This is a repository for the rules of a card game we're developing.
This intense strategic game of rapid adaption and careful play under the guise of a child-like trick-taking game has been spreading exponentially in popularity amongst the largely quarantined population. R = 5.6. Its main appeal here is that since each player has their own deck and never touches another players cards, it can be played without breaking Social Distancing laws.
The aim of the game is to win 40 tricks.
The game is made up of a series of rounds of 5 tricks where Hearts are always trumps. Each round both players will have 5 cards with which to win tricks, but these are drawn from only 13 cards each. The challenge is to upgrade those 13 cards to give you the edge over your opponent.
Early on you will be desperately trying to upgrade your cards, but as you approach 40 you will be racing to get there first with the cards that you have accumulated.
Each player plays with their own full 52 card deck. At any one time you will only have access to 13 of them, your Active 13.
Both players start with all four 2s and the 3 of Hearts. You then each shuffle your remaining deck and take eight more cards; together these are your Active 13. Shuffle your Active 13 and place them face down as your draw pile. Place the remaining deck face down nearby. See "Suggested Layout" for more detail.
Choose a player to lead first - tallest, youngest, longest time since leaving quarantine, your choice.
At the start of the round you draw five cards from your draw pile. These are the cards you are going to try to win tricks with.
Before trick taking begins there is an opportunity to improve the quality of your hand and therefore your Active 13.
To upgrade a card you must first spend a Heart card from your hand by revealing it to your opponent and then placing it face down in your discard pile. You will not be able to play it this round, but it is still one of your Active 13. You use this to buy the top card from your deck, taking it into your hand. You must then bin one card from your hand. This card is put to one side face up and will not be used for the rest of the game.
The lead player can upgrade as many time as they like, or until they run out of Hearts. When they stop and stick with their hand the other player has the opportunity to upgrade in the same way. This may lead to each player having different numbers of cards in hand - don't worry, this is normal.
The lead player leads the first trick. The other must follow suit if they can, otherwise they can play any card in their hand. As Hearts are trumps they will beat any other suit. Aces are high.
Normally there will be a winner of the trick and this player leads the next trick. If both players play exactly the same card then it is a draw. This can happen because each player has their own deck. The player who led the drawn trick leads the next as well.
Each trick is played until one (or both) players are out of cards. If your opponent runs out of cards before you, you automatically win one trick for each card remaining in your hand.
When all tricks have been played you add the number of tricks you won to your point total, treating a draw as a win for both players. Put the cards you played into your discard pile.
In the next round the other player leads. Each player again draws five cards from their draw pile. If you run out of cards in your draw pile then shuffle your discard pile and draw the remaining cards you need. Your shuffled discard pile is now your draw pile and your discard pile is empty. You then upgrade, play tricks and the game continues like this until...
If a round is completed and one player has 40 or more points then they win. If both players pass 40 in the same round then the player with the highest score wins. If there is a draw then they keep playing rounds until one player has more points than the other.
There are quite a few piles of cards in this game and you can keep track of them in whichever way you like, however we choose to arrange our cards like this:
During trick taking we lay the cards out as below. By turning the cards landscape it quickly indicates that that card lost the trick. This helps with counting up the tricks at the end of the round.
In the example above the red player has led. Both of the Ace of Diamonds stay portrait as it is a draw so both players will receive a point at the end of the round. The red player has then led again after the draw but loses, so then the blue player leads. On the fifth trick only the blue player has a card and so automatically wins the trick. This tells us that the red player must have upgraded one card this round.
I'm not hugely happy with this section - it's a collection of terms that we either need to change or explain better.
- Active 13: The cards you currently have available which are split between your hand, discard pile, draw pile and played out in tricks.
- Draw Pile: The pile of cards from which you draw your hand.
- The Lead: The player who leads the first trick of a round.
- Upgrade: Discard a trump; draw a card from your deck; bin one card.
- Bin: Remove a card from your active cards, laying it aside.
- Deck: The remaining cards from your deck that have not yet been part of your Active 13.