Dark Pact
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Thirteen pacts. Thirteen ways to win. Only one to rule them all.
What it's about
Your pact is different from everyone else's
You are an occult researcher indebted to dark entities. The only way to free yourself is to seal your Dark Pact — but everyone at the table has their own, with a completely different victory condition than yours. Thirteen pacts available, one assigned per game.
Designed by Tom Lehmann — the author of Race for the Galaxy and Res Arcana — Dark Pact bears his unmistakable signature: an engine that starts slow, then explodes. You accumulate actions, treasures, and multipliers until everything converges in a final combo that turns the game around in a single turn.
The market changes every game. The Pacts change every game. Strategies change every game. No session resembles the previous one — and every victory is won by solving the exact puzzle of your pact.
From the game experience
Each player pursues a different objective — and no one knows exactly what the others are building. The bluff is in the cards you don't play.
The secret of Dark Pact in one line
Tom Lehmann builds engines that kick in — you start with ten cards and reach the end with a hand capable of doing things that seemed impossible at the beginning of the game.
From the game experience
Dark Pact
The bot has three distinct victory modes and maintains pressure. An authentic cerebral challenge, not a consolation solitaire.
FrogScore · FroGames editorial rating · based on rules, international reviews, and game sessionsWhat you build
The four pillars of your engine
The Dark Pact
Your unique victory condition. Keeper or Instant — each pact requires a completely different strategy. Thirteen possible objectives for endless variations.
Action cards
The engine of your deck. You draw, buy, exile, attack. Each action can trigger other actions — the right chains turn an ordinary turn into a devastating finale.
Treasures and coins
The currency to expand your grimoire. Played from hand, they buy the most powerful cards from the shared market. Every coin is a strategic choice.
Multipliers x2 / x3
Dark Pact's unique mechanic. Applied to any card, they multiply all numerical values — actions, coins, draws, curses. An average card becomes devastating.
The turn your pact is sealed always comes suddenly. First you're building. Then, in an instant, everything clicks — and the game is yours.
🃏Recommended sleeves1 size · 180 total cards
📖RulebookEnglish · Official PDF
A game in five moments
What happens at the table
Not the rules. The experience.
The Pact is revealed
You draw your Dark Pact card. Read the victory condition. It might seem impossible — "Have 20 unused actions" or "Exile 8 cards in one turn." Then you look at your starting deck, ten mundane cards, and you understand what you need to build. The challenge is already there, even before the first turn.
The first acquisitions
The market has ten cards. Some are perfect for your pact. Others seem perfect for your opponents' pact. Take what you need — or take what they shouldn't have. The race has begun, even if no pact is in sight yet.
The grimoire awakens
After a few turns, the cards start combining. One action calls another action. A multiplier doubles everything. You draw more, buy more, the engine hums. The others watch you. Maybe they're considering attacking you. Maybe they're waiting to do the same.
Someone is closer than you thought
The player to your left plays a card you hadn't seen. Then another. Then activates their Dark Pact Keeper — and suddenly you realize how close they are. You have to decide: accelerate your plan, sabotage theirs, or bet that they won't make it next turn?
The pact is sealed
A player plays their Instant card — or declares the Keeper. Count. Check. The pact is fulfilled. The game is over in a single moment that rewarded ten turns of patient building. The others had no idea it was so close. This is Tom Lehmann's hallmark: the final explosion that no one saw coming.
How to play
The flow of each turn
Three quick phases that repeat. You learn in ten minutes, you master in three games.
Play an action card from your hand. That action can allow you to play other actions, draw cards, acquire cards from the market or exile, or attack an opponent. x2 and x3 multipliers apply in this phase, boosting all values of the paired card.
Play treasures from your hand to gain coins, then buy cards from the shared market or your personal grimoire. The grimoire starts with three specific cards and expands during the game — it's your exclusive access to the most powerful cards for your pact.
Resolve "cleanup" effects on played cards, then discard everything from your play area — except Keeper Pacts which can remain in play. Draw up to five cards for the next turn. If the deck is exhausted, the player with the most Insight minus Curses wins.
Keeper Pacts are automatically verified at all times — if you meet the conditions in play, you declare victory. Instant Pacts are played as an action: if your cards in hand meet the condition at that precise moment, the game is yours.
Why it's different from others
Six mechanics that make a difference
13 asymmetric victory conditions
Every game, each player pursues a different objective. Not just "who has the most points" — each pact requires a strategy built from scratch. No universal solution works for everyone.
Multipliers change everything
Applying an x3 to a card with 4 actions means 12 actions in one turn. The same mediocre card becomes devastating. Knowing when and how to use multipliers is the true skill cap of the game.
The personal grimoire
Each player has exclusive access to a private grimoire with cards calibrated for their pact. It's not just the shared market — you also have a personal acquisition path that no one else can touch.
Lehmann's final explosion
The designer's signature: the engine starts slow and accelerates exponentially. The ending isn't a progressive accumulation — it's a precise moment when everything converges. Those who didn't expect that final hand will be able to do nothing.
Attacks and reactions
Some cards attack opponents — forcing choices, adding curses, interfering with plans. Those who are attacked can reveal a Reaction card to mitigate the effect. Interaction is present without dominating the game.
Solo bot with three modes
The bot has three distinct victory modes that change its behavior and difficulty. It's not a passive bot — it actively competes. The solo challenge is genuine, not a fallback.
How it ends
Two types of pact, one winner
The difference between Keeper and Instant determines how you build your deck — and how you should read your opponents' turns.
Keeper Pact
- Remains in play once played as an action
- If conditions are met at any time, you declare victory
- Requires building a stable card setup in play
Instant Pact
- Played as an action during your turn
- Conditions must be met by cards in hand at that precise moment
- Requires building towards a specific hand — and recognizing the right moment
If the deck runs out without anyone sealing their pact, the player with the highest Insight score minus Curses wins. A second escape route — but not the one you wanted to take.
Frequently asked questions
Dark Pact FAQ
Is it really that different from other deck builders?
Yes. The main difference is the 13 asymmetric Dark Pacts: each player pursues a completely different victory condition. In Dominion, everyone races for victory points. In Dark Pact, one player is trying to have 20 unused actions and another to exile 8 cards in one turn. The strategic structure is radically different for each player at the table.
How exactly do multipliers work?
You play an x2 or x3 multiplier together with an action or treasure card in the same phase. The multiplier applies to all numeric values on the card — actions, coins, draws, additional curses. Multipliers can also combine, doubling and tripling the same effects. This is the main combo engine of the game.
How much does luck matter compared to strategy?
The variable market introduces variability in card availability, but acquisition choices dominate the outcome. The pact you receive at the beginning guides the entire strategy. Luck is present — a particularly good hand at the right time can decide the game — but those who build the engine better have a real structural advantage.
Does it work well with two players?
Yes, with different dynamics. With two players, direct interaction matters more, and sabotaging the opponent's plan becomes a significant strategic variable. With four players, the chaos is greater, and reading everyone's plans is more difficult. Both configurations work — the choice depends on how much you want opponent analysis to weigh.
How do you play solo?
The game includes a bot with dedicated rules that can win in three distinct ways, each with different behavior and difficulty. It's not a passive bot: it performs consistent actions that create real pressure. The solo mode is designed as a genuine challenge for those who want to refine their strategy or play without company.
Is it available in Italian?
This is the English edition. The texts on the cards are fundamental for understanding the effects — good proficiency in English is needed or a willingness to keep the rulebook handy for the first few games. There is no announced Italian edition at the moment.
Dark Pact is an occult deck-building board game for 1–4 players (ages 14+, duration 30–90 min). Designed by Tom Lehmann (Race for the Galaxy, Res Arcana), published by Trick or Treat Studios. Main mechanic: deck building with a combo engine and multipliers. Each player works towards one of 13 asymmetric victory conditions (Dark Pacts) by building a deck of action cards, treasures, and multipliers from a shared market and their personal grimoire. The game includes an official solo mode with a three-difficulty bot. English edition. Available on FroGames.it.
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