Black Swan (2012) Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Contents
• Preparation
• How to Play
• Rule of Submitting Cards
  • Basic Rules
  • Joker
  • Black Swan
  • Other Rules
• End of the Game
• Scoring
  • An Example for 2~3 Players' Game
  • An Example for 4 Players' Game (the team game of 2 vs. 2)
  • Options

Objective

Through several games, a player or a team who earns objected points first is the winner.

Contents

56 cards

• 13 cards (A~K) for each of 4 patterns ------ 52 cards
• Joker (Owl) ------------------------------- 3 cards
• Black Swan -------------------------------- 1 card

Preparation

For the Team Competition of 2 Players vs. 2 Player

1. Shuffle the cards well and give 14 cards to each player.
2. Two players who sit diagonally are in one team. (The players, facing each other, are in one team.) (For 2~ 3 players' game, do not use rest of the cards.)
3. Randomly choose the first player.
4. From the second round, the player who is the last one to keep the cards in hand becomes the first player.

How to Play

A round starts when the first player puts out the cards by the rules and runs clockwise. (See below for the card discarding rules)

When 7 cards are played on the play area, the player who has put out the 7th card has to take all 7 cards. The round ends at this point and the player who has taken 7 cards becomes the first player of the next round.

A player can put out from 1 to 7 cards and cannot pass his/her turn without putting out any card. The number of cards on the play area shouldn't exceed 7 cards. For example, if 2 cards are already placed there, a player can play minimum of 1 to maximum of 5 cards. At this time, if a player puts out 5 cards, he/she takes all 7 cards (2 cards that have already been placed and 5 cards, he/she has just put down.) And the player also becomes the first player for the next round.

Rule of Submitting Cards

Basic Rules

1. Single - Randomly put out any single card in hand. (The Black Swan card is only used as single.)

2. Group - 2~7 cards with the same number. (7 cards : 4 cards of same number + 3 joker cards)

3. Sequence - ~7 cards with sequent numbers of same pattern. Note) * For sequence including A, 2, and 3 or Q, K, and A are acceptable but K, A, and 2 are not. ** The sequent numbers with different patterns are not acceptable.

   (The lower bound of the card count in rule 3 is not legible in the scan. It is transcribed as printed, "~7 cards".)

[Card examples in the printed rulebook illustrate each of the three submission types above and are not reproduced here.]

Joker

The jokers can be used as single, a pair, or in a combination with other group and sequent cards.

[Card examples in the printed rulebook illustrate joker combinations and are not reproduced here.]

Black Swan

The Black Swan card is not a joker and it cannot be used with any other cards, including a joker card. It can only be used as a single card.

Other Rules

1. When one player puts out cards, the player doesn't have to concern for the pattern of the cards the previous player has discarded and only be aware of the number of the cards stacked on the table.
2. The number of cards on the table should not be over 7. For example, if 5 cards are already placed, a player can put out 1 card and give the turn to the next person. Or he/she can discard 2 cards and take placed 7 cards. The player cannot put out more than 3 cards at this time.

End of the Game

When a player discards all cards in hand, he/she should stop attending the game and rest of the players should continue. At this time, the first player who has finished should be noticed because the last player who takes 7 cards in the last round has to give those 7 cards to the player who has finished the game first. However, if the Black Swan card is included in the last 7 cards, the last player has to keep the Black Swan card and gives 6 cards to the one who has finished the first.

Scoring

When all players put out all cards in their hands, the game is ended. Points for each card are as below:

• A: 20 points
• 10, J, Q, K: 10 points
• Black Swan: -100 points
• 5: 5 points
• Joker: -20 points
• Other number cards: 0 point

For the team game of 2 players vs. 2 players, the points of team members are combined. A team or a player whoever earns the objected points first is the winner.

An Example for 2~3 Players' Game

Each player receives 14 cards. Rest of the cards is not used in the game. In this case, even the Black Swan card can be excluded. For 2 to 3 players' game, the players compete individually. A player whoever earns 300 points first wins the game.

An Example for 4 Players' Game (the team game of 2 vs. 2)

If 4 people are playing, team competition of 2 players vs. 2 players is suggested. Same team members sit facing each other. The points of team members' cards are combined for scoring. Exchanging information and conversation between team members are not allowed. The team, whose combined points, reaches 500 points first wins the game.

Since the total points in a game are 100, only one team has to score the points. If one team's combined points is calculated, the other team need to subtract that points from 100.

Options

For the team competition of 2 vs. 2, one can declare the possession of the Black Swan card. If the Black Swan card is declared, the points of the card holder's team are doubled.