Extreme Tricks Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Deal Preparation
• Declaration
• Playing Tricks
• Stages
  • Red challenges
  • Blue challenges
  • Achieving challenges
• End of the Deal and Scoring
• End of the Game
• Challenge Card Reference
  • Red challenges (checked during the stage)
  • Blue challenges (checked at the end of the stage)

Components

• Stage cards: 3
• Red challenge cards: 25
• Blue challenge cards: 25
• Playing cards (standard deck): 1 set of 52
• Pieces: 12 x 4 colors
• Something to record scores

Setup

Prepare the playing cards.

• 3 players: 1 to 9 of the 4 suits (36 cards)
• 4 players: 1 to 12 of the 4 suits (48 cards)

Place the Kings of the 4 suits somewhere convenient as trump suit indicator cards.

Place the Stage cards (1 to 3) in a vertical column.

Each player takes the 12 pieces of one color as their stock.

Decide the start player of the first deal.

Deal Preparation

1. Randomly choose 6 red challenge cards and lay them face up, 2 for each stage, in order from the smallest number in the upper left.
2. Lay out 6 blue challenge cards in the same way.
3. Deal 12 cards to each player as their hand.
4. The start player chooses the trump suit for this deal and shows it with the trump suit indicator card.

Declaration

When the deal is ready, starting with the start player and proceeding clockwise, each player does the following:

1. Take any number of pieces from your stock and place them in front of you. This is the number of challenges you will achieve this deal.
2. Of the pieces placed in front of you, take half (rounded down) and place them on the Declaration area (top) of the 12 challenges laid out. These are the challenges you will definitely achieve this deal.

A single player cannot place more than one piece on the Declaration area of a single challenge. Multiple players may place pieces on the Declaration area of the same challenge.

Playing Tricks

When everyone has declared, play a must-follow trick-taking game. (Skip this if you already know how.)

The start player is the first lead player.

1. The lead player chooses one card from their hand and plays it face up (leads).
2. The other players clockwise each play one card. If you have a card of the suit that was led, you must play that suit (follow). If you do not, you may play any card.
3. When everyone has played one card, determine the winner. The highest-numbered card of the trump suit wins. If there is no trump-suit card, the highest-numbered card of the lead suit wins.
4. The winner becomes the next lead player and leads. Repeat.

When you win a trick, stack the card you played so that only that card is visible, and line it up in front of you. Only the cards you played when winning a trick are used to judge blue challenges.

Stages

A deal is divided into 3 stages. Tricks 1-4 are Stage 1, tricks 5-8 are Stage 2, and tricks 9-12 are Stage 3.

Each stage has 4 challenges, and each challenge can only be achieved during its own stage.

It is easier to play if you place a piece on the trick-count space of the Stage cards to show which trick it currently is.

At the turn of a stage, the blue challenges are checked. Other than that, the game continues as normal.

Red challenges

A red challenge is achieved immediately when its condition is met during that stage.

On red challenges where two numbers are written separated by a slash, use the left number in a 3-player game and the right number in a 4-player game.

Blue challenges

A blue challenge is checked only at the end of its stage, and is achieved if its condition is met.

Achieving challenges

When you achieve a challenge during the game, take one piece from those in front of you and place it on the Achievement area (lower left) of that challenge.

If you have no pieces in front of you, take one piece from your stock and place it on the Excess area (lower right) of the challenge.

A single player cannot achieve the same challenge more than once. Multiple players may achieve the same challenge.

End of the Deal and Scoring

The deal ends after 12 tricks. Each player scores as follows (scores can be negative):

• +1 point for each piece on an Achievement area.
• -1 point for each piece remaining in front of you.
• -1 point for each piece remaining on a Declaration area.
• -2 points for each piece on an Excess area.

Then pass the start player to the left and begin the next deal.

End of the Game

After as many deals as there are players have been played, the game ends. The player with the highest total score wins.

Challenge Card Reference

Text of the cards as printed in English on the publisher's print-and-play file. Every card shows: Declaration -1 pt; Achievement +1 pt; Excess -2 pt. Numbers separated by a slash are 3-player/4-player values. "(In total)" means counted over all of the player's won tricks in the stage. Cards are listed in printed order, including the printed numbers.

Red challenges (checked during the stage)

1. Win a trick
2. Lose a trick with 7+/10+
3. Win a trick with a spade
4. Win a trick with a heart
5. Win a trick with a diamond
6. Win a trick with a club
7. Win a trick following the lead suit (cannot be achieved when leading or ruffing)
8. Win the final trick of the stage
9. Lose a trick with 5+/8+
10. Win a trick with an odd number
11. Win a trick with an even number
12. Lead and win a trick
13. Lead and lose a trick
14. Win a trick with 5-
15. Discard a card (play a card neither lead suit nor trump suit)
16. Win a trick by ruffing (play a trump card without following the lead suit)
17. Win a trick with 3-
18. Play a spade
19. Play a heart
20. Play a diamond
21. Play a club
22. Play 7+/10+
23. Play 3-
24. Win the first trick of the stage
25. Win a trick

Blue challenges (checked at the end of the stage)

1. Most tricks among all players (in total; can be achieved even with a tie)
2. Least tricks among all players (in total; can be achieved even with a tie)
3. No tricks (in total)
4. Exactly 1 trick (in total)
5. Exactly 1 suit (in total)
6. No tricks with an odd number (in total)
7. No tricks with an even number (in total)
8. The sum of the numbers is 21- (in total)
9. Exactly 2 tricks (in total)
10. Exactly 2 suits (in total)
11. The sum of the numbers is 21+ (in total)
12. No tricks with a spade (in total)
13. No tricks with a heart (in total)
14. No tricks with a diamond (in total)
15. No tricks with a club (in total)
16. Exactly 3 tricks (in total)
17. Exactly 3 suits (in total)
18. Most spades among all players (in total; can be achieved even with a tie)
19. Most hearts among all players (in total; can be achieved even with a tie)
20. Most diamonds among all players (in total; can be achieved even with a tie)
21. Most clubs among all players (in total; can be achieved even with a tie)
22. Exactly 4 tricks (in total)
23. Exactly 4 suits (in total)
24. Most tricks among all players (in total; can be achieved even with a tie)

Note: the PnP file prints the first two blue cards numbered 1 and 2 and the last two numbered 24 and 25 with identical text; transcribed as printed.