**Seven years ago I started tinkering with an idea: could you make a game that feels like a TCG, but uses a standard deck of cards and avoids all the usual TCG baggage? Could I essentially make the "chess of card games"?**

I ended up designing a system where each player uses one suit, interactions work like an expanded rock‑paper‑scissors, and progression is just addition. No boosters, no rarity, no monetization, no life totals, just a **weird little experiment in making something strategic, portable, and free.**

I never had the means to share it widely back then, so it mostly lived in notebooks, an online instruction manual, playtests with friends, and a 2019 BGG card contest.

It’s called Fano. The namesake is from the use of the Fano plane to create a unique 7-way rock-paper-scissor battle system, which makes the game surprisingly balanced. All you need is a standard deck and the RPS visual to play. . . **until today!** I've been diligently working on bringing this little indie project to life and now, for the first time, you can play the game online at [https://playfano.com](https://playfano.com/). Interactive in game tutorials walk you through the mechanics, test your mettle against the AI or play against your friends in the multiplayer arena. 

I've also designed and started production on a standard card deck for Fano that you can play analog for players that prefer something more tactile :)

I hope you try it out. It's come a long way since that first entry and for the abstract strategy enthusiasts in the room, it scratches a unique itch.

Cheers,

Will

7 years in the making and it's finally ready