How to Understand and Play The Fool’s Journey: Part 1
Dive into the first part of a guide about how to play The Fool’s Journey with the help of the amazing Golden Girls.
Ages ago, I promised to explain how to play my favorite Tarot-based game, The Fool’s Journey. The rules can take some time to digest, and I was waiting for the perfect moment to put this explanation together. Well, guess what arrived recently?! My love of the Golden Girls is well-known. Throw in a themed Tarot deck, and we’re ready to go!
A Breakdown of the Cards
In order to understand this guide, you don’t need to have read the rules yet. Hopefully, taking it slowly will make everything easy enough to grasp. My way of teaching might not be better than the rulebook, though, so feel free to use any resources in whatever way works best for you! But at the very least, the uses of the cards need to be understood.
A Tarot deck includes a total of 78 individual cards. All are used in the following ways with this game:
- Major Arcana: Of the 22 cards, the Fool is removed to act as the character, while the others are the challenges.
- Minor Arcana: These 56 cards are split into 4 suits of 14 cards each, where each suit has its own purpose.
- Aces: The 4 aces from the minor arcana have a unique ability to clear the currently drawn cards.
- Face Cards: These 16 minor arcana cards act as multipliers for their respective suits, except for the pentacles.
No worries if this all sounds like a lot! Everything is covered in detail below. The important thing is to understand the different “buckets” these cards fall into at this point. Now, to slowly explore these elements in more depth.
On the Lanai
Alright. Maybe this entry would have been done sooner had I not spent so much time looking at every card!
Tarot decks are interesting things. The artwork and theme are very subjective. What I like is definitely not the same as what you like! However, this deck felt right.
It uses recognizable elements with a good deal of humor. A few cards missed the mark a little bit with me, though I can’t really complain. They’re my favorite ladies!
The way the suits were split up also seemed like an excellent way to explain these rules. To the lanai! Or table.
The Suit of Cups
What a perfect representation of this suit! The cups are all about restoring lost vitality, which is the equivalent of hit points. In other words, these are the healing cards.
Just picture happy Rose offering up a slice of cheesecake! That’s all you really need to know. Delicious!
The values of the cards represent the level of healing. The Nine of Cups would restore 9 vitality points, capped by the maximum starting vitality. Not too complicated, I hope.
Vitality is lost when facing the challenges of the major arcana. We’ll cover that in a little bit! Cups = Healing/Aid.
The Suit of Wands
Good ol’ Sophia! This is the best outfit of all time. Ha! Things can get confusing when it comes to the wands and swords, so I’ll try to be as clear as I can be.
The wands may be used to overcome challenges. Every challenge has a value, which must be equaled or exceeded.
The Seven of Wands could immediately overcome the major arcana cards 1-7. I’ll save more complicated examples for a little later on. It’s the value that matters.
Just remember Sophia in this fighting position! Wands are very versatile and pliable. Wands = Flexible/Strong Power.
The Suit of Swords
Watch out for Dorothy and those weapons! As expected, the swords are used to overcome challenges. The value is extremely important, although this is a recurring theme.
The Five of Swords could immediately overcome the major arcana cards 1-5. As with the suit of wands, more complex examples will follow. Just remember those values!
So, then, what’s the difference between wands and swords? That’s an explanation for a little further on.
However, think of the solid and inflexible nature of swords themselves. Swords = Fixed/Delicate Power.
Wait, How Do Wands and Swords Differ?!
I know! It may sound like I’m overlooking this important difference at the moment. But this might be the most complicated part of the rules. My understanding of these concepts only came after a few dozen plays. Maybe it’s obvious to others, yet I really struggled with it. Believe me: This topic isn’t over yet!
For those who want to know now, it comes down to reusability. Let’s take the cards from above: The Seven of Wands and the Five of Swords. Pretend there’s a single challenge to overcome: The Magician, with a value of 1.
- Wands: Being pliable, the Magician would only reduce the total power by its value. 7-1 = 6.
- Swords: Being fixed, the Magician would immediately break the card, regardless of the difference in values.
Effectively, the Seven of Wands is now reduced to a Six of Wands, and the Five of Swords would be discarded from play as a one-use card. I’ll focus on this concept a lot with actual examples, so no worries if it doesn’t make total sense yet!
The Suit of Pentacles
Although not always known as being the wisest of the bunch, Blanche certainly knows her stuff! The pentacles represent wisdom in all forms.
Enter the new concept of wisdom. Perhaps this isn’t the easiest way to understand this suit, though.
The pentacles can also be seen as a currency. These cards help hire specialists from the other suits. Values here make no difference: A 2 or 10 is exactly the same.
Other concepts surround wisdom, but that’s another story for a little later on. Pentacles = Wisdom/Currency.
Special Cards
Everything covered so far applies to the 2-10 of each suit. The aces and “faces” are special sorts of cards with their own abilities, as follows:
- Aces: Clear the play area and shuffle the deck.
- Faces: Double the card value of the matching suit.
Only the pentacles are different because their faces act exactly like the 2-10 cards. The ace is still unique, though.
The faces are the specialists I mentioned above. A pentacle card must be discarded in order to put a face in play. There are additional rules and exceptions… All in good time!
Challenges Galore
Almost every major arcana card represents a challenge that must be overcome. This is where a numbered Tarot deck comes in handy! See the Roman numeral here?
The World has a challenge value of 21. In general, wands and swords would be used. Reducing vitality is sort of a last resort option, which can lead to immediate defeat.
The goal of the game is to overcome every challenge before running out of vitality. Not easy… But possible.
Managing these resources is a challenge in and of itself. So, too, is fully understanding these rules!
The Perfect Fool
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce the Fool with a capital “F” who needs no introduction… Rose!
This is the only card in the entire deck that is used for decoration. It serves no purpose, other than to represent the main character of the story.
I sometimes swap out the Fool for a different card. When the Fool comes up in play, I simply “swap” it mentally with the card in front of me. Easy, and more unique!
Some sort of vitality counter is also needed. A die will work, as will glass beads. These looked appropriate!
Putting Everything Together
The gameplay rules are a lot easier to understand if the differences between the cards, particularly the minor arcana suits, are clear. I hope the above information is useful and not confusing! Sometimes, it’s also helpful to think of the cards in terms of a standard dungeon crawl. The following conversions then apply:
- Major Arcana: Equivalent to monsters or obstacles of varying power levels.
- Cups: Continue to represent healing, either in the form of potions or supplies.
- Wands: May be reused like shields that become less effective with more wear.
- Swords: One-use items like brittle weapons that break after a single attack.
- Pentacles: Might be best understood as gold used to recruit temporary helpers.
As I mentioned before, use whatever makes the most sense to you. This is a fantastic game that isn’t overly complicated, but getting the rules right takes a little effort. It was worth it for me! Below is a final overview with reminders about all of the cards. It should be redundant at this point. If not, take another moment to review the details.
Cards: 22
Purpose: Challenges and Character
Card 0, the Fool, is used to visually represent the main character. The rest of the major arcana equates to numerical challenges that must be overcome with swords, wands, and/or vitality. These range in value from 1 to 21.
Cards: 14
Purpose: Healing/Aid
Numerical cups cards 2-10 restore vitality up to the maximum starting value. The Ace of Cups may clear the play area and shuffle the deck, like other aces. All “faces” represent specialists that may double other cups cards.
Cards: 14
Purpose: Flexible/Strong Power
Numerical wands cards 2-10 reduce challenges and may be reused if not depleted. The Ace of Wands may clear the play area and shuffle the deck, like other aces. All “faces” represent specialists that may double other wands cards.
Cards: 14
Purpose: Fixed/Delicate Power
Numerical swords cards 2-10 reduce challenges as one-use cards. The Ace of Swords may clear the play area and shuffle the deck, like other aces. All “faces” represent specialists that may double other swords cards.
Cards: 14
Purpose: Wisdom/Currency
Numerical pentacles cards 2-10 act as currency to hire specialists of other suits. The Ace of Pentacles may clear the play area and shuffle the deck, like other aces. All “faces” are the same as cards 2-10 since the value doesn’t matter.
Continue the Conversation
How well does this guide help explain some of the concepts in The Fool’s Journey? The next installment will provide gameplay examples to show how all of the cards are used. With any luck, you’ll be a master in no time! What are some other elements you’re particularly interested to learn about? Stay tuned for more Golden Girls fun!
I’m convinced this game can be played with my Tarot deck because others have played it. I am not convinced the rules can be figured out from the rules supplied on BGG. This might be the worse rulebook I have ever read and there is little support or playthroughs available.
I end up with more questions when I try to play through:
1. How do you play if the deck gives you all challenges and no Wands or Sword to equip?
2. Can you “fight” or “defend” from the Adventure field – or must you equip first.
3. The Wands vs. Swords – you have clearified that – thanks! (not a question, I know.)
4. If your adventure Field does not allow any play – do you just discard it all?
5. If your adventure field plays some – do you discard the remainder?
These questions come up almost turn one – and the rules start with a gameplay scenario that already has some cards equipped. arghh.
I understand your frustration. The concept is excellent and gameplay turned out to be really enjoyable for me… But only after around 10-20 plays after I played some things incorrectly. Let’s see if I can provide some insight and answer your questions!
1. This is one of those awful situations where losing immediately is possible. It’s happened to me rarely, but it’s not impossible. Remember that you only resolve 3 of 4 cards each turn, which might allow you to survive! You can also face a challenge by directly losing vitality. Depending on the challenges, you might survive… Or it might be time to reshuffle and start over.
2. You must equip cards in order to use them. The second part of this guide might provide clearer examples. You have exactly 1 slot for Wands, and 1 slot for Swords. They’re used up a little differently, but you will always need to use what’s equipped before equipping another card.
3. Awesome! Glad I could clear that up a bit, because the differences between them can be confusing.
4. Remember that you only play 3 of 4 cards every turn, and you also have a satchel to store up to 3 non-challenge cards, plus an area to keep up to 3 pentacles cards. If everything is full and you don’t want to equip anything else, you’ll discard until the play area has exactly 1 card remaining.
5. This is similar to the above answer. In a nutshell, you’ll do everything you can: Equip, store, overcome challenges, etc. When you come to a point where you have 2+ cards in the play area and have done everything you can (or want to do), then you’ll discard until the play area has exactly 1 card remaining.
Hopefully, that clears a few things up for you! I hope to have another section of this guide out during the week to provide some more insights about how to play. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions, or need any more clarity in regards to this list. Thanks, and good luck playing!
Yeah. Slowly getting a clear picture. I have notes all over the rule. I see nowhere in the rule the three card rule to replenish – but MUST, SHALL, etc. can often confuse this artistic mind of mine.
Equipped cards in the Satchel only count as 1 card for the 3 card max – accroding to BBG response from designer.
Overages are also confusing: More than enough Strength/Armor? What happens? More than enough Volition/Attack? What happens? I assume that sword overages get saved for later Challenges.
I’m with you about the terms – in the rules they are poorly defined and there is three or more ways used to clearify/obscure – Batons(Wands)/Strength – Swords/Volition(will?) – Coins/Wisdom – Cups/VItality.
Thanks for the response – I’m starting to find your posts to part 2
The terminology can certainly be a bit overwhelming! I’ll have to see what you mean about equipped cards in the satchel. As far as I know, those aren’t classified as equipped… Aside from maybe cups? Or maybe I’ve been playing that wrong all along!
Overages are definitely the most confusing. Wands get reduced by the challenge value. So if a 7 of Wands is used for The Lovers (value 6) it then transforms into a value of 1 of Wands. The tricky part is that you then must use this and can’t discard it to equip a better card. Tricky, tricky!
Swords are used up entirely. So a 7 of Swords would defeat The Lovers (value 6) and be discarded in the process. No remainders may be kept. I’ll cover this concept in more detail with the next part of the guide, though!
You’re very welcome, and I hope this round of answers helps some more! Feel free to keep asking away!
Thank you, thank you!! I’ve been hesitating and avoiding attempts to try this game because I don’t know the tarot deck and I didn’t understand the rules sheet despite his numerous examples and details. Also I suspect I bought a deck that was beautiful but I didn’t like it enough. I’m about to open one I got from Amazon called Light Seekers deck that might be good. I’ve only bought these tarot decks just for this game so I’m determined to figure it out and play!
I hope this helps you out a lot, Marita! I’ve found that decks are really subjective. My collection is extremely small, even after looking at decks for over 10 years. If you have any questions along the way, ask away. Enjoy!