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an original card game · designed by benedict frimpong boateng · 2026

ZERO

The Architect's Edition, a game of controlled chaos

Seven seats. Twelve laws. No luck. A psychological card game where information is a weapon, every alliance creates debt, and the winner decided the outcome before the first card was drawn.

max players
7
laws
12
special cards
6
wild types
4
token tiers
3

the project

what i made

ZERO is a card game built to reward reading people instead of luck.

I designed the full ruleset, six new special cards, a reworked deck with its own suit names, and an influence token economy that makes power visible to the whole table. Then I built the brand around it: a dark, classified-file look in black, gold and crimson, plus card faces, group artwork for the players and a website to teach the rules.

I'm now taking it toward a printed edition in Ghana, with the intellectual property protected first.

game design, rules writing, brand identity, web design, claude code, vercel

Core philosophy

Most shedding card games are luck disguised as skill. ZERO strips away the disguise. Information asymmetry is weaponised. Alliances are permitted, and punished. Every act of cooperation leaves a debt. Every act of aggression leaves a scar. The winner is not the fastest, nor the luckiest, but the one who made everyone else believe they had a chance.

Seven players maximum. Any more and the web becomes unmanageable. Any fewer and there is no web to weave.

the ruleset

twelve laws

Twelve laws sit on top of a classic four-colour deck. Here's what each one does to the table. The full rulebook comes with the printed edition.

ISetupbefore the first card

  1. The Silent Auction

    What you give up at the start comes back to haunt you.

    psychology

  2. The Seating Tribunal

    Where you sit is earned, not random.

    information

  3. The Open Ledger

    Everyone's influence is on show. Poverty and power are both visible.

    power

IICore lawsduring play

  1. The Debt Clause

    Every favour creates a debt, and debts get called in at the worst moment.

    psychology

  2. The Silence Tax

    Talking out of turn costs you. One player is exempt.

    punishment

  3. The Veto

    The table can band together to stop a player who's about to win.

    chaos

  4. The Dossier

    Influence can buy a look at the future.

    information

  5. The Kingmaker Clause

    Being knocked out doesn't mean you stop playing.

    power

  6. The Confession

    After every round, the table names who manipulated it most.

    psychology

IIIVictoryhow it ends

  1. Standard Victory

    Empty your hand, and don't forget to say the word.

    power

  2. The Phantom Victory

    A secret path to winning that plays out across sessions.

    information

  3. The Architect's Exemption

    Win enough and you get to rewrite the rules.

    psychology

the Ω arsenal

six new cards

Two of each are shuffled into the deck.

EquilibriumEvery hand is made equal to the largest in play. The leader's advantage is erased.
SacrificeAvoid any effect aimed at you and pass it to a player of your choice. Draw 1 as the cost.
MirrorCopy the last special card played and aim it at a new target. Plays on any colour.
NullifyCancel the card played just before this one. It never happened, and that player loses their turn.
TribunalEveryone votes: one player draws 3. A tie goes to the Architect. Plays on any colour.
ChainPlay this, then any other card from your hand straight away. Once per hand.

the deck

the full system

Four renamed suits

Numbers 0 to 9, plus Reverse, Skip and Draw Two in each.

  • Crimsonthe crimson directive
  • Coldthe cold calculation
  • Silentthe patient accumulation
  • Gildedthe gilded distraction

Influence tokens

A three-tier currency that powers the Veto, the Dossier and the Confession. Holdings are always on show, so the whole table can see who is rich and who is desperate.

  • Void influence token, worth 1

    Void

    tier I, worth 1

  • Gold influence token, worth 3

    Gold

    tier II, worth 3

  • Crimson influence token, worth 5

    Crimson

    tier III, worth 5

Four wild types

WildDeclare any colour. The simplest form of control.
Wild Draw 4Declare a colour. The next player draws 4 and loses their turn.
Wild ZeroDeclare any colour and invoke one Ω special card's effect of your choice.
Wild SurgeDeclare a colour. Every other player draws 1.

The reverse face

Every card shares one back: the Ω mark of the Architect on a gold-lined black field.

Closing doctrine

There is no luck in ZERO. The rules are not a cage. They are a map, and only some players know how to read maps.

Want the full rules, a playtest, or to publish or stock ZERO? get in touch.