Abjure

Win by emptying your hand.

Abjure is a roguelike deckbuilder built on Big 2, the shedding card game played across Asia and beyond. Beat what’s on the table or pass. First to run out of cards wins. Learn it in minutes, then spend dozens of runs learning how far the rules can bend.

Break the rules of Big 2

57 relics rewrite the game you thought you knew. Straights that skip ranks. Flushes with an off-suit card. Five of a Kind. A Quad that bombs a Straight Flush. Every relic belongs to a build (Flush, Sets, Straight, Tempo, Control or Economy), and the shop shows which ones fit what you already hold.

How a run works

• Split your deck into piles and pick the ones you take into each fight

• Play higher than your opponent, or pass. Empty your hand first to win

• Earn gold. Win clean and never pass for more. Save it to earn interest, or borrow from the Loan Shark

• Spend it on cards, relics, removals, reveals and one-shot gambits

• Take the crossroads instead of a fight: a three-way choice that can reshape your deck

• A boss ends every level, and some are built to counter exactly the build you’re running

• Lose a regular fight and you burn a Chip. Lose a boss fight, or run out of Chips, and the run is over

Hands Big 2 never had

Stack a deck toward pairs and triples, spread it into long straights, or dye it into one suit. Build far enough and you’ll play hands that don’t exist in the original game.

Six characters

• Clairvoyant: sees half the piles, and half the opponent’s hand

• Picky: throws away a card before each fight

• Dupe: copies a card before each fight

• Switcheroo: never just passes. Draws, or swaps hands

• Greedy: fewer cards, more gold

• Duelist: answer one rank higher and shed an extra card

Keep coming back

• 14 starting decks, from 26 to 104 cards

• 20 prestige levels per character

• 24 boss modifiers, 19 crossroads events, elite fights

• Win the run, then press on into The Reckoning for score

• Daily Challenge: one seeded run for everyone, one attempt

• Shareable seeds, achievements, and a collection to fill

Also included

• Classic Big 2 with no roguelike layer, for when you just want the cards

• A guided tutorial if you’ve never played Big 2

• Full controller and Steam Deck support

• 20 languages, including Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai

Abjure is in active development by a solo developer. Wishlist now to be notified and follow along through Early Access.