Strike Twelve

Repair the dial before midnight falls.

Difficulty:

Hand of 8. Lose on the 4th strike. Difficulty changes only how many Midnights are in the Night deck.

Watch the AI play

Strike Twelve — Rules

Arrange Hours 1-12 as a dial. Put the Tension token SLACK beside Hour 3. Set strikes to 0.
Deal 8 cards face up. Add both Apprentices and 6 Midnights to the undealt Numbers, then shuffle the Night deck.

Reveal 1 Night card. A Number or Apprentice moves to the Workbench. A Midnight strikes and shuffles back.

Make up to 3 draws, one at a time. Stop whenever you like. A Midnight strikes, counts as the draw, and shuffles back; do not draw another card.

Play 2–3 cards totaling an open Hour exactly.
One Number card may repair alone only when its value and metal both match the Hour. It Meshes.
Repairs come from your hand. You cannot use the Workbench to repair.
Apprentice: any value 1–12 in a 2–3 card repair. Never alone. Never Meshes.
Mesh: every repair card matches the Hour's metal. Remove 1 strike; if none, draw 1.

Made a Wind draw: draw 2 cards.
Skipped Wind: draw 1 first, then move 1 card to the Workbench.
Refill draw Midnight: strikes, counts as the draw, and shuffles back; do not draw another card.
Moved Midnight: no strike, counts as moved, and shuffles back; do not move another card.
Then discard down to 8; discards go to the Workbench.

Made a Wind draw: TAUT. Skipped Wind: SLACK. Track from round 1.

Midnight: this is the game's obstacle. When it would strike, add 1 strike, then shuffle it back. Every Midnight stays in the deck; it may become all Midnights, but never empty.
Workbench: face-up moved and discarded cards. Midnights never stay there.

3 — Safety Catch: active when repaired. TAUT = set; SLACK = spent. When TAUT, prevent the next strike, then flip to SLACK; the Midnight still shuffles back and still counts as its reveal. Installing it never resets the token — the Catch starts on whichever face already shows, so a TAUT token is live immediately. It cannot prevent a strike from the Mesh that installed it.
6 — Spare Parts: take up to 2 Number cards from the Workbench; taking one or none is allowed.
9 — Regulator: when repaired, remove 1 strike. If there are no strikes, you may take 1 card from the Workbench instead. If the Workbench is empty, take nothing.
12 — Mainspring: remove 1 strike, if any, and you may take 1 Workbench card. Resolve the two parts independently.