About Sakura

Like mentioned on the Guide page, Sakura focuses only on animated series of Japanese source/origin and animated/anime-style titles with a Japanese version (ie. a dub/voice-over or region-specific release) — specifically anime, manga, and games of all kinds as well as multi-media projects. This means all content in this TCG will be related to or feature this theme, while anything that does not fall under this distinction will not be accepted (which includes series like American/Western-based cartoons, animated movies/series, etc). If you're unsure about a series and whether it will be allowed or not, please contact an admin first!

We are not spoiler-free. While we will do our best to limit spoilers as much as possible (and we also encourage members to keep this in mind as well, especially when collecting images for donations), please know that we cannot guarantee anything so some decks, custom graphics, or game rounds might include spoilers! If it's something that absolutely cannot or should not be spoiled or you have any other issues/concerns, feel free to bring it up to an admin so we can discuss it and try to resolve it to the best of our ability.

Lastly, us admins (and even staff) are not familiar with every series out there so it is very likely there'll be situations where something slips past our radar simply because we had no idea about it (ie. huge spoilers, acceptable art and art sources or not, etc) so if you spot something that needs to be looked at or re-evaluated, do not hesitate to let us know!

ACCEPTABLE IMAGE SOURCES

In addition, we try to use official art only in all instances (decks, custom graphics, etc) whether it be drawn/created by the original creator(s) of a series or any of its related official content/spin offs/etc (in the case of different artists/companies who work on different projects/adaptations of a given series and other similar situations). Vectorized/Redrawn versions of official art will NOT be accepted so please double check your image's source! Sites like SauceNAO are a good place to start.

Fan art is only allowed if you are the artist/creator of it or you have explicit permission from them to use it (in which case, please provide proof that says so). Said fan art must be of canon characters in a series that is accepted in the TCG, however, so no original characters and the likes! Again, please check your image's source to verify if an image is fan art or not. Generally, images found on Pixiv are fan art unless the artist has drawn for a commercial/published series and has had their work used for official purposes/releases (and is just using the site to share their other work), or is otherwise credited as an official artist in some way!

About the TCG

We are now a mostly automated website-based TCG so everything you do will either be on this site or our forums! Trading will still take place on individual trade posts but you will be required to log your trades both on your own site and in our database so you can use our Trading Rewards service. All other activity (unless otherwise stated) will be automatically logged on our site as long as you are logged in to your account!

Rewards earned on the forums will also be automatically logged once you claim it from your account. How this works is an admin or staff member will manually send it through the site and it will show up on your Rewards page as a link that, once clicked, will redirect you to your actual reward and saves it in your on-site logs. They will then inform you that the reward has been sent, either through your personal thread or in a reply to your post (depending on how/where you earned the reward) so you know when you can pick it up!

Updates Sakura regularly updates weekly on Wednesdays which will include a deck release, granted wishes, and other important information and reminders we want players to know. We also post monthly updates on the 1st of a new month but these typically do not have all of the features mentioned above; they are mostly just information and reminders about various going-ons in the TCG, like to notify when monthly games are able to be played again, activities are refreshed, and anything else we need to share. However, in both types of updates, there will sometimes even be additional freebies and/or event cards to celebrate certain occasions (or whenever we feel like it), as well as new event announcements or updates relating to one! We may also combine updates if the 1st of a new month coincides with or is 1-3 days before a scheduled weekly update day but we will usually try to inform players of this happening in advance so they know what to expect. Looking for old updates from Sakura 1.0? View them in our archive!

Update Freebies Whenever we give out freebies in an update, they do not expire unless otherwise stated (ie. limited freebies tied to a specific date, event, or celebration). Things like release pulls from new decks, bonus pulls for donating or making a new deck, freebies from wishes, or any kind of freebie in general can be taken at any time as long as you were a member when that update was posted. If you joined after a certain update, you cannot take anything from that update or the updates before it! The only exceptions are players with certain statuses that allow them to take from previous updates regardless of when they officially joined (see next section for more information regarding this). However, if you join on the same day that an update is posted, you can take from that update once you've been fully approved (even if it's after said update date)! Please note that some update freebies may not be automatically logged on the site such as new deck pulls, donation/deck making pulls, and event cards. Instead, we recommend commenting on updates with the freebies you take so there's a some kind of archive you can refer to later on if needed (although commenting is not required)!

Member Statuses

Depending on when you join Sakura, your member status will vary! Different statuses have different perks and benefits which may affect certain restrictions throughout the TCG. Member IDs also feature a specific icon that corresponds to the player's status, unless they are a regular member then there is no icon.

By default, all players are given the Regular member status unless they meet the requirements of one of the other statuses listed below in which case, they are automatically given that status instead! If a player has any status besides the default one but quits then re-joins later on, they will not retain their previous status; they will have to start over as a brand new player.

STATUS	MC ICON	DESCRIPTION
Admin		One of the co-admins of Sakura! All prejoiner benefits and perks apply.
Prejoiner		Joined during Sakura's first prejoin period (August 5, 2016 to August 24, 2016) and still retained this status when the TCG started its indefinite hiatus on April 30, 2020. Can take from any update posted since the TCG's re-opening even if they join at a later date!
Veteran		Joined during Sakura's first run (August 24, 2016 to April 30, 2020). Can take from any update made during the period of 3 months from before the date they re-joined (ie. a player with 'Veteran' rank joins on September 1, 2022 so they could take from any update made between June 1, 2022 and September 1, 2022)!
Regular	N/A	Joined the TCG any time after Sakura's second run/re-opening on May 24, 2023. Can only take from updates posted on the same day they joined, or afterwards!

MEMBER ACTIVITY

While not all TCGs have rules on what members can and can't do depending on their current activity status, Sakura does! A summary of these details are in the table below. Under "Restrictions", anything listed with a is what you are allowed to do as long as you are classified as that specific activity status. Similarly, anything listed with a is not allowed.

ACTIVITY STATUS	DESCRIPTION	RESTRICTIONS
Pending	The default status upon joining the TCG. Once approved by an admin (after completing the entire sign up process), you will be moved to Active and be given full access to the TCG.	Limited access to the TCG and its features; can use the Information Desk on the forums Cannot use the rest of the forums, play games, trade with others, take update freebies, use services/activities, etc
Active	The default status after being approved. Generally understood to mean you play games, trade, and update your site often and usually, at a pretty consistent/regular rate! However, the minimum we require of players to remain under "active" is that they update their trade post at least once a month.	Full access to the TCG and its features N/A
Hiatus	A status you can set yourself to, via your account page (under "edit profile") if you need to take a break for whatever reason! You can still participate in the TCG like normal if you choose to but its generally assumed you won't be as active as usual, including but not limited to playing games, trading, etc.	Full access to the TCG and its features N/A
Inactive	A status that only admins or assistants can set your account to if you don't meet the minimum activity requirements. This means you haven't updated your trade post in 2+ months, and did not set yourself to hiatus, so we assume you are inactive and thus, unable to reliably trade with! You can re-activate your account after logging in when you're ready to come back but if you do not update your trade post within 1 month of returning, you will be moved back to "inactive".	N/A until re-activated and moved back to "active" Cannot use the rest of the forums, play games, trade with others, take update freebies, use services/activities, etc