This
card game is an excellent game for two
bored people who like to
think. It's built on the idea of
solitaire but makes it into a
cut-throat competition. You'll need two
decks of cards, preferably
with different back designs or colors.
Preparation
Both decks need to be thoroughly shuffled. One of the decks should
have four jokers added. If your decks only come with two jokers each,
use two from each deck (but put them in the same deck, so that you
have one deck with 52 cards, and one deck with 56 cards).
Divide the 52-card deck evenly, giving each player 26 cards. Each
player should put this pile of cards to his/her right, and turn the
top card face up. Five cards are then dealt to each player from the
56-card deck; these form the players' hands.
The object of the game is to play all of the cards in your stockpile,
one by one. The first person who can do this scores 1 point for every
card left in his opponents stockpile. This game becomes excruciating
when converted to hard score.
Play
The remainder of the 56-card deck is set in the center off to the
side, and is known as the "stock" (not to be confused with the
players' personal stockpiles).
Jokers are wild. Suits are irrelevant. The cards rank A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 J Q K.
The player with the higher upcard goes first. If the first player
holds an Ace, he can play it to the center of the table. Eight stacks
can eventually be formed in the center. On the ace, a two can be
played, etc. Again, suit is not a factor -- a two of diamonds may be
played on an ace of clubs. Once a king has been played on a stack, no
more cards may be played on that stack. When the player plays his
upcard, s/he turns up the next card in his or her stockpile.
When the player is finished moving, s/he may discard one card
to one of his/her discard piles. Four total discard piles are allowed,
and they must descend in rank (but can mix suits). Cards of the same
rank may be discarded on top of each other (so you can have a discard
sequence like 10-9-9-8-7-7)). The discard piles can start with
any card. After discarding, if desired, the player must draw however
many cards are necessary to restore his hand to five cards.
In summary, the player whose turn it is may play as many cards as
desired or possible from his hand, his discard piles, or (preferably)
his stockpile. Again, the object is to play all of the cards in his
stockpile. Cards in the discard pile must be played in ascending
order, i.e., they are pushed onto the pile and must be popped off of
it. Last in, first out. If you have a discard pile that runs
9-8-7-7-6, only the 6 may be played. Then the 7s
may be played, etc.
If a player manages to play all of the cards in his/her hand in the
same turn, s/he may immediately draw five more and continue playing.
If the stock is down to 12 cards or fewer, all the center stacks that
have been formed are gathered, shuffled together, and turned face down
to make a new stock.
If a player's upcard is an ace, s/he must play it to a center
stack on his or her turn. Same if s/he has an ace in a discard pile.
Jokers can be discarded. The player does not have to declare their
ranks until they are played to the center. However, a joker may not be
discarded onto a 2.
If a player has no legal moves, turn passes to the next player.
Scoring
The player who plays all of his or her stockpile first wins. Soft
score is 1 point per card left in the opponent's stockpile. Hard
score could be anything. The Hollywood scoring system for Gin Rummy
could also be used for more complex scoring.