Final Fantasy VIII: Triple Triad
Final Fantasy VIII: Triple Triad Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Triple Triad Card Anatomy
- Illustration: Each card has a central illustration depicting a Monster, Boss, Guardian Force (G.F.), or Character. Guardian Force cards have the letters "G.F." printed at the bottom of the picture, and Character cards have the character's name at the bottom of their portrait.
- Ranks: Every card has four numbers and/or letters located in the upper-left corner. These represent the card's strength in the card game. There are ten different ranks, the numbers 1 through 9 and the letter A, which has a value of 10. The 4 ranks on a card each correspond to one of the 4 sides of the card: top, bottom, left, and right, respectively. Basically, you can consider a card strong if there are many large ranks, and weak if there are many low ranks.
- Elemental Attributes: Some cards have an Elemental Attribute located in the upper-right corner. When the optional "Elemental" rule is being used, these attributes can either strengthen or weaken some cards. There are 8 kinds of Elemental Attributes: fire, lightning, wind, poison, ice, water, earth, and holy. A card without an Elemental Attribute is considered Non-Elemental.
- Title Bar: The lower-left of each card has a title bar containing several pieces of information. First is the card's I.D. Number. Starting with "G-", these numbers range from 1 to 110, and have no effect on game play. Next, the card's Level is listed, in the format "Lv-" and a number 1 through 10. The Level represents the relative strength of a card (a Lv 4 card is generally weaker than a Lv 5 card, etc.). The Level also indicates what type of card it is. Lv 1-5 cards are Monsters, Lv 6 & 7 cards are Bosses, Lv 8 & 9 cards are G.F.s, and Lv 10 cards are Characters. The Level of a card is important when building play decks. Lastly, the title bar lists the name of the card, printed in Japanese (usually katakana).
The Basics
The playing area is a field comprised of 9 squares (3 by 3) where the players will place their cards. If a Triple Triad Mat is not available, a suitable field can be created by using a standard sheet of paper, divided into 9 card-sized squares (3 rows by 3 columns).
Players take turns placing cards into the playing field in an attempt to "control" their opponent's cards. Card control is indicated by a two-sided disc placed on top of the cards. When the red side of a disc is face-up on a card, it is considered controlled by the red player. If the blue player gains control of a card, the disc is flipped over to leave the blue side up, etc. When the field is full, the winner is the player with the most cards under his or her control (i.e., with the most discs of their color face-up).
There are several optional rules which make the game more challenging, including different trade rules and theme game formats, all of which are discussed later. A basic game plays as follows:
Step 1: Card and Color Selection. Each player selects 5 cards from their deck (or the cards they have available) to use as their hand in the current round of play. It is possible to choose multiple copies of the same card for use in a hand, as long as it is allowed by the rules of the format being played. Cards chosen should be concealed from your opponent until played. One player then flips a player disc to see what color he or she will be for the round (red or blue). Their opponent will use the other color.
Step 2: Determine First Player. After each player has chosen his or her hand and color, the play order is randomly decided. Flip a player disc. The color shown will be the first player, followed by his or her opponent and alternating turns thereafter. Note that since the play area has only 9 squares, the first player will be able to play all the cards from his hand, while the second player will only play 4 of his or her 5 cards.
Step 3: Placing Cards into the Field. On each player's turn, he or she will select 1 card from the cards left in his or her hand and place it onto a vacant square in the play area. When each card is played, a player disc should be placed on it to indicate the color of the player who played it. If a card is placed next to one or more cards of the opponent's color, compare the ranks of the cards on the adjoining sides. If the newly placed card has a higher rank than the opponent's card, then the token on the opponent's card is flipped over, and it is now considered under the control of the player of the new card.
For example, if red has a card on the field with a bottom rank of 5, and blue plays a card beneath it with a top rank of 8, the disc on the red card would be flipped over to blue.
Note that older cards never "flip" newer cards, even if they have a higher rank on the adjoining side; only the newest card played flips the discs of adjacent cards of the opponent's color, and only if the new card has a higher rank than the older one on the adjoining sides.
Step 4: Deciding the Game and Trading Cards. When the first player has finished placing his or her 5th card, and any appropriate color discs have been flipped, the round is over. The game is settled by determining whether there are more red or blue discs showing. Note that the one card that stayed in the second player's hand is still considered to be that player's color; he or she puts it beside the playing field, places a disc of his or her color on it, and it is included in the calculation of the game's outcome. If each player has five discs of their color showing, the game is a draw. Otherwise, the player with the most discs of his or her color showing is the winner. After the game is decided, cards may be traded by following the trade rules.
Special Rules
Triple Triad has seven optional rules which add depth and difficulty to the game. Some of these rules can make the game quite strategically challenging. Each of these optional rules is explained below, and each rule has a corresponding Rule Card which can be set beside the play area to note which rules are currently in effect. Any or all of the optional rules may be used simultaneously in any combination, except for the Same Wall rule, which can only be used if the Same rule is also in effect (see below). Note that there is also a "Rules: (None)" Card, which is not actually a Rule, so to speak, but should be displayed in a game if none of the optional rules are being used.
Rule: Open. When the Open rule is in use, both players can see the contents of their opponent's hands. This is useful because it is easier to build a strategy, but take into consideration that your opponent can also see your hand, and will decide his or her actions accordingly. When playing with the Open rule, both players should lay their hand of cards face up beside the playing field as soon as the first player has been determined, and leave them face up until the round is concluded.
Rule: Same. The Same rule introduces an additional way to flip opponents' cards rather than simply by outranking them. If, when a card is placed, the ranks on two or more sides are exactly the same as those from adjacent cards, those adjacent cards are flipped. If this technique is used, it is possible to flip strong cards that cannot be won otherwise.
For example, if red plays a card with a 3 on bottom and a 7 on the left, and the blue card below has a 3 on top, and the blue card to the left has a 7 on the right, both of the blue cards would be flipped to red by the Same rule.
Note that two, three, or even four cards (though this is extremely rare) may be flipped at once using this rule, as long as all adjoining sides are exact matches.
The Same Rule also includes an additional concept called "Combo". Any cards flipped by the Same rule are treated as if they were just placed on the board, and will capture any and all adjacent cards they happen to outrank. Any of these flipped cards will also capture adjacent cards, and so on. During a Combo, additional cards can only be captured by being directly outranked; captures by Same or Plus (below) rules are not possible except as the "start" of the Combo. Also note that if a player uses one of his or her own cards, along with an opponent's card, to trigger the Same (or Plus) rule, only the opponent's card(s) are considered "flipped" and qualify as "newly placed" cards to start a Combo (i.e., red cannot use the Same rule to "flip" one of his own red cards and Combo off of it).
Rule: Same Wall. Same Wall is a modified version of the Same rule that can only be used if the Same rule is also in effect. With Same Wall, the outer border of the play field is considered to have a rank of A for the purposes of the Same rule. In other words, if the side of a placed card with an A rank is adjacent to the outer border, and one of the remaining sides has the same rank as an adjoining card, then the Same rule has been satisfied. The opponent's card(s) will be flipped, and may Combo. If Same Wall is chosen as a rule in a game where Same is not also in use, ignore the Same Wall rule.
Rule: Sudden Death. With the Sudden Death rule, no ties are allowed. If a round ends in a draw, each player picks up the 5 cards that are currently under his or her control (i.e., under discs of his or her color), even if they are not the same 5 cards that he or she had at the start of the round, and a new round of play begins. The second player from each previous round becomes the first player for each new round of play. Play continues in this fashion until one player or the other is victorious, then card trading takes place.
Rule: Random. Instead of choosing 5 cards from their deck (or available cards) for each round, the 5 card hands are randomly selected from each player's deck (or from all the cards they have) each round. This makes it considerably more difficult to formulate strategy, and forces players to adapt their tactics to fit the hand they are dealt. If the Random rule is in effect and multiple rounds are played back-to-back, the cards won from an opponent in the previous round should be shuffled into a player's deck (or card selection) before cards for the next round are randomly chosen.
Rule: Plus. The Plus rule is similar to the Same rule, except instead of requiring the same ranks on adjacent sides, it requires the sum of adjoining ranks from two or more sides to give the same total when added.
For example, blue plays a card with a 2 on the top and a 4 on the left. The red card above has a bottom rank of 3, making the total of the adjoining sides 5. The red card to the left has a right-side rank of 1, so the total of those adjoining sides is also 5. Since the sum of adjoining ranks from two or more sides is the same, the red cards would be flipped to blue because of the Plus rule, and would qualify to start Combos. If the card on the left (with the 1 rank on the right) had been blue instead of red, the Plus rule would still be satisfied and the red card above flipped, but the blue card would remain blue and could not make any Combo captures (it is not considered to have been "flipped").
When multiple "capture" rules like Same and Plus are in effect simultaneously (including the default "outrank" capture), any combination of them can be used by a played card, whenever possible. For example, if red plays a card which directly outranks one adjacent card, and could also capture two other cards using the Same rule, the red player can capture the two cards using the Same rule, and also capture the other card normally. If a player could use the Same rule to capture two cards, and use the Plus rule to capture a third card in conjunction with one of the first two, then all three cards may be captured. In the case of the Plus rule, if two sets of adjoining sides both total 8, for example, but the other two sets of adjoining sides have a different total, say 6, then the player could capture all of the cards in question. Basically, any number of cards can be captured by one card play, using any combination of rules, as long as the rule being used in each case has had all of its requirements met.
Rule: Elemental. When the Elemental rule is added to a game, some squares in the play area will be assigned Elemental attributes which may strengthen or weaken the cards played on them. Elemental Tokens will be placed on the board in the affected squares before play begins, with their number and placement randomly determined using Elemental Placement Cards.
The front of each Elemental Token has an icon representing one of the 8 Elements (fire, lightning, wind, poison, ice, water, earth, or holy) with "+1" printed on it. The backs of the Elemental Tokens all have a simple "-1" printed on them. There should be an equal number of tokens for each Element (i.e., 3 of each for 24 tokens total, etc.), and these should be mixed into a bag, cup, hat, or other convenient receptacle from which they can be drawn randomly.
There are nine Elemental Placement Cards, referred to hereafter as EPCs. Each EPC has two things on its face, a placement diagram on the top (a replica of the Triple Triad game board with a Moomba in one of the squares), and one or more numbers at the bottom.
After both players have selected their hand of cards for the round but before the first player is determined, shuffle the 9 EPCs together and draw one at random. The number shown on the bottom of the card is the number of Elemental Tokens that will be placed for that round. If the card drawn has the text "6 or 0" printed on it, then flip a color disc; a red flip means that 6 tokens will be used that game, while blue indicates that no Elemental tokens will be used (treat this round of play as if the Elemental rule was not in effect).
Shuffle the EPCs back together and mix the Elemental Tokens well. Next, draw one token at random from the bag (hat, cup, etc.) and turn up one card from the pile of EPCs. Place the token on the board, Elemental "+1" side up, in the square indicated by the Moomba in the placement diagram (ignoring the number at the bottom; it is only used to determine how many tokens will be placed each round). Continue this process of drawing a random token and placing it using the next EPC in the pile until the pre-determined number of Elemental Tokens has been drawn and placed on the board. The first player is then determined, and play begins. If a series of games is being played using the Elemental rule, the tokens should be collected at the end of each round (after trading) and this process should be repeated from the beginning to generate a new Elementally modified board for play each round.
During play, whenever a card is played in a square with an Elemental Token, one of two things will happen:
- If the card has the Elemental attribute matching the token, then the token is placed face-up on the card and all 4 of the card's ranks are increased by the "+1" shown on the token. For example, a card with the Fire attribute and the ranks 4, 7, 6, & 3 placed on a square with a Fire Token has new ranks of 5, 8, 7, & 4, respectively.
- If the card has an Elemental attribute different from the token, or is a Non-Elemental card, then the token is placed on the card face-down, and all 4 of the card's ranks are decreased by the "-1" shown on the back of the token. If the same Fire card in the previous example were placed on a square with an Earth Token, its new ranks would be 3, 6, 5, & 2, respectively.
These changes to card ranks are calculated before captures are resolved and last until the end of the round, so any outranking comparisons for the affected card, both immediately and on later turns or Combos, are made using the new rank values. Note that the effects of the Elemental Token modifiers apply only to direct "outranking" comparisons, during normal captures or Combos. When figuring the effects of Same, Plus, or Same Wall rules, any Elemental modifiers are ignored, and results are based on the card's original ranks. Also, a rank may be increased above A or decreased below 1, so a card with a rank of 1 and a "-1" modifier is considered a 0, and an A rank with a "+1" modifier has a value of 11.
[The author's note on the EPC distribution: the nine EPCs have the number distribution 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, and "6 or 0", giving approximately a 22% chance (each) of there being either 2, 3, or 4 tokens, an 11% chance (each) of either 1 or 5 tokens, and only a 5.5% chance (each) that there will be either 6 or zero tokens.]
Trade Rules
Trade Rules are an optional way to add risk to the games, by requiring that the players trade a certain number of cards depending on the resolution. Usually, this involves the winner taking cards away from the loser, but in some cases, each player may both lose and acquire cards. Trade Rules also make it possible to keep score during tournament play. There are five different Trade Rules, each with a corresponding card which should be displayed during the game. Unlike the other Rules, which may be used in any combination, only one Trade Rule may be in effect at any given time, though they may be changed between rounds if both players agree.
Trade Rule: None. No card trading will take place. This Trade Rule is recommended for informal or social play, allowing players to enjoy the game without the fear of losing their favorite cards.
Trade Rule: One. The winner selects one card from the five that the loser used, and can make that card his own. The winner adds the card to his deck and now has the option to select the won card as a part of his hand in any future games (thus allowing his opponent the chance to win it back...). If the game was a draw, then no cards are traded.
Trade Rule: Difference. When the game is concluded, compare the number of cards under the control of each player and determine the difference. The winner may select that many cards (the difference) to take from the hand the loser used.
For example, if there are 6 cards of the winner's color and 4 of the loser's color, the winner can choose 2 cards from among the 5 cards the loser used. Again, if the game is a draw, no cards are traded (the difference is zero).
Trade Rule: Direct. At the conclusion of the round, each player takes ownership of the cards currently under his or her control. For example, if there are 6 red cards and 4 blue ones, the red player keeps the 6 red cards, and the blue player keeps the 4 blue cards. This is the only Trade Rule which allows the loser of a round to gain possession of an opponent's cards, as long as they were under his control when the game ended. This is also the only way cards can be traded as the result of a draw; even though the players keep 5 cards each, they are not guaranteed to be the same 5 cards he or she chose to begin the round.
Trade Rule: All. The winner claims all 5 of the loser's cards. Fairly simple, this is literally a "winner-take-all" situation, though there is still no exchange of cards in a draw.
Game Formats
A game format is a set of play restrictions or guidelines used to standardize play. The standards in a game format make play more balanced (reducing the advantage a collector of a full set has over someone new to the game, etc.) and provide a comparative means of gauging different players' skill levels. The formats that follow range in complexity from a simple, basic game to multiple-match tournament competitions. In a tournament environment, all players will play using the same predetermined format. For social play, any format agreed upon by both players may be used.
Classic Format: Shuffle or Boogie...
- Deck Construction: Each player needs a deck of at least 5 cards. There is no upper limit to deck size, but each player's deck may have no more than 1 copy of each specific G.F. or Character card, or the Monster card PuPu (G-48) [these cards are considered unique, as in the video game].
- Rules Used: Any combination of the Rules may be used (or none at all), and any Trade Rule may be used, as agreed upon by both players. Rules may be changed between rounds, as long as both players agree.
- Play: After each round, each player puts the cards he or she retained or acquired back into his or her deck (& shuffles, if using the Random rule). Play continues one round after another until either player decides not to start another round, or one player has fewer than 5 cards remaining in his or her deck.
- Winning: Nobody really "wins" or "loses", so to speak, beyond the exchange of cards. Realistically, whoever walks away with more of their opponent's cards is the winner...
Tournament Format: Real World Triple Triad
- Deck Construction: Each player constructs a deck of exactly 55 cards, with the following restrictions. Each player's deck may have no more than 1 copy of each specific G.F. or Character card, or the Monster card PuPu (G-48) [the unique cards from FFVIII]. Each card in a player's deck is also given a point value equal to its Level (in the Title Bar). The point total from all 55 cards in a player's deck may not exceed 303 points. (For example, a deck of ten Lv-10 cards, ten Lv-9 cards, & thirty-five Lv-3 cards would be 55 cards and 295 points total - a legal deck.) Each player must also have a Rules Set consisting of the 1-7 Rules Cards they would like to use, plus one Trade Rule Card.
- Rules Used: All of the Rules present in BOTH players' Rules Sets will be used. Any Rule that is only present in one player's Rules Set may also be used if the other player agrees. If there are no Rules common to both Rules Sets, and the players cannot agree on any of each other's Rules for use, then none of the optional Rules will be used, and the "Rules: (None)" card should be displayed for the game. The players may choose either Trade Rule for play, but if an agreement cannot be reached, then "Trade Rule: One" will be used by default, and its card displayed.
- Play: After each round, the cards won or retained by each player are placed aside, in a discard pile, instead of being shuffled back into the decks. A match consists of 11 rounds, which will exactly deplete both players' decks.
- Winning: After 11 rounds have been played, each player counts the number of cards in his or her discard pile (this includes the cards won from an opponent during the match). Whichever player has the most cards is the winner. If each player has 55 cards, then the match is a tie.
Time Compression: Natural Laws in Chaos
- Deck Construction: Each player constructs a deck of exactly 55 cards, with the total point value of the deck (described above) not to exceed 303 points. No cards are considered "unique" in Time Compression, and a deck may have as many copies of any given card as a player desires, so long as his or her deck point limit is not exceeded. Each player must also have a Rules Set consisting of the 1-7 Rules Cards they would like to use, plus one Trade Rule Card.
- Rules Used: The Rules common to both Rules Sets or as agreed upon by both players (as described for the Tournament Format, above). The Trade Rule must also be mutually acceptable, or "Trade Rule: One" will be used by default.
- Play: As in the Tournament Format, used cards are placed in discard piles, and 11 rounds total are played (until both players' decks are exhausted).
- Winning: The player with the highest card total after all 11 rounds is the winner. (Ties are possible.)
Lunatic Pandora: Method Behind the Madness
- Deck Construction: One complete 110 card set (1 of each card) is divided into two 55-card decks which will be played against each other. The cards should be separated by Level, and 5 cards from each Level dealt randomly to each player. One player will flip a color disc to determine how the ten leftover cards (one of each Level) are distributed. If it comes up red, he or she takes the leftover Lv-1, 4, 5, 7, & 10 cards, and the other player gets the Lv-2, 3, 6, 8, & 9 cards. (If the flip is blue, he or she keeps the Lv-2, 3, 6, 8, & 9 cards and gives the rest to the other player.) The net result is a 303 point deck for one player and a 302 point deck for the other. Trade Rules for this format are for scoring purposes only, as whoever supplied the 110 cards for play will have all the cards returned to them after the game is played.
- Rules Used: Any combination of the Rules may be used (or none at all), and any Trade Rule may be used, as agreed upon by both players. Rules may be changed between rounds, as long as both players agree. For the Lunatic Pandora Format, playing "Moomba" style is strongly recommended to randomly generate new Rules for each round (see below).
- Play: As in the Tournament Format, 11 rounds using discard piles.
- Winning: The player, if any, with the highest card total after all 11 rounds is the winner.
Lunar Cry: Monsters Reign (...or Rain...)
- Deck Construction: Each player uses an identical deck consisting of one copy of each of the 55 Monster cards (Lv-1 thru Lv-5). This results in a 55 card deck with a 165 point total for each player. Each player will also need their own custom Rules Set.
- Rules Used: Determined by the Rules Sets, as in the Tournament Format.
- Play: As in the Tournament Format, 11 rounds using discard piles.
- Winning: The player with the highest card total, as usual.
Ultimate Battle: Good versus Evil
- Deck Construction: In Ultimate Battle, each player uses two play decks. One consists of one copy of each of the 33 G.F. and Character cards (297 points total), and the other contains one copy of each of the 77 Monster and Boss cards (308 points total). These two decks are referred to as "Good" and "Evil" decks, respectively, and would represent a complete 110 card Triple Triad set if combined. One "game" of Ultimate Battle will consist of two matches between the players, with each player using their "Good" deck once (against their opponent's "Evil" deck), and their "Evil" deck for the other match (versus their opponent's "Good" deck).
- Rules Used: Any combination of Rules may be used that is acceptable to both players. To capture the true spirit of Ultimate Battle, it is recommended that all 7 optional Rules be used simultaneously, with the Trade Rule: Difference. Playing "Queen of Cards" and/or "Moomba" Style is not recommended for the Ultimate Battle format.
- Play: For the first match, the red player will use his or her "Evil" deck, and blue will be "Good". After each round, the "Evil" player puts all cards he or she retained or acquired into his or her discard pile, as usual. The "Good" player places any cards retained (G.F.s & Characters) into a discard pile, but separates enemy cards acquired (Monsters & Bosses) into an "Experience" pile. At the start of any round (before players draw cards) where the "Good" player has less than five cards remaining in his or her deck, but the "Evil" deck still has 5 or more cards, the "Good" player must shuffle his or her deck and discard pile (but not the Experience pile) together to form a new deck. Note that the "Evil" deck is never reshuffled. Play continues in this fashion until either the "Evil" deck or the "Good" deck (after a reshuffle) has less than 5 cards, then the match ends. Each player's card total is then noted, i.e., deck remnants plus discards (plus Experience, for the "Good" player). All cards from the first match are now placed aside, and a second match is played with the roles reversed (the "Evil" player switches to their "Good" deck, and vice versa).
- Winning: After the conclusion of the second match, each player adds his or her card totals from both matches for a grand total. The player with the highest two-match grand total is the winner. (If the grand totals are tied, the Ultimate Battle is a draw.)
Additional Play Variations
- Playing "Queen of Cards" Style: If both players agree, a match can be played with randomly chosen Trade Rules, which change for every round. At the beginning of each round, shuffle the four Trade Rule cards together ("Trade Rule: None" is not used by the Queen...), and randomly select one. The Trade Rule chosen will be the Trade Rule used for that round, and a new one will be chosen each subsequent round in the same manner.
- Playing "Moomba" Style: When acceptable to both players (and strongly recommended for the Lunatic Pandora Format), this option can be used to randomly choose Rules for each new round. After a Trade Rule is chosen, shuffle the Trade Rule Card into a full set of 7 Rule Cards (excluding the "Rules: (None)" card). Deal cards one at a time face-up from this shuffled stack until the Trade Rule Card is revealed. All Rules revealed before (and including) the Trade Rule Card will be used for the round; the remainder will not. If the Trade Rule Card is the last card revealed in the stack, then all the Rules will be used for the round. If the Trade Rule Card is the first card turned over, then none of the optional Rules will be used (and the "Rules: (None)" card should be displayed). Note that if the Same Wall rule is present in a game without the Same rule, then it is ignored, as usual.
- "Reset" Option: Both players may agree, before a match begins, that each player will be given his or her cards back at the conclusion of the match. If the "Reset" option is used, some method should be chosen to keep track of what cards each player has lost to the other through trading. (One of the easiest methods to do this is to have each player use a differently colored set of protective card sleeves.) When the gaming session is concluded, each person then receives back all of the cards they brought to the game, so that no permanent exchange of cards has occurred. This option is always used in the Lunatic Pandora Format.
- Winner's Choice "Regional Rules": In formats requiring a Rules Set to determine the Rules of play, the "Regional Rules" option allows the winner of the first round in a match to slightly alter the Rules being used for the rest of the match. After trading at the end of the first round, the winner may either abolish (remove from play) one of the Rules being used, or may adopt (add) one of his or her own Rules Set cards (that was not in play) to the Rules being used. Any change made will last for the remainder of the match. Note that this option can only be used after the first round of a match, cannot be used by either player if the result of the first round is a draw, and cannot affect Trade Rules.
Playing Etiquette
As a general rule, Triple Triad should always be played with civility and good sportsmanship in mind. Any player may be allowed to retract his or her card play (and any subsequent captures) any time before the other player plays his or her next card. Also, any captures made by a player are subject to verification by his or her opponent. If a player cannot adequately explain how a capture was made, then that capture should be retracted immediately. If the two players are playing from opposite sides of a table, the game mat should be rotated after each play so that the player taking a turn can see all of the cards right-side-up.
Above all else, remember that the purpose of the game is to have fun. If either player is not having fun, for whatever reason, that player has every right to pick up all of his or her cards immediately and walk away (and both players should think carefully about accepting any future game invitations with the other, until any outstanding play issues have been resolved). If you keep it friendly, it should always be fun.
The Triple Triad Card Club Regulations
The Triple Triad Card Club (T.T.C.C.) is the official Triple Triad fan organization, representative of its Balamb Garden counterpart from FFVIII. The T.T.C.C. sanctions all official Triple Triad tournaments and provides a standardized Ranking System for its members, and most local T.T.C.C. cells hold regular social games or host local leagues. Officially sanctioned Triple Triad tournaments make some modifications to the Rules, Formats, and options detailed above, including the following exceptions and additions:
- Special Rules: All seven Rules are legal for use in Official T.T.C.C. Tournaments. The Random Rule is always used by all players in any officially sanctioned tournament (cards may never be chosen each round by the players).
- Trade Rules: The Trade Rules: None, Direct, and All are not legal for official tournament play. Either the Trade Rule: One or the Trade Rule: Difference will be chosen by the tournament judge and announced to all players immediately before the games begin. This Trade Rule will be used for all players and all matches for the duration of the tournament, and may not be changed by any means. Card trades are used as a scoring convention only, and all cards traded during play are always returned to their owners after match scoring is concluded.
- Game Formats: Currently, only the Tournament, Time Compression, and Lunar Cry formats are legal for use in official T.T.C.C. tournaments. Lunatic Pandora and Ultimate Battle formats will only be allowed for special featured events or championships, at the discretion of the Global Coordinator, due to the restrictive nature of the cards required for play.
- Alternating First Player: For the first round of a match, a player disc is flipped to determine the first player, as usual. For the remainder of the match, opponents will alternate who goes first instead of flipping a disc (the second player from the previous round becomes the first player for each new round of play, etc.).
- Play Variations: The "Reset" option is always used at official T.T.C.C. events. Playing "Queen of Cards" style, "Moomba" style, and the Loser's Choice option are not allowed. The Winner's Choice "Regional Rules" option may be used if players so desire, but must be agreed upon by both players at the beginning of each individual match in order for it to be utilized.
- Proxy Cards: A proxy card is a photocopied, handmade, or otherwise unofficial representation of an official Triple Triad card (one printed and distributed by Bandai Japan and Carddass Masters). The use of proxy (unofficial) cards at T.T.C.C. events is always at the discretion of the event coordinator, but will usually be allowed as long as the following requirements are met: 1) all of the data on the proxy is correct and identical to that of the card it is supposed to represent (ranks, elemental attributes, Level, etc.), and 2) the backs of the proxies are uniform and unmarked (or card sleeves are used) so that they are indistinguishable from the rest of the deck before they are drawn. Artwork on the cards is optional. Due to the difficulty in acquiring official Triple Triad cards in some parts of the globe (i.e., outside Japan), the use of proxied cards or even entire proxied decks is usually acceptable to the Card Club, as long as the above requirements are met.