Faux Diamonds

Faux Diamonds Rulebook

Table of Contents

Components

1 Rulebook
60 Diamond cards: 52 cards of rank 1 to 13 in each of 4 suits, plus 8 Faux Diamond cards
12 Player Aid cards
1 Dealer token
5 Diamond Value Track Rules cards (double-sided, sets A-J)
17 Double-sided Diamond Value Track tiles
4 Magnifying Glass tokens
70 Wealth counters (40 clear, 20 red, 10 blue) — clear = $1,000, red = $5,000, blue = $10,000

Goal

The player who accumulates the most Wealth through selling Diamonds wins the game.

Setup

Choose or randomly select one of the 10 Diamond Value Track Rules sets (A-J) and place it with the chosen rules set faceup in the center of the table. Then find and place the designated 4 Diamond Value Track tiles around the card in easy reach of all players. Use the card's Faux Diamond* rule when evaluating Faux Diamond* spaces for a Diamond Value Track. Place the Magnifying Glass tokens on the start space of each Diamond Value Track tile, showing the initial Diamond prices. The start space has a letter (A-J) and a white number with black outline.

Note: all Diamond values on the Value Tracks are in thousands of dollars.

Example setup for set A: each suit has a unique color and cut to aid in recognition: Black Pear, Pink Princess, Blue Round, and Yellow Trillion.

Give each player 2 Player Aid cards. Place the gem Wealth counters in easy reach of all players ($1,000, $5,000, $10,000). You will also need a means to record your score for each Hand. Finally, choose a player to start as Dealer, give them the Dealer token, odd side up, and you're ready to play.

Summary of Play

Faux Diamonds is played over a set number of Hands. The cards represent single Diamonds that players will try to sell based on the values on the matching Diamond Value Tracks. Players will pass some cards, and then place 1 card facedown in front of them for an End of Hand Bonus Diamond sale. The rest of the Hand consists of 9 tricks where players will gain Wealth for selling Diamonds. The player who has accumulated the most Wealth by the end of the game wins.

Detailed Play

Number of Hands

The number of players determines the number of Hands to play:

# of Players	# of Hands
2	4
3	6
4	4
5	5
6	6

See the Variant Rules for 2-player rules, partnership play with 4 & 6 players, and Perfect Faux Diamonds rules for 2-5 players.

Dealing the Diamonds

Each card represents a single Diamond. There are four suits (colored shapes) of Diamonds with each Diamond numbered from 1-13. There are also 8 Faux Diamonds. The Dealer shuffles the 60-card deck and then offers the deck to the player on their right to cut.

After the cut, 10 Diamonds (cards) are dealt to each player. Any remaining Diamonds will not be used for this Hand and are set to the side without being examined.

Passing Diamonds

After the deal, players take their Diamonds into their hand and look at them. Then, the Dealer decides how many Diamonds will be passed for this Hand. The Dealer can choose 1, 2, or 3 Diamonds.

Each player then selects and passes that number of Diamonds to the left on odd numbered Hands and to the right on even numbered Hands. (The Dealer token helps you remember this.) This returns each player's hand to 10 Diamonds. You must select and pass your Diamonds before looking at the Diamonds being passed to you.

End of Hand Bonus Diamond Sale

Before the first trick, players each select one Diamond for their End of Hand Bonus Diamond Sale. This Diamond is placed facedown in front of them. (You may want to tuck it under one of your Player Aid cards, so it is not accidentally discarded!) At the end of this Hand players will reveal and sell this Diamond for its value on the matching Diamond Value Track. Any Faux Diamonds sold in the Bonus Diamond Sale will sell for $0.

Playing Tricks

Each Hand consists of 9 tricks - that is, the play of 1 Diamond by each player. For the first trick of a Hand, the player to the Dealer's left plays (leads) the first Diamond to start the trick and places it faceup in front of them. Then, in clockwise order, all other players will play a Diamond in front of themselves one-by-one until the last player plays their Diamond to complete the trick. (Note: it is important that players place their played cards faceup in front of themselves so the winner of the trick can be determined and the number of Faux Diamonds played can be easily counted.)

Following Suit

If a player has a Diamond of the same suit as the Diamond led in hand, they must either:

Play a Diamond of the same suit as the Diamond led.

Play and sell a Faux Diamond.

When you play a Faux Diamond, you are selling a fake version of the Diamond led on this trick. Immediately sell it for the amount indicated on the Diamond Value Track matching the suit of the Diamond led for this trick. Any time you sell a Diamond, you gain Wealth counters equal to the current value of that Diamond. Then advance the matching Magnifying Glass token by 1 space clockwise. (Important: The Faux Diamond remains faceup in front of you as it will count for a Faux Diamond Bonus for the winner of the trick.)

Example: Alania led this trick with a 10 of Black, and Bobbi is up next. She has a 7 in her hand, but it's not good enough to beat Alania's card, so she decides to play a Faux Diamond instead. She immediately gains $5,000 in Wealth counters and then advances the Black Magnifying Glass token by 1.

Note: The tracks are continuous and the tokens return to the start space once they have passed through all of the other spaces on their Diamond Value Track.

If a player does not have a Diamond of the suit led, they must either:

Play and sell any Diamond they want of a different suit.

Play and sell a Faux Diamond.

When selling an offsuit Diamond, gain Wealth counters equal to that Diamond's current value and then advance the matching Magnifying Glass token by 1 space clockwise.

Example: Continuing the trick, Carrie has a Black Diamond and no Faux Diamonds, so she must follow suit and play her 6. Dan is last and has no Black Diamonds, so he chooses to sell a Yellow 4. He takes Wealth counters equal to the Diamond's current value ($7,000), and then advances the Yellow Magnifying Glass token by 1.

Winning the Trick

Once all players have played 1 Diamond to the trick, the player who played the highest Diamond in the suit led wins the trick.

The winner of the trick sells the Diamond they played for the amount indicated on the matching Diamond Value Track and accumulates Wealth counters in that amount. (Remember: the value will change if any Faux Diamonds are played.) Only the winner gets to sell their Diamond of the suit led. Again, advance the matching Magnifying Glass token by 1 space clockwise after selling the winning Diamond. The winner also accumulates $1,000 in Wealth counters per the number of Faux Diamonds that were played in this trick.

Example: The trick is over, and Alania played the highest Diamond of the led suit (Black), winning the trick. She now sells the 10, gaining its current value in Wealth counters ($5,000), plus an additional $1,000 for the 1 Faux Diamond played this trick. Then she moves the Black Magnifying Glass token 1 space, increasing its value to $7,000.

Prepare for the next trick by placing all Diamonds played that trick in a discard pile. (There is no reason to track how many tricks each player wins in this game.)

Then, the winner of the previous trick leads a Diamond to start the next trick, unless players are now out of cards, which indicates the Hand is over.

A Tip from Diamond Mike...

During the play of the Hand, you always sell a Diamond and accumulate Wealth counters when you win a trick, play offsuit, or play a Faux Diamond. Whenever you sell a Diamond, you must first accumulate your Wealth counters for the indicated amount and then advance the appropriate Magnifying Glass token by 1 space clockwise. The tracks are continuous in that the tokens return to the start space once they have passed through all of the other spaces. Notice that the Blue Diamond Market often only has one space and the Magnifying Glass token will never be moved.

Leading with Faux Diamonds

If you lead with a Faux Diamond you will not be able to sell a Diamond for that trick. This is also true for any players who follow by playing a Faux Diamond, until someone plays a normal Diamond. The first player to play a normal Diamond is now considered the trick leader (establishing the suit that must be followed). Any remaining players now play normally (following suit, playing offsuit, or playing a Faux Diamond).

In the rare case that everyone plays a Faux Diamond, no one sells any Diamonds and no Wealth is accumulated. The person who led the first Faux Diamond wins the trick and leads the next trick, if any.

Example: Carrie chose to lead this trick with a Faux Diamond, which gains her no Wealth counters. Dan is next and plays a Blue 9, setting the suit that should be followed. Now on Alania's turn, she plays a Faux Diamond and gains the current Blue Diamond Value ($4,000) in Wealth counters. She would advance the Magnifying Glass token 1 space, but as there's only one space on the track, it stays where it is. If Bobbi plays offsuit or a Blue Diamond ranked below 9, then Dan will win the trick and gain $4,000 for the Blue Diamond and another $2,000 for the Faux Diamonds played.

End of Hand Bonus Diamond Sale

After the completion of the last trick, the Hand is over. Players now reveal and sell their facedown Diamond for the End of Hand Bonus Sale. These Diamonds sell for their current Value without moving the Magnifying Glass tokens for these sales. Remember, any Faux Diamonds sold in the Bonus Diamond Sale will sell for $0.

Scoring the Hand

Record your accumulated Wealth at the end of each Hand.

Starting the Next Hand

At the end of the Hand, after all players have scored their Bonus Diamond Sale and have recorded their accumulated Wealth, leave the Magnifying Glass tokens in place, return all the Wealth counters to the supply, and reshuffle all 60 Diamond cards. Begin the next Hand with the role of Dealer rotating to the left, and pass them the Dealer token. Check the Dealer token or Player Aid for which direction to pass cards each Hand.

End of the Game

After all Hands have been completed, total each player's score for each Hand for a final total. The player who has accumulated the most Wealth wins. If there is a tie, players share the victory.

Variant Rules

2-Player Game Rules

Deal 11 cards to each player. For each trick, each player plays 2 Diamonds, alternating one at a time back and forth following the normal rules of play.

4- or 6-Player Partnership Rules

Divide the players into 2 or 3 teams of 2 players each. Make sure players are not sitting next to their partner(s). As usual, the Dealer decides how many Diamonds will be passed. However, these Diamonds are passed to their partner(s), not to their opponents. Players are not allowed to communicate anything about the suits or numbers of the Diamonds being passed. Each player places a card facedown for the End of Hand Bonus Diamond sale. The partners add their scores together. All other rules are the same.

Perfect Faux Diamonds (2-5 Players)

This variant provides players with perfect knowledge of the cards that are in play during the game. This also means playing with 6 players is already perfect!

For 5 players: Use all 60 Diamonds in the deck. Deal 12 Diamonds to each player each Hand.
For 4 players: Remove all 13s and 4 Faux Diamonds from the deck. Deal 13 Diamonds to each player each Hand.
For 3 Players: Remove all Diamonds numbered 10-13 and 5 Faux Diamonds from the deck. Deal 13 Diamonds to each player each Hand.
For 2 Players: Remove all Diamonds numbered 8-13 and 4 Faux Diamonds from the deck. Deal 16 cards to each player each Hand. After the Pass, players each select 2 Diamonds to place facedown for their End of Hand Bonus Sale. All other rules remain the same as the 2-Player variant.

Random Rules Sets

Randomly select 1 Diamond Value Track of each suit: 1 Black, 1 Yellow, 1 Pink, and 1 Blue track. If any have a Faux Diamond* space on their track, choose to use 1 of the special rules that matches one of the Diamond Value Track Rule Set letters. (For example, if using Black G, Yellow H, Pink F, and Blue A, you can use the special rule from set F, G, or H.) You can also choose to play with no special rules and treat all Faux Diamond* as Faux Diamond.

Friendly Variant

When you sell a Faux Diamond, don't advance the Magnifying Glass token. A Faux Diamond played to the trick is sold for $1,000 less for each Faux Diamond played to this trick. This means the 1st Faux Diamond played to a trick is sold for $1,000 less than the value on the Diamond Value Track, the 2nd for $2,000 less, etc.

Gameplay Summary

Each Hand:

Dealer deals 10 cards to each player.
Dealer decides to pass 1-3 cards.
All players pass to the left on odd Hands, to the right on even Hands.
Choose 1 Diamond for the End of Hand Bonus Diamond Sale. Set it aside, facedown, or hide it under a Player Aid card.
Play 9 tricks. The player to the Dealer's left starts the first trick.
After the last trick, players sell their Bonus Diamond. DO NOT adjust the Diamond Value tracks.
Record everyone's Wealth gained that Hand, and rotate Dealer to the left for the next Hand.

Play 4 Hands for 2 or 4 Players. Play 5 Hands for 5 Players. Play 6 Hands for 3 or 6 Players.

Each Trick:

The player on the Dealer's left leads the first trick, otherwise the previous trick winner leads the trick.
If you have Diamonds in the led suit, you must either follow suit or sell a Faux Diamond for the value of the led suit.
If you do not have Diamonds in the led suit, you must sell an offsuit Diamond, or sell a Faux Diamond for the value of the led suit.
When selling, gain Wealth counters equal to the Diamond's current value, then advance that Diamond's Magnifying Glass token by 1 space.
After everyone has played a Diamond, the player with the highest ranked Diamond in the led suit sells that Diamond, and gains $1,000 in Wealth counters for each Faux Diamond played that trick.
Discard all Diamonds played this trick, and start a new one.