Fate Deck: The Complete Guide
It is midnight at a travelling carnival, and the lanterns are coming on one by one. Deep in the fortune tent, the host's guests are waiting to play you at an old card game: one deck on the table, with a few Death cards hidden inside. You are an apprentice seer, and every card you draw could put out one of your candles.
The single most important rule: everyone can see how many Deaths are in the deck, but nobody knows where they are. On every card you face one choice: draw it yourself, or pay a star to make your rival draw it.
Fate Deck is an original browser game made for orangeroulette.com. It takes the tension of Buckshot Roulette to a card table and adds the tarot-card rule-bending of Balatro. A table takes about 3–5 minutes and a full tour about 20–30. It runs in any modern browser on phone or desktop, needs no download or account, and is available in English, Español, Italiano, Français, Deutsch and 中文. There is no money, no chips and no betting, and Death is a polite cartoon skeleton. As the game itself says: fate here is pure fiction.
The Rules in Full
- At the start of each table a card is flipped to decide who goes first: upright, you go first; reversed, your rival does.
- Each side starts with 2–4 candles (depending on the table) and 1★.
- The deck shows how many cards and how many Deaths it holds. The order is secret.
On your turn you choose one of two actions:
| Your choice | Safe card | Death | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw yourself (free) | You get +1★ | One of your candles goes out | Safe: it is still your turn. Death: your rival's turn. |
| Make them draw (costs 1★) | Your rival gets nothing | One of their candles goes out | Either way, it is then your rival's turn. |
- No stars? You have to draw yourself, however risky it looks. Your rival plays by the same rule.
- When the deck runs out, a new hand is dealt, and whoever was due to act goes first.
- Blow out all of your rival's candles to win the table.
What you see on the table:
- Crystal ball. It shows the chance that the next card is Death, which is simply Deaths left ÷ cards left. If you have peeked and know the top card, it tells you outright. You can switch it off.
- Turned-over cards. Every card drawn this hand stays on the table. A teal dot means you drew it, a red dot means your rival did. A faded card with no dot was burned by an arcana.
- "Only you can see this." A card you know privately (for example after The High Priestess) is shown face up to you alone.
- "A card was flipped." After The Hanged Man changes a card and the number of Deaths is no longer certain, this note appears by the deck. It goes away once that card is drawn.
Stars: Your Stake at the Table
- Each table starts both of you with 1★.
- Every safe card you draw yourself earns 1★. Making your rival draw costs 1★. The Fool can earn 3★ in one go, The Emperor takes 1★ from your rival, and Wheel of Fortune pays 1★ when a Death is still in the deck.
- Win a table and the stars left in front of you, plus a win bonus (2, 2, 3, 3 and 4★ for tables 1–5), go to your wallet for the shop.
Stars are what make the game work. You can't just hand every card to your rival, because each pass costs a star, and the only way to earn stars is to take risks yourself.
The 21 Major Arcana
A tarot deck has 22 major arcana. XIII Death is the card on the table you are trying to avoid; the other 21 are tools you play from your hand.
- Getting them. Your tarot bag holds every arcana you have unlocked. From table 2, each hand both sides draw one card at random from their own bag, and two cards per hand from the third hand on. Rarer cards come up less often (common, rare and legendary are weighted 70, 25 and 5). The bag is drawn with replacement, so it never runs out.
- Playing them. Play arcana on your turn, before you draw. You can play several in one turn. Judgement and The World work just by being in your hand. Your rival sees which card you play, but only the player who peeks sees what a peek reveals.
- Hand limit. You can hold 4 arcana. When one more arrives, you throw one away.
- Carrying cards over. Cards you don't play stay in your hand for the next table. To keep it fair, your rival starts each table with just as many.
- Starting out. Your bag starts with 9 common cards. Winning tables unlocks the other 12.
| No. | Card | Rarity | Price | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | The Fool | Common | 3★ | Draw the top card yourself right now. Safe: +3★ instead of 1. Death strikes as usual. |
| I | The Magician | Common | 2★ | Swap the top two cards. You see the one you moved down. |
| II | The High Priestess | Rare | 6★ | Peek at the top card. Only you see it. |
| III | The Empress | Legendary | 10★ | Relight one of your candles, up to your starting number. |
| IV | The Emperor | Rare | 7★ | Take 1★ from your rival. They cannot play arcana for the rest of this hand. |
| V | The Hierophant | Common | 4★ | Learn the position and identity of one card below the top. Needs 3+ cards. |
| VI | The Lovers | Rare | 8★ | Turn over the top two cards. Keep one, give the other to your rival. Then it is their turn. |
| VII | The Chariot | Rare | 7★ | Your rival draws two cards in a row. Then it is their turn. |
| VIII | Strength | Rare | 7★ | The next Death you make your rival draw burns two candles. |
| IX | The Hermit | Common | 3★ | Burn the top card: turn it face up and set it aside without effect. |
| X | Wheel of Fortune | Common | 2★ | Shuffle the rest of the deck; all peeks are forgotten. Gain 1★ if any Death is left in it. |
| XI | Justice | Legendary | 10★ | Until this hand ends, the next Death your rival makes you draw burns their candle instead. |
| XII | The Hanged Man | Rare | 6★ | Flip the top card: Death becomes safe, safe becomes Death. Your rival only knows it flipped. |
| XIV | Temperance | Rare | 6★ | The next Death drawn burns no candle, whoever draws it. |
| XV | The Devil | Common | 4★ | Steal one of your rival's arcana at random and play it at once (if it can't be played, you keep it). |
| XVI | The Tower | Common | 4★ | Throw away this hand and deal the next one. Then it is your rival's turn. |
| XVII | The Star | Legendary | 9★ | Peek at the top two cards. Only you see them. |
| XVIII | The Moon | Common | 3★ | On their next turn, your rival cannot pass you the card: they must draw it. |
| XIX | The Sun | Legendary | 10★ | Turn every card left face up for everyone to see. The order stays. |
| XX | Judgement | Legendary | 11★ | While you hold it: when your last candle would go out, it stays lit. Then this card is spent. |
| XXI | The World | Common | 5★ | While you hold it: win this table and the stars you have left double, plus one extra arcana pick. Two copies don't stack. |
A few details players often ask about:
- What happens when a Death is drawn, in order: Temperance cancels it first; then Strength (when your rival draws a Death you passed) or Reversed Strength (when you draw one yourself) decides how many candles go out; then Justice sends the whole blow back to the side that made you draw; finally Judgement saves a last candle.
- What counts as drawing yourself: Draw yourself, The Fool, and the card you keep from The Lovers. What counts as making your rival draw: Make them draw, The Chariot, and the card you give away with The Lovers.
- How long effects last: Strength stays until it is used, even into the next hand. Justice lasts until the end of the hand. Temperance waits for the next Death. None of the three stack.
Reversed Cards (Curses)
Some tables slip a reversed card into your hand. It takes up a hand slot, can't be played or thrown away, and works against you until you pay 10★ in the shop to remove it.
| Reversed card | Effect |
|---|---|
| Reversed Priestess | Each card you peek has a 1 in 4 chance of showing the opposite. |
| Reversed Empress | You cannot relight candles. |
| Reversed Wheel | At the start of each hand, one of your arcana is thrown away at random. |
| Reversed Strength | When you draw Death yourself, two candles go out. |
| Reversed Star | Your crystal ball is fogged: no odds for you. |
The Tour: Six Tables
A tour is six tables with a shop after each one.
| Table | Opponent | Candles each | Cards · Deaths per hand | House rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pip | 2 | 10 · 2 | No arcana. A warm-up. |
| 2 | Misty | 3 | First hand 5 · 1, then 10 · 2 | Arcana are dealt from this table on. |
| 3 | The Twins | 3 | First hand 7 · 2, then 10 · 2 | The Twins swap temperament every hand. |
| 4 | Luca | 3 | First hand 6 · 2, then 10 · 2 | Luca may hold 5 arcana. |
| 5 | Madame Sibyl | 4 | First hand 7 · 2, then 10 · 2 | Both sides draw 2 arcana every hand. |
| 6 | Death | 4 | 10 · 2 | You start with a reversed card. Once anyone is down to one candle, nobody can relight. |
The Six Opponents and How to Read Them
Every opponent has habits: how much risk they will take themselves, when they push the card onto you and which arcana they like. When they know the top card is Death, they may also give it away with a small tell. The win rates below come from the game's balance simulation (40,000 games per table). "Skilled" is a player who knows each opponent's habits exactly and answers them perfectly, an upper bound no human quite reaches. "Casual" is a cautious player who passes the card once the risk reaches 1 in 4 and plays arcana only in obvious spots, and not always then.
1. Pip · Clown · Table 1
Pip laughs at every card, even the scary one.
Pip is impulsive. He draws himself whenever the risk is below one half, and 20% of the time he simply acts on a whim. That means he often draws safe cards out of the way for you, and often runs into Death himself. There are no arcana at his table, so this is pure risk and stars. His tell: the bells on his hat jingle.
Skilled: about 83% · Casual: about 67%
2. Misty · Cat · Table 2
Misty never takes a risk she can hand to you. Watch her tail.
Misty is cautious. As soon as the risk rises above about 1 in 4, she pays to make you draw. She likes to burn risky cards with The Hermit. Cautious players spend their stars fast, so once she is broke she has to draw herself, and that is your moment. Arcana start at this table, and the first hand is short: 5 cards with 1 Death. Her tell: her tail flicks (70% of the time).
Skilled: about 85% · Casual: about 62%
3. The Twins · Table 3
One is bold, one is careful, and they swap every hand.
The bold twin draws while the risk is under 1 in 3 and sometimes acts on a whim; the careful one passes at 1 in 4. They swap every hand, so keep track of who is playing now. They like The Lovers and Wheel of Fortune. Their tell: the twins glance at each other (50%).
Skilled: about 72% · Casual: about 50%
4. Luca · Magician · Table 4
Luca cannot resist a trick: he twists the deck before he draws.
Luca plays his manipulation cards first whenever he has them: The Magician, The Hanged Man, The Tower, Wheel of Fortune and The Lovers. He passes the card to you once the risk reaches 1 in 4, and he may hold 5 arcana instead of 4. This is where casual play falls below even odds. His tell: he tugs at his cuff (40%).
Skilled: about 61% · Casual: about 41%
5. Madame Sibyl · Fortune teller · Table 5
Sibyl reads the deck better than anyone. Almost.
Sibyl knows the best move, but 80% of her draw decisions are really a coin flip. Her bag holds The High Priestess, The Star and Strength, so she peeks a lot, and at her table both sides draw 2 arcana every hand. Four candles each make this a longer game. Her tell: she pauses, half a beat (25%).
Skilled: about 65% · Casual: about 44%
6. Death · The host · Table 6
The owner of the tent. Polite, patient, and very good at this.
Death knows the best move, but about a third of its draw decisions (35%) are a coin flip. It draws from all 21 arcana, you start the table with a reversed card, and once anyone is down to a single candle nobody can relight. Its tell: a bony finger taps the cloth (10%).
Skilled: about 56% · Casual: about 32%
Don't count on tells. They only appear when an opponent knows the top card is Death, which rarely happens more than a few times per table, and in the simulation reading them added almost nothing. Learning each opponent's habits is what wins.
The Shop
After every table you visit the fortune shop:
- Free pick: choose one of three arcana from the cards you have unlocked. The shop favours rare cards (common, rare and legendary are weighted 35, 60 and 5). If you won holding The World, you get one more free pick.
- For sale: three more arcana at their listed price.
- Sell: sell a card for half its price to free a slot. Reversed cards can't be sold.
- Remove a curse: 10★ per reversed card.
- Candle +1: 12★ for one more candle at every table for the rest of the run, once per run.
Whatever you pick or buy goes straight into your hand (the 4 slots) for the next table. Your tarot bag stays the same: the bag is which cards you have unlocked, and the shop only deals with the cards in your hand.
Unlocking Cards
Unlocks are permanent and saved on your device. The card album at the tent entrance shows all 21 cards: the ones you have unlocked with their art, rarity, price and effect, and the rest with what unlocks them.
| How | What you unlock |
|---|---|
| From the start (common cards) | The Fool, The Magician, The Hierophant, The Hermit, Wheel of Fortune, The Devil, The Tower, The Moon, The World |
| Win table 2 (Misty) | The High Priestess, Temperance |
| Win table 3 (The Twins) | The Lovers, The Chariot |
| Win table 4 (Luca) | The Hanged Man, The Emperor |
| Win table 5 (Madame Sibyl) | Strength |
| Win table 6 (Death) | The Star |
| Clear a tour in either mode | Justice, The Empress |
| Clear a Hardcore tour | The Sun, Judgement (and the true ending) |
Two Modes and Two Endings
Tour. Lose a table and your wallet is halved, then you sit down and play that table again. Your arcana stay with you. In the simulation a casual player loses 6–7 tables per tour on average and still reaches the end. Clearing a tour shows the ending The tent falls quiet.
Hardcore. One loss ends the run, and leaving a table halfway counts as a loss. It is meant to be hard: on a first run, the skilled model clears it about 23% of the time and the casual one under 2%. With every card unlocked, those rise to about 34% and 5%. Clear it to see the true ending, Keeper of the midnight deck. We won't spoil either ending.
An unfinished run is saved automatically. Pick it up with Continue at the tent entrance.
Strategy Tips
These come from how the skilled model plays in the balance simulation.
Count the risk
The number in the crystal ball is your risk: Deaths left ÷ cards left. Two Deaths in 10 cards is 20%. Draw five safe cards with both Deaths still in the deck and it is 40%. Every Death that comes out drops the risk at once, and every turned-over card on the table is a clue.
Stars are your stake
- When the risk is low, draw yourself and bank stars. Early in a long deck with few Deaths (like 2 in 10), the first few cards are almost always worth drawing. These are the spots where skill matters most.
- When the risk is high, pay to pass. Once the Death share climbs, make your rival draw whenever you can.
- Don't spend your last star carelessly. Without stars you must draw yourself, and your rival will try to push you into exactly that spot.
- Watch your rival's stars. When they have none, the next card is theirs to draw, so leaving the risk with them often beats paying yourself. The Emperor takes a star from them and locks their arcana too.
Use information
Knowing the top card is the most valuable thing in the game. The High Priestess, The Star, The Magician, The Hierophant and The Sun all give you information.
- You see Death: pay 1★ to make your rival draw it. Play Strength first and it burns two of their candles.
- You see a safe card: draw it yourself for a star, or play The Fool for 3★.
- You see Death but want to draw: The Hanged Man turns it into a safe card. Your rival only knows it flipped.
- You see Death and hold The Hermit: burn it, and nobody has to touch it.
- Your rival probably holds a lifesaver like Justice: The Devil steals a random card from them and plays it at once.
- Wheel of Fortune wipes every peek. Use it right after your rival has peeked. And after you peek, don't give them the chance to shuffle.
The strongest cards
In the game's single-card test (a skilled player starts tables 2–6 with one extra copy of a card), the biggest gains in win rate are Judgement +13, The Empress +12, The Sun +11, Justice +11 and The Star +9 percentage points among legendaries; Strength +9, The Lovers +9, The Chariot +6 and Temperance +6 among rares; and The Devil +5 among commons. The World pays off in your wallet rather than at the table, so this test doesn't measure it.
- Justice, Temperance and Judgement are lifesavers. Don't waste them while the risk is low. Judgement works just by being held.
- Your rival starts each table with as many arcana as you carry, so hoarding a big hand gains less than you'd think. Use cards when they matter and keep your slots for stronger ones.
- A second World adds nothing, so sell it for 2★.
- Candle +1 is especially good value in Hardcore: 12★ for an extra life at every table.
- The Reversed Strength and Reversed Star curses hurt most. Remove a curse when you have 10★; if you can't, play more carefully.
Hardcore advice
Keep your risk lower than feels necessary. Spend stars rather than draw into high risk, buy Candle +1 when you can, and save lifesavers for the later tables.
Where the Idea Comes From
- Buckshot Roulette. The core idea: a known number of live shells in an unknown order, the choice between shooting yourself or the dealer, an extra turn when your own shot is a blank, and items that change the odds. Fate Deck moves it to a card table: a known number of Deaths in an unknown order, draw yourself or make your rival draw, keep going after a safe card, and the major arcana as items. Stars are new: passing costs a star, so you can't simply push every card onto your rival.
- Balatro. Tarot cards that rewrite the rules, and a run of rounds with a shop in between where you collect and build around card rarities.
- Push-your-luck board games like Can't Stop and Incan Gold: one more draw means one more reward, or losing it all.
- Tarot. Card names and numbers follow tarot tradition. In tarot, the Death card usually stands for endings and change rather than literal death, and in the game Death is a courteous host rather than a horror figure.
Controls and Settings
- Keyboard: A to draw yourself · D to make your rival draw · Esc closes card details and dialogs.
- Touch: tap the two big buttons. Tap an arcana in your hand to read what it does and play it. When your hand is full, tap a card to throw it away.
- Sound: the speaker button cycles through music and effects → effects only → off.
- Crystal ball: switch the odds on or off.
- Language: the language buttons are at the tent entrance. On this site, the game opens in the language of the page.
- How to play and Card album: both open from the tent entrance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Fate Deck free?
Yes. It plays in your browser for free, with no download and no account.
Is Fate Deck a gambling game?
No. There is no money, no chips and no betting. Stars are an in-game currency you earn by drawing safe cards and can only spend inside the game.
Is it like Buckshot Roulette?
It shares the core idea (a known number of dangers in an unknown order, and the choice between taking the risk yourself or passing it on), but it is played with cards instead of a gun and adds stars, 21 major arcana, a shop and six opponents with their own habits.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. The game is built for phones in portrait first and also works on tablets and desktops.
Is my progress saved?
Your unlocked cards, stats, settings and any unfinished run are saved in your browser on this device. Clearing your browser data removes them. In Hardcore, leaving a table halfway counts as a loss.
Which languages can I play in?
English, Español, Italiano, Français, Deutsch and 中文.