How to Play Triple Triad
Triple Triad is a card mini-game, originally created for Final Fantasy VIII. It has been introduced in Final Fantasy XIV for patch 2.51, alongside the release of the Gold Saucer.
Game principle
Each player has a hand of five cards that they need to place in turn on a 3x3 playing board. Each player has a color, blue or red - against a NPC, you will always be blue. The player with the most controlled cards at the end of the game is the winner..
Deck creation rules
You can save up to five decks via the Gold Saucer menu. You only own one unit of each card and there are some limitations placed upon your deck. Here they are:
- If you own less than 30 cards, your deck can contain four 1 star cards and one 1-5 stars card.
- If you own between 30 and 59 cards, your deck can contain four 1-2 stars cards and one 1-5 stars card.
- If you own more than 60 cards, your deck can contain four 1-3 stars cards and one 1-5 stars card.
NPCs aren't limited by these restrictions.
Opponents and matches
There are three types of matches: playing against an NPC, player VS player, or taking part in a tournament.
You can challenge several NPCs throughout Eorzea. A few of them will be available all the time, others will only be available to play within a set timeframe in 'Eorzea time', whilst some will need you to finish specific content (main/sub quest, dungeon,
etc.) to become playable.
You can find detailed information on the NPCs page.
Every NPC has their own fixed rules. But each region also has rules that change daily, which are also applied to games played within that region. Thus, you may have a NPC with the "Plus" rule permanently, and another variable rule enforced by the region. The page about regional rules, maintained by players, may be of help.
A match between two players can only happen in authorized areas: some parts of the Gold Saucer, Adventurers' Guilds and houses with a special Triple Triad table. Rules are freely chosen by the challenger. Each player earns a MGP bonus for the first five matches of the day.
Finally, tournaments are available for a few days every two weeks. After registering, you may challenge NPCs from the Gold Saucer or any participating player. Depending on the tournament, you will have a variable number of games to play. The goal is to earn the most points with this alotted number of matches, whilst trying to reach the top 3. The top 3 players receive the tournament card as a reward, and a nice amount of MGP. People who receive enough points are elligible for Platinum triad cards, the number of which depends on their score. They can contain some of the rarest cards in the game.
Tournament rules are fixed and remove any base rule a NPC usually have. It can be a good way to get a rare card on a NPC harder to beat reliably otherwise!
Game sequence
- Match is initiated.
- If the Random rule is set, your cards are randomly chosen in your collection. If not, you choose a deck you saved, or you can let the AI choose what it determines to be your most powerful cards - I wouldn't recommand this option.
- If the Swap rule is set, one card is exchanged randomly between the two players.
- The AI determines which player starts the game.
- Players alternate putting cards on the board. The other rules of the current game apply.
- When all cards have been used (except one, from the player who played second), controlled card totals are compared. If the Sudden Death rule is active, and controlled card totals are equal, the game starts again and each player's hand is composed of their controlled cards from the end of the previous game. If there is no such rule, the match ends.
Then, MGP is given. You get a small amount for a loss, but you will still have a net loss. Moreover, if you were playing against a NPC, winning will give you a chance of obtaining one of his/her cards. Each NPC has a different array of cards that may be given to the player, at varied percentage chances.
Please refer to the NPCs list or the cards list for more information.
Finally, if the match was for the current tournament, you receive some tournament points depending on your opponent's strength and the result of the game.
Rules
There are a number of rules that have an effect on the game at various stages. Here is the list.
| Rule | Effect |
|---|---|
| All Open | Both player's hands are visible |
| Three Open | Three cards of each player are visible |
| Random | Each player's hands are chosen randomly when the game starts - doesn't apply to NPCs |
| Roulette | A rule is chosen randomly at the beginning of the game |
| Sudden Death | The game ends when a player wins: no Draws are allowed |
| Swap | A card is swapped between players at the beginning of the game |
| Plus |  |
| Same |  |
| Fallen Ace | Side with a 1 beats side with an A |
| Order | Cards are only playable in the order they appear in the hand |
| Chaos | Cards are only playable in a random order, a card being chosen at the beginning of each turn |
| Reverse | Sides with a lower value beat sides with a higher value |
| Ascension | Each time a card with a type (    ) is played, every card having the same type gets +1 on every side |
| Descension | Opposite of Ascension, values gets -1 |
