The Goblin King gets a rules box.
CJ and I had gotten bored of Pokémon Snap. He asked if I wanted to go to the game store for more Magic cards.
The Table
Stories about the games we grew up with, and the cards we keep finding new uses for.
Is that Queen worth a gem?
A two can take out a Queen. That same gem could also supply the energy you need next turn. What is the trade worth?
Get to know your cards.
Gems, creatures, and the moment before a move resolves.
Could Magic fit in an ordinary deck?
The question that started Superjack: The Game, a two-player battle with the cards you already know.
3 min read
Your gems have other plans.
Straights, sacrifices, and the pair that turns a small creature into a problem. A first guide to fighting in Superjack.
4 min read
Before the move lands.
Your opponent plays an Ace. You still have a say. Response windows in Superjack, explained through one small exchange.
4 min read
The court has a few tricks.
Aces, stacked Jacks, Rush, Trample, and Royal Sacrifice: what they do and when you can use them.
4 min read
A deck has a long memory.
Follow the suits through regional decks and the games people made for them.
The long life of a deck of cards.
Playing-card history through the pictures: Italian knights, familiar Queens, the printers who made them, and the games they’ve come to play.
4 min read
The ordinary deck took centuries.
French suits, English court cards, and printers such as Modiano shaped the familiar pack. Here’s its history—and how to turn two standard decks into Superjack.
4 min read
Napoletane cards, up close.
The history and artwork of the Neapolitan forty-card deck, the games it plays, and a simple guide to using it for Superjack.
4 min read
Briscola: forty cards, plenty of game.
The history, odd rankings, and beautiful decks of an Italian card game—and how those same cards can play Superjack, a battle game inspired by Magic: The Gathering.
4 min read
Triestine cards have something to say.
Meet Trieste’s narrow, richly ornamented deck: its history, its sayings, and how all forty cards fit into Superjack.
4 min read
How we got here.
School lunches, two ordinary decks, and a game Eric and Bryan kept making.
We played Magic at lunch.
I learned Magic: The Gathering at a friend’s house around 1999. Years later, Eric and I started making a game of our own.
5 min read
How forty cards became Superjack.
The history of Superjack: The Game—from a childhood discovery of Magic to years of testing, a forty-card deck, and a community of players.
4 min read