DocsZones

Zone arrangement

A zone’s arrangement describes how its contents physically lay out — the difference between a tidy deck, a fanned hand, and a chessboard. It is a rendering choice, not a rule: it shapes how components sit in the zone, never what a player is allowed to do with them.

There are five arrangements:

  • stack — a single pile, one component on top of the next (a deck, a discard).
  • fan — contents spread side by side, overlapping like a held hand of cards.
  • grid — contents snap to the cells of a structured board.
  • scatter — contents sit loosely wherever they are dropped, free-floating.
  • slot — a single-component slot that holds exactly one thing at a time.

How to edit in the Studio

Open your game → Layout tab → select a zone. In the Properties card, the Arrangement dropdown offers Stack, Fan, Scatter, Single slot, and Grid. Choosing Grid reveals a dedicated Grid card for the cell topology; choosing Stack reveals the Stack appearance control described below.

ArrangementLooks likeNotes
stackOne pile, top component showingPairs with stackDisplay (topCard shows the top component’s face; surface shows the zone’s surfaceAsset art). The usual choice for a deck or draw pile
fanCards spread side by side, overlappingReads like a held hand; common with scope: perSeat and view: owner — see scope and visibility
gridContents snap to board cellsRequires a grid spec (grid field); pairs with role: grid
scatterLoose, free-floating contentsA play area or tableau where position is up to the players
slotA single one-component slotHolds exactly one thing — a played-card spot, a single-die tray

Two pairings matter. A stack zone reads its presentation from stackDisplay: topCard (the default) shows the top component’s facing, while surface shows the zone’s own surfaceAsset art instead — useful for a pile with dedicated artwork. And a grid zone is incomplete without a grid spec; the editor surfaces the Grid card so you can lay out the cells.

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