Scroll Rack is a virtual tabletop on which you can play card games against other people over a network. It was designed to simulate Magic: The Gathering® by Wizards of the Coast, but it could be expanded to simulate other games. It was inspired by a game called "Apprentice".

SCROLL RACK IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR ENDORSED BY WIZARDS OF THE COAST.

Magic: The Gathering® is a registered trademark of Wizards of the Coast.

Here is a link to WotC's Legal Guidelines.

It's the Latest File Release on the SourceForge project summary.

[Answer]

The server supports any number of players in a single game. However, the user interface works best with two players.

In theory, it can. However, you will need the game's card database in the appropriate format. And you may need to add some features to the program. It depends on the game.

It's not particularly easy.

Peer-to-peer games use an encryption algorithm called Mental Poker. After one player shuffles an other player's deck, neither player knows the exact order of the cards. Each player must ask the other player for permission to draw a card or peek at the cards.

In client/server games, only the server knows the order of the decks. Only the owner of the server can easily cheat.

Scroll Rack is open source. If you fix any bugs or add any features, please send me a patch.

Send all bug reports, patches, features, artwork, generic feedback, money, etc. to svalente at mit dot edu.

Here is the peer-to-peer protocol.

Here is the client/server protocol.

It's true that the Macintosh user interface does not work as well as the Linux and Windows interfaces. Probably the most annoying issue is that you can't drag cards between different windows on Macintosh. So, if you are viewing your library or graveyard or removed pile, and you want to move a card somewhere, double-click on the card. This will move it to the center of the playarea. From there, you can drag it to where it needs to go.

When you play a card (from your hand or from the library), if you hold the shift key when you release the card, then the card will be played face-down. (You can reveal the card by selecting Flip Card Over from the right mouse button menu.)

When you move a card to your library (from your hand or from the play area), if you hold the shift key when you release the card, then the card will be moved to the bottom of your library.

So, here's how to play Impulse:

1. From the View menu, view the top 4 cards of your library.
2. Drag one of the 4 cards to your hand.
3. Drag the other cards to the tabletop, in order, face-down.
4. Close the "Viewing My Library" window.
5. Drag the face-down cards to the bottom of your library.