Winner

     If you've never played Triple Triad before, here is the very basic explanation of the game. Two players each start with five cards. Each card has four numbers on it, representing each side of the card. They go back and forth, placing one card at a time on a 3x3 board. If you place a card next to an opponent's card, the two numbers on the touching sides of the cards are compared. If your card's value is larger, the opponent's card becomes yours. If it is smaller, nothing happens. The winner is the player with the most cards once the board is full.

     Again, if you've never played Triple Triad before, here is a quick explanation of the advanced rules of the game. These rules are not always in effect. At the beginning of each game, it must be decided if any of the following rules will be used. Combo will not be declared, it is always joined to Same or Plus.

Same: If you place a card down beside two or more cards (one of which must be an opponent, but not necessarily all) and at least two of its sides are exactly equal to the other cards, then each of the cards with the same value becomes yours. The combo rule occurs for each card that becomes yours through Same. Click here for a demo of the Same rule.

Plus: This works very similarly to Same. If you place a card down beside two or more cards (again, one must be an opponent's) and two of the sides have the same sum, then each of the cards with that sum becomes yours. The combo rule occurs for each card that becomes yours through Plus. Click here for a demo of the Plus rule.

Combo: The combo rule is joined to Same and Plus. If you gain control of an opponent's card with a Same or Plus, then the opponent's card acts as if you had just played it, which means it can flip adjacent cards if it has greater numbers or contributes to a Same or Plus (if that rule is in effect).

Same Wall + Plus Wall: The "Wall" refers to the surrounding perimeter of the board. If one of these rules is permitted, it is the same principle as before (Same Wall = Same; Plus Wall = Plus) only now you may make one of the two mandatory matches with the wall, which holds an "A" value (A=10).

Elemental: This rule affects your cards depending on the card's "element" indicated in the upper right corner. Certain spaces on the board will be a given element. If your card's element is the same as mentioned, it will gain a +1 bonus to all of its numbers. If it is different, it will get a -1 to all of its numbers. If the card has no element, it will always get -1 if it is placed on an elemental tile.

     In Mallboro, each player is allowed to use a certain combination of cards based on his/her Card Club Level. There are only two restrictions in place: Total Card Cost and Rare Cards.
     In order to gain a level, you must gain 5 experience points. Each official match within a tournament or league is worth one experience. This does not mean winning a whole tournament/league, but merely a match within it.
     There is also a Rare Bonus where for each Boss Card or GF Card you possess, you gain a level boost: +1 for Boss, +2 for GF.

Total Card Cost Restriction

     Total Card Cost (TCC) is the sum of the card levels you intend to play with. This sum cannot exceed your own Card Club Level. You begin as a Level 5, which means you can only use five Level 1 Cards. As you advance your level, you gain more options for card combinations.

Example 1 -- Level 10:
Three Level 1 cards (1+1+1), one Level 2 card (2), and one Level 5 card (5).
TCC = (1+1+1)+2+5 = 10

Example 2 -- Level 10:
Five Level 2 cards (2+2+2+2+2).
TCC = (2+2+2+2+2) = 10

Rare Cards Restriction

     In Final Fantasy VIII, each of the card levels had a name: 1-5 were Monster Cards, 6-7 were Boss Cards, and 8-9 were GF Cards. The Rare Cards restriction means that all Boss Cards and GF Cards are rare and must be owned by the player in order to use them.
Note: Mallboro does not use Level 10 Player Cards

Expanding Your Deck: Rare Cards

1. Challenge Another Player: You can play against other people as much as you want, but you must be fair. Both of you must decide on a trade method beforehand. Then, one of you will download and run the program and simulate the results. Trade the cards, then notify me, Bob, so I can make the changes here. No experience is gained from non-tournament play.

2. Triple Triad Tournaments: From time to time, there will be Triple Triad tournaments held. These may feature either Boss or GF cards as the prizes. Some tournaments will be elimination, while others will be round-robin.

3. Auction House: At certain times, there will be cards available to buy at the Auction House. For 150 GP, a character can purchase a Boss Card, if it is available. For 250 GP, a character can purchase an available GF Card.

4. Trading: You are completely free to trade with a friend. If you have Jumbo Cactuar and want Shiva, and Shiva's holder wants Jumbo Cactuar, and you both want to trade: go for it! Just play nice. I don't want to have to break up trading wars... Don't make me come up there!

     There are so many lists of the cards out there in the world, so instead of writing my own list of cards, please reference something like the Final Fantasy Shrine to see the cards themselves. Here at Mallboro, we will only use Levels 1-9, so player cards will not be used.

     There will be numerous updates to this program in the beginning, so I will continue to release new versions. Please let me know if you find an error in any portion of the program. To download the program, click the "Triple Triad" image below.

Playing the Queen of Cards: The Queen of Cards will make a deck of random monster cards. This means she carries all cards from Level 1-5. When running the program, input "cpu" for Player 2 and it will simulate a game with the Queen and her random deck.