Card rules · 2026-10-29
A Hand-Size Limit Needs a Checkpoint
A settled hand can contain thirteen cards even though a turn temporarily holds more. In this exercise, the count starts at 13, rises to 14 after drawing and returns to 13 after…
A settled hand can contain thirteen cards even though a turn temporarily holds more. In this exercise, the count starts at 13, rises to 14 after drawing and returns to 13 after discarding. The question is when the stated limit applies.
Two different constraints
If thirteen is the required count after the discard, the temporary fourteen-card state is permitted by this process. If thirteen is an absolute maximum at every instant, the same process conflicts with that limit. These statements cannot both govern the example unchanged.
Read the qualifier
Phrases such as “at the end of the turn”, “before declaration” and “at all times” identify different checkpoints. Omitting them from a summary can turn a valid intermediate state into an apparent violation.
An accurate explanation records the phase alongside the count. Fourteen cards before the required discard and fourteen after the turn ends are different observations. Attach each count to the checkpoint where the requirement applies.
A final count and an intermediate count need different labels
Write the inventory as start 13, accepted draw 14, accepted discard 13. Now remove the discard event from the record. The last known count is 14, but the turn may still be unfinished. Calling that a settled thirteen-card hand would invent an event. Calling the intermediate count a violation requires a rule that forbids it at that phase.