Monad

About this board game

Monad is a card game for 2–4 players, played in about 60 minutes, in which players collect round cards called Monads, illustrated like yin-yang symbols. Released in 1968 as part of the 3M Gamette Series, it combines card trading, purchasing, and strategic leaps between card stacks.

The deck uses six colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple. Red, Orange, and Yellow are Warm colors, while Green, Blue, and Purple are Cool colors. Most cards are Commons showing one symbol, while the special Bis, Tris, Quads, and Quints show two, three, four, and five colors respectively.

• Each player receives a color identity, six Commons, and a Bonus card showing three color pairs.
• Bis, Tris, Quads, and Quints begin in separate face-up stacks.
• Identity-colored cards can be used as wild cards with any number of symbols.

On a turn, players try to obtain higher-numbered cards. The basic Trade requires a warm and cool card with the same number of symbols; these are exchanged for the top card from the next higher stack. Trading two Quints earns a Monad. Matching a traded pair to a Bonus card pair can also provide cards from the lower stacks.

A player may turn in more than two cards to Leap to a higher stack and choose a card there. Alternatively, Buying uses the numbers on cards: the player pays a total greater than the value of the desired card, with Monads costing 80 points. Drawing the deck’s top card ends the player’s turn without another action.

The first player to collect the required number of Monads, which varies with the number of players, wins. In Monad, every hand offers several ways to advance toward the goal.