Fiasco (Card Game)
Fiasco (Card Game) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Number of Players, Ages, and Length of Play
Number of Players = 2 to 6
Ages = 13 to Adult
Length of Play = 15 minutes to 2 hours
Description of Fiasco Cards
54 cards numbered 1 through 8 in six suits, plus six Kings.
Cards are ranked from lowest to highest 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, K. All suits are of equal rank.
The six suits are: Swords (Gray), Roses (Red), Books (Green), Treasure Chests (Yellow), Mandolins (Orange), and Horses (Blue).
Special Face Cards, six of each, these cards are suitless:
The King (Purple) is the highest-ranking card and is collectable.
The Fiasco card (Black) has a rank of 5 and is a penalty card.
Playing Fiasco
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The object of Fiasco is to collect all of the cards of one suit to score the most points through winning tricks, while preventing your opponents from doing the same.
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All players must choose one of the six suits before the game starts, and let the other players know what suit they are collecting. Two players cannot collect the same suit.
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Each player is initially dealt six cards face down. The remaining cards in the deck are kept face down beside the dealer. All players look at the cards in their hand. Then, starting with the player on the dealer's left (clockwise), each player places one card from their hand into the middle of the table. The player who placed the highest numbered card in the middle, wins the trick and every card in the middle (the pot). If the pot contains a suit that the player is collecting, then that card is placed face up in the player's collection pile. The collection pile is located on the table just in front of the player and will be used to score points later in the game. All other cards from the pot are swept into a waste pile. The player who won the last trick must lead the next trick, and play continues. Play continues with the highest card winning the trick, with the winner always leading. Note: Suit cards cannot go directly from a player's hand into his or her collection pile. All suit cards must first be won from the pot.
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Play any card you want. There is no trump, and all suits are of equal rank. You do not have to follow suit. If you want to win the trick, play a high numbered card. Play a low card to avoid it.
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The King is the highest card in the deck and is also a means of collecting points, regardless of what suit a player is collecting. If a player wins a pot containing a King, then the King is placed into the player's collection pile and is used to score points.
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The Fiasco card has a rank of 5, so half the deck is higher, and half the deck is of lower rank. If a player wins a trick containing a Fiasco card, then that player loses one card from his or her own collection pile for each Fiasco card in the pot. If the player is to lose more cards than are in his or her collection pile, then the player loses only what is available. Losses are not carried over to the next trick. Attempt to get rid of your Fiasco cards by inflicting them upon your opponents. Hence, committing a Fiasco!
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If the winner of a trick cannot be determined because there is a tie for the highest cards played, then there is a tie-for-high, and more cards must be played. The cards in the middle stay in the pot, and now have no bearing on the winner of the new trick. Each player places another card in the middle to determine the winner of the new trick. The winner of this trick wins all of the cards in the pot. If there is a second tie-for-high, play continues until there is a winner. If a tie occurs with the last cards in the players' hands, more cards are dealt until a winner can be determined. The only exception to this rule is, if during the Counting Round a tie-for-high occurs, the cards are ignored and are swept into the waste pile before counting points.
- 2 points for each suit card they have collected.
- 1 point for each King in their collection pile.
- 10 points for having all six Kings (4 bonus points).
- 20 points for having all seven of their suit cards (6 bonus points).
After counting points, all the cards are collected and re-shuffled. Players collect the same suit as before. Points from each Counting Round are added together to determine the players' overall score.
Quick Game: The player with the highest score after the first Counting Round wins.
Extended Game: The first player to score 42 points or higher wins the game.
Helpful Hints & Tips
Don't lead with Fiasco
If you lead by playing a Fiasco card and everyone else plays a card lower than 5, then you win the trick. You also win the Fiasco card and lose a card from your collection pile. Not good.
Don't lead with a King
Even though the King is the highest card, playing it too early can do more harm than good. Leading with a King gives other players the opportunity to strike you with Fiasco cards. Remember, you lose one collection card for every Fiasco in the pot. So if you lead a King, and the three other players all play Fiasco then you lose your King as well as two other cards from your collection pile. Not good.
Lead with a 4 card
This is the safest lead because you cannot win any Fiascos, but still have the opportunity of winning lower cards. Leading with a 4 is a very defensive way of playing, you probably won't come in last but chances are, you won't win the game either.
Strike the leader with Fiasco
Don't let the leader get too far ahead, so save your Fiasco cards for the leader. When the leader is winning the trick, it is a perfect time to play Fiasco. Ganging up on the leader is accepted, allowed, and encouraged. Fiasco himself would approve.
Lure the person on your left so you can play last
Since it is beneficial to play last, you can play cards that give the person on your left the incentive to win the trick. When the person on your left wins, they lead and you can play last. But beware of giving too many cards to the person on your left because they may end up winning the game due to your outrageous generosity.
Keep other players from collecting cards
If the person on your right has already played a low card, it is an ideal time to play a card that they are collecting. This way, it is almost guaranteed that the player on your right won't win the trick or the card they are collecting. Another strategy is to wait until the player on your right plays a King. You can now play a card that the person on your left is collecting, with a guarantee that the player on your right will win the trick. But beware of Ties-for-High with Kings. That's when things get really exciting!
Variants
Team Play
4 or 6 players in teams of 2, sitting across from your partner. Each player collects his/her own suit as usual. However, points from both partners are added together to get a team score during the counting round. Therefore, it is legal for one player to try to give cards to his/her partner for points. Points are scored as in the traditional rules.
Optional 2 Player Game
To speed up play, remove two suits and play with four suits instead of the usual six. You may also remove 2 Fiasco and 2 King cards if desired. As an alternate suggestion, each player may collect 2 suits each. Points are scored as in the traditional rules.
Tournament Rules
In order to create a swift, competitive game, players are limited to 10 seconds to decide which card they will play. Failing to do so permits the player on your right from selecting a random card from your hand to bring into play. Optimal Tournament play is with four players or more.