The basic premise of the Mouse Card system is drawing X number of cards, while trying to pull cards of greater value than the target number of the task. 

Jokers and Deuces are low; Aces and Kings are high.

Since a draw will only be called for when there is a significant chance of failure, the most common target will be draw Face Cards or better.  (J,Q, K, A -> 16:38 ablative probability)

:::Task checks:::

When making a task check, the GM will decide which of the character’s traits apply to the task in question (more than one may apply). The player may pick any of those traits (typically the one with the highest skill level) and draw up to that number of cards, attempting to draw a card that beats the task’s difficulty.  

Some tasks will require more than one “success” (ie. more than one card higher than the task’s target number) but most tasks can be attempted over an extended period.  (ie. each successive turn, the player may draw up to their skill level in cards.)  

However, if the player draws a “Bad” card, then something unfortunate happens.  What constitutes a Bad card depends on the circumstances and upon the traits of the character.

Since violence is outside of the norm for a Mouse, red jokers are Bad to draw in combat.

Also, black jokers are Bad for a Mouse to draw when in the unknown.

When in combat in the unknown, both black and red jokers are Bad.

When Aged, the range of Bad cards increases for physical tasks.  At the first level of Aged, it increases to deuces and jokers.  Additional levels of Aged further increase the levels of vulnerability for that mouse.  (ie. two levels of Aged means jokers, deuces, and threes of the appropriate colors are all bad.)

If a mouse has the Leader trait, or another disadvantage, the range of Bad cards increases similarly for tasks that would be negatively affected by that disadvantage.

A Bad card does not negate any successes already drawn, but the player may not draw any more cards this round.

The circumstances that define a Bad card change depending on the type of character.  For example birds of prey are built for violence, so their red cards are Bad when on the ground instead.

How to draw cards

There are two approaches to task resolution, and the player may choose which to apply to any particular task:

Drawing cautiously – draw one card at a time, but a bad card forces draw to stop, and character must wait until next turn to draw again.  This is generally the way tasks are approached outside of combat

Going for broke – draw all at once, risky, but can get crucial success cards that could slightly counter the bad card.   (ie. get a bad card so something bad happens, but character succeeds anyway) — generally the way things are done in combat

Why draw cautiously?  Because drawing multiple bad cards at once magnifies the intensity of the result.  

Some of the cards have additional special effects:

Jokers – Every time a joker is drawn, the deck is reshuffled, whether it affected the mouse or not (nullified by an Ace or some other affect.)   The deck is also reshuffled at the end of every major story arc or chapter, as defined by the GM.

Kings – when the player draws a King, the player may draw an additional card

Aces – may add an extra success or cancel the affect of any other card (such as a joker) 

::: Fate Chips :::

The GM may give out fate chips to reward a player for something (such as excellent role-playing, playing out a character limitation, accomplishing a particularly character-appropriate feat, or notably improving the game for everyone in the room)

Fate chips work just like Aces, but may be held indefinitely.   

They can also be used to accomplish extraordinary things or to influence the course of the story outside of the reach or influence of the characters.  (ie. apply deus ex machina) although this use is subject to GM approval.