Cactus Game Design Message Boards

Search
Last Updated: 8/23/2016 (v4.0.0)
Released: 7/26/2011

General Description
A search ability allows a player to view a deck, discard pile, or Artifact Pile to perform an action with a specific card or set of cards.

How to Play
A search ability targets the deck, discard pile, or Artifact pile viewed by the player who used the ability, as well as the card(s) that the player performs the action with.
A search ability targets the set of cards that are to be searched.
A search ability is instantaneous.

Default Conditions
● When a deck is searched, shuffle the deck after the search.
● If a search ability states what to search “for” but does not say what to do with that card, then the card should be taken into the player’s hand.

Special Conditions
● If a search ability targets a specific type of card, reveal the targeted card before performing any other action with that card.
● Regardless of whether a search is mandatory or optional, a player has the choice to fail any search they control, and is not required to select a valid target, even if one exists. However, if a search of deck is mandatory, or an optional search of deck is performed, the player is considered to have “used” a search ability and the deck must still be shuffled.

Clarifications
● An ability that targets a card in a deck, discard pile, or Artifact Pile that is not in a specific location in that pile, includes a search ability of the pile for the target.

Clarifying any ability that targets a non-view-able location does so with a separate Search Ability