# Break the Grid — Compact Card Deck **Prototype module:** 16 neutral cards **Status:** ready for paper playtesting; balance values are provisional **Relationship to legacy deck:** this is a new, compact Loptr Lab module. It does not replace or silently revise the archived 52-card Veiled Dominion dice/card/chess system. ## Design purpose The deck makes the project's central choice tangible: a player can use a fast response that moves the immediate problem, or invest Support in a change that reduces the pressure produced by the system. In the Chris-driven hypothesis, the Voice and Connection cards also test candid speech, crew response, independent choice, and accountability for consequences. Every card offers two paths: - **Immediate response** — free or inexpensive, useful now, but may transfer or increase pressure. - **Collective change** — costs Support or cooperation and changes the shared environment. Neither path is treated as a diagnosis or a measure of the player. The deck uses no lyrics, track titles, artist likenesses, or artist-assigned character classes. ## Setup 1. Print or copy the 16 cards below. 2. Shuffle them into one face-down deck. 3. Deal one card to each player. 4. At the start of each turn, draw one card. Hand limit: three. 5. A player may play one card instead of taking a normal action. 6. Choose exactly one of the card's two paths, resolve it, and discard the card. 7. When the deck is empty, reshuffle the discard pile once. If it empties again, continue without cards. For the first test, use this deck with two players. Do not add the archived War Hand, suit hierarchy, or dice-confirmation rules. ## Boundary cards ### B1 — Closed Door **Immediate response:** Contain any piece in your quadrant. Its controller gains 1 Tension. **Collective change:** Spend 2 Support collectively. Remove one wall restriction until the end of the round and reduce System Pressure by 1. ### B2 — No Safe Exit **Immediate response:** Move one of your pieces to any empty square in your quadrant; gain 1 Tension. **Collective change:** Spend 2 Support collectively. Mark one empty outer square as Safe until the end of the game. ### B3 — Forced Pace **Immediate response:** Take a second Move action; then gain 2 Tension. **Collective change:** Spend 1 Support. Every player may move one piece one square toward a Safe square without gaining Tension. ### B4 — Rule Without Appeal **Immediate response:** Cancel another player's non-card action; raise System Pressure by 1. **Collective change:** You and another player each contribute 1 Support. Cancel one phase restriction for everyone until the end of the round. ## Connection cards ### C1 — Check In **Immediate response:** Reduce another player's Tension by 1. **Collective change:** Spend 1 Support. Reduce two different players' Tension by 1 and lower System Pressure by 1 if both consent. ### C2 — Peer Relay **Immediate response:** Give one card from your hand to another player and draw one card. **Collective change:** Two players each discard one card. Create 2 Support and divide it between them. ### C3 — Shared Pause **Immediate response:** Skip your movement and gain 1 Support; also gain 1 Tension. **Collective change:** Spend 2 Support collectively. No player gains Tension from Mask or an obstructed path this round. ### C4 — Accompaniment **Immediate response:** Move beside another player's piece. Neither piece can be Contained until your next turn. **Collective change:** Spend 1 Support. Move one Ensnared piece to an adjacent legal square with its controller's consent. ## Resource cards ### R1 — Safe Room **Immediate response:** Protect one square from an Outburst until your next turn. **Collective change:** Spend 2 Support collectively. Remove one Trauma token and make that square Safe. ### R2 — Ride Home **Immediate response:** Move your piece from the Void to the nearest legal outer square; gain 1 Tension. **Collective change:** Spend 2 Support collectively. Move any consenting player's Ensnared piece to a Safe outer square and reduce their Tension by 1. ### R3 — Flexible Fund **Immediate response:** Gain 2 Support; raise System Pressure by 1. **Collective change:** Place this card beneath a locked Care card. Its collective cost is reduced by 1 for the rest of the game. ### R4 — Creative Outlet **Immediate response:** Remove 2 of your Tension, then place one card from your hand on the bottom of the deck. **Collective change:** Spend 1 Support. Until the end of the round, every player who Masks gains 1 Support without gaining Tension. ## Voice cards ### V1 — Name the Rule **Immediate response:** Look at the top three cards; keep one and return the others in any order. **Collective change:** Spend 1 Support. Identify one active rule that created Tension this round; suspend it until the round ends. ### V2 — Refuse Safely **Immediate response:** Decline a Contain, forced move, or card effect targeting you. Gain 1 Tension. **Collective change:** You and one supporting player each spend 1 Support. Cancel the effect without either player gaining Tension. ### V3 — Rewrite One Rule **Immediate response:** Convert one of your Tension into 1 Support. **Collective change:** Spend 3 Support collectively. Choose one rule from Closed Grid or Creeping Web and replace it with a table-agreed rule for the remainder of the game. ### V4 — Public Record **Immediate response:** Place this card face up. The next time System Pressure would rise, record its cause and prevent 1 point of that increase. **Collective change:** Each player may contribute 1 Support. For every 2 Support contributed, remove 1 System Pressure. After the game, add the named cause to the debrief. ## Accessibility requirements - Identify cards by code, title, category word, and text—not color alone. - Use at least 12-point text for printed prototypes. - Keep Immediate Response and Collective Change in the same location on every card. - Read a card aloud on request; do not require players to explain why they choose a path. - Allow a player to decline, exchange, or discard a card without penalty if its prompt is uncomfortable. - Do not record which cards an individual chooses as mental-health or personality data. ## First playtest questions 1. Did the cards create meaningful choices without obscuring the board game? 2. Were Immediate Responses useful without becoming obviously “wrong” choices? 3. Were Collective Change costs achievable before System Collapse? 4. Which card caused ambiguity, excessive delay, or unwanted emotional pressure? 5. Did any card undermine consent? 6. Should the final deck contain 12, 16, or 20 cards? Use [BREAK-THE-GRID-DECK.html](BREAK-THE-GRID-DECK.html) as the printable review sheet.