Dueling Decks

Introduction

Cards fly everywhere in this intense battle! Zenco or yourself will select an attribute from each card and battle it out. The player with the highest selected attribute earns points and keeps both cards. Capture all cards to become the new Master. Lose them all and Zenco will continue his reign!

Controls and Instructions

All commands are made by your mouse.

The first thing is to decide which level you want. More points are awarded on the harder levels, but you lose control over Zenco's decision-making. On Easy, you choose for Zenco with no surprises. On Normal, you can influence Zenco's choice of category by clicking a "choose" button when his hand is pointing at the ability you want. His hand moves quickly, so you may not always get the right category! On Hard, you cannot influence Zenco at all.

The cards vary from each game. With a total of 40 possible cards, only 20 or 21 will appear in each game. This depends if the Wild Card is used.

1. Your Current Card
This is your card! If it's your turn to pick, click on the the Courage, Charisma, or Intelligence attribute to challenge Zenco's card in that category. Each card is modeled after a Neopets character.

2. Wild Card
On the left side of your screen is a Wild Card button. Clicking this will change the current card you have to Nightsteed. The Nightsteed card is always the Wild Card. Zenco can never start with Nightseed, but can obtain the card if you lose it to him like any other. If you choose to play Nightsteed, the card it is replacing will disappear.

3. Combo Bar
In the upper left of the screen is a bar that keeps track of how many wins in a row you get. Every consecutive round you win, this bar lights up another symbol. Once you win 5 rounds in a row and fill up the bar, you will be awarded bonus points. It is a large amount that seems to vary from level to level and game to game.

4. Score
Every time you earn a bonus or win a round, your score goes up. You earn more points on the harder levels.

5. End Button
Click this to leave your game early.

6. Zenco
The Card Game Master Zenco sits opposite you. He makes annoying movements when you are picking, but just ignore him.

7. Choose Box and Pointer
This is only for Normal mode. When Zenco is picking, you can click the choose button to try and influence him. Whatever his finger is pointing at when you click Choose will be the category for that round.

8. Your Card Count
This bar represents how many card you have. Every time you win a match, the card you played and your opponents card are put in your deck. If you lose, you lose your card and it is put in Zenco's deck. The exact number of cards is to the left. You start with 10 cards and need 20 to win.

9. Tie Card Pot
Near the bottom and middle of the screen is what looks like an open hand of cards. Cards are put here when you and Zenco tie. Tie cards are held over until the next win and then given to that person. Tying is rare, and it can end in a big loss if you lose the round after a tie.

10. Zenco's Card Count
This is the number of cards in Zenco's deck. The exact number is on the right along with Zenco's name. He also starts with 10 cards and your goal is to get him to 0.

The Cards

Each attribute has a maximum value:

• Courage: 16
• Charisma: 15
• Intelligence: 152

Study the cards below and become familiar with their stats. For the cards that have more than one recommended attribute, use your judgement and pick the one you think will be best based on your current game.

Tips & Strategies

To get a high score, you have to play on hard mode, which isn't all that much harder. To maximize your points, whenever Zenco is almost out of cards, lose the round on purpose so that he has more cards again. This way, the game can keep going. Continue losing, winning, losing, and winning again until you reach your desired score. When you're ready, finish the game.

Another strategy is to keep track of where the cards are, especially the good cards. Did Zenco just take a strong card away from you? Try to remember how many cards he has. In that amount of turns, he will use the card against you again so you can plan to pick the weakest attribute of his card. This works best for people with a great memory, but as an alternative, you can write down where the cards are going.

Conclusion

This game is fun to play every once in a while, but it is rather boring and repetitive if you want to get a very high score. It's usually not easy to earn 1000 Neopoints either, so it's not a great money-maker. Good luck becoming the next Master!