Keeps Weekly VI: In Medias Resurrection

This is an archive from the Keeps Weekly, a newsletter that ran from April 22 to June 3, 2026. 

One wondrous Wednesday, my friends.

Over here, we are in the midst of things. School is out and the science competitions are done, so I can finally turn the full breadth of my attention to Keeps. Which is good, because things are getting down to the wire. Let's see.

PROGRESS UPDATES

This past weekend was the 2026 National Science Olympiad competition at USC in LA. The Opening Ceremony includes a stadium march by each of the states. Check out this still from the livestream @48:30:

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/8a854e_531a8902ac1c48b49570398389c9823c/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Can you spot it? Our national advertisement? Yes, they did zoom in on it after this. And let it be known that I had no hand in this; my students are simply wonderful. Check out the blog highlight this week for more on that.

The Kickstarter is submitted for review, but not ready for link sharing yet. To make up for this, here is an in-progress sneak peek of what Elaina has artfully crafted for the page:

There will be three reward tiers for the Kickstarter:

• Keeper ($10): One Standard Keeps Deck

• Collector ($30): One Standard and One First Edition Keeps Deck

• Curator ($150, limited to 36): Choose a Keeps card to have your name printed on in every copy of the First Edition deck. Also Three Standard and Two Signed First Edition Keeps Decks (and more).

These are subject to change, but I wanted to give you guys some insider info before launch. The Curators' card choices are in time-order, so you guys are the only ones to know that you should come early if you have a specific card in mind!

The nerves are setting in for launch day. I'd like to think Elaina and I have done this game every justice it deserves, but time will tell. Knowing that our

newsletter family has grown by over 150% since the first edition gives me some confidence. Seriously, thank you guys.

CARD SPOTLIGHT

"Hope" is the thing with feathers (and no, I don't mean that dastardly crow).

Resurrection isn't really Resurrection. It is each discarded card, all at once. Or one action away from it, at least.

Resurrection allows you to, well, resurrect a card from the discard. It's essentially useless in the early game, but gets strictly more powerful as the game wears on and more and more cards are discarded. In the late game, there is perhaps no card I would want more—except the one I would take from the discard.

To counter its prodigious versatility, the card is a bit slow. It uses a whole action just to trade a card for a card, so your entire turn would be resurrecting and then playing something. Unless, of course, you resurrect a HOT! card, in which case it would be played immediately for no action. This is a tactic that seems to get plenty of use: actions are a precious, precious resource in the endgame.

The most pervasive effect of Resurrection actually manifests before it is played. Until Resurrection is discarded, NO card can be considered "out of the game". I can't tell you the number of times I've sat in imagined security with a hand full of coin cards, knowing Pickpocket has been discarded, only to see someone resurrect it and steal my entire hand. Or assumed that my keep is safe and fixed with Providence gone, just to watch it rise from the dead and do a little jig on the board.

See if you can't use this flexible card to its full extent in this week's puzzles:

EASY  MEDIUM  HARD

BLOG HIGHLIGHT

To read a bit more on what kind of people my students are, and why they are so important to me, pore over On Students. Try not to shed a tear.

GIVEAWAY

The winner of last week's giveaway is Ben, who solved Nothing Doing in record time. There were only three correct entries, and Ben won the dice roll. The solution to the puzzle has been revealed on the page, but as a hint for those who want to keep trying: with every pile empty, any card that you cannot see must be in another player's hand, and so is accessible via Pluck...

To enter this week's giveaway, tell the Keeps Courier the answer to the following riddle:

I am calm, I have stayed. I am out of sight, afraid;

I'm quiet only to yourself, a secret going unbetrayed.

Rest in me with company, chin up - eyes peeled;

I'm on, off, up, and out, in mind my straight face is revealed.

Remember to use the subject "Giveaway 6". The winner will be randomly selected from the correct entries.

IN CLOSING

Thanks for coming back for week six. This mailing list is our ticket to Kickstarter success on June 10th. If you know someone who knows someone, forward this email to them! It helps more than you know.

Until next week,

David & Elaina