Regicide is a cooperative card game where you and your AI partner work together to defeat 12 enemy royals.
Defeat all 12 enemies (4 Jacks, 4 Queens, 4 Kings) to win.
On your turn, play one or more cards of the same rank. The total value deals damage to the current enemy.
Aces are Animal Companions! They can be played alongside any single card to add their suit power. Combine an Ace with another card to activate multiple suit powers at once.
After you play, the enemy attacks. You must discard cards with total value equal to or greater than the enemy's attack (reduced by any shield).
When you defeat an enemy with exact damage (HP reaches exactly 0), the defeated royal is placed face-down on top of the tavern deck. You can draw it later and play it as a powerful card (Jack=10, Queen=15, King=20).
If you overkill an enemy (deal more damage than their remaining HP), the enemy is removed from the game entirely.
You may yield your turn instead of playing, but you must discard a card and still face the enemy's attack.
If you cannot discard enough cards to survive an enemy attack, you lose.
Solo Mode: You have 2 Joker tokens always available. Playing a Joker discards your entire hand and draws up to 8 new cards. Jokers don't deal damage, trigger suit powers, or cause an enemy attack.
Emergency Joker: In solo mode, you can also use a Joker during the damage absorption phase (when you're out of cards). This gives you a fresh hand, but you must still absorb the remaining attack damage with your new cards — it's not a free escape!
2-Player Mode: 2 Joker cards are shuffled into the tavern deck. When you draw a Joker, it goes into your hand. You can play it on your turn to discard your entire hand and draw up to 7 new cards. Same effect — no damage, no suit power, no enemy attack.
Victory is tiered based on Joker usage:
Maximum hand size depends on player count: Solo = 8, 2 players = 7. Diamond draws will not exceed this limit.
Enemies are immune to the suit power matching their own suit. For example, a ♣ Club enemy ignores the Club damage doubling effect.