风声 FengSheng Card Game English Walkthrough

Blade 刀锋 (dāo féng)

2012-03-11T06:03:00.001-07:00

Character Ability 1: Unsheath 亮剑 (liàng jiàn)
Your "Probe 试探" and "Reject 退回" cards can be used as "Lock On 锁定".

Character Ability 2: Blood Lust 嗜血 (shì xuě)
When a player dies, you can draw 4 cards from the deck, then choose 1 on-hand card to pass to any player.

Hidden Agenda:
One INTELLIGENCE and one CLANDESTINE player dies.

Who is he?
He almost reminds me of Kuronin Kenshin in his murderous days. Blade is a bloodthirsty swordsman who treats every mission he gets sent on as training opportunities. He single-handedly eliminated the mercenary force led by "Viper 蝮蛇" for the sake of testing his blade. Whoever wrote this script probably took it from an anime.

As with all fantasy samurai stories, Blade's katana had a name: "The Scarlet Queen 绯红女王". Very cool. Cheesy, but very cool.

Trivia:
Blade is based on the character "Takeda" in the movie "The Message". Takeda was a Japanese military official who arrested and interrogated the five protagonists. His ability "Unsheath" refers to "Battojutsu 拔刀術", the swordsman technique of unsheathing and slashing. "Blood Lust" refers to his sadistic persona in the movie, as well as the image of Japanese military officials in WWII from many Chinese.

References:
- Feng Sheng Character Synopsis

Contributing Writer:
- Reijishiki

Gorgeous 大美女 (dà méi nǚ)

2012-03-10T04:30:00.001-08:00

Character Ability 1: Savvy 精明 (jīng míng)
You can draw 3 cards at the start of your turn, then choose one on-hand card to return to the top of the deck.

Character Ability 2: For Love 爱情 (ài qíng)
Reveal your Identity card, then burn two BLACK messages.

Hidden Agenda:
When a male character declares victory, you must have received one or less BLACK messages.

Who is she?
She might be a fictional character, but you might find her story familiar. Gorgeous is a world-class ballet dancer and celebrity theater actress. It is said that no guy can resist falling for her on their first glimpse.

That's where the makeup ends. Inside, she's a clever femme with an IQ above 140. Her true nature is an informant for intelligence, where male spies and victims willingly divulge their secrets in her glamorous presence.

But most guys wouldn't care about her "secret agent" credentials. Nice face, spilling boobs, nothing else matters.

Trivia:
The official Feng Sheng site claims she's the anti-thesis of the weak-willed puppet that are most women. But take a look at her 2nd ability "For Love". That's clearly attributing some form of personal sacrifice on a woman's part for a man. Are they also implying that even the toughest women would gladly sacrifice for the man they love? Hmm...

As it turns out, Gorgeous is based on the main protagonist from the movie "Lust, Caution", Mrs Mak (aka Mak Tai Tai). The other main characters in the move, Mr Yi 易先生, is also a character in this game.

Something else interesting about Gorgeous. She is the only character in Feng Sheng and SanGuoSha combined that has an ability linked to revealing her identity. I think that is super cool!! How's that for a drama mama?

References:
- Feng Sheng Character Synopsis

How to Play - Part 3: Using Characters

2012-03-09T19:31:00.003-08:00

Played a few rounds of the basic game? Got the hang of the mechanics by now? Alright. Let's dive deeper and explore the full mind-bending nature of this game... the Characters!

Warning: I strongly suggest you play through the game basics before incorporating any of the character abilities written in this post.

There are 3 important things to lookout for when selecting your character. They are...

1. Character "Secret Mission"
2. "Incognito" characters
3. Character abilities

I have already touched on the "Secret Mission" in Game Rules - Part 1. To recap, the "Secret Mission" is what you need to fulfill in order to win if your identity is COLLATERAL. That's all there is to it.

Let's talk about "Incognito" characters.

"Incognito" characters have the chinese characters "潜伏" written on the upper right corner of the abilities text box. The words 潜伏 directly translates as "Undercover". If you choose to use "Incognito" characters, you do not need to show the other players your character card. Keep your character card faced-down at the beginning of the game.

The opposite of "Incognito" characters are known as "Exposed" characters (or simply "regular" characters). "Exposed" characters make up the majority, whilst "Incognito" characters are the minority.

In the example below, Andy and Darren are using "Incognito" characters, whereas Beck and Calvin are using "Exposed" characters.

You might be asking, "What's the point of "Incognito" characters?"

The answer is these characters have certain character abilities that are linked to their "Incognito" status. The ability is typically activated by revealing their character card (ie: flipping their character card to face up). Most of these abilities are critical game-changers, thus they are typically single-use abilities.

After exposing their character card, most "Incognito" characters cannot go back into "Incognito" mode. There are exceptions though, as you will see in the character translation posts on this blog.

Since we are at the topic of Character Abilities, let me elaborate a little more about them.

Character abilities are useful tools associated with each character that makes this game colourful, if not incredibly complex. There are many different abilities, all of which I will touch on for every character's translation.

If you are familiar with SanGuoSha, character abilities should be nothing new. But there is something a little different in Feng Sheng. The character abilities come with coloured titles. There are 2 types of coloured titles, Blue-titled abilities and Red-titled abilities.

"Blue-titled abilities" are triggered by choice. "Red-titled abilities" are automatically triggered once the conditions are met. Abilities typically have some conditions that must be met before the ability can be activated. For example, "When "Probe 试探" is used on you..." is an example of a condition that must be met before the abilities can be triggered.

At first glance, the 2 types of abilities seem very similar. After all, Red-titled abilities regularly have the word "can 可以" in their description, which is essentially giving the player a choice, isn't it?

Here's how the 2 types are different. I'll explain it by breaking down the process below and highlighting the difference. As an example, I will use this arbitrary ability:

"When any player dies, you can immediately draw 2 card from the deck."

(A player has just died)

Blue-titled ability

1. Is the condition met? >> YES.

2. Do you wish to activate the ability? >> YES. (You have a choice)

3. Do you wish to draw 2 cards? >> YES.

Red-titled ability

1. Is the condition met? >> YES.

2. The ability is automatically activated. (You do NOT have a choice)

3. Do you wish to draw 2 cards? >> YES.

You probably realize that the end result is very similar. Only the 3rd question "Do you wish to draw 2 cards?" is what really matters. Therefore, after making you read all this nonsense, it really does not matter if you understand the difference between Blue or Red abilities.

If you still don't understand the difference between Blue and Red abilities, don't bother. 99% of the time it makes no difference to the game play anyway.

One last note on character abilities. Since character abilities do not require the use of any cards, other players cannot use "Intervene 识破" to negate your ability.

The last section I just want to mention about Ability Conflicts that might arise between characters and cards. The general rule is this...

If there is any conflict, Character Ability always has the priority, followed by card abilities, followed by game rules. This ought to serve you well when questions arise during game play.

Ok that's all for the game rules section of Feng Sheng!! Hope everyone would enjoy this game as much as I do.

Till my next post, see ya and have fun!!

How to Play - Part 2: Action!

2012-03-09T07:01:00.001-08:00

So now that everyone has a character and an identity, it's time to start playing the game proper!

Distribute 3 playing cards per player as the starting hand. Playing cards have their reverse side looking like this.

Reverse side of playing cards

For the sake of this post, I shall use an example of 4 players in the game: Andy, Beck, Calvin, and Darren. They are each seated around a table like so...

They each have a character card, an identity card, and 3 playing cards to start with. In the center of the table is the rest of the playing cards (the deck) and the discard pile. When playing cards are "used" to activate the card's ability, they will go into the discard pile.

Let's assume it is Andy's turn. The phases in a turn follows this very simple sequence:

At the start of your turn, draw 2 cards from the deck. The action phase is where you can use the abilities on your playing cards. The end of the turn... well... nothing happens. You just pass the turn to the next player.

Now let me talk about the most important section of the game... Delivering the Message!

To deliver a message, select a playing card from your hand. Playing cards have 3 colours, RED, BLUE and BLACK, corresponding to the colour of the textbox on the card.

More importantly, messages have 3 ways of being delivered. Let me go through them one by one.

The first, and most common, way is the "Classified Message 密电".

To deliver a "Classified Message", put the card faced down on the table, then pass it to the person to your right. In this scenario, Andy slides the message to Beck.

Note that at this point, Beck has received the message, but he has not accepted the message. When someone receives a message, they are given time to consider whether to accept or reject. A player can only flip over the message to reveal its contents if the message is accepted.

Let's say Beck chooses not to accept the message, then Beck will pass the message to Calvin. The message should still be facing down.

Calvin receives the message, considers for a moment, then decides to accept the message. Once the message is accepted, he can flip over the card to reveal the colour of the message. In this case, the message that Calvin receives is a RED message.

All accepted messages must be placed in front of the player, facing up.

Consider this scenario: What if all the players choose to reject the message? What happens then?

Here's the critical rule:

"Whenever the message arrives back at the message source, the source MUST accept that message."

This scenario is illustrated below. Suppose Beck, Calvin and Darren all decide not to accept Andy's message, then it would arrive back at Andy. Andy must then accept his own message.

Ok that section described the "Classified Message". Next, the "Broadcast Message 文本".

The "Broadcast Message" is delivered in exactly the same way is the "Classified Message" except for one critical difference: "Broadcast Message" cards and delivered faced up! Everyone can see the colour of the card in plain sight. How's that for mind games, huh?

Remember that everything else about "Classified Message" and "Broadcast Message" are identical, so I won't repeat the rest of that section.

Finally, we come to the last type of message: "Direct Message 直达"

The "Direct Message" is the most straightforward. Place your message faced down on the table, and send it directly to your intended recipient. In the example here, Andy is giving a "Direct Message" to Calvin.

Here's what is dangerous about the "Direct Message". If your recipient does not accept your message, the message comes straight back to you! By now you know the rule, the source must accept his own message.

But if your mind games are strong, use this to your advantage. Fake your opponent into thinking you are sending him a BLACK "Direct Message", but instead send out a RED or BLUE "Direct Message". You predict that he will reject it, thus the message that comes back is yours. Ka-ching!!

So this is pretty much it for the rules. The remainder is simple and has already been explained: fulfill your objective and win. End of story.

I hope this write-up has been easy for you to follow! Once you have gotten the hang of the basics, you can move on to learning to use the characters. Click here to go to Game Rules - Part 3!

How to play - Part 1: Set Up

2012-02-28T05:55:00.004-08:00

If you are able to navigate your way around the original Chinese manual, you will realize that Feng Sheng is NOT an easy game to pick up. However, I believe that Feng Sheng is easier than SanGuoSha to learn, and probably a lot more satisfying.

In this post, I will explain the game rules to you such that you can pick it up easily. All you need is this one post!

Here we go!!

Quick Bits:

- This game is suitable for 3 to 9 players.

- Turns go anti-clockwise

- There are 3 types of cards in this game: (a) Identity cards, (b) Character cards, (c) Playing cards

Step One: Distribute Character cards

Shuffle the character cards and distribute TWO character cards faced down to each player.

Character cards look like these cards shown below with a portrait on them.

Reverse side of character cards

Every player must select ONE character to use. Don't worry about all the words and abilities at this point. Just randomly choose one of them for now and place it in front of you, still faced down. Return the other character card to the deck.

Step Two: Distribute Identity cards
Pick out as many Identity cards as there are players, then shuffle and distribute them faced down.

There are 3 types of Identities, each indicated by a different colour.

From left to right - INTELLIGENCE, CLANDESTINE, COLLATERAL.

Reverse side of Identity cards

Useful tip - Always select an equal number of INTELLIGENCE and CLANDESTINE identity cards, then make up the rest of the players with COLLATERAL identities.

For example, if there are 7 players, either choose...
Option A - 2 x INTELLIGENCE, 2 x CLANDESTINE, 3 x COLLATERAL
Option B - 3 x INTELLIGENCE, 3 x CLANDESTINE, 1 x COLLATERAL
Either way, the game still works fine. Note that there are only 3 of each identity for a total of 9.

Every player must have an identity card, and every player MUST keep their identity secret throughout the game. Never expose your identity card until you are dead or the game is over.

Here's what each identity needs to accomplish:
INTELLIGENCE - When any player from INTELLIGENCE accumulates 3 BLUE messages, all INTELLIGENCE players are deemed as victorious.
CLANDESTINE - When any player from CLANDESTINE accumulates 3 RED messages, all CLANDESTINE players are deemed as victorious.
COLLATERAL - You are an innocent bystander who is drawn into an espionage war. A stranger hands you a "Secret Mission". Completing this mission could be your only salvation.

Step Three: Distribute Playing Cards
Shuffle the playing cards and distribute THREE playing cards per player.

Now we are all set!! Click here to read "Part 2: Game Play"

Dài Lì 戴笠

2012-02-27T05:53:00.001-08:00

Character Ability 1: Daggered Smile 笑里藏刀 (xiào lǐ cáng dāo)
When a player accepts a BLUE/RED message sent from you, you can place a BLACK message in front of him.

Character Ability 2: Chess piece 运筹帷幄 (yùn choú wái wò)
When you accept a BLUE/RED message, you can draw a card from the deck.

Hidden Agenda:
Accept three or more BLUE messages.
(This is historically relevant since Dai Li was a real KMT figure)

Who is he?
Once known as "The Himmler of China", this man is no fictional character. Dai Li is a real historical figure who was the head of the Kuomintang's intelligence unit. It is almost hard to believe that Dai Li's early life was spent gambling to make ends meet. It was until he met Chiang Kai-Shek that he went into the military, and quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the most feared men in China at the time.

Despite his capabilities, Dai Li was short-lived. He died in a plane crash in the year 1946, when he was only 49. As with all espionage stories, conspiracy theories cling on to the real cause behind his death. A fitting eulogy, perhaps, for a man so dedicated to intelligence and espionage.

Trivia:
Dai Li isn't really his given name. His real name was Dai Chun Feng 戴春风, where "Chun Feng" means "Spring's breeze". That's a tad too happy for a spy mastermind, don't you think? It was when he started his military training that he changed his name to Dai Li 戴笠, where "Li" is the kind of bamboo rain-hat that ancient spies would wear. It so happens that 戴笠 literally means "to put on the bamboo hat", symbolically marking the beginning of a career in intelligence.

References:
- Dai Li Wiki
- Dai Li Baike

Cháo Xī 潮汐

2012-02-27T05:13:00.002-08:00

Character Ability 1: Shrewd 城府 (chéng fǔ)
You can conceal your identity when "Probe 试探" is used on you.

Character Ability 2: Time Lag 时差 (shí chā)
When you accept a BLACK message, you can take one message from another player and add into your on-hand cards.

Hidden Agenda:
A player declares victory after accepting a message that was sent out from you. Accomplishing your Hidden Agenda will void that player's victory.

Who is he?
I searched throughout the internet for more information on this guy, but I found nothing. All I can tell you is that his name 潮汐 literally means "the morning and evening tide". This character does not come with the Starter Pack of the game. You will only find him in the expansion pack.

Green Beret 贝雷帽 (bèi léi mào)

2012-02-25T00:32:00.003-08:00

Character Ability 1: Today's the Day 换日 (huàn rì)
Your BLACK on-hand cards can be used as "Lock On 锁定"

Character Ability 2: Swindle 偷天 (toū tiān)
When a player accepts a BLACK message sent from you, you can take one of his displayed RED or BLUE message and add it to the on-hand cards of any player.

Hidden Agenda:
"Accumulate three RED and three BLUE on-hand cards."

Who is he:
This guy is apparently based on a real-life Green Beret soldier. Though there is no mention of his name on the official game site, fans have dug out what appears to be a likely fictional candidate: Jack O'Hara aka "The Green Beret".

Jack O'Hara is a fictional character in the PC game series "Commandos". One particular description of Jack O'Hara matches the write-up by Feng Sheng, where despite suffering a bullet to the arm, he wipes out an enemy bunker of 16 soldiers with no guns nor ammunition.

Coincidence? I think not.

References:
- Commandos (PC game)
- Feng Sheng character synopsis

Masquerade 真伪莫辨 (zhēn wěi mò biàn)

2012-02-24T21:44:00.001-08:00

Description:
Do you fancy Russian Roulette? This card is a major game changer and can cause utter chaos. The consequence of using this card include:

- Victory conditions could be satisfied immediately
- You and/or other players could die
- Identities become harder to infer

Sounds like an unfair card? Not at all. In fact this is probably the only card in the whole game that deals a generous dose of luck, just what the underdogs need to turn the game around!

Card Translation:
"Draw as many cards from the deck as there are players still in play, shuffle, then place them faced down on the table. Beginning from the card user, each player selects one card and reveals it as an accepted message."

- Can be used only during the action phase of your turn.

How to use it:
This card is NOT the same as "Harvest 五谷丰登" in SanGuoSha. Firstly, these cards are faced-down while each player is selecting. Secondly, the selected cards do not go into the player's hand as on-hand cards. Instead it is immediately displayed as an accepted message.

One thing to clarify here. The player that selected a card should reveal its contents before the next player selects a card. If the game ends with the revealing of that card, the next player does not need to select the card anymore (the game ceases immediately). Similarly, if a player dies when the contents is revealed, he/she is deemed out of the game before the next player selects a card.

Trivia:
The words 真伪莫辨 translates as "difficult to distinguish between what's real and what's not". In the context of a game such as this, I have chosen to interpret it as everyone attending a masquerade ball, and no one is completely sure who is who anymore. Admittedly, this does not highlight the game-changing consequence of this card, but the enigma of a masquerade ball seems fitting for a espionage-themed game such as this.

Reject 退回 (tuì huí)

2012-02-24T21:14:00.003-08:00

Description:
Turn the tables on the assailant and "return the favour". This is as close to "getting your just desserts" as you can get. If a "Classified Message 密电" is chugging along, you are certain the source isn't on your side, and the message itself is creeping death, use "Reject" to send the message back to the source.

Return to sender... and make him drink his own poison.

Card Translation:
"The message will continue to be delivered in the opposite direction."

- Used outside of your turn
- Can only be used when you receive the message, but before you accept.
- This card is ineffective if you use it while you are under "Lock On 锁定"

How to use it:
As long as you abide by the three conditions stated above, this card is easy to use. It you have ever played "Uno", this is the same as the "Reverse" card.

Once you receive the message, do not accept it. Declare that you are using "Reject", then promptly shove the card back to whoever just handed it to you. If that player chooses not to accept, he then pushes it to previous player (ie: the message travels in the opposite direction back towards the source).

Remember that the source MUST accept messages that come back to him/her. If you want to increase you chances of sabotaging the source, this card should be used early on in the Message Delivery phase.

Trivia:
"Reject" is one of those cards that is mostly antagonistic. Players typically serve up this card with a middle finger side dish. But when reverse psychology comes into play, this card can be pretty interesting. The message source could disguise his RED/BLUE message as a BLACK message through his acting, then send it out calculating that his opponents would "Reject" and send the dough right back into his hands. This would take a fair bit of trickery and skill, but makes for incredible play!

Lock On 锁定 (suǒ dìng)

2012-02-24T19:00:00.000-08:00

Description:
The card name is a giveaway, but in case you still don't get it, the picture on the card ought to make the intention of this card crystal clear. "Lock On" let's you force the message into a recipient's hand, either proclaiming your intention to kill or to aid the recipient. Using this card is like the wolf revealing its fangs, or the angel baring its wings. Either way, the drama officially begins!

Card Translation:
"Select a player other than yourself. This player must accept the message that reaches him."

- To be used during the Action phase and/or Message Delivery phase of your turn.

How to use it:
Dead simple. Declare that you shall be using "Lock On", then state your target player. You can use this before you start to send out your message, or while your message is being delivered, thus you have some flexibility on timing.

For example. Say you want to make it known publicly that you want David to die. You declare "Lock On you, David" before you start to send out your message. This could help the rest of the players join the dots and make conclusions about your identity.

On the other hand, you have been acting like a teammate to David, but it's time for you to stab David in the back. To prevent others from using "Diversion" to protect David, you let your deadly message pass round harmlessly till it arrives at David. At which point you cold-bloodedly declare "Lock On you, David". Bang.

Take note of when this card CANNOT be used. This card can only be used during that player's turn, thus you CANNOT use "Lock On" if you are not the message source.

Trivia:
I love how this card blends neatly with the whole conspiracy-killing theme. Like in the movies, some evil secret organization homes in on one target and goes all out to kill him. I believe that was what happened to that top nuclear scientist in Iran. It's all a god-damned conspiracy!!

Probe 试探 (shì tàn)

2012-02-24T18:39:00.004-08:00

Description:
Friend or foe? You need to know! He's collected two BLUE messages by now and you wonder if he belongs to INTELLIGENCE 军情, just like you. You need to test him and find out once and for all his real motives. This card will give you the answer... or will it?

Card Translation:
"Only the player under probe can see the contents of this card, then abide by the instructions in this card based on his/her identity. After this card has been used, remove this card from the game."

- To be used during the Action Phase of your turn.

How to use it:
This is probably the most complicated card in the game, but once you get the hang of it, it's a piece of cake. Follow these steps carefully.

Step 1: Look at the two rows of coloured words at the bottom of the "Probe" card. The words are either blue for INTELLIGENCE 军情, red for CLANDESTINE 潜伏 or green for COLLATERAL 打酱油.

Step 2: Memorize which colour is on top. In the picture given here, the red coloured words are on top.
(Important! Every "Probe" card is slightly different. Make sure you look carefully and memorize before going to step 3.)

Step 3: Place this card faced down on the table, then push the card to the player you whose identity you would like to probe. Declare "Probe" like a boss and give him/her the stare-down.

Step 4: The player being probed looks at the card, being careful not to let the other players see the contents. He/she then follows the instruction on the card based on his/her identity. (Important! The player under probe must honestly follow the instructions below. Players are not allowed to bluff... unless their character ability allows them to do so!)

The possible instructions are listed below.

Top row instructions:
抽一张牌 = Draw one card
抽二张牌 = Draw two cards
弃掉一张牌 = Discard one card
弃掉二张牌 = Discard two cards

Bottom row instructions:
回答：其实我是卧底 = Reply: "I'm actually a spy."
回答：其实我是一个好人 = Reply: "I'm actually one of the good guys"

(The bottom row instructions actually don't matter. You will know what I mean as you read on.)

Step 5: The player being probed puts the card out of the playing area, faced down so that nobody else ever sees its contents till the game is over. Remember to put the card back into the deck after the game is over!

How does all this reveal the person's identity?
Remember "Step 2: Memorize which colour is on top"? As it turns out, the player who carries out the action described in the top row has revealed his/her identity! This is because every "Probe" card will only have ONE identity type in the top row. As long as the person being probed discards or draws a card, that person's identity is described in the top row.

For example. Let's say you use the "Probe" card in the picture above to probe Alex. The words in red are at the top row. After Alex looks at the card, he proceeds to draw two cards from the deck. This means that Alex's identity is CLANDESTINE! But if he does not discard or draw any cards, and utters "I'm actually a spy", then his identity is either INTELLIGENCE or COLLATERAL.

So here's the shortcut to using this card:
1. Memorize the colour of the words in the top row.
2. Pass to target player
3. If target player discard or draw cards, target player has identity of top row.
4. If target player does not discard or draw cards, he does not have identity of top row.

Hard to understand by reading, much easier once you actually do it!

The Plot Thickens
There is no guarantee that you will know the players identity using "Probe". This is because some of the characters in the game have special abilities that allow the players to be dishonest under probe! To make matters worse, these characters are usually under-cover, thus before they flip over their character card, you have no way of knowing if that player is bluffing!

Trivia:
Once again, some flexibility had to be used for the translation of the card name. 试探 actually means "to test", kind of like feeding the suspect spy false info and see if he acts on that false info. Technically speaking, I could have translated the card as "Test", but I felt "Probe" would have been more intuitive and more sophisticated-sounding.

Intervene 识破 (shì pò)

2012-02-24T02:45:00.003-08:00

Description:
"Just Say No" in the world of Monopoly Deal. "Negate 无懈可击" in SanGuoSha. This is the card that counters other playing cards. Help a friend or save yourself, use "Intervene" to neutralize cards like "Lock On 锁定" or "Diversion 调虎离山" and plow on to victory... or hang on to survival.

Card Translation:
"The target playing card becomes ineffective."

- Can be used when any player uses a playing card.

How to use it:
Similar to "Burn 烧毁", "Intervene" can be used at any time, with the exception that it needs to be used on a playing card. Also, there cannot be an unacceptable time lapse between the target card's use and "Intervene"'s use.

For example, say someone uses "Burn" on his own BLACK message. You want to prevent that but you allow five minutes to pass before you suddenly declare you would like the "Intervene" the "Burn" card. Too late. The other scenario is when another playing card has been played over that target playing card, it would be too late for you to use "Intervene".

Stacking "Intervene" cards
What about using "Intervene" to neutralize another "Intervene" card? Go right ahead! You can use a 2nd "Intervene" to neutralize the 1st "Intervene" card, such that the underlying playing card will still take effect. A 3rd "Intervene" card appears? Then the underlying card is neutralized. Extrapolate to infinity. Get the idea?

One thing I should mention. "Intervene" only works on playing cards. Playing cards are defined as cards where the ability written on the card is being activated. "Intervene" cannot be used on messages, whether they are cards being delivered as messages, or already accepted and displayed.

Trivia:
If you know your Chinese, you probably know that 识破 does not mean "to intervene". 识破 actually translates to "See-through", as in to see-through your plans and thoughts. This being a smartie-pants game, "see-through" is a perfect name for this card ability. The problem is that the words "see-through" is not intuitive to this cards ability. There is no element of obstruction, prevention, or cancellation. Thus I have taken it upon myself to bring the translation one step further, calling this card "Intervene" to give the sense of "obstructing" another player's plans, but yet still related to the original intention. Since you have seen-through the ploy to kill you, you would intervene, wouldn't you?

Burn 烧毁 (shāo huǐ)

2012-02-24T02:17:00.001-08:00

Description:
Burn after reading. This message will self-destruct in 5 seconds. You get the idea.

This card is the life-saver and will give you some space to breathe, calm your nerves, or allow you to help your teammates. The only question here is; is it really worth it to save the other player? Maybe even, is it worth it to save yourself??

Card Translation:
"Burn one BLACK message".

(Please do not take this literally and light up a playing card with a match. Here's assuming you are readers with a healthy dose of common sense.)

How to use it:
You can use this card at ANY TIME on any player still alive. This means that you even use it outside of your turn. Simply declare that you want to use "Burn", and select any BLACK message that has been accepted by any player. Then remove that BLACK message into the discard deck.

There is one critical rule though. This card cannot be used on players that have already accumulated three BLACK messages. The logic is that the moment the third BLACK message is accepted, the player dies immediately. There is no way to revive dead players in this game! So if you are about to open a risky message and you already have two BLACK messages displayed, use "Burn" before you accept the message!

Trivia:
In this game, strength in numbers does not ensure victory. Tactics do. It might actually be a good idea to let yourself die so as to allow your other teammates to have a clearer picture of who is who. That being said, weigh the pros and cons before jumping to reckless decisions. If you only have one other partner in play, nobody is going to help him win if you die!

Decode 破译 (pò yì)

2012-02-22T03:59:00.002-08:00

Description:
Peek-a-boo!! With two BLACK messages and two RED messages, you are one message away from victory... or death. A "Classified Message 密电" arrives under your nose, and the temptation for reckless glory is hard to suppress. Thankfully, prudence prevails and you decide to use "Decode" to take a peek before deciding to accept!

Card Translation:
"Inspect the Message"

- Can only be used when you have received the message

How to use it:
Once the message arrives in your hands, do not be too quick to accept. Instead, simply proclaim to the other players that you shall be using "Decode", then carefully peek at the contents of the message. Be careful not to let the other players see it. Once you are done peeping, place the card back on the table face down.

Note that after you have peeped at the message, you cannot immediately accept the message. You need to place the message back on the table face down first, THEN you can proclaim to accept the message or not. The logic behind this is to give other players a chance to read your facial expression and body language, then allow them a chance to use "Intercept 截获".

Trivia:
This is a REALLY useful card! Too bad there aren't too many of them. I contemplated translating 密电 as "Cipher" instead of "Classified Message" , and it does blend into the game nicely. However the word "Cipher" is not as intuitive in terms of the mechanics of the game, thus I decided to stick to the simpler, crude and cliche translation of "Classified Message". Aww.

Intercept 截获 (jié huò)

2012-02-22T03:39:00.000-08:00

Description:
One more BLUE message before you win! You wait for the player across the table to send out a new message. You are almost certain it's blue! You can't risk letting those in line receive it before it reaches you. You have to GRAB IT!

Card Translation:
"Receive the message that is in the midst of delivery"

- To be used in another player's Message Delivery phase.

How to use it:
To intercept a message, use this card when the message is being passed but BEFORE the message is accepted.

Here are a few instances where you can use "Intercept"...
- When the message is about to leave a player
- When the message has been received by a player but not yet accepted by that player

Here are instances where "Intercept" cannot be used...
- After a player has declared that he accepts the message, even if he has not revealed its contents
- After the message contents has been revealed
- After a player who has been "Lock On 锁定" receives the message.

Once you use "Intercept", the message will immediately go to you. Physically move the message card to your playing area. Thus you would be considered to have received it. HOWEVER, you have not accepted the message. Other players can use "Intercept" to snatch the message away from you.

Trivia:
Intercept is, of course, nothing new in the world of spies and intelligence. The only minor issue I have with this card is that the portrait shows them listening in on a message, but not depriving the recipient of the message. In this game, the intended recipient is denied the message altogether.

Diversion 调虎离山 (diào hǔ lí shān)

2012-02-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Description:
You see David across the table with two red messages proudly displayed. Then Jamie starts to pass a RED "Broadcast Message 文本". You can't let David get all three red messages!! So how do you prevent the message from reaching David? This card can force the message to bypass David altogether. Pretty useful in a desperate situation!

Card Translation:
"Select a player other than yourself not to be involved in Message Delivery."

- To be used during Message Delivery phase
- Does not affect Message Source and players who have been "Lock On 锁定".

How to use it:
"Diversion" can only be used during the Message Delivery phase. But that being said, if you want to use it, you have to move FAST! Once the message has arrived at a player, this player can no longer be subject to "Diversion". Which means to say if the person you want to use "Diversion" on is sitting immediately to the right of the Message Source, you should use the card BEFORE the message even leaves the source's hand!

A player under the effects of "Diversion" will not receive the message at all. It will "skip" that player as if he or she was not there. For everyone else in the game, the message passes on as per normal.

Trivia:
The Chinese name of this card literally translates as "draw the tiger out of the hill". It probably stemmed from ancient times where people had to go gather wood and fruits and such from the hill, but there's a tiger that terrorizes them. The solution to this problem? Attract the tiger's attention using a diversion and draw it away from the hill, leaving it safe for the gatherers.