01 / SPECIAL CARD
Executive interference.
Steal 2 cards from a player. Apparently it’s urgent.
A card game. A very hostile takeover.
Build a
startup.
Betray your
friends.
The AI startup card game where ambition meets bad decisions. Make your fortune. Make some enemies.
YOUR NEXT BAD IDEA.
Real cards. Real consequences.
Real cards. Real consequences.
Select a card. Read the fine print.
01 / THE OBJECTIVEMONOPOLY OR MUTINY
Your startup.
Everyone’s problem.
You’re an AI startup. The cards in your hand are your assets. Grow
fast, play dirty, and try to be the last company standing.
Sounds simple. Your friends will fix that.
-
01
Start with six.
Every player gets six cards. That’s your startup. Your assets. Your questionable business plan. Set up your first hand ↗
DEAL / BUILD / DREAM BIG -
02
Make your move.
Each turn, choose one of these three actions:
- 01 Get funding
- Draw cards to grow your startup. Bigger funding means more rivals can attack.
- 02 Play a special card
- Use its effect to help yourself or disrupt another startup.
- 03 Fight ↓
- Challenge a rival to steal assets. Attack during funding, or start a hostile takeover with 9+ cards.
-
03
Take the whole market.
Bankrupt your rivals. But a monopoly isn’t a win until you survive the final battle with Open Source.
READ THE COMPLETE RULES ↗
02 / YOUR FIRST MOVEINTERACTIVE FUNDING DEMO
More money.
More problems.
Choose your funding. More cards build a bigger startup — and put a
bigger target on it.
A preview of one decision, not a full game.
FUNDING ROUNDMAXIMUM EXPOSURE
+3FUNDING AT STAKE
Congratulations. You’re a target.
Draw 3 cards face down. Any other player may attack your startup during this funding round.
Keep Regional and VC funding unseen and outside your hand. Resolve any battle before the winner takes these cards. You cannot use the funding prize to defend. Family & friends gives you one safe card.
03 / THE FIGHTSHYPE MEETS A USE CASE
Pick a rival.
Show your cards.
Attack with Adversaries. Defend with Use Cases. Add Buzzwords to boost either side. Your pitch is about to meet reality.
WHEN TO ATTACK / FUNDING
Catch them raising money.
A Regional pitch can be attacked by the next player. Venture capital can be attacked by anyone. Family funding is safe.
WHEN TO ATTACK / HOSTILE TAKEOVER
Nine assets. Big ambitions.
With 9 or more cards in your hand, you can challenge any startup on your turn. Now their whole hand is at stake.
Example 1: A tied fight
Real-card illustrations, not a full simulator. No extra effects or special-card interrupts in these examples.
3 attack
3 lock defense
Daily Standups (3) vs Internet of Things (3). Strength: 3 = 3.
Defense wins the tie. Internet of Things is a valid Use Case. Equal strength goes to the defender.
-
Choose. Conceal. Commit.
The attacker picks up to four battle cards and places them face down. The defender decides whether to defend, then picks up to four.
-
Defense reveals first.
Reveal the defense cards and apply their effects, then do the same for the attack. Certain special cards can interrupt the fight.
A “discard 1 of your rival’s played cards” effect discards a random played card—not a card you choose.
-
Count strength. Claim assets.
Add each side’s strength after applying effects. The higher score wins; a tie goes to defense. Discard all played cards.
FUNDING FIGHTWinner takes the newly drawn funding cards.
HOSTILE TAKEOVERWinner takes the loser’s remaining hand.
You can bluff. You can bribe. Buzzwords alone lose against a real Adversary or Use Case. Ask other players for help—alliances are negotiable.
Read the complete combat rules
04 / MEET YOUR ASSETSNOT YOUR AVERAGE DECK
Weaponised
corporate culture.
A CEO request. Technical debt. A little antitrust action. The tech industry’s worst habits, now conveniently available to play against your friends.
02 / SPECIAL CARD
Too big to fail? Cute.
More than 9 cards? Discard 10. Size is a liability.
03 / ASSET CARD
We’ll refactor it later.
A 2-value asset that removes all card effects.
04 / SPECIAL CARD
Actually, no.
Play anytime to stop any effect. Set a boundary.
Four real cards. Plenty more trouble in the deck.
05 / THE PLOT TWIST
Bankrupt.
Not out.
You lose your startup.
You don’t lose your seat.
Bankrupt players become Open Source maintainers. Now you cooperate with the other fallen founders to fight the remaining startups.
The last startup must face a final Open Source battle before claiming the monopoly. Revenge is a community project.
Learn the Open Source rules
NO PLAYER ELIMINATION
open_source / resistance
FAILED STARTUPS
OPEN SOURCE
COOPERATE↕FIGHT BACK
LAST STARTUP
ONE FINAL BATTLE. NO EASY EXIT.
06 / BUILT BY A HUMANBEST PLAYED WITH OTHER ONES
Less screen time.
More schemes.
PLAI was created by Martí, a data engineer in Barcelona. A game about the absurdity of the AI industry, made for the very real people around your table.
You don’t need to work in tech. You just need a startup, a strategy, and friends who can take a joke.
Try the 2-player print-and-play version 37 cards in a print, cut and play PDF.
07 / QUICK QUESTIONSBEFORE YOUR FIRST ROUND
Good questions.
Bad intentions.
The essentials before you buy or play. Read the full FAQ ↗
What language is the game in?
The physical cards and instructions are in English.
How many people can play?
PLAI is designed for 2–5 players, ages 19+.
Buy the deck or print it myself?
Buy the physical 106-card deck from our existing shop, or download the 2-player print-and-play PDF with 37 cards to print, cut and play. The shop handles your purchase.
Am I out when my startup goes bankrupt?
No. If you have no assets at the end of your turn, become an Open Source maintainer. Collaborate publicly with other maintainers and help fight the surviving startups.
Can I defend with the cards I’m funding?
No. Regional and VC funding stays face down, unseen and outside your hand until any battle is resolved. Only then does the winner take those cards. Family & friends funding is safe from attack.
YOUR NEXT GAME NIGHT / HOSTILE TAKEOVER EDITION
Bring friends.
Leave rivals.
A physical deck. A table full of ambition.
One very
questionable path to the top.
