Dino Trix: Tarot Adventures

Dino Trix: Tarot Adventures Rulebook

Table of Contents

Hold My Beer

Introduction

This is a must-follow trick-taker that features bidding and point capturing. If a player can't follow then they must trump and, if possible, must over-trump. The game is played over the course of 3-6 hands which consists of 18 cards per player. Players will be predicting what position they finish in a hand based on the number of points they capture.

Game Objective

To score the most points through accurate prediction of what position you will finish the hand in!

Players

3-player only.

Materials

54 cards consisting of 1 trump suit from 1 (low) to ★ (high) and 4 side suits with ranks from 7 (low) to Roi (high)
Scoring tokens
Bidding cards
Players will need a paper and pen to track the game score

Cards

Tarot deck - use all trump cards and remove 6s and lower of all side suits.

Ranking

Trump suit: (high) ★ 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (low)
Side suits: (high) Roi Dame Cavalier Valet 10 9 8 7 (low)

Setup

Randomly determine a start player.
Shuffle the deck of 54 cards and randomly deal each player 18 cards.
Each player will discard 1 card (face down) from their hand to the Talon. This should result in each player having 17 cards in hand and a Talon with 3 cards.
Each player should take the 1-3 bidding cards and set them nearby.
Place the scoring tokens within easy reach of all players.

Play

This is a must-follow trick-taker. This means that a player must always play a card from their hand to match the suit of the lead card played on the turn. If a player is unable to follow the lead suit then they must trump if possible. If another trump card had previously been played on the trick, then a player is obligated to over-trump (play a higher trump card) if possible. If it is not possible to play a higher trump card then any trump card is allowed to be played. If a player does not have the lead suit in their hand and also does not have any trump cards, then they are free to play any card.

The player that wins the trick will immediately score any point cards captured in the trick and lead the next trick. The player that wins the last trick of the hand also scores any point cards in the Talon. The starting player passes to the next player in clockwise order each hand.

Example: If Player 1 leads a 10 of Hearts then Player 2 must follow suit and play a Heart if they have one in their hand and if not, they must trump and play any trump card from their hand. Player 3 must still follow lead suit with a Heart card, if possible, and if not is obligated to play a trump card and, if possible, over-trump and play a higher trump card than what was played by Player 2.

Card Points

Certain cards in this game are worth points. They are as follows:

Roi (4), Dame (3), Cavalier (2), Valet (1), Trumps (2)*

*The Fool is an exception as it is worth -2 points.

There are 80 total points available in the deck: 40 on trump cards and 40 on the side suits.

When a player wins a trick they score the cards in the trick that are worth points. Total those points and score them immediately by taking scoring tokens. The player's current hand score should be visible to all players.

Example: Player 1 wins a trick that contains the following: Roi (4 pts), Valet (1 pt), and a 9 (0 pts). Player 1 would immediately add 5 points, from the pile of scoring tokens, to their hand score and lead the next trick.

Bidding

Before playing the first trick of a hand, all players will predict where they will finish in the hand on points captured. To make this bid the players will use either the 1, 2, or 3 bidding cards and select the one to match their prediction. All players will make this bid at the same time and reveal them simultaneously. Multiple players can bid for the same finishing position. The 2nd place bid is also known as the Hold My Beer bid.

Special Abilities

There are 5 trump cards that possess special abilities in this game:

★ Fool - the Fool is the highest trump card in the game. However, a player is never forced to play it unless it is their last card. The Fool may be played on any trick that a player wants. It will win the trick it is played on. Please note that the Fool is the only trump card worth negative points.
21 - If a player wins a trick with the 21 in trump then they have the choice to keep the trick and score any points in it OR discard the trick and not score any points. In either case, the player that won the trick retains the lead of the next trick. If the last trick of the hand is won then the cards played in the trick may be discarded but not the cards in the Talon.
1-3 - If a player wins a trick by playing a 1-3 in trump (Birds) they may look at the Talon and exchange 1 card with it. A player may look at the Talon and also decide not to do an exchange with it. In either case, the player that won the trick retains the lead of the next trick.

Score

At the conclusion of a hand, players will potentially score game points. A 1st place and a 3rd place bid are both worth 1 point if successful. A 2nd place bid is worth 3 points if successful. Unsuccessful bids are worth 0 points.

It is possible for players to tie on hand points. If this happens, the tied players share the position and the next position is skipped.

Example 1: Player 1 and Player 2 both end the hand with a high score of 30. They share the 1st position and 2nd position will be skipped and not awarded. As a result, only positions 1 and 3 will be awarded on this hand.

Example 2: Player 1 ends the hand with a high score of 40 and finishes in 1st. Player 2 and Player 3 both finish with a score of 20 and tie for 2nd. In this case, both players finish in 2nd and 3rd place would not be awarded in this hand.

Bonus Points

There are bonus points available if multiple players bid for the same position. The player that is successful in making their bid will score 1 additional game point for every player that made the same bid and was not successful.

Bonus points are also available for capturing a Bird (1-3 Trump) played by an opponent. Any Birds played by an opponent and captured are worth 1 game point that is scored immediately. A player never captures a Bird that they play. This only occurs when an opponent plays one and does not win the trick with it. In the case that a player captures an opponent's Bird with the 21 trump but decides to discard the trick, they still gain 1 game point for capturing the Bird and then ignore all captured card points for the hand as normal.

This means that the most game points available in a hand for a player is 8 points: 3 points for a successful 2nd place bid, +2 points for setting both opponents if they both also bid 2nd, and +3 for capturing all 3 Birds.

If the game has not ended due to a player reaching 20 points or 6 hands have not been played, then the dealer passes to the next player in clockwise order.

Win

If a player scores 20+ game points then they win immediately! If this does not happen after 6 hands, the player with the highest score will win the game. Ties are friendly and a shared victory. Cheers!

Oopsie

Introduction

This is a must-follow trick-taker that features bidding and point capturing. If a player can't follow then they must trump and, if possible, must over-trump. The game is played over the course of 2-8 hands which consists of 14 cards per player. Players will be working with a partner and predicting what position they finish in a hand based on the number of points they capture.

Game Objective

To work with your partner to score the most points through accurate prediction of what position you will finish the hand in!

Players

4-player only.

Materials

58 cards consisting of 1 trump suit from 1 (low) to ★ (high) and 4 side suits with ranks from 6 (low) to Roi (high)
Scoring tokens
Bidding cards
Players will need a paper and pen to track the game score

Cards

Tarot deck - use all trump cards and remove 5s and lower of all side suits.

Ranking

Trump suit: (high) ★ 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (low)
Side suits: (high) Roi Dame Cavalier Valet 10 9 8 7 6 (low)

Setup

Randomly determine a start player.
Determine the teams; players should sit opposite their partners.
Shuffle the deck of 58 cards and randomly deal each player 14 cards with the remaining 2 cards forming the Talon, placed within reach of all players.
Each player should take the 1-4 bidding cards and set them nearby.
Place the scoring tokens within easy reach of all players.

Play

Card Points

Certain cards in this game are worth points. They are as follows:

Roi (4), Dame (3), Cavalier (2), Valet (1), Trumps (2)*

*The Fool is an exception as it is worth -2 points.

There are 80 total points available in the deck: 40 on trump cards and 40 on the side suits.

Example: Player 1 wins a trick that contains the following: Roi (4 pts), Valet (1 pt), and a 9 (0 pts). Player 1 would immediately add 5 points, from the scoring tokens, to their hand score.

Passing

After the deal, each player will simultaneously pass 1 hidden card to their partner. That card is added to the player's hand and then all players make their bid (see Bidding below). After all bids have been revealed, each player will pass a 2nd card to their partner. This should result in all players having a hand of 14 cards with 2 cards left in the Talon.

It is highly recommended that players consider developing passing conventions for use with their partners. This can be especially beneficial for signaling what position a player intends to bid for and/or how many trump cards a player has in their hand.

Bidding

After exchanging 1 card with their partner, all players will predict where they will finish in the hand on points captured. To make this bid the players will use either the 1, 2, 3, or 4 bidding cards and select the one to match their prediction. All players will make this bid at the same time and reveal them simultaneously. Multiple players can bid for the same finishing position. Each position is worth a different amount of possible points and this is detailed in the scoring section later in the rules. Please remember after the bids are revealed, 1 more card is exchanged between partners.

Special Abilities

There are 6 trump cards that possess special abilities in this game:

★ Fool - the Fool is the highest trump card in the game. However, a player is never forced to play it unless it is their last card. The Fool may be played on any trick that a player wants. It will win the trick it is played on. Please note that the Fool is the only trump card worth negative points.
21 - If a player wins a trick with the 21 in trump then they have the choice to keep the trick and score any points in it OR give it to their partner and they score the points. In either case, the player that won the trick retains the lead of the next trick.
1-4 - If a player wins a trick by playing a 1-4 in trump (Birds) they may either score the trick and look at the Talon and exchange 1 card with it OR give the trick points to an opponent and not do the card exchange. Please note that a player may look at the Talon and decide not to do an exchange with it. In either case the player that won the trick retains the lead of the next trick.

Score

At the conclusion of a hand, players will potentially score game points. A 1st place and a 4th place bid are both worth 2 points if successful. A 2nd place bid is worth 3 points and a 3rd place bid is worth 4 if successful. Unsuccessful bids are worth 0 points.

It is possible for players to tie on hand points. If this happens, tied players share the position and the next position is skipped.

Example 1: Player 1 and Player 2 both end the hand with a high score of 30. They share the 1st position and 2nd position will be skipped and not awarded. As a result, only positions 1, 3, and 4 will be awarded on this hand.

Example 2: Player 1 ends the hand with a high score of 36 and finishes in 1st. Player 2 and Player 3 both finish with a score of 18 and tie for 2nd. In this case, both players who finish in 2nd and 3rd place will not be awarded in this hand; only positions 1, 2, and 4 will be awarded.

Bonus Points

There are bonus points available if multiple players bid for the same position. The players that are successful in making their bid will score 1 additional game point for every opponent that made the same bid and was not successful (Oopsie!).

Bonus points are also available for capturing opponents' Birds (1-4 Trump). Any Birds played by an opponent and captured are worth 1 game point and are scored immediately. A player never captures a Bird that they play. This only occurs when an opponent plays a Bird and does not win the trick with it. In the case that a player captures an opponent's Bird with the 21 trump but decides to discard the trick, they still gain 1 game point for capturing the Bird and then ignore all captured card points for the hand as normal.

This means that the most points available in a hand for a team is 14 points. This is only possible if all 4 players bid for 3rd place! The successful teammates both bid for 3rd position and tie to achieve it and score 8 points while adding +2 points for setting both opponents if they also capture all 4 Birds. This is a highly unlikely outcome, but it is possible!

Win

If a team scores 20 game points then they win immediately! If this does not happen after 4 hands then the team with the highest score wins the game. For a longer game, play to 40 game points or the highest score after 8 hands. Ties are friendly and a shared victory.

Thread the Needle

Introduction

This is a must-follow trick-taker that features bidding and point capturing. If a player can't follow then they must trump and, if possible, must over-trump. The game is played over the course of 4-5 hands which consists of 15 cards per player. Players will be predicting what scoring level they finish in a hand based on the number of points they capture.

Game Objective

To score the most points through accurate prediction of what scoring range you will finish the hand in!

Players

2, 4 or 5 players only.

Materials

78 cards consisting of 1 trump suit from 1 (low) to ★ (high) and 4 side suits with ranks from 1 (low) to Roi (high)
Scoring tokens
10 player markers (2 of each in 5 colors)
2 double-sided Scoring Cards (4-5 player on one side and 2-player on the other side)
Players will need a paper and pen to track the game score

Cards

Tarot deck - entire deck is used in a 5-player game. For a 4-player game, remove the 6-8 in every suit.

Ranking

Trump suit: (high) ★ 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (low)
Side suits: (high) Roi Dame Cavalier Valet 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (low)

Setup

Randomly determine a start player.
Shuffle the deck of 78 cards and randomly deal each player 15 cards. If playing with 4 players remove the 6-8 in every suit to create a deck of 63 cards before dealing.
The 3 remaining cards will be used to form the Talon.
Each player should get 2 player markers of the same color.
Place the scoring cards within easy reach of all players.

Play

The player that wins the trick will score any point cards captured in the trick and lead the next trick. The player that wins the last trick of the hand also scores any point cards in the Talon. The starting player is passed in clockwise order each hand.

Card Points

Certain cards in this game are worth points. They are as follows:

Roi (4), Dame (3), Cavalier (2), Valet (1), 5's (5), Trumps (2)*

*The Fool is an exception as it is worth -2 points.

In a 5-player game, there are 100 total points available in the deck: 40 on trump cards and 60 on the side suits. In a 4-player game, there are 94 total points available in the deck: 34 on trump (rank 6-8 removed) and 60 on the side suits.

When a player wins a trick they score the cards in the trick that are worth points. Total those points and score them immediately as hand points by taking scoring tokens. The player's current hand score should be visible to all players.

Example: Player 1 wins a trick that contains the following: Roi (4 pts), Valet (1 pt), 7 (0 pts), 5 (5 pts), and 9 (0 pts). Player 1 would immediately add 10 points to their hand score and lead the next trick.

Bidding

Before playing the first trick of a hand, all players will predict where they will finish in the hand on points captured. To make this bid the players will use one of their player markers and select the scoring level on the scoring cards to match their prediction. All players will make a prediction in turn order. Multiple players can bid for the same scoring level.

Special Abilities

There are 7* trump cards that possess special abilities in this game:

★ Fool - the Fool is the highest trump card in the game. However, a player is never forced to play it unless it is their last card. The Fool may be played on any trick that a player wants. It will win the trick it is played on. Please note that the Fool is the only trump card worth negative points.
21 - If a player wins a trick with the 21 in trump they have the choice to keep the trick and score any points in it OR discard the trick and not score any points. In either case, the player that won the trick retains the lead of the next trick. If the last trick of the hand is won then the cards played in the trick may be discarded but not the cards in the Talon.
Trump 1-5 - If a player wins a trick by playing a 1-5 in trump (Birds) they may look at the Talon and exchange 1 card with it. A player may look at the Talon and also decide not to do an exchange with it. In either case, the player that won the trick retains the lead of the next trick.

*If playing with 4 players then only the 1-4 of trump are Birds and have the special ability.

Score

At the conclusion of a hand, all players will score game points. Each player will score either 1 or 3 points based on how many hand points they earned and what scoring level that places them on.

Bonus Points

There are bonus points available based on players making a successful prediction of what scoring level they will finish on. If a player successfully predicts their final scoring range, they are rewarded with a bonus of 5 game points.

Bonus points are also available for capturing opponents' Birds (1-4 or 5 Trump). Any Birds played by an opponent and captured are worth 1 game point and are scored immediately. A player never captures a Bird that they play. This only occurs when an opponent plays a Bird and does not win the trick with it. In the case that a player captures an opponent's Bird with the 21 trump but decides to discard the trick, they still gain 1 game point for capturing the Bird and then ignore all captured card points for the hand as normal.

Win

At the conclusion of a hand, if a player scores 25+ game points then they win immediately! If this does not happen after 5 hands then the player with the highest score wins the game. In a 4-player game play to 20+ points, or 4 hands. Ties are friendly and a shared victory.

2-Player Variant

Only the changes required for play with 2 are described below.

Deck Composition

Remove the 1-7 in the side suits and use all of the trump suit cards.

Set Up

Shuffle the deck of 50 cards and deal each player a hand of 10.
Deal out two strawmen rows of cards in front of both players (as shown in the rulebook's illustration).
The remaining 4 cards will form the Talon and should be arranged facedown in a 2x2 grid within easy reach of both players.
Place the 2-player scoring cards near the playing area.

Play

Players will utilize both their hand and their strawmen rows as cards to play during their turn. Any card in a strawmen row that is faceup and not partially covered by another card is eligible to be played.
After the trick resolution is completed, any card in a strawmen row that is facedown but does not have any card overlapping it is now turned faceup.
The player that wins the last trick of the hand will reveal the 4 cards in the Talon and have first choice of either one of the rows or columns to add to their hand score. Their opponent will get the remaining 2 cards in the Talon to add to their hand score.

Card Points

80 total points (40 from trump, 40 from the side suits).

Bidding

After the first hand is played and scored, the player with the lowest current score will bid first on subsequent turns and lead the first trick.
The "40" spot on the bidding cards can only be bid on by 1 player per hand.
The 2-player scoring cards should be used. They are on the back side of the 4-5 player scoring cards.

Special Abilities

Fool - no change.
21 - If a player wins a trick with the 21 in trump then they have the choice to keep the trick and score any points in it OR give any points in the trick to their opponent.
Trump 1-4 "Birds" - If a player wins a trick with a 1-4 in trump they may look at any 2 cards in a row or a column of the Talon and exchange 1 card with it. A player may look at a row or column of cards in the Talon and also decide not to do an exchange with it.

Score

If a player is successful in a "40" bid they immediately win the game. If they are not successful then they score 0 points for the hand.
Both players will score a variable amount of points based on how many hand points they earned and what scoring level that places them on.

Win

A successful "40" bid results in immediate victory. Otherwise, the player with the highest score after 4 hands is the winner.