Quiet Chapel: Last Draw

About Quiet Chapel: Last Draw

Quiet Chapel: Last Draw is a solo card game set in a moon observatory where the night is photographed on glass plates. Fifteen cards lie on a printed star chart in three bands of seven, five and three, a cone of light narrowing toward the telescope, and the open card at the end of a band goes into the brass plate holder when it is one rank above or below the card on it, with the Ace and the King side by side. Two filter slots hold a card each, and the plate box holds only ten cards: every plate still in the box when the table is clear scores well.

Every card you play in a run lets more moonlight onto the plate. The first card of a run adds five points to the open exposure, the second ten, the third fifteen, and so on up to fifty a card. Those points are not yours yet. Press Develop and the exposure is fixed in your score, safe, but the run starts again from five. Draw from the plate box with an exposure open and you push your luck: if the card you draw opens a play, the exposure holds and the run goes on; if it opens none, a cloud crosses the moon, the plate fogs and the open exposure is lost. Clearing the table develops whatever is open.

The dome's slit shows the risk. Clouds gather across the moon as the share of unseen cards that would open no play grows, and the HUD calls the sky clear, patchy or clouding over. On the light table beside it the plate is being exposed: the moon comes up out of the dark as the exposure grows, under a red safelight. Develop a plate of a hundred points or more, or clear the table, and the whole moon comes up on the plate, the clouds part and shooting stars cross the dome. It is score only: nothing is staked.

Every deal is checked by a solving player before you see it, so it can always be cleared. Each night has a rule of its own on top. A deal saves where you leave it, open exposure and all, in this browser only; nothing is uploaded.

How to play

Tap the open card at the end of a band, or drag it to the plate holder, when it is one rank above or below the card on it. The Ace and the King are neighbours.
Every card played in a run adds more to the open exposure: five points for the first, ten for the second, and so on. Press Develop (or B) to fix the open exposure in your score; the run then starts again.
Drawing from the plate box with an exposure open is a risk: if the drawn card opens no play, the plate fogs and the open exposure is lost. Watch the clouds over the moon: the more there are, the likelier a fog.
Keep a card aside in a filter slot: drag it there, or tap it and then the slot. The box holds only ten cards; every card left in it when you clear the table adds to your score.
Clearing a band turns the suit values one step round. Press H or the Hint button for a good move, and U or the Undo button to take a move back.

Controls

Tap a card, or drag it to the plate holder — play it
The Develop button, B or RT — fix the open exposure in the score
Drag a card to a filter slot, or tap it and then the slot; R — keep it aside
Tap the plate box or press E — draw a card
Arrow keys or WASD, then Space or Enter; D-pad or stick, then Ⓐ — play
Undo button, U or Ⓨ — undo; Hint button, H or LB — a hint; P, Escape or Start — pause

Frequently asked questions

What is the exposure?

The points of your current run that are not in your score yet. The first card of a run adds five, the second ten, the third fifteen, up to fifty a card. Develop the plate to fix them in your score.

When is an exposure lost?

Only when you draw from the plate box with an exposure open and the card you draw opens no play at all. Then a cloud crosses the moon and the plate fogs. If the drawn card opens a play, the exposure holds and the run goes on.

Why not develop after every card?

You can, and it is always safe. But developing starts the run again from five points a card, so a long run left open is worth far more, if the sky holds.

What do the clouds show?

The risk of a fog: the share of the cards you have not seen that, drawn now, would open no play. They are counted from what you can see, never from the order of the box.

Does it save my game?

Yes, in this browser only, open exposure and all. Your unfinished deal, best scores and badges are never uploaded.