Reference: phases

Phases let you split a game into named chunks like setup, play, and scoring. Each phase can have its own turn, moves, initialMoves, and endIf, plus a next phase to switch to.

The phases object lives at the top level of the game config.

Shape

"phases": {
  "phaseName": {
    "start": true,
    "turn": { "...": "..." },
    "moves": { "...": "..." },
    "initialMoves": [ { "...": "..." } ],
    "endIf": [ { "...": "..." } ],
    "next": "otherPhaseName"
  },
  "otherPhaseName": { "...": "..." }
}

Common properties per phase:

• start — Optional. If true, this phase is the starting phase (if omitted, the engine chooses a default).
• turn — Per-phase turn config. Same shape as turn (e.g. minMoves, maxMoves, activePlayers, stages, initialMoves).
• moves — Moves available only in this phase.
• initialMoves — Move rules that run at the start of each turn in this phase.
• endIf — End conditions checked while this phase is active.
• next — Phase name to switch to when this phase ends (e.g. after endIf triggers).

Example: play → score (Eights-style)

In the Eights example, the game has a play phase that deals and plays cards, then a score phase:

"phases": {
  "play": {
    "start": true,
    "next": "score",
    "initialMoves": [
      {
        "moveType": "MoveEntity",
        "arguments": {
          "entity": {
            "matchMultiple": true,
            "conditions": [{ "conditionType": "Is", "matcher": { "name": "card" } }]
          },
          "destination": {
            "conditions": [{ "conditionType": "Is", "matcher": { "name": "stock" } }]
          }
        }
      },
      {
        "moveType": "Shuffle",
        "arguments": {
          "target": {
            "conditions": [{ "conditionType": "Is", "matcher": { "name": "stock" } }]
          }
        }
      }
    ],
    "turn": { "...": "..." },
    "moves": { "...": "..." },
    "endIf": [ { "...": "..." } ]
  },
  "score": {
    "initialMoves": [ { "...": "..." } ],
    "endIf": [
      {
        "conditions": [ { "conditionType": "Always" } ],
        "result": { "winner": { "...": "..." } }
      }
    ]
  }
}

How to use phases

• Isolate rules per phase: Put phase-specific moves, turn, initialMoves, and endIf under that phase. The engine uses the active phase’s config instead of the top-level keys.
• Switch between phases: Use next to move automatically when endIf triggers, or drive phase changes with moves (e.g. by writing to a meta field that your endIf checks).
• Share common rules: Keep rules that apply to all phases (like global endIf or general moves) at the top level, and override or extend them inside individual phases when needed.

See Overview for where phases sits in the top-level structure.