the last snake standing

The goal

Be the last snake standing.

You face three rivals at once. Everyone starts with the same health, chosen when you set up the duel (20 unless you change it). Bring every rival to zero and you win.

Your hand is private. Rivals never see your cards and you never see theirs, so nobody knows who holds Medusa until she is played.

If one final play knocks out everyone still standing at the same moment, the duel is a shared draw.

Your turn

Draw two, make up to three plays, end your turn.

Your turn starts with a draw of two cards, or five if your hand is empty. Then you have up to three plays.

Most cards cost one play. Punch with Knuckle Duster is one combined hit for 5 that costs two. Divert, Reflect and Medusa cost none.

Tap End turn when you're finished; you don't have to use every play. You can hold up to seven cards. If you have more, you choose which to discard before the turn passes.

Lasting effects such as Poison and Burn tick at the start of the affected player's turn. The duel saves after every play, so you can close the tab and continue later.

Targets and mercy

Pick who to hit, and who you can't.

Tap a card to read it, then Play. For a card that targets someone, tap a glowing rival. Hypnotise needs two picks: the rival you control, then who they hit. Master Thief can rob up to three rivals.

Mercy: while three or more players are alive and exactly one of them is at 10 health or lower, attack cards can't target that player. Earthquake, statuses and non-attack cards still reach them. Mercy switches off when only two players remain.

Defence and healing

Shields, answers from your hand, and staying alive.

Shield, Smoke and Stealth Drone are played on your turn and wait on the table. Shield stops one direct hit (a Sniper still lands 3); Poison and Burn ticks and Shotgun spread go past it. Smoke dodges all damage for a round. Stealth Drone protects you for two rounds, except against Lightning and Earthquake.

Divert and Reflect are answers. When someone attacks you, you can play one from your hand: Divert sends the attack to a random other player, Reflect sends it back at the attacker. Take the hit lets it land. They cost no plays.

Antidote cures Poison and Burn. Pizza heals 4 and First Aid heals 8, but healing never goes above your starting health and can't be played at full health.

Alliances

A one-way truce that ends in the final duel.

Alliance names one ally you won't attack directly. It's one-way: your ally can still attack you.

Area effects still hit your ally, and if you damage them in any way the alliance breaks. Playing a new Alliance replaces the old one.

Medusa wipes every alliance on the table. And when only two players are left, every alliance ends, so the final duel is always a fair fight.

Medusa

One card that can turn the whole duel.

There is exactly one Medusa in the deck. Play her on your turn, or in answer when another player plays a card. She costs no plays.

If she answers a card, that card is cancelled. Either way she wipes every lasting card on the table: shields, smoke, drones, alliances and boosts. She clears your bad statuses, makes you immune to damage until your next turn, then deals 2 damage to every other player. Nothing blocks that hit, and mercy doesn't apply.