Overview

In Oracle: Hidden Decrees, one player is the Oracle, keeper of two hidden rules called the Decrees. The other players are Seekers, who must uncover the Decrees by playing cards, making Divinations, and invoking Visions.

• The Decree Run: a face-up sequence of cards that follow the Oracle’s hidden rules.

• The Abyss Run: a face-up sequence of cards that do not follow the rules.

Decrees may describe card features (e.g., suits, values, colors) or patterns within the runs (e.g., ascending order, alternating suits).

Setup

1. Shuffle one standard 52-card deck.

2. Choose a player to be the Oracle for the round.

3. The Oracle secretly writes down two Decrees on paper before play begins. These must remain unchanged until the round ends.

4. Place spaces for:

• The Decree Run (a row of face-up cards).

• The Abyss Run (a row of face-up cards).

5. To begin play, the Oracle:

• Draws one card that follows the Decrees (or is at least neutral) and places it face-up to start the Decree Run.

• Draws one card that does not follow the Decrees (or is at least neutral) and places it face-up to start the Abyss Run.

On Your Turn (Seekers)

On your turn, you may choose one of two actions:

1. Play a card

• Draw the top card from the deck.

• Place it in either the Decree Run or the Abyss Run.

• The Oracle judges:

• If correct → your turn continues.

• If wrong → your turn ends, and the Oracle corrects the mistake:

• If wrongly placed in the Abyss Run → Oracle moves it into the Decree Run.

• If wrongly placed in the Decree Run → Oracle moves it into the Abyss Run.
  

2. Attempt a Vision

• Flip a coin.

• Heads: The Oracle draws the next 2 cards from the deck and places them correctly into the Decree Run or Abyss Run. Then your turn continues.

• Tails: The Vision fails. Your turn ends immediately.

Divinations

After any correct play (or after a successful Vision), you may attempt a Divination — an attempt to name one or both Decrees.

• Divining one rule correctly → score 1 point, and your turn continues.

• Divining incorrectly → your turn ends.

• Divining both rules correctly → score 2 points (1 per decree), and the round ends immediately.

The Revelation

• When exactly half the deck has been played the Oracle must give a Revelation.

• A Revelation is a short, cryptic clue, one for each unsolved Decree.

• The clue cannot fully reveal the rule but must guide Seekers toward the right line of deduction.

End of Round

A round ends when:

• Both Decrees are correctly divined, OR

• All cards in the deck are played.

At the end of the round, the Oracle reveals their written rules to confirm.

Scoring

Seekers:

• +1 point per correct Divination (maximum 2 points per round per Seeker).

• Divining both rules in a single turn = 2 points and ends the round.

Oracle:

• 0 points if:

• Both Decrees are discovered in the first half of the deck, OR

• No Decrees are discovered by the end of the deck.

• 1 point if exactly one Decree is discovered in the last half of the deck.

• 2 points if both Decrees are discovered in the last half of the deck.

If a round ends with no Decrees discovered, then neither the Seekers nor the Oracle score any points.

Winning

• Each player serves as the Oracle once.

• At the end of play, the player with the most points is crowned the Prophet.

Lexicon

• Oracle → The round’s rule-setter who writes the two hidden Decrees.

• Seekers → The players attempting to uncover the Decrees.

• Decrees → The two secret rules that define how cards must be placed.

• Decree Run → The sequence of face-up cards that follow the Oracle’s Decrees.

• Abyss Run → The sequence of face-up cards that do not follow the Decrees.

• Vision → A mystical attempt to gain insight: a coin flip that may cause the Oracle to reveal the next 2 cards.

• Divination → A Seeker’s attempt to name one or both Decrees. Correct Divinations earn points.

• Revelation → A mandatory halfway clue given by the Oracle to guide Seekers toward discovery.

• Prophet → The title awarded to the overall winner of the game — the player who proved most adept at uncovering hidden truths.

Example Decrees

Easy

• All red cards

• All black cards

• All even numbers

• All odd numbers

• Face cards (J, Q, K)

• Cards ranked 7 or higher

• Cards ranked lower than 5

• All spades

• All hearts

Medium

• Cards must be higher than the previous card in the Decree Run

• Cards must be lower than the previous card in the Decree Run

• Cards in the Decree Run must alternate red and black

• Multiples of 3 (3, 6, 9, 12)

• Cards must be exactly 2 higher than the previous card

• Cards must be the same color as the previous card

Hard

• Every 3rd card in the Decree Run must be red

• Suits must rotate in fixed order (spades → hearts → diamonds → clubs)

• Prime numbers only (2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13)

• Fibonacci sequence (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 …)

• Cards must be within 2 values of the previous card

• Face cards only appear after a number card of the same suit

• Decree Run must ascend in value, but only odd numbers are allowed