Burning Suns

Artaxes ran a talon along the edge of a card in his hand and contemplated his next move. The Lessons of the First Ones was a potent card that could change the entire state of the game, though it also provided a lot of power if burned. That power could let him play everything else in his hand. Artaxes looked down at the space theater on the table, which was not at all in his favor. However, his opponent had not yet pushed the offensive. He glanced at her face and tried to find some clue as to what she was planning. The Elkari's expression was unreadable and her psionic crest was a steady golden glow. Artaxes' feathers ruffled slightly as he regretted how much he had bet on this game. He couldn't take it back now, so he just had to choose: Play the card, or burn it for power. Taking a deep breath, Artaxes placed the card face up on the table and turned it upside down. "I burn the Lessons of the First Ones."

History

Burning Suns is a collectible card game depicting grand battles and diplomatic schemes. The game was originally created by the avian Qotz as a way to pass the time during their long voyages through space. Burning Suns has since become the most popular non-digital game in League Space with the cards being printed in all major languages. Where it originally focused on the history and legends of the Qotz, Burning Suns has been expanded to draw from the stories of all civilized peoples.

Execution

Burning Suns is played with a customized deck of 50 unique cards. Each one has an image, ability, power cost, burn value, and snippet of lore printed on the front. The objective of the game is to reduce the opponent's influence to zero, either through warfare or by political intrigue.
The game is divided into two theaters of war: space and planetary. Grand battles between armadas take place in space while ground invasions weaken planets. Political strategies can affect one or both theaters.
Players start with a hand of 5 cards which is renewed at the start of each turn. In order to play a card, one must have the required power. Power is gained by burning a card, turning it upside down and using it solely to generate the power listed along the bottom of the card. The burned card is placed in the scrapyard at the end of the turn.
The game is concluded when only one player with influence remains.

Components and tools

The only thing needed to play Burning Suns is your own personalized deck of 50 cards. The technology laced within the cards themselves takes care of everything else. These cards can be ordered online and printed using a personal nanofax, or premium versions can be purchased at luxury retailers. The original Burning Suns cards played by the Qotz have now become priceless treasures prized by collectors.

Observance

Once a year there is a grand tournament hosted aboard the Qotz Worldship Eternal, with players gathering from across League Space to participate. The prize money for the tournament is so much that simply ranking in the Top 100 lets skilled players return home significantly wealthier than they arrived.