---
title: "Celestial Decks: A Competitive Card Game Built with Phaser"
subtitle: "By Kai Geffen. Five years of development, nearly 1,000 players and monthly tournaments."
date: 2026-08-17T13:00:00.000Z
category: game
url: https://phaser.io/news/2026/08/celestial-decks-phaser-card-game
site: Phaser - https://phaser.io
copyright: © 2026 Phaser Studio Inc. All rights reserved.
---
# Celestial Decks: A Competitive Card Game Built with Phaser
*By Kai Geffen. Five years of development, nearly 1,000 players and monthly tournaments.*
_**Celestial Decks**_ is a **competitive card game** built with **Phaser**, five years in the making. Unlike most card games, there are no weapons to swing and no armies to command. It has a single-player mode where you play as a spirit guiding recently departed souls on a journey of reflection, and a **PvP mode** with nearly 1,000 players over the lifetime of the game. It currently hosts **monthly tournaments** and ranked seasons, with a 1.0 release planned for the end of 2026, including a mobile version. A Steam page is already live for wishlists.
> _"Life is brief... But death? That's another story."_
## How _Celestial Decks_ Works as a Competitive Card Game
Celestial is a **hidden-information game of strategy and psychology**. The game centres around the Story: a row of cards in a particular order on the table. Your opponent's cards in the Story are face down, so you must predict what they're playing and plan around it.
Once neither player wants to add a card, the Story is revealed and points are tallied. Cards are played by spending **Breath**, a resource that resets each round and grows over the first ten rounds of a match. The player with more points wins the round. The first to win **5 rounds** wins the game. Celestial can be learned in under 10 minutes but has a high skill ceiling: a large card pool supports many deck strategies, and the psychological element of predicting your opponent's hidden plays rewards deep strategic thinking. Deck building is deliberately open: each deck contains exactly **15 cards**, with no restrictions on how many copies of a card you include. Fill it with whatever you want.
## Single Player and PvP: Two Ways to Play
The **single player mode** takes a reflective, narrative approach: you play as an **Umbra**, a spirit guide, gently ushering **Penumbra** — recently departed souls — toward peaceful understanding through a journey of reflection on their lives, using beautifully illustrated cards that tell stories as they're played.
The **PvP mode** is where the competitive scene lives. Celestial Decks runs monthly tournaments and ranked seasons, with cosmetic rewards for season and tournament results. A recent tournament drew over 40 registered players with a $250 prize pool.
> _Celestial Decks_ is planning a **1.0 release by the end of 2026**, with **mobile availability** at launch. The Steam page is live now for anyone who wants to wishlist and stay updated.
## Upcoming Tournament and Active Community
The next tournament runs on **August 22, 2026** via Fate League: single elimination, best of 3, with a **$250 prize pool** and an exclusive card back for every participant who plays. First place takes $100, second $75, third $50, and a random non-winner draws $25. Entry is free. Registration is open at [fateleague.com](https://fateleague.com/tournaments/summer-season-celestial-decks-august).
The community around _Celestial Decks_ has been growing steadily. The first ranked season produced a **player-designed card back** as the winner's prize, which is now live in the game. Streamers and commentators including Wiz and Sasha, Trynet, Rorsten, and others, have been playing and covering the game. A community member also published an [independent review](https://indiecator.org/2026/08/02/celestial-decks-review/) this month.
## What's Coming for _Celestial Decks_ in 2026
Kai has mapped out the rest of the year with a **steady release schedule** of new cards, cosmetics, and tournaments. Each month brings four new cards alongside balance tweaks, ranked seasons with cosmetic rewards, and Fate League tournaments. A **Card Creator app** is coming soon, alongside a competition with a prize. The 1.0 release with mobile support is the end goal for the year.
## Play _Celestial Decks_
Free to play as a web app. No install needed.
[Play Now](https://celestialdecks.gg/)
### Wishlist on Steam
Support the project and stay updated on the 1.0 release.
[Wishlist on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3810590/Celestial_Decks/)
---
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