Get Started

How to play:

 * 1) Join the Discord for The Playing Deck here: https://discord.gg/Hx5RHfG
 * 2) Read everything on this page
 * 3) Choose a Suit
 * 4) Tell ECHO Corp members to add you to the Banking system
 * 5) Tell your Suit's King to add you to the member list here on the Wikia
 * 6) Get playing!

What is The Playing Deck?
The Playing Deck is an ARG run through Discord alone! Each part of the ARG, or set of puzzles, are called Hands. Each Hand consists of multiple Tricks, which are puzzles which need to be solved to progress the storyline. The people playing this ARG are separated into 4 different groups, called Suits. As you progress in the story you may be awarded Points, these are used to buy many things such as Harlequins and Equipment! They are also used to make deals and whatnot with other Factions.

The Factions
Apart from the 4 Suits, there are a few other factions. The first is ECHO Corp. ECHO Corp is a neutral faction, and is responsible for tracking Points and handling any and all transactions (Buying Equipment, etc.) The Second is The Red Court*. The Red Court is the antagonist of The Playing Deck, and their exact intentions are unknown. All that is know is that they want to control the Suits and that they are very well versed in murder, kidnapping, arson, and all other criminal activities. They are also known to summon ancient evils for their own use. The last faction is The Tarot Deck*. The Tarot Deck is led by The High Priestess. Their intentions are to guard the fabric of reality that is threatened by the activities of The Red Court.

The Story So Far!
At the dawn of time, a powerful family was born into existence, led by Adam. This family has always been the most influential people in history. Hitler, Sun Tzu, Buddha, anyone who has ever changed the course of history has a direct relation to this powerful family line (Via the soul, not blood). Long ago, in the golden age of the Roman Empire, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar fell deeply in love. Caesar, however, died, and their love with him. Many thousands of years later, an eerily similar romance popped into existence. The brother of a genius, Joker was rather bored with his life, his sibling got all the attention, so he decided one day to amass a group of loyal followers to entertain him. He named this following the Playing Deck. Joker, some time after, fell for a beautiful girl known only as Countess, and the two quickly became very close. Countess, however, was manipulating Joker and  simply using Joker to get to his genius sibling, Data. The relationship understandably went badly, and Countess threw Joker off a cliff. He managed to grab hold of an overhang, but severely injured. With the adrenaline he still had he climbed back up the cliff face and then threw Countess off the cliff. She hit the bottom, but survived. Joker, sometime after recovering,  found a mysterious tumblr that liked to post stories. He showed this to his deck and they quickly learned that it was secretly about a cult trying to summon a demon. In the deck, somebody was Aced for spying, and to enact revenge against Joker for acing him, he joined the cult. Because of this, Joker learned that the cult was about the world of the Red Court and their goals. Joker was astounded by this and looked for help from his faithful Deck, and the demon summoning discussed in the tumblr was prevented. After this, He learned that the Countess ran the red court, the very same one who he tried to kill so long before. Because of the pure evil of Countess's actions and her desire for nothing more than revenge, she awoke the ancient ancestor spirit residing within herself, and she was possessed by Cleopatra. When Joker learned that Countess was alive, he vowed to kill her personally, and enjoy it while he had the chance. The pure evil emanating from Countess’s actions as well as her attempts to summon demons soon attracted the attention of a third party, known only as “The Tarot Deck”. The Tarot Deck, led by the High Priestess, wants to save reality from any demons and evils the Red Court attempts to summon. Some time after this, The spirit of Julius Caesar possessed Joker (After being awoken by Countess's act of pure evil) and took control of his body, to kill Cleopatra himself for her neurotic obsession with power and evil, denying Joker this right.Caesar cunningly allowed Countess her mind and body back for one day, which in turn freed the entire red court for the day. The Red Baron, who was in love with countess and sold his soul to protect her, helped her cut a physical manifestation of Cleopatra off of her body, freeing her and the entire red court of the deck. The priestess then left the deck entirely. Now, in celebration, the ex-court and friends are on a long and mysterious road trip.

Individual Hand Walkthroughs
* due to the events of Hand 4 The Red Court and Tarot Deck no longer exists.
 * Hand 1 - The Heist
 * Hand 2 - The Summoning
 * Hand 3 - Rise of the Red Court
 * Hand 3.1 - The Assassinations
 * Hand 4 - The Red Court Collapses