Rise of the Half Moon is an interactive Google Doodle game that launched on October 24th, 2024. It is a card game where players compete with the Half Moon, trying to win levels to reach the moon.
Overview
Types of Cards
Normal Cards
These are the standard cards which are played onto the board. Both the player and the Half Moon can use them.
- New Moon
- Waxing Crescent
- First Quarter
- Waxing Gibbous
- Full Moon
- Waning Gibbous
- Final Quarter
- Waning Crescent
New Moon
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Full Moon
Waning Gibbous
Final Quarter
Waning Crescent
Wild Cards
These are the special cards that players can earn by winning three levels in a row. Each time they do so ("reaching the moon"), they are awarded one out of the four types of Wild Cards. Only the player can use Wild Cards. Each Wild Card can only be used once in a single playthrough. For every update, new wild cards will be added, so stay tuned for new cards.
- October
- Hunter Moon: "Play this card to destroy all cards controlled by the Half Moon on the board and return them to the deck."
- Leonids Meteor Shower: "Play this card to destroy 2 random cards on the board." [Are the cards returned to the deck?] <- No
- Super Moon: "Play this card and full moon pairs are worth double for you on the current level."
- Scorpio: "Play this card and the Half Moon gets no end game bonus points for the current level."
- November
- Beaver Moon: "Play this card, and choose a moon card on the board to flip horizontally."
- Geminid Meteor Shower: "Play this card to claim half of the Moon's claimed card on the board."
- Winter Solstice: "Play this card, and your claimed cards cannot be stolen for the current level."
- Sagittarius: "Play this card, and the next match you make will be worth triple points."
- December
- Long Night Moon: "Play this card, and the Half Moon gets no end game bonus points for the current level."
- Quadrantids Meteor Shower: "Randomly destroys half the cards on the board"
- Light of Mars: "Makes your Lunar Cycles worth +2 points for the current level."
- Capricorn: "Lets you place a card on top of another card on the board."
- January
- Wolf Moon: "Choose 1 of the Half Moon's cards to destroy that card and all cards connected to it."
- Light of Venus: "Gain 1 extra bonus point for each card you've claimed at the end of the current level."
- Moon at Apogee: "Makes all of the Half Moon's matches worth one point for the current level."
- Aquarius: "Get 10 extra points at the end of the current level."
- February
- Snow Moon: "Makes Full Moon Pairs worth 3x points."
- Total Lunar Eclipse: "Makes pairs and lunar cycles that include a new moon worth 4x points."
- Equinox: "Swap your current score with the Half Moon."
- Pisces: "Draw an extra card."
- March
- Worm Moon: "Makes each card in a Lunar Cycle worth +1 point."
- Lyrid Meteor Shower: "Destroys all of the Half Moon's cards on the board."
- Partial Solar Eclipse: "Makes pairs and cycles that include a crescent moon worth 4x points."
- Aries: "Steal half of the Half Moon's points at the end of this level."
Gameplay
The game is played by placing cards with moon phases on them on a board. Players compete against the Half Moon, trying to win three games in a row. Players must match cards with each other to make Phase Pairs, Full Moon Pairs, or Lunar Cycles to earn points. After winning three levels in a row, players can unlock one of four Wild Cards that have special effects.
When a card is played, it goes onto the board and its outline remains gray if no match is made. If either the player or the Half Moon makes a card match, the involved cards' outlines turn either white for the player, or black for the Half Moon. At the end of the game, every card controlled by the player or Half Moon on the board earns them one bonus point. These are called the end game bonus points.
Phase Pairs
A Phase Pair is a match in which two cards with the same moon phase are placed next to each other on the board. Each Phase Pair earns the person who made it one point. For example, if you played a Waxing Crescent card next to another Waxing Crescent card, you would earn one point. These pairs are called Phase Pairs because the two cards in the pair have the same phase.
Full Moon Pairs
A Full Moon Pair is a match in which two cards with the opposite moon phase are placed next to each other on the board. Each Full Moon Pair earns the person who made it two points. For example, if you played a Waxing Crescent card next to a Waning Gibbous card, you would earn two points. These pairs are called Full Moon pairs because if you took the two cards in the pair and placed the lit parts of the moon next to each other, they would combine to make a full moon.
Lunar Cycles
A Lunar Cycle is a match in which three or more cards with consecutive moon phases are placed next to each other in order on the board. Each Lunar Cycle earns the person who made it points equal to the number of cards in the Lunar Cycle. For example, if you played a Waxing Gibbous card next to a First Quarter card, which in turn was next to a Waxing Crescent card, you would earn three points.
A Lunar Cycle may be stolen from an opponent by adding the correct moon phase card onto either end of the card chain. The same rules for scoring apply. For example, if you had just made the Lunar Cycle mentioned above, the Half Moon could add either a New Moon card connected to the Waxing Crescent card or a Full Moon card next to the Waxing Gibbous card. The Half Moon would earn four points, and all cards in the cycle would turn the Half Moon's color, black. Note that once you earn points from a Lunar Cycle, you cannot lose them, even if the Lunar Cycle is eventually stolen.
The same cards on the board can be part of multiple Lunar Cycles, which can add up to massive amounts of points. In the previous example, if the Half Moon adds a Full Moon card next to the Waxing Gibbous card, then the player adds another Full Moon card on another slot also next to the Waxing Gibbous card, the player can win back the Lunar Cycle (minus the Full Moon card placed by the Half Moon). If either player then places the New Moon card connected to the Waxing Crescent card, they will gain control and full points for both Lunar Cycles, earning them 10 points (5 for each 5-card Lunar Cycle).
Lunar Cycles can continue for more than the full length of a real month's lunar cycle (8 cards in total, if all collected, this is called a "Full set", worthing 8 points).
Trivia:
This doodle was planned to be shown also on the 25th, but it has been cancelled for unknown reasons.
Gallery
<tabview> Rise of the Half Moon/November|November 2024 Rise of the Half Moon/December|December 2024 Rise of the Half Moon/January |January 2025 Rise of the Half Moon/February|February 2025 </tabview>