Vellum
Original · a sealed-bid duel for two
Both houses act at once, in the dark — and the letters are identical, down to the last 8.
Ready to play now.
A demonstration of Vellum, played by the computer against itself.
Vellum — playing itself
Ways to play
Alone, against the computer
Your own pace, no arranging anything. Take a move back whenever you like.
Play alone5 opponents, weakest first
- The PageAny unspent letter, by the seed. The Clerk takes it 411–317 over eight hundred courts with 72 shared. A random seal keeps more of this game than a random anything does elsewhere on the shelf — which is why the sample had to be this big to see the step at all.
- The ClerkSeals the nearest letter above the decree’s worth, the lowest when nothing beats it. 411–317 over the Page, and 9.7-decree ledgers against the Counter — honest work, no reading, and it never wins a court against a house that reads it.
- The AppraiserPrices the pot, not the card: dear letters for dear decrees, lows thrown at pots it cannot win. 404–329 over the Clerk, and 16.2 decrees a court against the Counter. Against a copy of itself it seals the identical letter every round of every court — 800 of 800 shared, all 36 decrees unclaimed — which is what a deterministic house is worth in a game where both seals land together.
- The CounterReads the rival as a Clerk, from the public count alone, and bids one above the read when the pot pays. 502–235 over the Appraiser, the widest step on this ladder.
- The ChancellorThe Counter’s read with the count worked for certainty — a guaranteed take is spent at its cheapest, never a letter dearer — the last rounds priced for the forced carries they are, and the near-equal letters MIXED rather than fixed, because a simultaneous game rewards being hard to predict. 446–260 over the Counter, 475–252 over the Page, an 18.8-decree ledger, and it shares 647 of 800 against itself where the rung below shares all 800.
Together, in the same room
2 players. One device goes round the table, or everybody plays off the same screen.
Play in the same roomOnline, at a table
A room code, joinable from anywhere. Pause tonight and pick it up next week from your device.
Play online
About
A courtly duel for two. Eight decrees — worth 1 through 8, shuffled once at the deal — come to the table one at a time. Both houses hold the SAME eight letters of influence, 1 through 8, and each round both seal ONE letter under wax. The vellum opens together: the higher letter takes the decree, equal letters cancel and the decree waits beside the next one, the whole pot going to the next round’s winner. Letters are spent forever and both ledgers of spent letters lie open. Eight rounds, then the ledger is read — and an even ledger stands even, said plainly.
How it feels
- A decree of 8 carrying a cancelled 7
- Spending the 8 and reading a 7 under the wax
- Counting the rival down to two letters
What the design is for
Both houses act at once
The only game on this shelf where the two of you move in the same breath. Each round both seal a letter; neither seal is shown until both are down. The engine hides your rival’s letter from you and yours from them — and a test proves it.
Identical letters, open ledger
Both houses hold 1 through 8, and every reveal spends two letters onto the open ledger — so the rival’s hand is always countable. Your 8 beats exactly one letter in the game: their 8. Everything else is a read.
Equal letters carry
A cancelled decree does not vanish: it waits, and the next decree is laid beside it. A tie on a 4 into a 7 makes tomorrow’s pot an 11 — the jackpot is priced into every seal that matches.
An honest opponent
The computer never reads your seal — a test holds two courts that differ only in your sealed letter before every rung and demands the same choice. It reads the table like a person: the pot, the ledgers, the count.
Why the top rung gambles a little
Because a simultaneous game with identical hands has no single right answer. Whatever letter is correct against a rival who reasons as you do is the letter that rival is sealing too — and equal letters cancel. The probe measured exactly that: the three middle rungs, set against copies of themselves, sealed the same letter every round of every court and ended all 800 with the whole 36 decrees unclaimed. The Chancellor prices its letters and then mixes between the near-equal ones, which is what the game asks for; it shares 647 of 800 against itself instead of all of them. The number is on the card because it is the most honest thing the probe found.
Taught seal by seal
Six steps: the seal, the opening, the tie that carries, the identical hands, the count that wins the last pot — and then the whole court to yourself.
- Best at
- 2
- Kind
- Strategy
- Table
- Competitive
- Studio
- Board.game Originals
The opponents
The Page
Any unspent letter, by the seed. The Clerk takes it 411–317 over eight hundred courts with 72 shared. A random seal keeps more of this game than a random anything does elsewhere on the shelf — which is why the sample had to be this big to see the step at all.
The Clerk
Seals the nearest letter above the decree’s worth, the lowest when nothing beats it. 411–317 over the Page, and 9.7-decree ledgers against the Counter — honest work, no reading, and it never wins a court against a house that reads it.
The Appraiser
Prices the pot, not the card: dear letters for dear decrees, lows thrown at pots it cannot win. 404–329 over the Clerk, and 16.2 decrees a court against the Counter. Against a copy of itself it seals the identical letter every round of every court — 800 of 800 shared, all 36 decrees unclaimed — which is what a deterministic house is worth in a game where both seals land together.
The Counter
Reads the rival as a Clerk, from the public count alone, and bids one above the read when the pot pays. 502–235 over the Appraiser, the widest step on this ladder.
The Chancellor
The Counter’s read with the count worked for certainty — a guaranteed take is spent at its cheapest, never a letter dearer — the last rounds priced for the forced carries they are, and the near-equal letters MIXED rather than fixed, because a simultaneous game rewards being hard to predict. 446–260 over the Counter, 475–252 over the Page, an 18.8-decree ledger, and it shares 647 of 800 against itself where the rung below shares all 800.
Achievements
0 of 5 earned
The Richer Ledger
Win a court of Vellum.
The Whole Pot
Take a carried decree worth ten or more.
Bought Cheap
Take a decree of six or more with a letter of three or less.
Held to the Wax
Win by three points or fewer.
A Court Swept
Win while the rival’s ledger holds eleven or less.
Key art
Key art — Board.game art system
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