Roots & Relics: the Card Game/Wiki

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Preview video (in Japanese) showing the game's concept, showcased at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. Closed captions available.

Roots & Relics is a card-matching game under development by Wikimedia Community User Group Malaysia, that will be showcased at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. The game highlights the importance of biodiversity in indigenous cultures across Malaysia, by showcasing the different species of plants and different types of indigenous apparatus that are made using the natural materials.

Concept

The game consists of a deck of two types of cards. Root cards feature a number of natural materials, namely plants and trees that could be used to make products. Relic cards on the other hand feature the products made from the materials in the root cards. The products are specifically those made by the indigenous groups in Malaysia, using natural materials available in their communities.

The game requires a gamemaster (a role which can be played by anyone even among the players) who will play a random root card at the start of each round. The players will be given a hand of 3 relic cards for them to play in response to the root card. When a root card is played to the table by the gamemaster, the players must respond with a relic card that is made from the root card material. If their response is correct, the game shall proceed. However, if the response is incorrect, the player must take their played card back and draw another card from the deck.

The end goal of the game is to finish all the cards in each hand. Once a player finishes all their cards, they shall win the game, and the game can either end with one winner, or continue to have a ranked result.

On each card, there is a QR code which directs the player to the corresponding Wikipedia page on the subject. These can be used by the players, and especially by the gamemaster to determine whether the relic card played by the players is correct or not.