Siege! The walls of Jacynth are under attack - a horde of warriors from the eastern deserts are attempting to scale the walls with ladders and smash them down with the aid of their catapults. The defenders are ready with their cauldrons of boiling oil and ultimately one side will be defeated with the invaders being repelled or the walls being breached. [the Decktet wiki]
The wall metaphor is a bit strained; it might be more accurate to describe this game as an abstraction of Magnate having seven districts to claim, marking cards by owner, and using offset cards to strategically build up multiple districts at once. For claiming purposes, suit icons are counted instead of summing ranks, except in the case of The Excuse (0).
Note especially that you do not need to match suits in order to play a card.
Place cards representing armies to exert pressure on segments of the wall around the city of Jacynth. Exert the most pressure on the most segments to win.
Inventor: Greg James
See Decktet wiki: Siege of Jacynth. Uses the Decktet.
When 31 cards have been placed, each wall segment is owned by the player with more pressure on it. More segments wins. If segment counts tie, a secondary pressure total breaks the tie; equal on both is a draw.
Two players. Decktet armies in hand; the city wall is a ring of segments. Default rules hide hands until the deck is empty.
Play a card from your hand onto the growing siege, attaching it so its suits press on neighbouring wall segments. Card ranks contribute pressure. Ace/Crown pairs and numbered cards (2–9) fill out the 31-card tableau (24 numbered + 6 Ace/Crown pairs + the Excuse).
When the deck empties, remaining hands are public.
Hands are visible throughout (open).
Fuller deck / placement options (full).
20250523 (2025-05-23). On Abstract Play since 2025-06-10.