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ctftcg --reinit

{ "published": "2026-09-01T00:00:00Z", "author": "@hollis" }

Hello hackers!

CTF debuted last year at PAX West, and all has been quiet for almost a year. But now the wheels are in motion for the game to see a proper release. An unlimited edition, organized play, and more are all coming in 2027!

The Story So Far

On Saturday, August 30th, 2025, CTF’s inaugural set, init, was released at the PNW Tabletop Game Market at PAX West. I brought 50 starter packs and 130 booster packs, everything hand-packed and the boosters hand-randomized. The game was designed to bring a classic, early-90s TCG experience—one where there were no public card listings you discovered the space of the game through playing with others—to a small group of people at the convention. I called that initial release the Amber Edition in a collectible nod to the future: I think CTF is a great game, and I was already thinking of ways I could re-release the cards while keeping the originals special.

In the year since, I’ve been turning over in my head different ways of organizing and packaging CTF outside the context of the convention experience. How, if at all, would randomization factor into it? How would distribution work? Answers to all of these started to crystallize over the last few months.

CTF Unlimited Editions

Last year’s Amber Edition was a limited edition just for the market. Next year, I’ll be releasing two new unlimited editions: Green and Blue

• Green Edition cards will be found in non-randomized Set Boxes that contain two of each common (•, +) card and one of each rare (★, ★★, ★★★) card in the whole set. That’s enough to build any pair of decks for the dual constructed format that the first season of organized play will center around.
• Blue Edition cards will be found in randomized Booster Packs that are designed for limited play (sealed deck or booster draft). Booster packs may also contain foil cards!

The Blue and Green Editions will each contain the same set of cards as the Amber Edition, and cards from all three editions are interchangeable. A deliver-payload someone opened at the convention last year is functionally identical in game to a Blue Edition foil copy or the one that comes in every Green Edition set box, even if they look a bit different from one another.

To sum it up, CTF will still be a TCG—it’ll have some randomized products and special card treatments for folks who like cracking packs—but for players who just want to build decks there will also be clear ways to get all the cards you need without engaging with that randomness.

Where to Find CTF

I’m planning to release CTF//init Set Boxes and Booster Packs (both individual packs and full display boxes) in Q1 2027. Initially, they’ll be sold online through this site and fulfilled personally by me¹. It’s too early to say anything for sure about pricing, but I’ll be doing everything I can to keep CTF affordable.

Organized Play

I’m still working out the details, but my goal is to have regular CTF tournaments in the greater Seattle, WA area starting shortly after the main release next year!

The primary tournament format will be dual constructed: each player will bring two 9-card decks that share no rare (★, ★★, ★★★) cards (common cards may appear in both decks if you like), playing both decks over the course of a match. Cards from all editions will be legal, as will cards printed at home using the Print and Play tool—CTF is proxy friendly!

Full tournament rules will be available for free for any players or store owners that wish to organize their own events, and as the need arises I’ll happily build resources for new players to find events.

Follow Along

On the 15th of each month between now and CTF’s release, I’ll be posting an update on this site. The first few will be design diary articles, discussing the origins and development of the game. As the year goes on, I’ll have previews and test prints of the new CTF//init products to show off and more details about what you can expect to see upon release. You can also follow @ctftcg.com on Bluesky for updates.

What’s next after all that?

It’s too early to say anything concrete, but I have many pages of notes filled with new card designs, new mechanics, new format rules (multiplayer, perhaps?), etc. I’m excited to see for myself—and to show off to all of you!—what kind of second card set all of this becomes in the second half of 2027.

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But turning our gaze away from the far future, I’ll see you all later this month for a view into CTF’s origins!

/// @hollis signing off