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Availability: Usually
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OBJECT:
To have the lowest score at the end of the
game.
SET UP:
Choose one player to be the dealer.
The oldest player can be the scorekeeper. The scorekeeper will
record each player's score at the end of each round of play.
Shuffle the deck. The player to the
left of the dealer cuts the cards. The dealer then deals four
cards, one at a time and face down, to each player. The remaining
cards are placed face down, in the middle of the table, as a draw pile.
The top card of the draw pile is turned over to start the discard pile.
If that card is a Power card it is placed back in the deck and another
card is flipped over. Without looking at his cards, each player
places his four cards face down in a line on the table in front of him.
GAME PLAY:
During the game, players will always have
their four cards face down on the table. To begin the game,
players peek at their two outer cards once, then turn them face down
again. Each player now knows the point values of two of his four
cards and needs to remember them during the game.
If either of the outer cards are Power
cards, the player keeps them, but they do not have their powers
(described below). Power cards only have their powers when they
are drawn from the top of the draw pile.
The player to the left of the dealer has
the first turn, and play continues in a clockwise direction.
For each turn, a player may:
1. Draw the top card from the
discard pile. This card MUST be used to replace one of his cards.
The card replaced is then discarded, face up, to the discard pile; or
2. Draw the top card from the draw
pile. A player may use it to
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replace one of his cards,
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Peek, Swap, or Draw Two if it is a Power
card (see below), or
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discard it face up to the discard pile.
A player's choice is based on remembering
the values of his four face down cards. Keep track of what you
have so you won't accidentally replace a card with a low point value.
During the game, when the draw pile is
used up, shuffle the discard pile and turn it over for a new draw pile.
POWER CARDS:
Power cards have special powers which help
you in the game. Power cards only have their powers when you draw
them from the draw pile. If a Power card is dealt to you at the
beginning of the game, it cannot be used. Because Power cards have
no point value, if one of them is among your cards at the end of the
game, you must replace it with a card drawn from the draw pile.
(This can be risky, so you'll want to get rid of these cards early in
the round.) If a Power card is discarded, it may not be used again
by any player.
There are three kinds of Power cards:
Peek:
When you draw a Peek card, show it and
then peek at any one of your cards. Now you will know what you
have, or you can refresh your memory if you have forgotten what you
have. Your turn is over and you discard the peek card.
Swap:
When you draw a Swap card, show the Swap
card and discard it. You may now switch any one of your cards with
any card of another player (swapping is optional). The tricky part
is that you can't look at your card, or at the card you are getting.
After the swap your turn is over.
Draw Two:
When you draw a Draw Two card, show the
card and then you may take two more turns. First you draw the next
card from the draw pile. You must decide whether to use this card
and forfeit the second turn OR discard this card and draw a second card.
This second card may be used or discarded. Your turn is then over.
If either of the cards drawn are another Draw Two card, the Draw Two
sequence starts again.
ENDING THE ROUND
When a player thinks he has the lowest
score and can win the round, he may end the round by knocking on the
table and saying "rat-a-tat-cat" at the end of his turn. Once he
knocks, every other player has one more turn. Each player then
turns over his/her cards. Players replace all Power cards by
drawing from the draw pile. If another Power card is drawn, the
player draws again.
SCORING
Players add the point values of their four
cards. This is each player's score for the round. The
scorekeeper records each player's score. Remember that players are
trying to get as low a score as possible.
NEXT ROUNDS
All cards are collected and passed to the
player to the left of the dealer who reshuffles and deals for the next
round.
ENDING THE GAME
The player with the lowest total score at
the end of the game is the winner.
A game may be played three ways:
1. Play for certain number of
rounds.
2. Play for a specific length of time.
3. Play to stay in the game and not reach 100 points. When a
player reaches 100 points, he is out of the game. The last player
in the game is the winner. Players may also choose to play to 200,
or any other number of points.
FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS
When playing with younger children,
players leave their two outside cards face up, but leave their inside
cards face down. Each player now knows two cards of each of the
other players. Only the face down cards may be swapped with a Swap
card. All other rules of play are the same.
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