Gnostica FAQ

Q: All my small pieces are on the board. Can I use a normal cup?
A: No.

Q: Can I use a disc to change a major arcana for another one?
A: No, discs only grow pieces and territory larger. To change a major arcana for another, you will need to use a sword to shrink it and a disc to grow it again.

Q: Can I point my piece diagonally?
A: No.

Q: What's the best way to deal with changing the territory under a lot of pieces?
A: Pick up the old territory with all its pieces and set it aside, then put the new territory in its place. Then transfer the pieces over one at a time, retaining their original orientation. Finally, discard the old territory.

Q: What happens if someone destroys a territory next to my pieces in the wasteland?
A: If your pieces are no longer next to a territory, they aren't in the wasteland anymore, they are in the void. Nothing lives in the void, so they are returned to your stash.

Q: All of the enemy's small pieces are on the board. What happens if I attack her piece with my small piece?
A: Nothing. If you cannot replace her minion with a smaller minion from her stash, you cannot hurt it. If your attacking piece were medium, however, you could outright destroy her piece.

Q: Can I grow one of my large piece by zero pips and then orienting it, or attack my piece for zero damage and then orient it, or move my piece zero spaces and then orient it?
A: No, if you use the power of a suit, you must use it to some extent before being allowed to do the orientation. However, reorienting a single piece is a turn option, so you don't need to spend a card to do it.

Q: Can I use a rod on my piece standing upright and then just orient it?
A: No, an upright minion cannot use a rod at all.

Q: Can I use a rod to move through a void space or a space that has three pieces in it?
A: Yes, as long as you don't end there. 

Q: Can I pass?
A: Yes, just discard zero cards and draw zero cards.

Q: If someone challenges and has 9 points after his next turn, does he still win if I have 10 points?
A: Yes. Winning means having 9 points after your challenge, and other player's scores are irrelivant for that consideration.

Q: Do I need to have 9 points to challenge?
A: No, you can challenge after any turn. You win if you have more than 9 points after your next turn, but that doesn't mean you have to have 9 points to call a challenge.

Q: Are rules different for tournaments?
A: Yes, after the bidding, players change seats so that the second highest bidder sits after the highest bidder, and thus goes second, and so on for all the players. If there are ties between the losing bidders, then whomever is first to the left of the winning bidder gets precedence. After everyone has his or her correct seat, then players pick up bidding cards, starting with the person who will go last, as usual. You can do this in non-tournament play as well, but most people find it annoying.

Q: What is Gnostichicken?
A: A sub-game that many of us play at Wunderland, where the winner is the last person to use the draw cards option. Winning Gnostichicken at the expense of losing Gnostica is called "losing," and is not considered impressive.

Q: What happens when the initial bidding ends in a tie six times and nobody has any more cards to bid with?
A: The chances of this are more than 20000:1 against, but if it happens, you all lose. Go play spades or something. And stay away from tarot cards.