- "What's Push?"
"It's a card game."
"High rollers play for Deweys, but you can buy in for less" - ―Penny, Quentin Coldwater, and Frankie Gallo
Quentin plays Push
Push is a game that uses probability magic to manipulate a deck of cards in the players' favor.
Overview[]
Push is a simple game played similarly to War, where the highest card between two players wins. Players cannot have help from anyone outside the game, and once each player's decks are gone, the game is over. As a tie-breaker, players must toss five cards into a hat, and the hand is scored like a hand in poker.
However, the point of the game is to cheat using magic. As a shuffled deck of cards isn't a fixed thing, and instead a cloud of possibilities until played, the cards are highly sensitive to manipulation. With a little magical know-how players can alter the order their cards came out, guess what their opponent would play, or play cards from other decks entirely.
The more players affect the probability fields around them, the more they begin to fluctuate and reality begins to soften, allowing secondary effects to appear in the form of minor but very unlikely chance occurrences; a card tossed to one side might land on its edge and balance there, or weather phenomena like a sudden snowstorm can form in the room.
History[]
The Raven's Test[]
- "Before we go any further each of you must pass a simple test of magical strength and skill. Lionel here is an expert in probability magic. Each of you will play a hand of cards with him. If you beat him you will have passed the test."
"What's the game?"
"The game is Push."" - ―Ember's Raven and Plum Purchas
Quentin Coldwater was invited to join a group of Magicians for a job, and after agreeing to join Coldwater was tested for his magical strength and skill by playing a game of Push with Lionel, an expert in probability magic. Lionel let Coldwater shuffle the deck, allowing him to move face cards in his favor before handing the deck back. As they began, Quentin realized Lionel wasn't entirely human, but continued nonetheless, accidentally messing up a trick that threw him off balance, losing three tricks in a row. After stealing two cards from the discard pile, the two began their match.
As they played, the probability fields around them began to fluctuate crazily around them, causing an impalpable breeze to float through and a snowflake to fall through the air. Coldwater soon realized there was some other force acting on their game and changing the face cards to images of himself, Julia Wicker, and Alice Quinn in a variety of suits. When Lionel became distracted by the cards, Coldwater pulled a king of clubs out of his boot and played it, winning the game and ignoring the image of The Beast that appeared on the card.
Following Coldwater's success, the rest of the group was tested against Lionel. In the end, Coldwater, Plum Purchas, Pushkar, Asmodeus, and Stoppard were the only players to pass.[1]
Playing for Deweys[]
Penny and Quentin Coldwater meet Lionel for a game of Push.
When Kady Orloff-Diaz and her friends were freed from the glamour placed on them by Henry Fogg, Marina Andrieski threatened to sell them out to Irene McAllistair if they didn't pay her for their bounty. When Diaz asked what the price was, Andrieski stated it had been set at five Deweys, coin-shaped batteries issued by the Library. Penny decided to contact a Magician he was friends with in Timeline 23, Frankie Gallo, to forge a Black Card from one of the McAllistairs to get Deweys to pay Andrieski.
Coldwater plays against Whitley.
When Gallo revealed that he needed a Dewey to make the forged card, he told the group that a Push game was happening later that night and Quentin Coldwater was chosen to play for the Dewey being offered. When Coldwater and Adiyodi arrived, they attempted to pay Lionel, the gamemaster, for entry with a Spelling Bee Amulet, but was denied. Coldwater then offered Adiyodi's services as a Traveler for one month, which Lionel accepted. Coldwater played against Whitley and Roman before he had to play against Lionel for the Dewey.
Coldwater plays the winning card.
As the two played, Coldwater found he was evenly matched against Lionel as he attempted to turn one of Lionel's cards into a slip of paper, but found the slip in his hand instead. The two played a tie, and Lionel called for the hats to be placed on the table for him and Coldwater to throw cards in. Scoring each other's hand, Lionel beat Coldwater again and Adiyodi told Coldwater it was time for plan B. Using all of the ambient magic in the room, Coldwater forced it to snow in the room and suggested they play a fair game, pulling a Queen with Alice Quinn's face from his shoe and winning the game.[2]
Trivia[]
- There are 26 tricks in a hand of Push.
- Most decks of cards are made with industry-standard anti-manipulation charms on them.