Gate Ajar

Gate Ajar is a hidden-role multiplayer card game played in the browser, inspired by Roger Zelazny’s A Night in the Lonesome October.

I’ve read the book many times, often with friends the way it’s meant to be read: one chapter a day, all through October. I always thought it would make a great gamebook, since the novel’s structure practically invites it. This October, a few chapters in, I noticed how well the items the characters gather map onto the tarot. The four suits of the minor arcana echo the tools of the Game, and the major arcana became the modifiers. So instead of a gamebook, it became a card game.

How it plays

When Halloween falls on a full moon, the gate to the old gods can be opened. Players are secretly split into two factions: the Openers and the Closers. All through October you gather cards to throw into the bonfire on Halloween night, and the faction with more points decides the fate of the gate. Nobody knows who their allies are. You watch what others take from the market, and they watch you.

What’s in the game now

• Games for 6 to 12 players, with bots filling empty seats
• Hidden or open factions, public or private games with invite links
• Draw from the deck in secret or from the open market in plain sight, or rest to recover energy
• Full rules and a gallery of all 78 cards with their effects
• Detailed end-of-game statistics, including each player’s contribution to their faction

What’s coming

• Accounts and game history
• Trading cards between players
• Special roles
• Items

This is an early, deliberately simple version with a lot of room to grow. I’m open to any comments and suggestions, so please leave feedback below. And if you’re a fellow Lonesome October reader, I’d especially love to hear from you.