Tetra Master ( minigame ) Tetra Master is the card game in " Final Fantasy IX " . Conceived by Hiroyuki Ito , the card game is not an essential part of the game but provides light relief to the storyline and allows the player to interact with minor characters in a different way . Tetra Master is separate from the main story , and progression in the game does not affect achievement in the storyline , and vice versa , aside from one part of the storyline where Zidane participates in a tournament with Regent Cid . Following " Final Fantasy VIII ' s " Triple Triad , Tetra Master is the second of the series to introduce a card minigame . Unlike Triple Triad , the cards cannot be turned into items and the player will not receive usable rewards other than more cards from playing the game . Tetra Master was developed into an online stand - alone title a few years after the release of " Final Fantasy IX " . This formally launched as part of PlayOnline on October 28 , 2003 and required a one dollar monthly subscription . The service failed to gain popularity and the availability of online Tetra Master ended on December 31 , 2010 . Game structure . Tetra Master is played between two players on a four - by - four square grid of blank spaces , where cards are placed as the game progresses . Cards are pictured with various characters , monsters or other items mainly from " Final Fantasy IX " , which are familiar to the player . Each card features four values written across the card , and may have arrows along the sides or in the corners . The following image is an example of a traditional Tetra Master card : The basis of the game is for cards on the grid to challenge adjacent cards , whereby the values written on the card are assessed to decide the winner . Card values . Every card has four values , or stats . In the example card above , the card has the stats 3 - P - 6 - 0 . Each stat relates to the card ' s strength . The second value ( P ) is always an alphabetical value , while the other three stats increase on a range , meaning they can range from 0 - 9 , then through letters A - F . Each of the stats for power , physical defense and magical defense increase on a hexadecimal scale , with 0 being the weakest and F being the strongest . Each of the stats represent a range of possible hit points . Whenever a card ' s value is assessed a random value is chosen between the minimum and maximum numbers that correspond to the value . For example , if a card has a value of " A " , the strength of that value may be between 160 and 175 . The minimum for a card ' s value is calculated by multiplying the base value to be considered by sixteen . For example : Power stat . The first value on the card is the power stat . This is the card ' s offensive value . The example card ( right ) has a power stat of 3 , which means its actual value is a number chosen between 48 - 63 HP . Battle class stat . The second value on the card is the battle class stat . This value is not based on the hexadecimal scale above , but instead is one of four classes . This stat is represented by the letters P , M , X , and A . The card ' s battle class determines how the values are assessed in card battles . These all affect which stat the attacking card attacks . P will attack the Physical Defense stat , while M will attack the Magical Defense stat . The other two have more obscure effects as they are rarer . X will attack the lowest of the two defenses and A will attack the lowest value on the card . Physical defense stat . The third value on the card is the physical defense stat . This is the card ' s defensive value when facing physical attacks . The example card has a 6 , so this may be equal to anywhere between 96 - 111 HP . Magical defense stat . The fourth value on the card is the magical defense stat . This is the card ' s defensive value when facing magical attacks . The example card has a 0 , so this may be equal to anywhere between 0 - 15 HP . Card arrows . As well as its stat values , each card may have a set of arrows in any of eight directions . These points are usually referred to by using the traditional points on a compass ( eg . north , northwest , west , etc . ) The card above possesses two arrows at west and east on the card . The arrows come into play when cards are in an attack situation . An attack on a card may only be made when an arrow on the challenging card is facing the resting card on the grid . There are a few scenarios where the arrows will not affect anything when played : Card battles only occur when a card with an arrow is placed facing adjacent to an enemy card with an arrow facing back . Gameplay . Each player has five cards , neither knowing the other player ' s hand . A coin - flip decides which of the two players shall begin . Grid blocks . Before the game commences , up to six grid - blocks can be placed on the game grid randomly . These will blank that grid square out of game play . Blocks simply prevent a card from being placed in its grid square . Any arrow facing a grid block is useless . A card is played . Once the game is set up , the starting player may play his first card at any unoccupied grid square on the board . After the first card is played , the opposition may play a card , and game continues with player turns alternating in this fashion . Neutral card play . If a card is placed next to another card , they may interact . Should neither of the cards have arrows facing each other , there is no interaction . This is a neutral card play . Card capture . Should the challenging card have an arrow facing a resting card , while the resting card has no arrow facing in the opposing direction , the resting card is taken . Card battles . Should the challenging card have an arrow facing a resting card , while the resting card has an arrow facing in the opposing direction , a card battle takes place ( if there are two or more such target resting cards , it falls to the challenger to select which is battled first . This may have consequences for combos ) . Cards may randomly upgrade their battle class ( 1 / 64 chance from P or M to X , or 1 / 128 chance from X to A ) upon winning a card battle . It is in these situations that the card stats are used . Physical battle . If the challenging card has a battle class stat of P ( physical ) , the power value of this card challenges the physical defense of the resting card . For an example of this , see below : In the scenario above , the challenging card ' s power value ( 4 ) is assessed against the physical defense of the resting card ( 0 ) . The challenging card would be a heavy favorite to capture the resting card . Magical battle . If the challenging card has a battle class stat of M ( magical ) , the power value of this card challenges the magical defense of the resting card . This works with the same principle of a physical battle . Flexible battle . If the challenging card has a battle class stat of X ( flexible ) , the power value of this card challenges the weaker of the two defenses of the resting card . Assault battle . If the challenging card has a battle class stat of A ( assault ) , the strongest of all three values on this card challenges the weakest of all three values of the resting card . Battle mathematics . When a card battle takes place , the winner is decided upon in three phases . Each of the phases are discussed below using the following example : In the scenario above , even Card B , with low stats , was able to defeat Card A . Combos . A combo ( short for combination ) is a series of card take - overs that stem from one . When a card is defeated and captured in a battle , any enemy cards pointed at by the arrows of the defeated card are also captured . If the player loses the battle , they also lose control of all their own cards that the attacking card has arrows pointed at . Strategies . Tetra Master ' s gameplay skill is hard to judge due to its element of randomness . The following are various strategies that advanced players often use in gameplay . Grid blocks . Every game may have up to six grid blocks preventing cards from being placed there , or none at all . These sometimes create spots where one or two cards can be placed in complete immunity - when a corner of the grid is free , while the surrounding grid squares are blocked . Weak cards or cards with less useful arrow arrangements are better off with such immunity . Cards placed there cannot be captured , and therefore cannot be lost by the player at the end of the game . Grid blocks may act as strongholds . In some possible arrangements on the grid , there is only one way to challenge a card protected by grid blocks . Cards semi - protected by grid blocks can become immune by the protection of another card . If the card has no arrows facing the protected card , the card cannot be captured by direct attack nor any combo move . Selecting a good hand . Selecting a useful set of cards can sway the game in a player ' s favor . Cards with many arrows may seem useful because they can carry various challenges . But these may not be a favorable choice for some players , as they also leave themselves and others victims to combo moves . Some players may choose to select cards with arrows only on a certain side or corner of the card . These cards are useful because they are less likely to be involved in combo moves , and may hold immunity of cards wedged in a corner . Combos . The more skilled players choose to use combos to gain sudden advantage during the game . In these situations , a player may appear to be losing , when in fact he may be arranging his arrows in a way where he can reclaim all of his captured cards . Some players chose a weak card with arrows pointing every side ( or most sides ) to make the opponent take control of it and then retake it to make a big combo , making the player able to control up to eight cards without much effort . Cards like Fang , Bomut , Flan , Bom are the most likely to be used as the " bait " because they are dropped by many monsters and tend to have low stats . Winning and losing . The player who controls the most cards when all cards have been placed is declared the winner . The winning player may take one of the cards from the opposition ' s set , but only one which was captured during the game . If the player wanted a specific card , a priority of his gameplay must be the final control of that card to allow it as a choice of prize after the game . A game win is declared " perfect " if either player succeeds in controlling all of the cards at the end of a game . In this situation the winner claims all of his own cards and the opposition ' s cards as his prize . Both players finishing with an equal number of cards results in a draw . This usually triggers a rematch , but that is not a necessity . If the player loses a card by being beaten in a game of Tetra Master , and then immediately plays a second game with the same character , the character is likely to have the lost card in his playing deck ; the game gives the player a chance to reclaim the lost card . If the player lost all his cards , they are lost forever . If a player ' s card is taken by an opponent , the player cannot only regain the card but regain infinite copies of the card if they keep playing the same opponent . If a player loses a card to an opponent and the opponent uses it in their next hand and the card levels up , and the player doesn ' t claim the card back in that game and replays the same opponent , they will again play the card but the stat boost will not be retained ; the card is always played in the condition the player lost it . When the player wins there is a slight chance a card can upgrade . Receiving a higher attack power within limits per card , an X type ( if attack type is currently P or M ) , an A attack type ( if attack type is currently X ) , one higher physical defense within limits per card , or one higher magical defense within limits per card . The maximum number of displayed wins is 9999 ; after reaching that number the counter freezes . Collector ' s level . The player ' s collector ' s level depends upon the number of unique cards they own . There are 100 unique cards in total , some of which are hard to obtain . Many players elect to go to extreme lengths to achieve a full deck so to have mastered the game . Because some cards can only be obtained once , the ability to reclaim a lost card ( described above ) is invaluable . Many of the unique cards are only available during sidequests or alterations to the storyline , but there are usually at least two opportunities to receive each card ( an example of this is Namingway , which can be found in the Desert Palace , but can also be won in the Treno Card Tournament , depending on the player ' s actions ) . To achieve the highest collector ' s level is the ultimate feat in the game . The requirements are as follows : If a player reaches the highest collector ' s level , a glitch occurs and the card rank will not be displayed . Instead , the game displays the message : " Would you like to discard this card ? " Card list . There are 100 different cards in the game . Opponents ' decks . Card decks used by the NPCs the player challenges always consist of 16 cards , but the same type of card can be among the 16 multiple times . Opponents can also play with cards they have won from the player if challenged right after a lost game ( unless the lost game was a " Perfect " game for the opponent and the player lost their whole hand ; in this case the opponent doesn ' t use the lost cards in their future games and the cards are simply lost ) . There are total of 64 decks and 128 card players , so some decks are shared . Online version . Tetra Master ' s online incarnation introduced a variety of features : competitive modes for up to three players ; new cards based on characters from " Final Fantasy IX " and " Final Fantasy X " ; and special locations on game boards that could make cards more powerful or capture lines of cards with an electrical blast . The game contained an original soundtrack and employed characters from " Final Fantasy IX " , such as Quina Quen and Beatrix , as computer - controlled opponents . Upon creating a Tetra Master account , players were prompted to join one of three groups : the Warriors Guild , which specialized in weapon cards with high offense ; the Voyagers Guild , which specialized in airship and building cards with high defense ; or the Summoners Guild , which specialized in eidolon and magic cards . This was intended to encourage trade between players since they would not have been able to obtain every card by themselves . Players accumulated currency and leveled up their cards as they played the game . Winnings could be spent on themed booster packs containing random cards or used at auctions to bid on specific pieces . Like the original minigame , a victorious player could claim a card from the opponent ' s hand . In three player matches the winner could take a card from each opponent and the runner - up could take a card from the least successful contender . The Tetra Master online service was discontinued on December 31 , 2010 . The game has no offline component and thus can no longer be played . The card game in real life . An actual Tetra Master game was released for a short time in Europe , published by Dino in 2001 . It was different from other card games of the type , because instead of buying booster packs , the player bought one set of the cards ; every set came with the same cards . Each set comes with 120 cards , two ten - sided dice , a German manual ( there is also a black - and - white English translation , but this may or may not come standard ) , a double - sided playing board featuring two scenes from " Final Fantasy IX " , ten yellow counters and ten red counters . The game rules are the same with a few modifications so that it can be adequately used on paper . Bonus cards . No card has an X or A type normally ; there are instead bonus X and A attribute cards that , if drawn , can be applied to the card the player plays for its fight . Each set comes with five X cards and three A cards . There are also collector level cards ; there are eight in each set , represented as levels . The player starts at level one , and upon defeating their opponent , they remove the top Level One card to reveal the Level Two card . First to Level eight is the winner of the game . The levels are : Each set comes with five block cards both players can place at the start of a round . Each set contains two damage cross referencing cards ; to use this card , the player compares the attacker ' s attacking value ( left ) to the defender ' s defending value ( top ) and the number that the columns intersect on is what the attacker must roll , that number or higher . The player uses one dice as the tens digit and one as the ones digit , which colors are chosen before the roll so the attacker cannot cheat . Taking opponent ' s cards on winning is optional . Other than these few rule modifications the game plays the same . Cards . Enemies usually drop their own card after battle . If the player ' s card quota is full , enemies stop dropping cards and the player cannot acquire more cards before discarding old ones . If the player finds a card in a Chocograph treasure while their card quota is full , the card is lost , but can be reclaimed by finishing the chocobo sidequest and talking to the Fat Chocobo in Chocobo ' s Paradise .