A card game for 2-6 players
Typical game time: 15-30 minutes.
2 packs of standard 52-card decks (one for scoring, one for playing).
Discard all non-numeric cards of each suit (i.e. keep 2-10).
Sort the cards into the four suits, each ordered from 2 (top) to 10 (bottom).
Place the four suits in a row, face up.
Choose the player who will be the dealer for the first round.
The dealer shuffles the 52 cards and deals a card to each player, starting from the player to their left and continuing clockwise, until each player has 5 cards.
The remaining cards are placed face down in the centre; this is the draw pile.
There will be 4 rounds, one for each suit (any order!).
Each round has 9 hands, where the players try to win the scoring cards (2-10) for the current suit.
The player to the left of the dealer starts by playing a card from their hand; lay this face up in the centre.
Each player, in turn (in a clockwise direction), plays a card from their hand that has a value that's equal to or greater than the last played card.
The hand ends when a player can't lay a card, or chooses not to, at which point they simply say "No" - not "Can't go" or "Pass", it must be "No"!
The player who played the last card wins the hand. They collect the top scoring card (2 points for the first hand, 3 for the next hand, and so on up to 10) and keep this in a pile beside them.
The dealer moves the played cards away, to a discard pile.
Starting with the player to their left, in a clockwise direction, the dealer gives one card to each player that has less than 5 cards, including and ending with the dealer. Repeat until all players have at least 5 cards. (Some players will already have 5, or even more, in which case they're not given any additional cards.)
A new hand now begins, starting with the player who couldn't or wouldn't play a card.
Continue playing hands until the 10 has been claimed.
At this point, all play cards are collected and passed to the next dealer, and a new round begins.
Shuffle the play cards and deal cards to the players until each has 5. The player to the left of the dealer starts the first hand of the new round.
When all four rounds have ended, and all scoring cards have been won, the game ends.
Each player adds up the scoring cards they won. (Hint: grouping into 10s helps greatly - e.g. 10, 8+2, 7+3, 6+4.)
The player with the highest score wins!
If a card is played that has the same value as the last played card (a pair) - the player immediately collects 1 bonus card from the draw pile and adds it to their hand.
If the next player does the same - the last three played cards have the same value (a triple) - then they collect 2 bonus cards.
If the next player also plays the same card - the last four played cards have the same value (a quadruple) - then they collect 3 bonus cards.
Aces are high (greater in value than a King).
If a player plays an Ace, they immediately win the hand. All other players must immediately discard all their cards that have a value that's greater than the last card played before the Ace, and momentarily lay their remaining cards face up on the table to prove they're not hiding any such cards.
For example, player A plays a 6. The next player (B) plays an Ace. Every player (except B) must discard all cards in their hands that have a value of 7 or more.
If the hand begins with an Ace, then that player wins the hand. However, because the Ace wasn't played after another card, no players discard anything.
Aim to win the high scoring rounds (6-10) rather than the lower scoring rounds (2-5).
Higher-valued cards are more valuable than lower-valued cards. Try to play lower-valued cards early in the round.
More cards in your hand gives you more choice, and a greater probability of higher-valued cards.
Aces are powerful cards, but using them at the right time is key. Playing it on a card with a high value is a waste of its power. So you may want to pass instead; you'll forfeit the current hand as a consequence (the preceding player wins the hand) but you'll be able to play the Ace on a lower card.
If you keep an Ace for too long, you'll risk losing it if somebody plays one before you!
If, at any time, the draw pile becomes empty, the dealer simply shuffles the discard pile and places it face down in the centre to become the new draw pile.
Suits are irrelevant when playing cards. Suits are only relevant for the scoring cards, when setting up the game.