Wyrd
spoken as “weird”
A trick-taking card game.
First edition arriving 2027.
"Nö mann de wyrd ætwindet."
What is Wyrd
A strategic trick-taking card game.
Designed for two to four players.
Each round, players may swear an oath: how many tricks they will win. Every oath raises the stakes, for everyone at the table. The higher they climb, the greater the reward for keeping your word — and the deeper the fall for breaking it.
The deck has sixty cards across four factions. The rules can be taught in one round and played out in twelve. It plays in a single evening.
For 14 years and up.
The Name
The web of fate.
Wyrd is an Old English word — the ancestor of modern weird. To the Anglo-Saxons it meant "fate" as a web that connects us all: every action a thread, pulling on every other.
No one escapes it. But everyone chooses how to face it.
This is the game. You cannot choose the cards you are dealt — only how you play them.
The Four Factions
Four suits. Four factions. One table.
Ælves
The first people of Eurys. Immortal beings. Only few remained. Rarely seen these days.
Víkingr
Sea-going people from the cold north. Known to keep their word. And until recently their honour.
Briðons
Students of the Ælves. They celebrate their heroes and traditions. At times losing themselves in them.
Sax
They live in abundance. Their harvest feeds many. Accustomed to a full granary.
The Story
Sixty cards. One story.
The game is set in a world on the brink of war. Some, drunk on peace and heroic legends, are oblivious to the signs; others scheme in the shadows for their advantage. One dying king makes a last attempt to save his peoples — while another is desperate to die in a glorious war.
Every card in the deck is a character from this story — from slave to king, you hold each of their lives in your hands. And you decide how the story unfolds: you and your opponent weave that yarn together.
Discover the web.
About
Made for two, open to all.
Wyrd is an ode to the fun and cozy feeling of sitting together with really good friends and fighting for tricks. Since I migrated to a country far far away, these moments are but sweet memories. What started out as an attempt to bring the fun back — my girlfriend and I trying to make one of our favourite games work for two players — became a project that showed promise. Wyrd is specifically designed for two players, but will allow your friends to join at any time.
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Get notified when Wyrd is ready.
One email, when Wyrd is ready to back or buy. Then your address is deleted. There is no mailing list.
FAQ
A few things people have asked.
What is a trick-taking game?
A card game where everyone plays one card to the table, and the best card wins the lot — that's a trick. Whoever takes the trick leads the next one. Hearts, Spades, Skat, and Bridge all work this way. You score by winning tricks — in Wyrd, by winning exactly the ones you swore you would.
How many players?
Wyrd is designed for two players, but it can be played with up to four. With four players the people opposite of each other play as a team. (The rules are slightly changed in that mode.)
I already play trick-takers. What’s different?
First, the player count. Trick-takers that truly work with two players are rare — Wyrd is built for two and scales to four.
Second, the oath. Declaring tricks isn’t new, but in Wyrd every oath raises one shared stake. Keep yours and you gain it; break it and you lose it. You may also swear nothing and risk nothing. The more confident the table, the higher the stakes for everyone.
Third, there are no bad hands. Every card has a use, and games are decided by strategy and the interplay between players more than by the deal.
How long is a game?
It is still in the prototype phase, so no definitive answer yet — my estimate is one to two hours for a full game of twelve rounds. I’ll update this once playtesting gives me a number I can trust.
Do I need to know the story to play?
No. Wyrd plays as a pure card game. The story is in the cards and the manual for those who go looking — it never gets in the way.
Which languages will it come in?
English and German at launch.
How much will it cost?
Not settled yet. The price will be on this page before you’re ever asked to pay anything.
Can I buy it yet?
Not yet. A prototype is due at the end of 2026; the first edition arrives in 2027. Leave your email and you’ll hear the moment it’s ready to back or buy.
Will there be expansions or extra editions?
No. Wyrd ships complete at first pressing. If the physical game succeeds, a digital version may follow — as its own finished thing.
Why not start with the digital version?
We have enough screens around us already. I wanted to make something physical that connects people at a table. If the digital version comes, it will not be your usual mobile app (but something a bit more special).
Where will it be printed?
That decision is still being made. I’ll be transparent about it on this page once it’s settled.
Why these colours, and not just red, blue, yellow, and green?
Colour-blindness. Roughly one in twelve men can't reliably tell red from green — the classic four-colour deck fails them at the table. Rose, teal, azure, and amber are the best compromise we found: they stay tellable apart across the common forms of colour vision deficiency. And where colour fails entirely, every faction carries its own rune. No card in Wyrd asks you to read colour alone.
Is the artwork AI-generated?
The images you see today are AI-generated placeholders for the prototype phase. The finished game will be illustrated by a professional artist — I’m saving for exactly that. The end product will not use AI art. That is a promise.