Golden Deuce Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Game Summary
  • The Cards
  • Set Up
  • Playing Tricks
  • Passing
  • End of a Hand
  • Scoring
  • Moving Pieces
  • Continuing Play
  • Winning the Game
  • Notes
  • Sample Gameplay (3 players)

Game Summary

The Cards

There are 60 cards, divided into four color-coded suits. Each suit has 15 cards, an Ace with numerical cards 2-15. Ranking suits is determined by number then by color, the color order ranked lowest to highest is: jade, purple, crimson, and gold...meaning the Golden Deuce is the highest card, hence the name.

Set Up

At the beginning of each round's hand, every player is dealt 13 cards. The remaining cards (8 for a 4-player game, 21 for a 3-player game or 34 for a 2-player game) are set to the side as a draw pile. Player's select 4 colored stones (of one color) and place them on the corner of the board matching that color.

Playing Tricks

The player holding the lowest card (the Jade 3 or next highest in value) starts play with the first hand (this card must be part of this initial hand). On future rounds the first leader will be the player who won the previous round of play.

The leader initiates a round of play by choosing a number of cards to play: 1, 2, 3, or 5 cards. Hands cannot contain 4 cards, and a hand will never exceed 5 cards. He then leads a legal hand with that number of cards.

Legal tricks are:

• 1 card: single card
• 2 cards: pair
• 3 cards: three of a kind
• 5 cards (in order of value): straight, flush, four of a kind (+1 card to = 5 cards), full house, or a straight flush

Illegal tricks:

• "wraparound straight": 14, 15, A, 2, 3
• "two-pair": 4, 4, 6, 6

Once a round of play has been led all players must follow with a legal play of the same amount of cards. If they wish to follow they must play a set of the same number of cards that is higher in value than the previous play.

• This can be obvious play - a "5" card beats a "2" card.
• Or subtle play - a crimson "2" beats a purple "2".

In a five card hand you'll often climb up through the Poker hands: IE: a 1-2-3-4-5 straight in Jade followed by a 1-2-3-4-5 straight in Purple followed by a 6-8-9-11-13 Crimson flush followed by a full house, twelves over tens.

Passing

Play continues around the table until someone plays a set of cards that causes everyone else to pass. If you must/choose to pass (even if holding a higher card combination), you must take a card from the draw pile (if cards remain). If all players pass, the last player to lay down cards has control of the lead - and can now initiate a new round of play with any legal trick size of their choice ("resetting" the hand - see "NOTES").

End of a Hand

If a player gets down to 1 card in their hand they must declare "last card" before the next player's turn. If they fail to do so, they are penalized and must move one of their pieces back 10 spaces on the board. Once declared, the player directly to the right of them must play single card, or a multi-card trick which would potentially beat that single card. If successful, the player who made the declaration must "pass" and draw another card, with play continuing as usual. If unsuccessful, that player can now lay down their last card, the round ends and scoring commences.

Scoring

A player scores a number of points in the round based on the number of cards still held by each of his opponents. The value of a hand of cards is based on the number of cards left: less than 8 and the cards are counted as 1 point each, 8-12 and they're 2 points each (doubled); 13+ and they're 3 points each (tripled).

The winner gets the sum value of all of his opponents' cards. The second place finisher gets the value of the third and fourth place players, minus his own amount. The third-place finisher gets just the value of the fourth place player, minus his own amount. If someone had the Golden Deuce in their hand at the end of a round, all their opponents get 5 extra points.

Moving Pieces

The points are scored with each players piece (stone) moving along the game board. The player with the most points starts with either moving a piece already on the board, or by placing and moving a new piece onto the board. You can only move one piece per round; you cannot distribute points between multiple pieces (exception: a score of 40+ points with un-played pawns). The player with the 2nd most points goes next and play continues likewise with successive players.

Players cannot land on an occupied space, if this occurs they must move another piece or forfeit the movement/points. A player must move if they are able to do so even if the results negatively affect them.

Continuing Play

After everyone has scored, the next hand begins. Shuffle all the cards and deal out the same amount of cards as you did in the previous round. The player who won the last hand gets to lead out with the the new hand (regardless of who has the Jade 3- or other lower card).

Winning the Game

The game is won when a player has gotten all four of his stones around the board and has won a final hand. If a player did not win a hand but has scored enough points to bring their last piece around the board, they must "cue up" the piece on the center of the board. They wait here for the remainder of the game until they can win a final hand. This space can be occupied by multiple players. Other players may win the game while these players are waiting to win the last hand.

Notes

There are four special spaces on the board, which let you move forward or back. There are also two "warp" spaces which allow you to jump from one warp space to the other. You only take the effects of any of these spaces if you land on them during scoring (passing them doesn't count).

Gap: the sheet does not say where the four forward/back spaces or the two warp spaces are located on the board, so their positions are not given here.

Sample Gameplay (3 players)

Sample gameplay with 3 players (to illustrate passing and when it creates a new leading player):

• Player 1 plays a single "3" card.
• Player 2 plays a single "5" card.
• Player 3 plays a single "11" card.
• Player 1 passes and draws a card.
• Player 2 plays a "14" card.
• Player 3 passes and draws a card.
• Player 1 passes and draws a card.
• Player 2 (whom played the last trick - "14" card) now initiates a new round by playing three "5" cards.
• Player 3 plays three "7" cards.
• Player 1 passes and draws a card.
• Player 2 passes and draws a card.
• Player 3 (whom played the last trick - "three "7" cards) now initiates a new round by playing two "12" cards.

[play continues following the same number/amount of cards until all players pass and a new round is initiated]