Formula Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Setup
• Game Play
• Joker
• Special Rules
  • Increasing the Difficulty
  • Other Variations

Setup

1. The yellow cards with the symbols (+, -, x, ÷ and =) on them are placed face up in the centre of the table.
2. Decide together who will shuffle and deal the first round. This person shuffles all the Numbers and Joker cards and deals each player 7 cards.
3. The remaining cards are turned face down in a pile: the stock pile.
4. Take two cards from the stock pile and place them face up on the table. Make sure there is a little bit of space between them! Place the card with the symbol = to the right of these cards. This is the starting point of the formula.

(Diagram: a 9 and a 1 on the table, with the = card to their right.)

Game Play

The player left of the dealer starts by completing the Formula that is on the table. This is done by placing a symbol (+, -, x, ÷) between the two numbers and placing a card from the player's hand to the right of the symbol = as the answer.

For example, if there is a 2 and a 4 on the table, the player can put the symbol + in between these numbers and play the 6 as the answer:

(Diagram: 2 + 4 = 6.)

If the player does not have a 6, but instead has an 8, the player could put the symbol x between the 2 and the 4 and play the 8 as the answer (2 x 4 = 8).

When a player cannot complete the formula, a card must be drawn from the stock pile. Then the next person can try to come up with a correct answer.

Once the first formula is made, the next person can adjust the formula by putting down cards on top of the ones that are already on the table. A maximum of 3 cards can be played in each turn and you can change the symbol (+, -, x, ÷).

These are the options available to you:

1. Put down a completely new formula with 3 new cards: 1 x 8 = 8.
2. Put down a completely new formula with 3 new cards while at the same time using a card that is already on the table: 8 x 8 = 64, therefore re-using the 6 of the previous formula.
3. Use one of the cards that is on the table to make a new formula and add two new cards. For example, leave the 2 in above example and add a 3 and a 5 to make 2 + 3 = 5.
4. Use two of the cards that are on the table and make a new formula. Using the above example, leave the 2 and the 4, exchange the symbol + for the symbol x and lay down the answer 8 on top of the 6.

In case all the cards from the stock pile have been used, the cards that are underneath the current formula are shuffled and made into the new stock pile.

Joker

There are 2 Jokers in the game. Each Joker can represent a number between 0-9. The Joker keeps the number that the first player has assigned to it.

Special Rules

It is allowed to make one number using two cards, e.g.:

(Diagram: 9 + 1 = 10, where the 1 and the 0 together form the number 10.)

Pay attention to the maximum number of cards (3) you can play in each turn.

When two cards form one number (like the 10 in the above example), the next player can replace these two cards with one card, e.g.:

(Diagram: 9 - 1 = 8, where the 1 and 0 of the 10 have been replaced by a single 8.)

This player could also change one of the cards forming the 10, so for example, leave the 1 from the 10 and put a 2 on top of the 0 making the new number 12. If the player then also puts down a 4 and an 8, the following formula can be made:

(Diagram: 4 + 8 = 12.)

Basically, the player can change one of the two cards or replace both cards with one new card. The player cannot use just one of the cards and take the other card away. So you cannot take away the 0 from the 10 and use just the 1 (unless you put a new 1 on top).

The formula: "number" x 0 = 0 has to be completely replaced by the next player. Otherwise the next player can always put down 3 cards, e.g. 428 x 0 = 0 and the game will be over too quickly.

Increasing the Difficulty

Is the game progressing too quickly? Increase the level of difficulty as follows:

Agree with each other to use at least 1 card that is already on the table when making your formulas. This will undoubtedly lead to a longer game as a card will need to be taken from the stock pile more often.

Other Variations

• The winner of the game starts with an extra card in the next round.
• You continue until everybody has played all their cards.
• A fun alternative rule that will lead to more interaction is that when a player puts down a formula whereby the answer can be divided by 5, the other players have to draw a card.
• Take away the - and + cards. This way more difficult formulas have to be made. On your turn you can play 4 cards instead of 3 now.

The leaflet's header also shows a pictorial component count strip (57x, 5x, 1x, 1x); the icons are not reproduced in this text transcription. The leaflet's closing invitation to share variations online and its copyright and distributor notice are omitted.