Gameplay

Gameplay panel

Everything under gameplay.<format> except sections (its own panel — see Sections & layout): the starting hand, how turns flow, tokens, and what's on the board before the first turn.

S stringN numberB boolean[] array{} object

Reminder: the name link

gameplay.<format> must be named exactly like the gameplay value used in a deckBuilding.formats[] entry — that's what connects a deck-building format to the rules on this page.

General settings

Match-wide settings that sit directly under a format's gameplay block, alongside mulligan/newTurn/sections.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
defaultNotes	S	optional	Default text pre-filled in each player's notes panel, e.g. to track life totals by name.	"Player1: 0\nPlayer2: 0"
countersStartingValues	[]	optional	Starting values for the player counters shown on screen (e.g. life total), one entry per counter.	[40, 0]
hideFacedDownCards	B	optional	If true, cards placed face-down are shown as hidden even to their owner (not just to the opponent).	true
cardRotation	N	optional	Overrides the top-level cardRotation for this format only.	90

Mulligan

The starting hand and the full mulligan procedure. Only startingHandSize is required — skip postMulligan entirely if you don't need a second step.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
startingHandSize	N	required	Number of cards drawn for the opening hand.	7
triggeredByButton	B	optional	If true, the mulligan panel doesn't appear automatically — the player opens it later with a button, whenever they're ready.	true
mulliganCount.min / max	N	optional	How many times a player may mulligan. If max is 0, the starting hand is drawn directly without ever showing the mulligan panel.	{ "max": 1 }
mulliganCycle.info	S	optional	Help text shown at the top of the mulligan panel.	"Put back as many cards as you want."
mulliganCycle.steps	[]	optional	The action sequence played on each mulligan, in order — pick only the ones you need. possible values:toBottomtoTopdrawshuffleapplyPenalty	["toBottom", "draw"]
mulliganCycle.selectionRange.min / max	N	optional	How many cards the player must select. If max is greater than the hand size, the whole hand is mulliganed at once with no card-by-card selection.	{ "min": 7 }
mulliganCycle.keepCardsOrder	B	optional	Should cards go back into the deck in the order the player clicked them?	false
postMulligan.minMulligansToTrigger	N	optional	Number of mulligans after which this second step activates.	2
postMulligan.info	S	optional	Help text shown at the top of this second step.	"Put back your remaining extra cards."
postMulligan.steps	[]	optional	Same step values as mulliganCycle.steps, run as this second step. possible values:toBottomtoTopdrawshuffleapplyPenalty	["toBottom"]
postMulligan.selectionRange.min / max	N	optional	Same as mulliganCycle.selectionRange, for this second step.	{ "min": 0, "max": 7 }
postMulligan.keepCardsOrder	B	optional	Same as mulliganCycle.keepCardsOrder, for this second step.	true

"mulligan": {
  "startingHandSize": 7,
  "mulliganCount": { "max": 1 },
  "mulliganCycle": {
    "steps": ["toBottom", "draw"],
    "selectionRange": { "min": 7 }
  }
}

New turn

How turns are structured.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
drawOnStart	B	required	Does the active player draw automatically at the start of their turn?	true
drawPerTurn	N	optional	Number of cards drawn at the start of turn, when drawOnStart is true.	2
sharedTurn	B	optional	Do all players act at the same time (true) or one after another (false)?	false
turnOrder	S	optional	Who plays next when a player ends their turn. possible values:defaultteamsAlternatingteamsSimultaneous	"teamsAlternating"
firstPlayerTokenName	S	optional	Name of a token (from tokens[]) that marks which player currently has priority/initiative.	"Initiative"

Teams

Adding a teams object turns a 4-player room into 2v2: the first two players to join become a team against the other two, and the board automatically switches to the 2v2 layout.

Enables 2v2: the first two players in the room become one team against the other two. Adding this object automatically switches the board to the 2v2 layout.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
sharedPlayerCounter	B	optional	If true, both teammates share a single counter (e.g. one team life total) instead of having one each.	true
placement	S	optional	How teammates are seated relative to each other. possible values:sameSidediagonal	"diagonal"
cardsVisibleToTeam	B	optional	If true, your cards are also visible to your teammate (not just to you).	true

"teams": {
  "placement": "diagonal",
  "cardsVisibleToTeam": true
},
"newTurn": {
  "turnOrder": "teamsAlternating"
}

Tokens

Two arrays that are easy to mix up, because they're both called "tokens" — the difference is what they're attached to:

tokens vs draggableTokens

• tokens belong to a player — e.g. "who currently has the Monarch". Never attached to a card.
• draggableTokens belong to a card — dragged onto one specific card as a marker (a shield, a damage counter). Never held by a player directly.

Tokens held by a PLAYER, not attached to any card — e.g. "who currently has the Monarch". Shown once per player, generally unique on the board.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
name	S	required	Token name.	"Monarch"
image	S	required	Token image URL.	"https://example.com/monarch.png"
isUnique	B	optional	Can only one instance of this token exist on the board?	true
leavesAtEndOfTurn	B	optional	Is the token automatically removed at end of turn?	false

Tokens a player drags ONTO A CARD (not held by the player directly) — e.g. a damage counter or a shield marker attached to one specific card. Unlimited quantity, one card can carry several. Each id must be unique.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
id	S	required	Unique identifier for this token type.	"Shield"
name	S	required	Display name.	"Shield"
image	S	required	Token image URL.	"https://example.com/shield.png"

Initial board setup

Some games deal cards automatically before the first turn — face-down prize cards, a starting board state, and so on. That's beforeGameStart.initialBoardSetup: an array of actions, each either drawing from a pile or creating a specific card directly.

Automates dealing cards before the first turn. Use either drawFromTop OR createCardId per entry, not both. Either a single array applied to every player, or an object keyed by player index ("0", "1"...) for setups that differ per seat.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
drawFromTop	S	optional	Draws from the top of a deck-like source. Currently only "Deck" is supported for the main deck; some games also reference a custom extra-deck section name here.	"Deck"
createCardId	S	optional	Alternative to drawFromTop: creates a specific card (by id from your cards.json) or token directly, instead of drawing one from a pile.	"cardId123"
count	N	required	Number of cards to move or create.	3
destination	S	required	Target section name (must exist in sectionsDict).	"Prize_1"
overrideState	{}	optional	State to force on the resulting cards, e.g. tapped or hidden.	{ "isHidden": "yes", "isTapped": true }
waitForPlayerTurn	B	optional	Delays this setup action until it's actually that player's turn, instead of running it immediately at game start.	true

"beforeGameStart": {
  "initialBoardSetup": [
    { "drawFromTop": "Deck", "count": 3, "destination": "Prize_1" },
    { "drawFromTop": "Deck", "count": 3, "destination": "Prize_2" }
  ]
}

Different setup per seat

initialBoardSetup can also be an object keyed by player index instead of a flat array — { "0": [...], "1": [...] } — when the two seats need different starting boards. Combine with waitForPlayerTurn to delay one seat's setup until it's actually their turn.

Advanced setup options

For games with a pre-match step beyond simple dealing — picking a Leader, choosing what goes to the sideboard, letting players decide who starts:

Sit alongside initialBoardSetup, directly under beforeGameStart.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
boardCategoriesInSideboard	[]	optional	Deck categories that start in the sideboard rather than the main deck, before any board setup runs.	["Leaders", "Bases"]
boardCardSelection	[]	optional	Prompts the player to pick cards from a category before the match starts — see "boardCardSelection[] entry" below.	[ { "category": "LEADERS_DUO", "min": 2, "max": 2 } ]
chooseAnotherStartingPlayer	B	optional	If true, lets players choose who goes first instead of it being random.	true

One category the player must pick from before the match starts.

Field	Type	Required	Description	Example
category	S	required	Deck category to pick from.	"LEADERS_DUO"
min / max	N	required	How many cards the player must select from this category.	{ "min": 2, "max": 2 }
unselectedDestination	S	optional	Where the cards NOT picked go — e.g. a hidden exile zone.	"ExileHidden"

"beforeGameStart": {
  "boardCategoriesInSideboard": ["Leaders", "Bases"],
  "boardCardSelection": [
    { "category": "LEADERS_DUO", "min": 2, "max": 2, "unselectedDestination": "ExileHidden" }
  ],
  "chooseAnotherStartingPlayer": true
}

Continue with Sections & layout → — where the board itself gets built.