DECKO: Pistachio

 

 

This game will only be available on Gamefound, it will not be available in retail. This is the only place to get the game. The next project from GEM Games after this campaign will be a different game, so it's likely this game will not be reprinted for several years after this.

The more backers we get during the campaign the more Jokers and other content is added to the game in foil packs! Help us rip open all these goodies! 

 

The new expansion lets you replace the entire main deck with 52 new wacky cards for a fresh experience that will turn your group's meta on it's head! For maximum fun and variety you can combine the new pistachio deck with the vanilla deck, creating stack of 104 cards! Lots of new jokers, wildcards and other content are also planned in this expansion packed with new cards!

No reviewers have been paid money to make videos!

Structurally, DECKO works a lot like regular poker. All players start with 20 chips and the same deck of 14 cards. Play proceeds in rounds of poker, with opportunities to buy cards in between. The game ends when a player has won the game by accumulating 60 or more chips, or after twelve rounds.

Every round begins with all players drawing a hand of five cards from their personal deck. Players who own purple DEAL jokers may use them at this point.

Next, the betting rounds start. Like in poker, one player has the blind card, forcing them to start with a bet already placed, and the house also begins with the same bet. Starting with the player to the left of the blind, players take turns bidding on themselves to win, just like in poker. They may raise the bet, call it (matching the previous bet), or fold, leaving the bet. Players may own jokers that trigger by these actions. For example, if a player has the joker Cool Cat, they get to draw an extra card whenever they call a bet. In a player’s first turn of a betting round, they may burn a card, permanently removing it from their deck, and draw a new one. Some jokers trigger when a card is burned. Betting continues until all bets are equal. When that happens, players reveal their hands, and the winner takes the pot (they get the chips bet by everyone else).

The losing players now get to buy new cards from the central area. The better their hand, the more they can spend. For example, a player with a straight can spend $5, while a player with just a pair might only get $1. Since the winning player doesn’t buy, the buying phase functions as a strong catch-up mechanism. There are also other options during this phase, such as paying to burn a card or even buy more chips.

Players may also acquire a joker during this phase, which must be bought with chips instead of money from hand. Jokers don’t go into the player decks; instead, they are placed on the table granting permanent player powers.

After the buying round ends, the blind card is passed to the next player and another round begins. Play continues for 12 rounds or until someone wins with 60 chips. So, that’s a basic overview of how DECKO works! There is far more to learn about the game. To read about Wildcard rounds and different joker types, read all the updates for the original campaign, starting at update 2.

Haakon started his game design career with the hit tableau building game Villagers in 2018. He followed it with the charming casual tile laying game Streets, and the critically acclaimed heavy card drafting game Moon. His first self published title was the print and play title One Page War which was a crowdfunding hit. His ambitious heavy worker placement game Yonder was recently released with a strong reception. His games are known for having many powerful cards, and DECKO really embodies this.

All the art in this game is created by the designer Haakon Hoel Gaarder. No AI has been used in the creation of this game.