The game of sevenblade is played with ritual weapons known as "sevenblades". You will receive three sevenblades from the School of Conflict when you begin the initiation, and you may request up to six more, but you must wait one hour between requests.
A sevenblade consists of seven weapons of varying types (dagger, axe, sword, etc.) branching from a central pole.
The game is played at a sevenblade arena. (You must build an arena to pass the initiation, although you need not play any matches at that arena.) An arena requires:
A game begins with each player choosing a sevenblade from their inventory. Each player's blade is hidden from the opposing player until the end of the game. Once both players have selected blades, a random side is chosen to place a bid and begin the game.
A bid consists of a quantity and type of weapon--for example "two daggers" or "three swords". Weapons have different values; a bid of four swords is higher than one of four daggers.
Players alternate turns. On each turn, a player may either increase or challenge the current bid. The game ends when a player challenges. The challenger wins if the *combined* number of weapons in both players' sevenblades is insufficient to match the bid; otherwise the challenged player wins.
For example, if player A has chosen a sevenblade with two axes while player B has chosen a sevenblade with one axe, and player B bids three axes, player A will lose if he challenges. If player B had bid four axes, player A would win a challenge.
The winner of a game takes the loser's sevenblade. (Players often agree to return lost sevenblades once a match is done; it is best to agree beforehand whether a game is "for keeps".)
Note that you must win games against seven *different* people to pass the initiation. (Seven games won against one person will count as only a single win.) The number of losses is immaterial.
(The Sevenblades game is similar to the real-world game known variously as Liar's Dice, Perudo, Bluff, or Bullshit.)
(See also: tests)