Rulebook

SECTION 1: THE BASICS Welcome to Taiji: Mountains & Seas, a strategic two-player card game inspired by Chinese mythology, theology, and culture. Embark on a journey through ancient legends, commanding deities, creatures, ancient humans, and legendary artifacts to defeat your opponent. Balance the forces of Yīn ● and Yáng ●, harness Taiji, navigate the realms of the Dì Yù [dee you] (lit. the Underworld) to achieve victory. This game is based on the Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经); ancient Chinese records filled with descriptions of fantastic landscapes, mythical creatures, and ancient legends, serving as one of the earliest sources of Chinese mythology and cosmology. QÌ ACCUMULATION AND TAIJI MECHANICS To build your army and play cards, you will need to harness Qì: Yīn and Yáng - a shared source of energy placed between the two players. At the beginning of the game, place the Taiji coin on the board and toss it to determine which side -Yīn or Yáng - faces up. Taiji has a global impact on the game and can be flipped by players using certain cards and abilities. It can also be used as Qì. Some cards have effects that are boosted or diminished depending on Taiji's current state, so consider Taiji control when developing your deck strategy. Qì Accumulation: • First Turn: No additional Qì is placed on the board. • Second Turn: Place one Qì card on the board, which is the opposite of Taiji's starting state. • For example, if Taiji started as Yáng, place a Yīn card. • Subsequent Turns: At the beginning of each turn, add one additional Qì card, alternating between Yīn and Yáng, regardless of Taiji's current state. • Maximum Qì Limit: Continue this pattern until there are a total of 10 Qì cards on the board. After reaching 10 Qì, no additional Qì is added in future turns. NB: The addition of Qì cards follows a set pattern and is independent of Taiji's state after the initial placement. Players must strategically manage the available Qì. In the example below, it is turn 5 and Taiji started in the Yīn ● state. On turn 6, Yáng ● will be placed on the board: 5th 3rd 2nd 4th Yīn Yīn TAIJI Yáng Yáng ACCESSING QÌ At the beginning of each players turn, all Qì (including Taiji) are returned to the central state. When in the centre, only the Active Player has access to them. To utilise Qì, the player must Shift it toward their opponent (see example below). Once Shifted toward the opponent, the opponent now has access to that Qì.