We break down Ruins by John D. Clair—how card crafting, day/night flips, and a live upgrade market twist a classic shedding game into a tempo puzzle with real stakes. We share what worked, what dragged, and why the match-to-skip rule has us debating house tweaks.
• first impressions from World Series of Board Gaming pickup
• core shedding structure and exact-size matching
• mid-hand upgrades using torches and transparent sleeves
• day versus night flips and torch relights
• claiming tricked-out cards for future rounds
• timing, tempo, and saving a single as a closer
• cognitive load of late hands and sorting by effective value
• strategy heuristics for anchors, markets, and triples
• debate on the match-to-skip rule and table feel
• final verdict and why the game sticks with us
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