Fantasy Cards is the only mode where you commit before you see anything. You call a number, then play the hand you are dealt. Beat the call and you draft from a good tier of players. Miss it and you are further down the board, with the same slot to fill either way.
Every slot starts with one decision: 18 or 24.
That is the whole game in one choice: a safe pick at a modest tier, or a real swing at a good one. Miss either call and you are drafting off the deep bench.
You are dealt two cards from a deck ranked 4 through 16 rather than ace to king. Add them up and compare to your call.
Doubles and the suit bonus never arrive together, since two cards of the same number are always two different suits.
Clear your number by 50 percent, 27 on the 18 or 36 on the 24, and the tier above opens up as well. It is rare on the 18 and close to a lottery ticket on the 24, which is the point: the bigger call is not just harder, it pays more when it goes right.
Some hands deal a card that is not a number at all. They are worth nothing toward your total, and the deal replaces the pip card they displaced, so they never cost you anything.
Cards is playable as a standalone game, as a weekly Leaderboard entry ranked against everyone else that week, and as the draft mechanic inside a League. The rules are identical everywhere; only what is at stake changes.
Want the tier decided by what you know instead of what you are dealt? Fantasy Trivia works the same way with questions. Point values are on the scoring page.