Here are just a few of the photos that were submitted from around the world to gain access to the NoGame community. I wanted to share these as I found it fascinating to see how people laid out the same sequence in different ways, some of them are very unique and this may help inspire us for creating games.

NOTE: The terminology used to describe cards in these instructions refers to the NoGame - Knowledge Base (NG-KB V1.00) Nomino Created by Sam Smith and Jessica Arévalo Game Type Layout Age 5+ Play with 1 or more full NoGame Decks 2 or more players Objective To be the first player to discard all cards from their hand. Introduction Let's not beat around the bush: Nomino is a lot like Domino; but, because NoGame cards are used it has its own dynamics. If you are new to the NoGame deck, this is a great place to start getting comfortable with the structure, sequence and design. It’s a fun game for all the family that sometimes requires a lot of space to play, as, at least in theory, it could go on infinitely. The Deal 5 cards are dealt from a shuffled deck, face-down, to each of the players. The remaining cards are placed face-down somewhere on the table—this will be the draw pile. It will be important to consider where to place the draw pile as the game can quickly take over the table’s space. To further emphasise how important space will be for the game, also note that the game will be played only within the constraints of the table. Once the draw pile has been placed, the Dealer will then overturn its top card and place it somewhere on the table—it’s the Dealer’s choice and it can be a very strategic one, too. The Game Any obstacle on the table (be it coffee cups, beer bottles, table lamp or snack bowl)—including the draw pile—cannot be moved once the game begins. They instead become part of the topography of the game area and will have to be navigated around. Each player places one card on the table per turn. There are two ways to do this: a player can either use a card from their hand that is next or previous in Scale (sequence) to the overturned card on the table or use a card from their hand that shares the same Note as the card on the table. The placement of that card can be made adjacent to any of the four available sides of the overturned card on the table with some exceptions. This placement then has a “Domino Effect” on subsequent cards to be played as all cards directly adjacent to one another must at all times be in Scale or have matching Notes; and, in the case of Solid or Split Cards, they must match by type ie., two or more Solid Cards can be placed adjacent to each other, etc. If a player doesn’t have a card in their hand that matches any of the rules above, they must draw a card from the draw pile and forfeit their turn. This also indicates the start of the next player’s turn. There should always be space on which to place a card without support. Therefore, when a card reaches the edge of the table, the side which borders the edge is no longer in play. As more cards go down, the smaller the space becomes on which to place new cards and the fewer options there are to place cards adjacent to ones already on the table, especially with one deck. The game must be played within the constraints of the table. Exceptions If a player has a Harmonic Scale in their hand, they can discard all of it in one go (no minimum required). It is also possible to place down 3 cards in one go if they share the same Note. Note that the orientation and position of Transition Cards matters. The side of the Transition Card to be placed adjacent to a Phase Card must be in Scale ie, match its Note (see examples below). If a Transition Card is placed above or below the correct card, its position determines what cards can be placed laterally beside it. Quantum Cards Split Cards and Solid Cards should always be placed in Scale (sequence) or adjacent to a card of its type. Split and Solid Cards do not serve any special function. Double Back Cards, on the other hand, can be used anywhere and at any time during a player’s turn. A Double Back card can be picked up by a player who has a card in their hand that can replace it—this must be done at the start of their turn. However, a Double Back card can be blocked quickly so action on this should be timely. A Double Back Card cannot be one of the cards with which a player ends the game. Blocking Part of the strategy of this game is to block other players’ placement opportunities by creating dead zones where no cards can be placed. However, playing with multiple decks makes dead zones less likely. End The first player to discard all cards from their hand wins the game. Variants Variations are being developed of Nomino so please watch this space.

NOTE: The terminology used to describe cards in these instructions refers to the NoGame - Knowledge Base (NG-KB V1.00) Focus! Created by Sam Smith & Jessica Arévalo Game Type Accumulating High Concentration Age 12+ Play with 1 or more NoGame Decks excluding all Transition, Split and Double Back Cards. 2 or more players Objective To be the first player in possession of all 3 Solid Cards. Introduction For some reason even the standard version of this game is inexplicably hard, and you’ve just got to play it to understand. It reminds me of the Psychological tests where you have to say the colour of the printed word instead of the word. Try it: say the colour of text: RED BLUE GREEN WHITE. For me there is at least a minor hesitation before saying them. So if you throw in to that exercise a competitive element you’ve got yourself a game of Focus! The Deal After assigning the role of Dealer to one of the players, all Transition and Split Cards should be removed from the deck. Further, the 3 Solid Cards should be isolated and placed face-up on the table. Once the remaining cards are shuffled, the Dealer should deal cards face-down, dividing them equally amongst the players. Players should not look at their cards, and while the cards are in their possession, players should keep them facing down. The Game The player to the left of the Dealer begins the game by taking one card from their hand and *lightly* placing it face-up at the centre of the table. Players should then take turns doing the same whilst all keep an eye out for two cards flipped consecutively whose Harmony and Key respectively match. The player to be first in calling out the match by name (Pink!, Yellow! or Green!, for example) or by Harmony (High!, Mid!, Low!) can take possession of the corresponding Solid Card. Note: The name of the match should correspond to the Harmony of the card below. Solid Cards can be lost, however, if an incorrect match is called out or if a match is called out for a Solid Card that the player already possesses. Lost Solid Cards are returned to the table unless an opposing player calls out the correct match and/or if they call out the correct match when not in possession of the corresponding Solid Card. If a player runs out of cards, players still with cards continue discarding. If all players run out of cards the discard pile is shuffled and divided among all players by the Dealer once again. Tips The strategic aspects of this game lie in both keeping track of the Solid Cards each player has so as to steal them when necessary as well as in controlling the pace to the best of each player’s ability, as this tends to confound everyone when the pace is brisk and can benefit a player when the pace is gentle. End The first player to have all 3 Solid Cards in their possession wins. Variant Stagger A version can be played where at a given point, instead of matches being Harmony-Key it is switched to Key-Harmony so that the name of the Key of the card below is what needs to be called out instead of the Harmony. This can be done in a variety of different stages and from experience, the level of difficulty here can be turned up to eleven. If playing multiple rounds of the game, this rule can alternate per round where Round One is played in Harmony-Key and Round Two is played in Key-Harmony. This rule can even alternate between each players’ turn! (This breaks our brain, but go for it you smart pickle, you.)

Hi Everyone, Thanks for joining me on this experiment to create a new culture. I as some of you will know am the artist behind NoGame and along with my wife Jessica Arévalo we have been working on original games based on the NoGame cards. Please get in touch, I will do my best to reply. Thanks again for all the support so far! Sam / Pastel White

NOTE: The terminology used to describe cards in these instructions refers to the NoGame - Knowledge Base (NGKN-V1.00) Force Majeure Created by Sam Smith & Jessica Arévalo Game Type Shedding Age Undetermined Play with 1 full NoGame deck or more 2 or more players Objective To be the first player to successfully discard all cards from their hand. Introduction Force Majeure is a fun game that gives Quantum Cards a disruptive power. Players will either benefit or be frustrated by these disruptions, and their benefit will not always be enjoyed by the player who unleashed it. The game can be played casually with family at the beach or with more strategy amongst well seasoned card players. The Deal After the dealer is determined and the deck has been shuffled, 7 cards are dealt face-down to all players. If playing with 4+ players, either increase the number of decks being played with or reduce the deal to 5 cards when playing with a single deck. The remaining cards are placed face-down on the table to be used as a draw-pile. The top card from the draw-pile is then turned over and placed face-up beside it to be used as a discard pile. At any time, the top card on the discard pile determines the next possible play. This first card cannot be a Quantum Card. The Game The player to the left of the dealer begins the game by trying to place a card from their hand on the discard pile. This card should match the Note on the discard pile or be in Scale (in other words, next or previous within the sequence) regardless of its Harmony or Key. For example: A player can continue discarding so long as all cards are in Scale and share the same Harmony (in this case, if they are in Harmonic Scale). Because of this, a player must indicate to the table when they are done. A player cannot change their mind once they have announced the end of their play and the next player cannot go unless this has been done. *see Fouls below The Harmony can only be changed once per discard pile per turn. Also, this change can only be made with the first card to be discarded on a pile. A Phase Chord (three cards that share the same Phase and Quadrant) can be discarded regardless of the top card on the discard pile. If a player is unable to discard from their hand, they must draw cards from the draw pile until they are able to discard. A player must announce it to the table if they are down to the last card in their hand. *see Fouls blow Cards cannot be picked up from a discard pile(s) for use anywhere else. Force Majeure The Force Majeure element to this game comes in the form of Quantum Cards. That is because these cards, as you will read below, force a player to either split or join discard piles if they are to use them. They come with perks, too, but their overall effect is in disrupting the game. Quantum Cards are composed of Solid, Split and Double Back cards. Quantum Cards can only be used at the start of each player’s turn. Only one Quantum Card can be used per turn. Quantum Cards can be discarded on their own only if they are in Scale. In which case, they lose their ability to split or join a deck. A Double Back card cannot be used as part of a sequence (ie, it is not in Scale). When a Quantum Card is used, a Phase or Transition Card must be discarded on top of it following the rules below. A Double Back card cannot be discarded on its own at any time. Split Cards - These cards create a new discard pile and facilitate more discarding per turn. Because they are made up of two Harmonies, Split Cards also allow a player to introduce a different Harmony into the game. To do this, one of the Harmonies on the Split Card must match the Harmony on at least one other discard pile. The other Harmony on the Split Card must match the Harmony on the Phase or Transition Card to be discarded along with it, although this Phase or Transition Card can contain any Note. Bear in mind that a new discard pile must be created when using a Split Card, unless the Split Card is in Scale or matches a Split Card already on a discard pile. Solid Cards - These cards join discard piles together to limit the amount of discarding per turn. Because they are made up of a single Harmony, Solid Cards also allow a player to change the Note on a discard pile that better suits their hand. To do this, the Harmonies of all three cards must match: in other words, the Harmony of the discard pile, the Harmony of the Solid Card and the Harmony of the Phase or Transition Card to be used along with it must all be the same. Bear in mind that two discard piles must be joined when using a Solid Card, unless the Solid Card is in Scale. This means that if there is a single discard pile, a Solid Card cannot be used unless it follows the sequence or is going on top of another Solid Card. Double Back Card - This card must be used as a Split or a Solid Card, which is to say, it must either: create 2 new discard piles when there is only one discard pile on the table or, join all discard piles together if there are 2 or more discard piles on the table. However, the Phase or Transition Card to be used along with it does not need to match the Harmony on any discard pile. A Double Back Card cannot be used in Scale. There is no limit to how many discard piles there can be; but, there must always be at least one discard pile at any time. Fouls If a player takes their turn before the previous player has announced the end of their play, they are penalised by having to receive one card from each of the other players, unless one or more of the other players are down to their last card. If a player discards their last card without having announced it beforehand, they are penalised by having to receive one card from each of the other players, unless one or more of the other players are down to their last card. End The first player to discard all cards in their hand becomes the winner. A game cannot end with the use of any Quantum Card unless they are in Scale. Double Back cards cannot end a game. A player’s last card cannot be discarded on a Foul. *see Fouls above If playing for points, other players’ cards are then revealed and tallied: Phase & Transition Cards……………………1 point Split and Solid Cards……………………….. 5 points Double Back Cards…………………………. 10 points The grand total of all other players’ points are awarded to the winner. A points goal can then be set to declare an overall winner. The winner of the game also becomes the next game’s dealer. Variants Musketeers All the above rules apply to this version of the game. However, the end of a game of Musketeers can only be brought about by a player who holds a Harmonic Scale (a sequence) of three or more cards and is able to fully discard the rest of their hand on the available discard pile(s): “All for one and one for all.” This Harmonic Scale can be discarded anywhere to end the game regardless of the top card(s) in the discard pile(s) and at any time during the player’s turn. That is, unless the player’s hand contains other cards that cannot be discarded onto the discard pile(s) or are cards that cannot be integrated into the Harmonic Scale. The Harmonic Scale cannot be discarded out of place unless it is to finish the game. Otherwise, it must follow the order set by the top card(s) on the discard pile(s).

NoGame - Knowledge Base V1.00 (NG-KB V1.00) In playing or inventing games and more often in trying to communicate the rules of a game to others, referring to a card or set of cards can be difficult without a shared language. The aim of this document is to serve as a reference guide for such things as well as to familiarise NoGamers with the deck’s core structure. It is possible that there will be variations of this original concept, and so the terms described in this document will belong to a particular standard known as Composition A. Section 1 - Deck Structure, Card Names & Notation Section 2 - Sequencing & Grouping Section 3 - Deck Logic & Design Note to reader: This is an ever-expanding document and as such it is open to change. Each document is versioned and can be identified by the number in the page title. Section 1 Deck Structure Each deck has 3 HARMONIES. Each HARMONY consists of 17 cards And, each HARMONY is also named: LOW, MID or HIGH. Cards There are 5 types of cards in each NoGame deck: Quantum Cards QUANTUM cards come in 3 types: SOLID, SPLIT and DOUBLE BACK. Each HARMONY begins with a SOLID card. And a HARMONY links to other HARMONIES via a SPLIT card. It has been pointed out that the DOUBLE BACK card does not fit into the sequence. Although most will come to this conclusion it is not quite true: start by putting all the cards face-down then spread them out. Now ask yourself, “where does the DOUBLE BACK card fit?” The answer to this question also reveals one of the possible uses for this card. Phase Cards The largest group of cards within a deck are PHASE cards. PHASE cards are organised into 4 QUADRANTS (FIRST, SECOND, THIRD and FOURTH). Each of the 4 QUADRANTS is linked to the next by a TRANSITION card. And, each QUADRANT is composed of NEW, PARTIAL and FULL PHASE cards. Notes Arguably the first thing that one notices when looking at the cards are the shapes (Circle, Square, Hexagon and Cross in the case of the First Edition NoGame deck and the example used throughout this document). These shapes are called NOTES. TRANSITION and PHASE cards both have NOTES but QUANTUM cards do not. Keys A KEY refers to the colour / pattern / image that makes up the NOTE. KEYS consist of the same colour / pattern / image as HARMONIES and also share their names: LOW, MID and HIGH. For example, the NOTES of the cards below are all in a LOW KEY. NOTATION Borrowing from the shorthand used with conventional cards (eg., AS for Ace of Spades or TD for Ten of Diamonds), a naming convention can be derived from the parts of the Deck Structure outlined in Section 1. For example, a full sequence of cards could read as follows: S, T1, N1, P1, F1, T2, N2, P2, F2, T3, N3, P3, F3, T4, N4, P4, F4, \ Letters are initials for the name of the cards, numbers refer to the QUADRANT or TRANSITION number, and “ \ ” stands in for the SPLIT card. Note that the above does not include HARMONY. A shorthand for a HIGH HARMONY sequence could read as follows: HS, HT1, HN1, HP1, HF1, HT2, HN2, HP2, HF2, HT3, HN3, HP3, HF3, HT4, HN4, HP4, HF4, HL\ If KEY is required in the notation, then L, M or H (LOW, MID or HIGH) could be added at the end of each card’s notation: LS, LT1, LN1H, LP1H, LF1H, LT2, LN2M, LP2M, LF2M, LT3, LN3H, LP3H, LF3H, LT4, LN4M, LP4M, LF4M, LM\ Note that the above also makes reference to the HARMONY, in this case LOW.Section 2 Section 2 Sequencing & Grouping This Section introduces the broad concepts of Sequencing and Grouping and attempts to name them following the terms described in Section 1. Nevertheless, simpler names or slang for these sequences and groups is encouraged (for example, in conventional cards a pair of Jacks (JJ) is referred to as “Fishhooks”). The following Groups or Sequences are not given a hierarchy here. Rather, they are listed in a way that introduces each of the concepts in stages. Before reading this section I recommend trying to create or play a few games, as some of the names and concepts can be hard to take on when unfamiliar with the cards. Scale SCALE is equivalent to the sequence 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…; but, instead of using Arabic numbers, shapes are used. A full deck organised in a sequence could be referred to as being in SCALE. A SCALE does not depend on HARMONY and can continue across multiple decks and into infinity by using all but the DOUBLE BACK card to do so. Below is an example of a SCALE that contains both PHASE and TRANSITION cards. Harmonic Chord Any cards that share the same HARMONY can be grouped into a HARMONIC CHORD of which there are 3 per deck of cards (LOW, MID and HIGH). Below is an example of 3 cards that belong to the same HARMONIC CHORD in this case, a LOW HARMONIC CHORD. Harmonic Scale A HARMONIC SCALE combines both the HARMONY and SCALE into one logical order. Below is an example of 10 cards in HARMONIC SCALE, meaning they are not only in SCALE (that is, arranged in a sequence), but they all also share the same HARMONY (in this case HIGH). Split Harmonic Scale SPLIT cards cannot form part of a HARMONIC SCALE as they contain two HARMONIES. However, to join 2 or more HARMONIC SCALES, SPLIT cards are necessary. A full deck of cards organised in sequence (excluding the DOUBLE BACK card) would naturally become a SPLIT HARMONIC SCALE. The cards below illustrate a SPLIT HARMONIC SCALE composed of a MID HARMONIC SCALE (4 cards), a HIGH HARMONIC SCALE (17 cards) and a LOW HARMONIC SCALE (5 cards). Key Group A KEY GROUP is composed of cards that share the same KEY. There are 3 KEY GROUPS per deck; each are made up of 12 cards. TRANSITION cards cannot form part of a KEY GROUP as they always contain NOTES in two different KEYS. All the cards below share the same KEY which in this case is MID. Groups & Sequences (of 4 cards or less) It was deemed beyond the scope of this document to describe all possible combinations of either groups or sequences, especially as games will often determine what becomes important. While this is not an exhaustive list — which could further include groups or sequences derived from each of the terms described in Section 1 — below are some basic forms to help outline the possibilities in grouping and organising 4 cards or less. PHASE CHORDS are composed of 3 cards from the same QUADRANT and the same PHASE. HARMONIC QUADRANTS are also composed of 3 cards from the same QUADRANT but in this case they must share the same HARMONY. Notice that HARMONIC QUADRANTS are also HARMONIC SCALES but the name is specific to the group that exists in one particular QUADRANT. HARMONIC CHORDS are composed of 4 cards (one from each QUADRANT) that share both HARMONY and PHASE (NEW, PARTIAL or FULL). The example below groups all 4 FULL cards from the LOW HARMONY. Section 3 Monotone The reason why this document’s images have been displayed in monotone is because future versions of the cards will come in different colours and designs. Stripping the cards down to the most basic elements allow these instructions to be more universal, and thus extend to any future design. One way to achieve this universality is to help you understand how all decks refer back to the monotone displayed in this document. The simplest way reveal monotone is to use your phone’s camera. Set the filter to monotone (called ‘MONO’ on some phones) and point it at the cards below. Notice that in both set A. and set B. (from left to right) the background of the cards go from a dark grey to a lighter grey. You should now be able to easily translate most NoGame decks to the monotone document, helping you distinguish between LOW, MID, and HIGH HARMONIES and KEYS. Patterns / Images There is another way that the cards’ HARMONIES can be designed and thus identified. If a deck employs the use of a single a pattern, image or special print technique, this should always be present on the MID HARMONY. Designers should then use a colour that appears darker in monotone for the LOW HARMONY and a colour that appears lighter in monotone for the HIGH HARMONY. This method is undoubtedly more complex than the examples in set A. and B. above. If a pattern, image or special print technique is used across all three HARMONIES then an effort should be made to adhere to the principle that when viewed in monotone one can tell the differences from dark to light over the three HARMONIES (LOW being the darkest, HIGH the lightest and MID somewhere between the two). Matrix A final and precise way to identify what HARMONY a card belongs to, is to use the Matrix located on the top-right corner of each card. If the cards below were to be handed to you, you could not use either of the previous methods to identify the HARMONIES. Viewed in monotone the cards above appear almost exactly the same and there is no pattern / image, to help isolate the MID HARMONY. They are also unlikely to be suitable for a person with colour blindness. The top sections of the cards below are the LOW, MID and HIGH HARMONIES in the SOLID cards of the monotone deck. Taking note of the Matrix as reference, it should now be as easy as finding the 3 SOLID cards from any deck and matching the Matrix on each of them to the above LOW, MID and HIGH HARMONIES. The order of the cards from the example from LOW - HIGH HARMONY would then be as follows: To play with such cards and specifically to play with such cards in a mixed deck of differently-designed cards could require a much higher level of concentration; which in-and-of-itself, would make a simple game more challenging, and add a very interesting twist to most games. The plan is that in the future, the Matrix will allow the cards to interact with software through a visual interface of sorts and possibly AI. Design Development Earlier in this document I mentioned that the cards’ appearance and design can change. So far, I have only given examples how HARMONIES and KEYS can change, but it can extend further than this. I will leave you with a design example that uses the same logic employed to create the First Edition NoGame cards but one which instead swapped out the Circle, Square, Hexagon and Cross NOTES with NOTES made up of borrowed elements from conventional playing cards. In the example below, I mapped Hearts and Spades onto the logic of a NoGame deck. Because the structure has been adhered to, any games created with First Edition NoGame cards would be able to be played using the design below with only a very small learning curve. See if you can work out the logic based on this small sample set. If you notice any mistakes or you would like to propose any additions or amendments please email: nogame@pastelwhite.io so that they may be integrated into future versions of this document.