Welcome to Parallel, a TCG game set in the far-flung future of our solar system. 

THE WORLD OF PARALLEL

Thousands of years after a global cataclysm known as The Priming led to a planet-wide exodus from Earth, humanity has been fractured into 5 distinct factions known as Parallels. Each one, developing in divergent ways.

The Marcolian are those who left Earth and set their eyes on Mars. A militaristic, prideful, and opportunistic society built from rapid technological innovation.

The Augencore are a society of people who found a living among the resource-rich asteroids of our solar system. Turning to heavy mechanical modifications, the Augencore work tirelessly to maintain their largely nomadic way of life.

The Kathari found refuge on Europa after suffering critical levels of radiation upon their departure from Earth. The remaining passengers of the Artemis Proxima turned to cloning technology to maintain their population.

The Shroud are a group of colonists turned devout followers of a cosmic being known to them as The Great One, the Shroud interpret and follow the mysterious bidding of the Entity.

And finally, The Earthen. Those who were left behind on the surface of an irradiated and seemingly inhospitable Earth in the aftermath of The Priming. As the planet was remade by a mysterious Miasma, so too were the people changed by its life-giving properties. Now inhabiting a lush and verdant Earth, The Earthen gained a strong connection with all life on the planet.

As you play this game, you will have the chance to familiarise yourself with each Parallel’s unique playstyle.

In the game of Parallel, players will be earning cards and building decks that represent one of the 5 Parallels and participating in matches against other players in a variety of game modes.

Each match of Parallel is a 1vs1 battle between two opponents. Gameplay is turn-based, with players taking turns to play cards from their hand to trigger powerful Effects, bolster their army with Units, apply passive influences with Relics, or equip their Units with powerful Upgrades.

Each player represents a Parallel, which determines the special cards and abilities available to them. Each player begins a match with 30 Health. If their Health Points are reduced to zero, the player loses the game. Both players may represent the same Parallel.

CONSTRUCTING A DECK

While some cards are available to decks of any Parallel (Universal cards), a substantial portion of them are limited to a specific Parallel, giving each faction their own strengths and unique abilities.

When decks are constructed they must consist of 40 cards from a single given Parallel as well as any cards from the Universal pool. Up to 3 copies of a given card can be included in a deck to increase consistency of play. Cards of Legendary rarity however, can only be added once to a deck.

POWERFUL PARAGONS

Outside of those 40 cards a Paragon must be assigned to the deck. Paragons serve as leaders that both provide a passive ability throughout the match, as well as (in most cases) “active” abilities when played as a Unit. Paragons can only be played as a Unit once per match.

If a Paragon is defeated in combat, the Unit is removed from the Field. However, any passive abilities that the Paragon imparts will persist for the entirety of the match.

PLAYING CARDS

Each card in Parallel has an Energy cost (located in the top right of every card).

Players start the game without Energy, but gain energy by Banking cards. Players get 1 unit of Energy to spend on playing cards for each card in the Bank.

Energy is refilled to the current maximum available at the start of each turn. Unspent Energy remaining at the end of the turn does not carry over to the next.

As the game progresses, players will gradually build a larger Bank. Banked Energy in later rounds allow players to play increasingly expensive cards, opening the game up to more impressive moves and powerful abilities.

THE GOAL

The objective in Parallel is simple: reduce the enemy's Health to zero before they can do so to you. However, the game features multiple strategic elements which require mastery before one can be successful at competitive levels of play.

The control of Units, the assignment of strategic importance to various targets, complex card synergies and interactions, as well as the unpredictability of the randomly selected cards drawn each round, combine to create a complex game where the best plays are not always obvious.

At the start of each match, it is randomly decided which player will go first.

Each player is then shown 5 random cards from their own deck. They can choose to return any number of those cards to their deck, then draw that many cards to replace them. This is known as the Mulligan phase, whereby each player's initial starting hand is determined.

The player that goes first does not get to draw a card at the beginning of their first turn.

The second player does, however.

DURING EACH TURN

At the start of each turn, a card is drawn and added to a player's hand.

Players can have a maximum of 8 cards in their hand; attempting to draw a card with a full 8-card hand will result in the new card being revealed to both players and immediately Wasted (placed in a Waste Pile designated for expended cards, or cards that were killed/destroyed in battle).

Each player has their own Waste Pile, the contents of which are openly viewable by both players).

If a player has banked a card that turn, they will draw another card when they’ve ended their turn.

During a turn Energy can be spent to play cards onto the Field, performing actions such as mustering Units, playing Effects, Relics, and equipping Upgrades provided they have enough energy to do so.

Playing a card will consume the amount of Energy stated on the card, activating abilities or performing actions stated on the cards when played. Players are also able to command their Units to engage in combat, attacking other Units or the Enemy Player directly.

Once the player has taken all the actions they want, they can end their turn.

COMBAT

New Units placed on the Field will suffer from Fatigue, preventing them from attacking on the turn they are played.

On subsequent turns, those Units can engage in combat, targeting either the Enemy Player, or the Enemy Units on the field.

Unit to Unit combat in Parallel is resolved simultaneously. This means if both Units are capable of dealing lethal damage to one another, they will both be Destroyed when that combat concludes. Some units possess unique abilities that can be activated or triggered, providing a positive or negative impact on the Field, adding a level of strategy to how a player might sequence their attacks each turn.

Units Destroyed in combat will typically be placed in the Waste Pile.

RUNNING OUT OF CARDS

Running out of cards to draw does not cause the player to lose. However, once a player has drawn all of their cards, attempts to draw an additional card from their empty deck will instead draw a random card from that player’s Waste Pile.

This is called Searching the waste. Drawing a card from the Waste Pile in this manner also causes the player to lose an exponential amount of Health, starting at 1, and doubling with each additional card drawn.

CONCLUSION OF MATCH

The match will go on until one of the following goals are achieved:

CONCEDING

Players can choose to concede or forfeit the match once they realise they cannot avoid defeat, and can do so at any time.

Life: The Player’s health

Enemy: Opposing Player

“You”: “You” refers to you as the player.

Friendly: Friendly is an attribute of cards that are controlled by the player.

Paragon: The current deck’s chosen leader card. One is required for each playable deck, and bestows both passive abilities that affect the game at all times, and (in most cases) an activated ability when it is mustered onto the Field

Passive: An ability that is always being applied by a player’s Paragon.

Bank: The act of putting a card into a player’s Energy Bank

Waste (verb): The act of putting a card into the player’s Waste from their Deck.

Searching the Waste: An action taken when a player’s deck is empty and is unable to draw a new card. A random card will be drawn from their Waste instead, losing Health Points exponentially each time Search the Waste is performed. This means players would lose 1, 2, 4, 8, etc. Health each time they would draw a card.

Reveal: The act of flipping over a Banked card face-up

Conceal/Concealed: Concealed cards are cards that are hidden to the enemy player. Cards that are concealed by default include cards in hand and cards put into the bank. Concealing a card turns a revealed card back into a concealed card.

Destroy: The act of removing a Unit from the Field to the Waste Pile by reducing its Health value to/below 0. Certain Effect cards or Unit Abilities are capable of Destroying a Unit or Relic as well.

Banish: The act of removing a card from the Field and placing it into the Singularity

Leaves Play: When a card leaves the Field for any reason to either the Waste, Singularity, Hand, Bank, etc.

Remove from game: Cards that are removed from the game are inaccessible to both players for the remainder of the game.

GAME FIELD AREAS

Bank (noun) / Energy Bank: The area designated for cards when they are Banked. Cards in the Bank are displayed as face-down to the Enemy unless Revealed by an ability.

Energy: The “currency” a player uses to pay Energy Costs to play their cards. Each Banked card grants 1 Energy. A player’s Energy refills at the start of their turn.

The Field: The area where Units, Relics, and Upgrades are played. Units will also engage in combat on the Field

Waste (noun) / Waste Pile: A player’s discard pile. Defeated or Destroyed cards will go into this pile as well

Singularity: An area designated for cards that have been Banished. This area only exists when a player has chosen to play as the Shroud. Any cards Banished will enter the Banishing player’s Singularity. In the event that both players are playing the Shroud, each player will have their own separate Singularity. A Banished card in that scenario will still enter the Banishing player’s Singularity. Banished cards are not considered Destroyed and can therefore ignore or prevent specific card functions.

Energy Cost: A number located in the top right of every card in Parallel. This represents the cost to play the card.

Unit: A card type that is mustered or placed on the Field, it has Stats and Abilities and can also have Keywords. These cards are capable of engaging in combat with other Units and/or Token Units as well as dealing direct damage to the Player’s Health.

Stats: The numerical value of a Unit's Attack and Health. This number represents the amount of damage a Unit can deal (attack) and take (health), located in the bottom Left and Right respectively on a Unit card.

Ability: Card text/actions

Activate: Cards that have Activated abilities may be activated by clicking a button that appears below the card when hovered over.

Keywords: These are words used to describe Abilities multiple Units possess within and across Parallels.

Passive: Refers to a Paragon’s passive influence over the match as a whole. This ability persists from the start of the match to the end. Destroying a Paragon does not disable the Passive ability.

Active: Refers to a Paragon’s abilities when played as a Unit onto the Field.

Fatigue: When Unit cards are played, they cannot Attack until the following turn. They can however be attacked by the Enemy’s Units on their turn, or be used as a Defender if the card is capable of doing so.

Relic: A card type that is placed on the Field, but does not fight, instead granting one or more abilities to a Player

Upgrade: A card type that attaches to a Unit on the Field and changes its Stats and/or Abilities

Effect: A card type that represents immediate one-time effects

Muster: An ability that triggers when a Unit enters play

Attach: Attach refers to the act of putting one card on another. Upgrades are attached to units.

Create a Unit: Generate a Token Unit from outside of the game (card rules will specify)

Token Unit: A Unit that has been Created by another card. Tokens can have stats, keywords, and abilities of their own, behaving identically to a normal Unit. However, when a Token is Destroyed, it does not enter the Waste Pile.

Combat Damage: Any damage done as a result of a unit attack.

Retaliate: Retaliate triggers after this card takes any form of damage. If the card does not survive, it gets destroyed only after the ability is triggered first.

Aftermath: Aftermath abilities will trigger after this card gets destroyed.

Counters: Counters are used for tracking purposes on some cards and may be referenced in card abilities.

Transform: Transforming a card turns it into a completely new card.

KEYWORDS

Armed: Units with the Armed Keyword, deal their damage before non-Armed Units do. However, if both Units have Armed, combat is resolved normally.

Assault: If Damage was dealt to the Enemy Player this turn, playing a Unit with this keyword triggers that Unit’s associated ability. This ability does not trigger if no Damage was dealt to the Enemy Player this turn.

Attuned: At the Start of the controlling player’s turn, this Unit changes between its Dormant and Awakened State.

Battle Ready: This card can attack on the same turn it is deployed onto the field.

Counter: A counter is a small marker placed on a card that modifies its characteristics or interacts with an ability

Decay: At the beginning of the controlling player’s turn, this unit and any adjacent units take 1 damage

Defender: Enables the Unit to optionally block attacks targeting the Player or another Unit.

Evasive: An Evasive card’s attacks cannot be blocked by Defender Units.

Intel X: If the Enemy has “x” or more revealed banked cards, this ability triggers when the associated Unit enters the Field

Pacifist: Cannot Attack (but can still defend, if the Unit has Defender)

Salvage X: When this Unit is Wasted, move up to X of its Equipped Upgrades to other Units

Shielded: This Unit is immune to the next Enemy Card Effect that targets it

What is Parallel? 

PARALLEL IS A SCI-FI TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) EMPOWERING COLLECTORS TO TRULY OWN THEIR CARDS AND OTHER GAME ITEMS. THE CARDS CAN BE USED TO BUILD A DECK AND PLAY IN AN ONLINE PC CLIENT WHICH IS CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT. 

 

What are the five parallels? 

A PARALLEL IS ONE OF THE FIVE STREAMS OF EVOLUTION THAT HUMANS HAVE UNDERGONE SIMULTANEOUSLY. THEY ARE AUGENCORE, EARTHEN, KATHARI, MARCOLIAN, AND THE SHROUD. 

 

Can Parallel Print More Cards and Affect The Rarity Of My Cards? 

EACH PARALLEL CARD IS UNIQUE TO ITS EDITION SIZE AND THAT VERSION'S SUPPLY CANNOT BE INCREASED. FUTURE EXPANSION SETS WON'T AFFECT THE SCARCITY OF SETS PREVIOUSLY RELEASED, THOUGH MAY CONTAIN MODIFIED VERSIONS OF EARLIER CARDS. 

 

When Will The Game Be Released? 

THE GAME IS IN ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT AND THE TEAM IS CURRENTLY INTERNALLY TESTING VARIOUS GAME MECHANICS. OUR EARLY ACCESS GAME TESTING OCCURS IN 2023. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE. 

 

What Do You Need To Play The Parallel Game? 

A DECK CONTAINS 40 CARDS AND MAY CONSIST OF THOSE FROM A SINGLE PARALLEL, PLUS UNIVERSAL CARDS. UNIVERSAL CARDS DO NOT BELONG TO ANY PARALLEL AND MAY BE USED IN ALL DECKS. EACH DECK IS LIMITED TO THREE (3) COPIES OF A CARD, EXCEPT IN THE CASE OF LEGENDARIES WHICH ARE LIMITED TO ONE (1) COPY. THIS LIMITATION APPLIES TO BOTH THE DECK'S PARALLEL-SPECIFIC CARDS AND UNIVERSAL CARDS. 

YOU MAY CREATE MORE THAN ONE (1) DECK, AND PLAY AS ANY OF THE PARALLELS FOR EACH MATCH. 

YOU MIX-AND-MATCH A COMBINATION OF DIGITAL CARDS AND NFT COLLECTIBLE CARDS TO BUILD A DECK OF 40 CARDS. 

 

Do I Need All Parallels To Play? 

YOU WILL NEED AT LEAST ONE (1) COMPLETE DECK. YOU CAN COLLECT CARDS FROM ALL PARALLELS AND HAVE MULTIPLE DECKS SO YOU CAN CHOOSE WHICH PARALLEL TO PLAY FOR EACH MATCH. 

 

Will The Cards Contain Their In-Game Stats/Attributes? 

CHARACTER/AFFECT ATTRIBUTES WILL NOT BE DIRECTLY ON THE CARDS FOR IN-GAME BALANCING PURPOSES. 

 

Do I Need An Ethereum Wallet To Buy Parallel NFT Cards? 

THERE ARE OPTIONS ON EXCHANGES SUCH AS OPENSEA TO PURCHASE OUR COLLECTION WITH A DEBIT OR CREDIT CARD. PLEASE SEE RELEVANT TERMS AND SERVICES BEFORE PURCHASING. 

 

What Does Parallel Have To Do With NFTS? 

EACH CARD IS ORIGINAL 3D ART OF A CHARACTER OR OBJECT RENDERED BY OUR STAFF ARTIST AND REPRESENTED BY AN NFT (ERC-1155) ON THE ETHEREUM NETWORK. YOU DO NOT REQUIRE THE NFT TO PLAY PARALLEL TCG, HOWEVER, OWNING THE NFT VERSION OF THE CARDS MAY CHANGE THE IN-GAME EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE WHILE PLAYING PARALLEL TCG OR MAY BE USED TO PROVIDE YOU DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES OUTSIDE OF THE PARALLEL TCG GAME. THE PURCHASE OF THIS NFT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE. 

 

How Were Parallel NFT Cards Released? 

PARALLEL CARDS WERE RELEASED IN PACK DROPS. OUR FINAL PACK DROP OCCURRED ON JANUARY 14TH, 2023 THUS COMPLETING THE PARALLEL BASE SET. OUR NEXT RELEASE WILL BE OUR EXPANSION, PLANETFALL (RELEASE DATE COMING SOON). 

EACH PLAYER WILL HAVE A LIFE TOTAL AND THE WIN CONDITION IS TO GET THE OTHER PLAYER TO 0. AS OF RIGHT NOW, PLAYER'S START WITH 30 LIFE. 

 

How Many Cards In A Deck? 

A DECK HAS 40 CARDS. 

 

Can More Than One Parallel’s Cards Be In A Deck? 

A DECK CAN BE MADE OF CARDS FROM ONE PARALLEL ONLY. 

 

What Does “Universal” Mean? 

UNIVERSAL CARDS CAN BE USED IN ALL DECKS AND DO NOT BELONG TO ANY PARALLEL. 

 

What Types Of Cards Are There? 

UNITS: CREATURES, CONSTRUCTS, AND BEINGS OF ALL TYPES THAT CAN OCCUPY THE BOARD AND ENGAGE IN EPIC SCIFI BATTLES (EPICNESS NOT GUARANTEED). 

RELICS: NON-COMBAT PERMANENTS THAT CAN OCCUPY THE BOARD AND HAVE VARYING EFFECTS, BE THEY PERSISTENT, ACTIVATED, OR TEMPORARY. WHO KNOWS THE BOUNDS OF THEIR EFFECTS, NOT MANY HAVE BEEN REVEALED YET! 

EFFECTS: ONE-TIME SPELLS THAT DO SOMETHING AND THEN ARE WASTED. UPGRADES: PERSISTENT INCREASES, BUFFS, OR OTHER EFFECTS THAT ATTACH ONTO A UNIT ON THE BATTLEFIELD. 

 

What Is A Paragon? 

A PARAGON IS A UNIT SET ASIDE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME THAT OFFERS A PERSISTENT PASSIVE EFFECT TO YOUR DECK. IF YOU'VE PLAYED OTHER GAMES, YOU COULD COMPARE THEM TO COMMANDERS IN MAGIC: THE GATHERING'S COMMANDER FORMAT, OR HEARTHSTONE'S HEROES AND HERO POWERS, THOUGH PARAGONS ARE DISTINCT FROM BOTH OF THESE EXAMPLES. TO HEAR ALL ABOUT PARAGONS FROM THE LEAD GAME DESIGNER MERCHANT, LISTEN TO EPISODE 2 OF THE PARALLEL PODCAST, LIFE IN PARALLEL. 

 

How Does One Accumulate Resources? 

FOR ANY GIVEN CARD, IN ADDITION TO PLAYING IT AT ITS COST FOR ITS INTENDED EFFECT, YOU CAN ALSO PLAY IT FACE DOWN INTO YOUR RESOURCE POOL, CALLED THE POWER BANK. THIS IS CALLED "BANKING" A CARD AND IT INCREASES YOUR MAX ENERGY BY ONE. IF YOU DO, YOU DRAW AN ADDITIONAL CARD AT THE END OF THE TURN IN ADDITION TO THE CARD YOU DRAW AT THE BEGINNING OF YOUR TURN. 

THERE IS A LOT MORE TO THE ENERGY BANK, BUT THAT'S THE CORE CONCEPT. 

 

What Resources Are There For Me To Learn More? 

EPISODES 3 AND 6 OF THE PARALLEL PODCAST, LIFE IN PARALLEL, GO INTO GAMEPLAY DETAILS. PARTICULARLY EPISODE 3! THERE IS ALSO A GAMEPLAY CHANNEL IN OUR DISCORD [DISCORD.GG/PARALLELTCG] WHICH IS THE BEST PLACE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS OR SPARK ANY DISCUSSION WITH THE GAMEPLAY DEVS DIRECTLY! LASTLY, SEVERAL OF THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS PRODUCE CONTENT THAT IS WORTH WATCHING - ASK AROUND FOR PEOPLE'S FAVORITES! 

 

How Far Along Is Development? When Can I Play? 

THE GAME HAS BEEN IN ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT SINCE MID 2021. THE DEVELOPERS ARE TARGETING 2022 FOR AN INITIAL PLAYABLE VERSION OF SOME SORT, BE THAT A CLOSED ALPHA, OPEN BETA, OR FULL RELEASE. HOWEVER, DEVELOPMENT TAKES TIME, SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT NO FIRM RELEASE DATE IS AVAILABLE YET. 

Earth, once bountiful, was nearly depleted of its ability to sustain life. Humankind grew increasingly desperate to find an unlimited source of energy to rely upon. Brilliant minds around the world assembled for the sake of Earth's salvation. At a loss for alternatives, they began experimenting with fission augmented by anti-matter. In their haste, they unleashed catastrophe on an unprecedented scale. Fleeing certain death, the mass exodus of Earth began. This course led to the inception of five parallel streams.

The Earthen, a civilization of those left behind, remained and cultivated a thriving society through patience and perseverance.

The Kathari developed groundbreaking enhancements to the human genome deep below the frigid surface of Jupiter's moon, Europa.

The Marcolians, in pursuit of absolute supremacy, rose and promptly laid claim to the entire red planet of Mars.

The Augencore found refuge on their foundry ship Caine-1, augmenting themselves for deep space survival.

The Shroud, a mysterious presence in the universe - whereabouts currently unknown.

For 10,000 years each Parallel would advance their way of life far beyond the constraints of Earth. New homes that were once considered fiction, became reality. However, at last, the spark that humankind had kindled on Earth those millennia ago has ignited into the unlimited power source that was promised, calling each Parallel back home. This energy-rich invitation brings new conflict, as each Parallel believes Earth is theirs to claim.

None have known the true harshness of space like those aboard CAINE-1. For thousands of years, the Augencore have used technology to shape their bodies into perfect machines, hardened by the unforgiving void. With a dying engine, and news that Earth is once more habitable, the Augencore return to Earth, bolstered by the prospect of home.

Find what you can build yourself to be.

The events of The Priming changed the face of the Earth, and the faces of the Earth's stalwart inhabitants. Devoted to the teachings of their new leaders, the Earthen defend a changed world from those who would do it harm.

Listen to the call of your home.

The Kathari were born from necessity - a need to survive in the harsh and frozen depths of Europa. Underground, they thrived, engineering their own bodies to adapt to any environment. Now, after thousands of years of cloning and adaptations, the threat of genetic decay looms large and heavy over their heads. They return to Earth, hoping to find the key to their salvation.

Adapt and survive. Your many lives await.

Humanity has thrived upon the once red planet. Working as one, the Marcolians have turned desolate rock into a teeming metropolis of meticulous order and peerless technology. Having conquered Mars, they look to Earth as their next endeavour.

What is deservedly ours is ours to take.

Colonists aboard the ship known as the New Dawn set off to explore the unknown depths of space. They were enveloped in a black hole, coming out from the Singularity as something new to this universe. Now, serving a powerful entity from the Singularity known as The Great One, they operate in the shadows of space, preparing our solar system for the arrival of their enigmatic leader.

Ascension through the power of The Great One.