Gamehelphaggis

Goal

Earn more points than your opponent(s). Points may be earned by emptying your hand before the other players, capturing cards during play, and betting that you will be first to shed all of your cards. For a shorter game, 250 points is suggested. For a longer game, 350 points is suggested.

Rules summary

A valid card combination may be a set, a sequence or a bomb:

• a "set" is a group of any number of cards of the same rank (ex: one "8", two "5", ...).

• a "sequence" is a group of 3 or more cards of the same color with consecutive rank (ex: red 8, red 9, red 10)

• a "sequence" can also be a group of 2 or more pairs or larger sets of consecutive rank sharing the same suits between sets (ex: blue 3, green 3, blue 4, green 4, blue 5, green 5)

• a "bomb" is one of the following combination (ranked below from lowest to highest):
  • 3-5-7-9 (in 4 different colors, "rainbow bomb")
  • J-Q
  • J-K
  • Q-K
  • J-Q-K
  • 3-5-7-9 (in one color, "suited bomb")

Face cards can be used as wild cards to replace any cards in a "set" or a "sequence". Each player starts a round with a Jack, a Queen and a King. These face cards are public.

At your turn, you have to play a higher ranking combination with exactly the same type and same number of card that the first combination played. You can also pass. Bombs are an exception: you can play a bomb to beat any combination, except a higher bomb.

When all but one player pass in succession, the player who played the highest combination capture all cards played. Important exception: if the highest combination is a bomb, cards are captured by the player with the next higher combination. Then, a new trick starts. The winner of the last trick leads the new trick with any combination.

Scoring overview

• At the moment you shed your last card: 5 points per card in the hand of the player who held the most cards.
• Cards captured values: 2-4-6-8-10 = 0 point, 3-5-7-9 = 1 point, J = 2 points, Q = 3 points, K = 5 points.
• 30 points for a successful "Big bet", 15 points for a successful "Little bet". Points from unsuccessful bets are added to scores of the round's winner and to player(s) who did not bet.