| The Deck | CoCo Scale |
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| Gnomon is a new card deck
intended to expand the relations between cards and the opportunities for
different games. Three different main characteristics, three options in
each, with cards consisting of single options and a combination of
three, plus True/False cards that can be used in multiple ways (as
scorekeepers, for instance.) The deck is intended to be visually
appealing while easy to distinguish differing cards at a glance, even by
only the margins. While many games are provided, players are encouraged
to create their own variations or entirely new games. The provided games are also rated for their cooperative or competitive aspects, from whole-family participation towards a common goal to cutthroat eliminations, making it easy to select what you want from a game. |
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What's different about the Gnomon deck?It's three-dimensional, or cubed - three levels of three. This means there are options to match (or block) other cards in multiple directions, which widens the opportunities for games.In the example photo at right, none of the cards in the hand connect to either of the other cards - none of the characteristics match. But one card in this hand (at least) will connect to any other Complete (three characteristic, like those in this hand) that can be played, as well as any Single card. Chances are you won't be dealt a hand that's this evenly distributed, though. Not all games will have hands of Complete cards like these - some use the Singles (one characteristic) as playable cards, to be matched with (pitted against) any Complete that has that characteristic, or the same Single. The True and False cards also serve to distinguish acceptable plays, or matchable characteristics, or simply as scorekeepers - some games use them all, some use only a few, some use none at all. You can see all of the cards in the deck at this page. |
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What's the "CoCo Scale"?In short, it describes where the game falls on the cooperation to competition spectrum, from positive 4 (most cooperative) to negative 4 (most competitive.) You can read about it in greater detail here. |  |
How do I get a deck?At the moment, the Gnomon deck is in the development and playtesting stage - retail sales are not available just yet. We plan to remedy this as soon as humanly possible, and the news will appear on this site, or you can join our mailing list on this page.If you've received a deck as a promotion or playtester, you can find rules for various games on this page (updated as we go.) We will be at Unpub '25, the annual convention of the Unpublished Games Network, held at the BWI Airport Marriott in Linthicum, Maryland from March 27-30, 2025. We will have a table on Friday from 5 to 9 PM and Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM - we'd be delighted to see you there! Come by to playtest in person, ask questions, make suggestions, kibbitz, or shower us with praise - we're easy. Gnomon was created by Dan Palmer with assistance from Al Denelsbeck, and to date, Dan has created all of the games (with many more not yet written out for the site.) Their bios are here. |
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