Cosmic Eidex Rulebook

Table of Contents

Eidex — The Basic Game
Dealing the Cards
The Play
Scoring
The Tournament
The Cosmic Characters
Conflicts
Credits

Eidex — The Basic Game

Eidex is based on the Swiss card game Jass, with some similarities to German Skat. Like Skat, it is a game for 3 players.

The Eidex deck, exactly like the Jass deck, consists of 36 cards, from the Six up to the Ace, in four suits:

Hearts (red)
Eidex / Lizards (green)
Ravens (black)
Stars (yellow)

Dealing the Cards

The dealer changes after every hand to the right, counter-clockwise. That is how Eidex is played throughout: to the right, like the Chinese. The dealer shuffles the deck, lets the player on the left cut it once, and deals three times 4 cards to each player, so that everybody receives 12 cards, which they take into their hand.

The dealer lays the last card face up. It determines the trump:

If this card shows an Ace, "Obenabe" (top-down) is played: without trump.
If it shows a 6, "Undenufe" (bottom-up) is played: without trump, but the lowest card beats the higher cards of the same suit.
If it shows anything else, its suit is the trump suit.

Everybody then presses one card of their choice out of their hand: they lay it face down in front of themselves. At the end, that card counts for the player who pressed it.

The Play

Eidex is therefore played over eleven tricks. The following-suit rule in Eidex is as follows: the suit that was led must be followed, but it is allowed to "cut in" (play a trump) at any time. So it is permitted to play a trump even when you still hold cards of the suit that was led. The only thing that is forbidden is "undertrumping": once someone has cut in, I may not throw a trump lower than that trick-taking card into the round (as long as I still hold other cards).

Special rule for the trump Jack: he does not have to follow trump.

In a trick, a higher card beats a lower one of the same suit, and a trump card beats all cards of the other suits.

The order of the cards is as follows (the first card being the highest):

For the trump suit:

Jack, Nine, Ace, King, Queen, Ten, Eight, Seven, Six.

For the other suits:

Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six.

The player who played the highest card in a trick takes the cards and leads the first card to the next trick.

Scoring

After all the tricks have been played, the players add up the values of the cards they have won in their tricks and the card they have pressed.

The winner of the last trick receives an additional 5 points.

The point values of the cards are:

Trump suit	Points	Other suits	Normal	Obenabe	Undenufe
Jack	20	Ace	11	11	0
Nine	14	King	4	4	4
Ace	11	Queen	3	3	3
King	4	Jack	2	2	2
Queen	3	Ten	10	10	10
Ten	10	Nine	0	0	0
Eight	0	Eight	0	8	8
Seven	0	Seven	0	0	0
Six	0	Six	0	0	11

In total there are 157 points per hand.

Two victory points are awarded after each hand, as follows:

If one player gets all the tricks, this is called a "Match". He receives 2 victory points.
If a player reaches 100 or more points, he comes away empty-handed and the other two players each receive 1 victory point.
If all three players have fewer than 100 points, then the player with the most and the player with the fewest points each receive 1 victory point.
In the case that all stay under 100 and two players reach the same number of points, the lucky third player receives 2 victory points.

The Tournament

To win a Cosmic Eidex tournament, a player must reach 7 victory points. Two players cannot, however, reach 7 victory points at the same time. If two players have 6 victory points and each of them would receive a victory point, then the player with the higher result stays at 6 victory points and the one with the lower result drops back to 5 victory points. If they are level, both stay at 6 victory points.

If, however, all three players have 6 victory points each and nobody manages a Match (a sweep), then the player who loses the round (the middle, or more than 100 points) climbs to 7 and wins.

The Cosmic Characters

These are the heart of the game, which we owe to the extraterrestrials Avory and Quaife. We are of course aware that a proper German rulebook would announce a basic game at this point, and that the Cosmic Characters would be the options or the "advanced game". We have nothing at all against you playing Eidex through like this first. Take it easy!

To summarise: three players, bottom card is trump, press one card, then either march all the way through (which rarely goes well over eleven tricks) or stay under 100 points. Please don't land in the middle — between 79 and 99 points the victory point is safe, and under 29 as well. Otherwise it gets dicey.

Once you have a reasonable command of this still thoroughly earthly, castrated Eidex, things really start to get exciting. Before the game everybody draws a card. The card corresponds to one of the 36 Cosmic Characters, a special personal ability. Note down your character. You keep it during all the hands of the game, up to the seventh victory point. Most characters can use their ability only once in each hand: before, during or after the hand. A few can act more than once.

And these are the characters according to Quaife, provided with explanations, examples and vivid titles by Benno Hugentobler.

Eidex Ace: Dealer

May exchange his whole hand with an interested partner before every trick. Whether he actually finds interested partners is another matter — nobody is obliged to.

Ravens Ace: Jiu-Jitsu

May once swap the trick value of two played cards that lie next to each other in the trick-value order.

Example: Jiu-Jitsu stops the game and decides that a Nine played in this trick beats the Ten. Or that the trump Nine beats the trump Jack. Or that the trump 10 beats the trump Queen (because the trump Jack is ranked higher, trump 10 and Queen lie next to each other in trick value).

Hearts Ace: Ultimo

May — if he wishes — take over the last trick.

With "Gerechtigkeit" (Justice): only the 5 extra points and his own card.

Stars Ace: Trumphator

After the cards have been dealt, may make the second-from-bottom card the trump if he does not like the first trump. Unseen! Good luck!

Eidex King: Computer

May add 5 to, or subtract 5 from, his score at the end.

Ravens King: Räuber (Robber)

After the cards have been dealt, may rob the trump card (the face-up bottom card of the dealer). In return he hands the victim any card from his hand. If the Räuber is the dealer himself, then he may demand that his trump card be robbed by the trump 6.

Hearts King: Voyeur

May at some point demand to see 5 cards from a fellow player.

The player thus harmed decides what he wants to show. If he only has five cards or fewer left in hand, he must show them all.

Stars King: Quizmaster

May, after every trick, put a question about his cards to a fellow player, which that player must answer truthfully with "Yes" or "No".

Eidex Queen: Feministin (Feminist)

Does not have to take any trick (but may...) in which a Queen lies together with a man (Jack or King).

When the Feministin becomes active, the card she played loses its trick value. The then-highest card wins the trick.

Ravens Queen: Schüchterne (Shy One)

May once refuse to lead. Instead she draws a lead card out of a fellow player's hand; he may refuse once, and must then play the second card drawn.

Hearts Queen: Teekränzchen (Tea Party)

After each player has pressed a card, the Teekränzchen receives one card from each of the two fellow players. She looks at the cards and takes them into her hand. Then she gives each player one card back. Yes: it may be the same one.

Stars Queen: Gerechtigkeit (Justice)

May once proclaim comprehensive justice: during the following two tricks the cards keep their trick power, but each player takes his own card into his own discard pile for scoring.

Even pure animal tricks do not travel into the "Jackpot" during Gerechtigkeit.

Below 4 points the Fürsorge may give away the right to lead, not the cards.

Eidex Jack: Skater

May call Skat at any time (even in the face of an attempt to cut in, or before a trick containing a 10 is collected).

From that moment on, cutting in with trump is only allowed when the suit is missing (strict following rule), and the Tens are ranked high (above King, Queen and non-trump Jacks).

Skat applies for the rest of the hand and cannot be undone.

Ravens Jack: Schwarzpeter (Black Peter)

May declare "Schwarzpeter" before pressing: whoever gets the Ravens Jack loses and comes away empty-handed. With Ravens as trump, and also when two or more players each have 6 victory points, Schwarzpeter is forbidden. The Ravens Jack may not be pressed when Schwarzpeter has been called.

Match takes precedence over Schwarzpeter: whoever wins all the points receives two victory points, despite Schwarzpeter.

Hearts Jack: Farbenfreund (Friend of Suits)

May twice order a fellow player to lead a suit. If the player concerned does not have the desired suit, the wish lapses.

Stars Jack: Scharfmacher (Agitator)

May once declare a "double trick": everybody adds one further (legal) card on top of the trick lying there. All 6 cards count as one trick, and the highest card wins it.

Eidex 10: Differenzler (Differencer)

Before the first lead, announces the number of points he intends to make. If he takes at least one trick and hits the number exactly, the hand is not scored as usual but with 2 victory points for him.

If he does not hit it, the hand is scored normally.

Ravens 10: Fahnder (Investigator)

May once, after his lead, demand a particular card. If a player has it, he must play it in this trick.

If this card has already been played or pressed: bad luck.

With "Schwarzpeter", the Fahnder may not demand the Ravens Jack.

Can give away any trick with 3 points or fewer, together with the right to lead, to a needy player. Who is "needy" is decided by the Fürsorge — perhaps she herself.

Because of the 5 extra points, the last trick cannot be given away.

A trick containing a "Sphinx" card cannot be given away.

With "Jackpot", a pure animal trick travels into the "Jackpot" and the Fürsorge gives away only the right to lead. The Fürsorge may give away a Stars 7 or Hearts 7 trick of up to three points together with the "Jackpot".

Stars 10: Weisheit (Wisdom)

Weisheit can declare certain card combinations in her hand in order to get extra points for them. At the end of the hand, "Weisheit" can add the extra points to, or subtract them from, her card values.

Here are the points that can be announced for the following combinations:

40 points: 4 Jacks
30 points: 4 Nines
20 points: 5 cards of one suit in sequence, or 4 Aces or Kings or Queens or Tens
10 points: 4 cards of one suit in sequence
4 points: 3 cards of one suit in sequence, or King and Queen of the trump suit

Example: Weisheit announces "10" before the lead to the first trick and shows four cards of one suit in sequence. At the end of the hand she either adds 10 points to her result or subtracts 10 points from it.

Eidex 9: Laser

Presses the face-down card for the fellow players, blind, out of their hands. On a lead by another player to the first trick, he also draws the lead card out of the opponent's hand.

Ravens 9: Radarkontrolle (Radar Trap)

Sets the limit that must not be reached or exceeded (normally 100 points) anywhere between 80 and 120, as he pleases (before the pressing).

Hearts 9: Konsumentenschutz (Consumer Protection)

May once reject a foreign card as harmful. The card is neutralised for this trick, and the affected player must play a different one from his remaining cards. After the trick he gets the rejected card back into his hand.

Stars 9: Seher (Seer)

May, before pressing himself, look at the opponents' pressed cards and have the first card to be led shown to him.

"Laser" does not press for him, but also does not show him his pressed card.

Eidex 8: Umwerter (Revaluer)

After the pressing, revalues one card to be either the highest or the lowest of its suit. But: not one of his own cards!

Example: The Umwerter revalues the Hearts 8 to be the highest Hearts card. For this hand the Hearts 8 beats every other Hearts card. (Order 8-A-K-Q-J-10-9-7-6; with Hearts as trump even 8-J-9-A-K-Q-10-7-6.) Point values are not affected by this.

Ravens 8: Zombie

All players call one card back from their last discarded trick to the living: they take one card of their choice back into their hand.

The ability can be used only once, and only when at least two players have taken a trick — whether won by a trick or given to them. Whoever has nothing yet picks up his pressed card. "Gerechtigkeit" cards count as a trick.

Hearts 8: Excuse

May once during the hand forget to follow a suit and instead discard a card of value 3 or less with a "Je m'excuse!"

Stars 8: Taschenspieler (Sleight-of-Hand Artist)

May at some point exchange his pressed card for a card from his hand, up to the moment he plays his fourth-from-last card.

Eidex 7: Korrektor (Corrector)

May once reject a "bad" trick — everybody takes their card back into their hand. On the replay of the trick, the Korrektor may (if he wants) take over the lead.

Ravens 7: Fledderer (Grave Robber)

May, after everybody has pressed, press a second card, push it over to a fellow player and take that player's pressed card into his hand in return. The player thus harmed may look at the newly pressed card, but may not take it up.

Hearts 7: Guggitaler

May declare Guggitaler after the pressing: instead of the usual card values, only the Hearts cards count 1 point and the Stars King 4 points. Nothing else.

That makes 13 points in the game in total. The Stars King may not be pressed.

Whoever reaches 13 points and yet no Match comes away empty-handed. Otherwise, with equal points, the third player wins two victory points. Guggitaler puts "Schwarzpeter" out of action. Guggitaler is a well-known Swiss Jass variant.

Stars 7: Jackpot

May call "Jackpot with Hearts 7" or "with Stars 7" before the pressing: he donates his pressed card (face down) to open a Jackpot. Further into the Jackpot go all pure animal tricks — tricks that contain only Ravens and Eidex cards. The Jackpot is triggered by the trick containing the named card. All the cards collected there go to the lucky winner of the Hearts (respectively Stars) 7.

By playing the triggering card early, the Jackpot can be kept small. The winner of the Jackpot may not look at the first, pressed card of the initiator.

Eidex 6: Kompass (Compass)

Determines the direction of play before the lead, and may change it up to twice.

Ravens 6: Black Friday

May devalue Eidex, Stars or Hearts after the pressing. The cards of the affected suit keep their trick value, but their point value passes over to the corresponding black Ravens cards.

Example: If Black Friday devalues the Stars and Stars is trump, then the Ravens Jack counts 22 points (2 of its own + 20 from the trump Jack), the Ravens 9 counts 14 (from the trump Nine, the Stars 9), the Ravens Ace 22 (11 + 11), and so on. The Stars cards all count 0. Play, however, goes on entirely as normal: the Stars Jack is still the highest trump.

Hearts 6: Wünschelrute (Dowsing Rod)

May demand a particular card before the pressing. In return the noble donor draws a card blind out of the Wünschelrute's hand.

Stars 6: Sphinx

Plays a card face down twice — and then declares whose the trick is. The card stays face down in the discard pile as well. When leading face down herself, the Sphinx must also name the suit.

Conflicts

The characters act in the order in which they are listed here, unless indicated otherwise; the lower card can react to the character of a higher card.

A simple example:

Certain abilities are used at the same time. The Ravens Nine "Radarkontrolle" and the Ravens King "Räuber" both use their ability before the cards are played. Because the King is higher, he must steal a card first, before the Radarkontrolle sets the new limit.

A more complex example:

Assume the Ravens Ace "Jiu-Jitsu", the Eidex Jack "Skater" and the Stars Six "Sphinx" are the characters of this game, and "Jiu-Jitsu" plays the Hearts 10, "Skater" the Hearts Nine — Hearts not being trump — and the "Sphinx" plays a face-down card. If "Jiu-Jitsu" uses his ability in this trick to beat the Ten with the Nine, then Skater can react to that and call Skat, so that the Ten is no longer adjacent to the Nine, which would put "Jiu-Jitsu's" ability out of force. However, the "Sphinx" could no longer react to that and decide to play her card face up after all. She must use her ability when she plays her card, and that phase is already completed — whereas "Jiu-Jitsu" and "Skater" can use their ability later, during the settling of the trick.

Credits

Author: Urs Hostettler. Graphics: Res Brandenberger.

Cosmic Eidex