Decryption Duet

The twelfth Main Match is…

Decryption Duet.

In Decryption Duet, players will be teaming up with their respective partner; one player will engage in a war of bluffing, while their partner helps set them up with the best hand possible.

Throughout this match, The Genius competitors and their respective guests will be partners. However, they will be split up. One player will be responsible for the “setup” phase of the game, and the other for the “gameplay” phase. To understand what goes into the setup phase, we must first discuss the actual gameplay.

In the gameplay phase, the three players will take control of two “influence” cards, with an ultimate goal to eliminate each other player’s cards. On each player’s turn, they will take one of either three public actions - or an action that one of their influence cards enable them to use. After this action, the next player will go. There are two instances of every five individual influence cards, and these actions are as follows.

At any time, a player may choose to Program. This allows them to take one coin, representing progress on code. A player can also choose to Mine, taking two coins. However, if a player has the influence of the Content Writer, they can Design and take three coins. Additionally, the Content Writer can block the usage of Mine, if they so desire.

If a player has three coins and has the influence of the Hacker, they may choose to spend said three coins and Hack another player, permanently removing one of their influence cards. This can be blocked if a player possesses the influence of the IT Technician, which prevents successful hackings from going through.

The Data Analyst allows a player to Reroute. Using this ability, they may take two cards from the discard pile, before returning any two (including any cards already in their hand), thus allowing them to change their two influences.

The Software Developer allows a player to Steal, taking two coins from a player of their choice. However, both the Software Developer and the Data Analyst may block this action.

Finally, if a player is in possession of 7 coins, they may Override another player. This action always succeeds, and will always take away one of the player’s influences. A player must override if they have over 10 coins.

There is a catch, however. Although players will only possess a maximum of two influence cards at any time, they may freely lie about what any of their influence cards consist of - thus allowing a player to use any power.

If at any point, another player suspects a player is lying, they may choose to Challenge their possession of the influence card. If the player was lying, then they lose the rest of their turn and any action from the card they lied about, and must remove one of their two influence cards from the game permanently. However, if the player was telling the truth, their action goes through, and the challenger must remove one of their influence cards from the game. The challenged card will then be discarded and exchanged for a new card - with the possibility of drawing the same card again.

The last player left standing with at least one influence card will win the round. Each player’s starting hand will not be determined by chance, however. They will be determined by the Setup Phase - and thus, their partner’s actions.

In the Setup Phase, the three participating players will be completely isolated from their partner - with no way of contacting them throughout the entirety of the phase as well as the following gameplay phase. The three setup players will then participate in a quick game of reflexes and math skills to determine placements for setup.

In this minigame, a board will be presented with a number hexagons - these hexagons will feature either numbers between 1 and 99, or a numerical operator. Players will be given a ‘target number’, and the first player to buzz in and correctly assemble a three part equation will win a point. For example, if the target is “81”, a player may link “91-10” on the board shown above. The hexagons must be adjacent to one another.

As soon as one player scores 5 points, they will win the right to pick their partner’s hand first. Second place will be determined by who has the higher score, and in the event of a tie, the two players will play a run-off round.

The player who finished in first in the setup round will then choose two cards from the deck of ten to give to their partner. These may be any combination of the five roles (Writer, Hacker, Technician, Analyst, or Developer) - or two of the same. Then, the second-place player will decide their partner’s hand from a limited selection. In the events the first-place player took a combination of two roles, they will then decide one role that may not be drafted by either player. For example: if the Hacker is barred, then the following player must choose two of either the Writer, Technician, Analyst, or Developer. In their choice, they will determine the leftovers that the last-place player will give to their partner.

This game will last a maximum of 7 rounds. Before the first round, each pair will choose which partner will participate in the Setup phase, and which in the Gameplay phase. For every subsequent round, players will swap roles. However, the team(s) currently in last place will be given the choice to swap roles, or keep in their respective phases.

As soon as a team wins 3 rounds, the Main Match will end in that player’s victory. The winner will receive twenty garnets and one Token of Life, securing their place in the finale. This means the two losing players will then both be declared losers and play one final Death Match.