Fallacy Card

The act of shutting down an argument by simply naming a logical fallacy (e.g., "strawman!", "ad hominem!", "slippery slope!") without explaining how it applies or addressing any remaining substantive points. This treats formal logic as a trump card, allowing the player to feel intellectually superior and declare victory while often committing the "fallacy fallacy" (assuming a conclusion is false because the argument contains a fallacy). It's debate as pedantic gotcha, not pursuit of truth.

Example: User A makes a valid point about policy but uses a slightly emotional analogy. User B replies, "Wow, textbook false equivalence fallacy card. Conversation over." User B has performed a hollow victory ritual without engaging with the policy point's merits, using logic jargon as a conversational kill switch.

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

It's a Fact Card

The tactic of ending debate by loudly declaring one's own position as an indisputable "fact," thereby framing any further disagreement as irrational denialism. This move aggressively shuts down nuance by claiming the mantle of objective truth, often by cherry-picking a single statistic or a broadly accepted premise while ignoring context, interpretation, or counter-evidence. It's a power play to position oneself as the voice of reality and the opponent as a "fact-denier."

It's a Fact Card *Example: In a climate change discussion: "CO2 levels are rising. That's a fact card. If you disagree, you're anti-science." This ignores the nuanced debate about impacts, mitigation strategies, and economic trade-offs, reducing everything to a single, weaponized data point to foreclose all further conversation.*

by Abzugal February 3, 2026

Conspiracy Theory Card

A rhetorical gambit used to instantly dismiss an argument, line of questioning, or piece of evidence by labeling it a "conspiracy theory," regardless of its factual basis or the reasonableness of the inquiry. This card is played to associate the speaker with the most irrational and lurid examples of conspiracy thinking (like flat Earth or lizard people), thereby poisoning the well, shutting down debate, and protecting the accused institution or narrative from scrutiny. It's a thought-terminating cliché.

Example: A journalist asks a pharmaceutical executive about undisclosed clinical trial data. The executive smiles and says to the room, "I see we have a conspiracy theorist in our midst." Playing the Conspiracy Theory Card reframes legitimate investigative journalism as paranoid fantasy, allowing the executive to avoid the question and discredit the journalist without addressing the substance.

by Abzugal Nammugal Enkigal February 4, 2026