Pyrotechnics

Meet Pyrotechnics, the two-player card duel that fits in your pocket and offers ten-minute bursts of mildly strategic gameplay. With just eighteen cards and thirty-six spark tokens, it's the perfect travel game or a quick filler between activities; but beneath its compact size lies surprising depth.

To begin, shuffle the deck and remove the top three cards. Deal five cards face down to each player, then place five cards face up in the center of the game as a shared board. Place the spark tokens and reference guide within reach. Choose who goes first and give the other player a red, yellow, or blue spark token.

On your turn, you'll perform two steps. First, Investigate: select a card from your hand, play it face up in front of you, and perform the actions shown in the top left corner. Then, in the shared board, choose a card to either Discover or Reveal. If you Discover, perform the actions in the bottom left corner and add the card to your hand, expanding your options. If you Showcase, pay the cost in the bottom right corner, remove the card from play, and reduce your hand, moving you closer to victory.

Each time you Showcase, your hand gets smaller. The duel speeds up as both players balance the allure of useful cards with the need to reduce their hand. The first Pyrotechnics Engineer to show five cards and end their turn with no cards in hand wins instantly.
Pyrotechnics is easy to learn but infinitely replayable. You'll bluff, block, and taunt your opponent, timing your Research, Discovery, and Display at just the right moment to outmaneuver them. It's a microgame with macro-thrills.