soothsayers
You are a powerful mystic in a tense race against rivals to control the fate of the universe. Capture the Empress, the Moon, even Death itself, and harness the arcane powers of the tarot to bend destiny to your will.
On your turn, choose an action: earn coins, draft cards, ascend to higher levels, or capture a tarot card. Rival soothsayers may choose to follow your action, but if you have a higher level, they must pay you for the privilege.
Each tarot card you capture grants you a new game-changing ability. Combine these with your leveled-up actions to create unstoppable combos.
Seize the tokens of Fate before your rivals to win the game!
LB_NUMBER_OF_PLAYERS: 2 - 5
Game duration: 23 mn
Complexity: 3 / 5
Play soothsayers and 1257 other games online.
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Play soothsayers and 1257 other games online.
No download, directly from your web browser.
With your friends and thousands of players from the whole world.
Free.
Rules summary
Objective
Gain Fate tokens 🜂 through:
- Ascending to the highest level of each suit
- Capturing the highest level Tarot under each suit
- Trading coins for Fate tokens
- Activating Tarot powers that yield Fate tokens
Instant win condition:
- 2 players → 7 Fate tokens
- 3 players → 6 Fate tokens
- 4–5 players → 5 Fate tokens
Round Overview
Each round, 1 player leads and the other players follow or pass. Then the lead passes to the next player.
Leader
Perform the top action of 1 of the 4 suits in your tableau:
- EARN: Gain coins from the bank, OR TRADE: Purchase a Fate token from the Trading Mat.
- DRAFT: Draw Common cards from the market and/or deck.
- ASCEND: Increase the power of each action by playing Common cards on to matching suits in your tableau in sequential order (or pay 5 coins to skip 1 level). Gain or steal a Fate token if you reach or exceed the highest level in that suit.
- CAPTURE: Acquire Tarot from the market or your hand and place each beneath a matching suit. The cost to capture equals the Tarot level. Pay the cost by discarding cards (applying their levels) or paying coins. Gain or steal a Fate token if you hold the highest-level Tarot under that suit.
Followers
After the leader’s action, each other player may follow or pass.
FOLLOW
Perform the bottom action of your card in the led suit.
- If your card’s level is less than the leader’s, pay coins equal to the level difference.
- If your card’s level is greater than or equal to the leader’s, follow for free.
PASS
Instead of following, gain coins shown on your EARN card’s bottom action. You must pass if the leader led EARN or TRADE.
Tarot Cards
The Tarot cards are numbered 0-21 and grant rule-breaking effects. Each indicates how it can be activated:
- LEAD: May be triggered when you lead that suit.
- PASS: May be triggered when you pass.
- INSTEAD: Replaces your normal suit action.
- DRAFT / ASCEND / CAPTURE: Triggers during each action (lead or follow).
Common Cards
The deck includes 80 cards in total: levels 2-6 across the 4 suits with 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 cards per level.
Game End
The game ends immediately when a player reaches the Fate tokens 🜂 threshold:
- 2 players → 7 Fate tokens
- 3 players → 6 Fate tokens
- 4–5 players → 5 Fate tokens
If the Common deck is depleted to the point that the market cannot be filled between rounds, the game immediately ends. The player with the most Fate tokens 🜂 wins. Resolve ties in this order:
- 1. Most coins
- 2. Most cards in hand
- 3. Highest-level captured tarot
Soothsayers © 2025 Play to Z
Game Design: Jeff Grisenthwaite
BGA Development: Jeff Grisenthwaite
Illustrations: Pamela Colman Smith
Graphic Design: Marco Primo