Triple Triad Triple Triad is a card game originating from " Final Fantasy VIII " . It was conceived by battle system designer Hiroyuki Ito . In the game two players face off against one another , one side playing as " blue " , the other as " red " on a 3x3 grid . Each player has five cards in a hand and the aim is to capture the opponent ' s cards by turning them into the player ' s own color of red or blue . Rules . Triple Triad is played on a three - by - three ( 3x3 ) square grid of blank spaces where cards will be placed as the game progresses . Each card has four numbers ( known as Ranks ) placed in top left corner ; each number corresponds to one of the four sides of the card . These numbers range from one to ten . Cards can have elemental alignments that affect the gameplay if there are elemental icons on the game board . In a basic game each player has five cards . A coin - flip decides who begins . The player who wins the coin toss may choose a card to play anywhere on the grid . After the first card is played , the opposing player may play a card on any unoccupied space on the board . The game continues with players ' turns alternating . To win , a majority of the total ten cards played ( including the one card that is not placed on the board ) must be of the player ' s card color . To do this , the player must capture cards by placing a card adjacent to an opponent ' s card whereupon the ' ranks ' of the sides where the two cards touch will be compared . If the rank of the opponent ' s card is higher than the player ' s card , the player ' s card will be captured and turned into the opponent ' s color . If the player ' s rank is higher , the opponent ' s card will be captured and changed into the player ' s color instead . Capturing can only occur during that player ' s turn , and no other opponent can capture a card during said turn . A draw occurs if the player and the opponent possess equal numbers of cards in their color on the board . Depending on card rules , this can be defined by a sudden death scenario where the first person to capture a card in a new game wins , or by playing until a winner is defined . The winner claims a prize of taking one or more of the loser ' s cards , depending upon the rules in effect . Cards have different levels . Low level cards have low ranks , like 1 ' s and 2 ' s and 3 ' s , while high level cards have 8 ' s , 9 ' s , and 10 ' s . Some cards are considered " rare " . Different rule variations affect gameplay , such as can the player see the opponent ' s cards or not , or whether the player can choose their hand or if it is randomly generated from the cards they own . There are also different rules to capturing the opponent ' s cards — Same and Plus let the player set up combos if the cards ' ranks align favorably against one another , allowing for more strategic gameplay . Trade rules dictate which and how many cards the winner can take from the loser . Appearances . " Final Fantasy VIII " . Triple Triad first appeared in " Final Fantasy VIII " as a long side quest and minigame the player could play to take a break from the main game and to obtain items through the Card mod abilities . The cards in " Final Fantasy VIII " depict monsters , Guardian Force s and playable characters . GF and character cards are rare , there being only one card of each in the world . Obtaining some of the rare cards are side quests on their own . Regular enemies drop their cards , and can be turned into cards in battle with the Card command that sometimes also yields a rarer boss card . The player can challenge NPCs to a card game via the button , meaning the game can be played almost anywhere the player is currently at . Different players play different levels of cards , and different regions have their own rules that can be mixed to create varying rule sets . " Final Fantasy XIV : A Realm Reborn " . Triple Triad is playable once the player begins it at the Manderville Gold Saucer , and can be played around Eorzea and in several Triple Triad - enabled areas . The game is based on the " Final Fantasy VIII " version with some differences , notably that the player does not lose a card upon losing a match , and that card drops from NPC players are random . Triple Triad is an optional minigame and does not directly benefit the players ' stats . " Final Fantasy Portal App " . " Final Fantasy Portal App " includes Triple Triad minigame featuring cards from throughout the series . The player can battle against Final Fantasy characters from the first thirteen ( now fourteen ) entries in the series on Easy , Normal , and Hard difficulties as well as battle with other players . The player has also the ability to create " new " cards , but they will merely have shifted point values between the four nodes . The game is constantly expanded with new cards added from time to time . Physical Triple Triad . In 1999 , following " Final Fantasy VIII " ' s release , Japanese games company Bandai produced a full set of collectible Triple Triad cards . The set was made up of the 110 cards as seen in the game along with 72 artwork cards and a collectors ' edition playing mat . The cards have a blue side and a red side . Because the set was only released commercially in Japan and was not generally available in America or Europe , the cards have become a rare collectors ' item . Counterfeit versions also exist , but the one produced by Bandai is the only officially released Triple Triad collection . Fanmade . The game remains popular with many free third - party internet versions currently thriving online . These online editions often add new decks , and many have additional rule sets . An unofficial port of the original " Final Fantasy VIII " version also exists for Android phones . A fan - made Triple Triad game called GL Triad for Microsoft Windows was developed by Rich Whitehouse and was released in 2008 . The game requires an ISO image of the first disc of " Final Fantasy VIII " to run the software . Musical themes . The Triple Triad theme song is " Shuffle or Boogie " . A piano arrangement of it is included in the " " album . " Shuffle or Boogie " is one of the three tracks included in the " Final Fantasy VIII " Music Pack available as DLC for " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " .