LEARN TO PLAY

Court!

Easy to learn and easier to play. Yet, Court! provides endless opportunity for deep strategic thinking.

Version: 1.0.0

Players: 2-8

The Pack

A classic game of Court! utilizes a standard 54-card pack (52 plus Jokers).

Context

The Suits of the Cardboard Court! are at war. Each aspires to claim the tricycle throne and rule over the pack. However, the players, as the great power brokers orchestrating the war behind the scenes, care not which suit wins. Rather, their only aim is to align with the winning side.

Object of the Game

Players compete over multiple seasons to be the last one standing. Each season consists of two rounds of players adding cards to the field and an alignment round in which they will align with the suit they believe will win. The winning suit will have at least one face card and the highest sum of the three largest numbered cards. If players sided correctly their influence (score) will be maintained. If not it will decrease. Once a player reaches an influence of zero they are eliminated from contention.

Power is zero-sum after all.

Initial Setup

Designate a space within easy reach of all players as the field. All cards placed onto the field during the course of the game must be visible, face-up, and separated by suit (Hearts with ♥s, Clubs with ♣s, etc.).

As a group, select a scribe to track player scores (preferably someone you can trust). The scribe should record the name of each player and assign them starting influence (points) as corresponds to how long the group wishes to play (see chart below).

As a group, select the first dealer. The dealer begins the first season setup by selecting a game opening by searching through the deck for the corresponding cards (typically a face and number card) and adding them to the field. The standard game opening is listed below, but feel free to experiment, create, and share your own custom game openings.

Once the game opening cards are placed on the table, the dealer shuffles the remaining cards in the deck and deals out 3-cards to each player as dictated by good card etiquette. At this point the first round may begin.

Rounds

Each round begins with the dealer adding two river cards from the top of the deck onto the field.

Note: Queens and Jokers have special rules when they are drawn as a river card. See Special Card Rules.

Once the river cards have been added, each player takes their turn clockwise from the dealer.

Each player’s turn consists of two actions:

Note: Aces, Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Jokers have special effects. See Special Card Rules.

Once two standard rounds are completed, the alignment round follows.

Alignment

With two standard rounds completed, players must align themselves to the suit they believe will win using one of their remaining cards.

At the beginning of the alignment round the dealer places down two river cards.

Note: For Aces, these river cards are being placed during the alignment round! (See Special Rules for further context.)

At this moment, all players select their alignment card secretly from their remaining cards. All other cards in their hand are discarded.

With every player having only their alignment card remaining, play continues in the same turn order as a standard round (starting clockwise from the dealer). Each player reveals their card and adds it to the field, resolving special card effects.

Once every player has revealed their alignment one final river card is added and then scoring may begin. If scoring results in a tie, continue to draw river cards until a single suit can be declared the victor.

Scoring

The suit that has at least one face card and the highest sum of the three largest numbered cards wins! (Note: face cards are worth nothing to this sum and Aces are not face cards.)

However if a suit has a Jack, add every numbered card on the field of that suit, not just the three highest.

If a suit has a Joker that suit cannot win unless that suit has a Full House, which negates the effect of one Joker. A Full House consists of all face cards: Jack, Queen, and King. Aces are not face cards.

See below for example suit scores.

If a tie occurs, draw river cards from the deck until a single suit wins. With a single suit determined as the victor, the scribe records updated player scores and which suit won that round.

Player Scoring:

Joker Scoring:

Player Elimination:

Once a player’s score reaches 0 points, they have been eliminated. However, if the table agrees eliminated players may continue playing, with the caveat that they are no longer in contention to win.

Next Season Setup

With scores calculated, leave the highest value face and number card on the field. That suit did just win that war after all. Reshuffle the remaining cards into the deck, have the position of dealer move clockwise, and then the next season begins.

Note: If a Queen remains, as it was the highest value face card of the winning suit during the previously season, before drawing the first round river cards, draw a single card from the deck for her to capture.

Ending the Game

The game ends when only one player remains with influence (points). That player has won as they have proven themselves to be the most Machiavellian player at the table! The pathetic losers known as ‘all the other players’ can at this point sulk off to nurse grudges and plan revenge.

If all players are eliminated on the same round, then there is no winner, only sad losers. (In competitive play, where a single winner must be established, revert the score to the beginning of that season and play another round.)

Special Card Rules

King: Playing a King at any point in a season aligns that player to the king’s suit. Additionally, that player draws 2 cards instead of 1 that round. During the alignment round, that player can choose to play a card, but it will not change their alignment to that suit.

However, a player who has aligned with a king is no longer aligned to that suit if any of the following happens.

Note that the player’s alignment reverts back to that King if the Joker is negated, if the Queen releases the captured King, or if the second King is captured by a Queen.

Queen: When placed, the player may capture any card on the board (placing it under the capturing Queen). If a placed Queen is captured, whatever card had been captured is released and returned to that suit.

If a Joker is released, the releasing player may choose to place it onto any suit they deem fit. If a captured Queen is released, the releasing player may choose to capture another card with that Queen. (This cannot be made to loop infinitely or capture the originally placed Queen.)

If a Queen is drawn as a river card, draw the next card to be captured by her and then draw the second river card if needed.

Jack: Placing a Jack changes that suit’s scoring, making it so that suit counts all number cards, not just the largest three.

Ace: If placed onto the field at any point other than the alignment round, that Ace is only worth 1 Pip. However, if played during the alignment round it is worth 11 Pips. Do note the Ace is a number card, therefore if a winning suit has an 11 Pip Ace it will be held over to the next season and revert to being worth only 1 Pip.

Joker: Players can place Jokers on any suit of their choosing. A suit with a Joker is no longer in contention for winning, unless that suit has negated the Joker with a full house.

If a Joker is drawn as a river card, draw another card. The suit of that following card is the suit the Joker is applied to. Both cards are then placed with that suit.

River Card: If a Queen or Joker is ever drawn as a river card, another card is drawn from the deck to determine the effect. These following cards are NOT counted to the river’s two cards.

Conclusion

Table Talk: Table Talk can be great fun and utterly infuriating from game-to-game. Before playing, it is likely wise to talk with your group and set some ground rules first. In a casual setting table talk adds a layer of intrigue as players suss out each other have and what suit they might be supporting. With a serious group, no table talk during the alignment round may be worth considering.

If you pay attention, you will see stories unfold. Such as the Mad Queen, who after winning power in one season, kills one of her own suit. Keep a creative mind and you will be surprised to see political narratives pop right out of the deck!

Thank you for taking the time to learn Court!. I hope you have as much time playing it as I have had developing it.