Ordellum GameLaunching
Hidden information
You know where you are. You never see exactly where anyone else is — or where the treasure lies.
- Your position — known only to you
- Rival traces — reveal no meaningful position
- Partial clue — a continent-sized region
Stylised world map. One marker shows the player’s own known position. Other players appear only as faint traces scattered across the map, and the treasure is not shown. Partial clues highlight a continent-sized region.
Positions and the treasure exist on a public playing field, yet they cannot be seen directly. In place of real positions, the public space holds verification traces that do not reveal meaningful location. Moves can be checked against the rules while their strategic content stays hidden. The fog of war is not a visual effect; information asymmetry between players is a core input of the game system.
Visibility during a game
- Your own country
- Visible to you: Yes
- Rivals’ real countries
- Visible to you: No — only traces that do not reveal position
- The treasure’s country
- Visible to you: No — revealed gradually through partial clues
- Whether a move followed the rules
- Visible to you: Yes, it can be verified
- Cards played and traces that become visible
- Visible to you: Yes, when they surface
- Continent
- Which part of the world to focus on.
- Direction
- Which way to head from where you are.
- Proximity
- How close you are getting.
- Regional activity
- Where movement is concentrating.
Because exact positions are unavailable, players read move histories, the cards used, the traces that become visible, strategic silences and what others say in chat. Information is never free or unlimited: it must be obtained, verified, protected and — when useful — manipulated to mislead rivals.
Hidden rival positions give discovery cards their meaning; an unknown treasure location creates competition by deduction; partly visible histories make tracking and misdirection possible; and scarce information makes alliances and negotiation valuable.