Horse Fair Card Game
Horse Fair Card Game Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object
The Horse Fair is down to five finalists. As judges, players vote on the horse they like best. The players who vote for the most popular horse are rewarded for their clever play. Cast the winning vote and you win a horse figure. Be the first to collect four horses and you win the game!
Preparation
The 65 cards are shuffled. Each player is dealt six cards. The remaining cards are placed face-down to form a draw pile. The player to the left of the dealer plays first.
Playing the Game
(2-5 Players)
Play moves clockwise. On their turn, each player lays a card from their hand face-up on the table in front of them and draws a card from the draw pile to replace it.
A horse is a winner when the number of face-up cards for that horse, among all players, is equal to the number printed on the card. For example, if there are five 6s face-up and the sixth 6 is played, then number 6 is the winner. All players collect the face-up cards of the winning horse that they have already played, and each keeps these cards in a face-down stack in front of them. All other face-up cards are discarded and removed from play. Additionally, the player that played the last 6 receives a horse figure. The next player clockwise plays a card face-up to begin a new round.
IMPORTANT! - If at some point a player collects four horse figurines, the game is over and they have won instantly.
Note: Talking up a horse to the other players is part of the fun. Don't be shy! If you just played a "Sundown" card, talk him up and encourage others to play their "Sundown" cards too--especially if you have more of that card still in your hand.
Special Cards
Each horse has one "Second Look" card and one "Thumbs Down!" card.
The "Second Look" card counts as two cards for that horse. So, for example, one 3 plus the "Second Look" card for the 3 is enough for 3 to win.
"Thumbs Down!" means that you do not like this horse. When a "Thumbs Down!" card is played, that card is discarded immediately, along with all the face-up cards of this horse on the table. All other cards remain where they are, and the play continues normally.
Game End
If a player collects a fourth horse figure, they win and the game ends instantly. Otherwise, once the last card from the draw pile is drawn, the game continues without drawing cards. Once the next horse wins, players collect the winning cards as normal; a horse figurine is given to the player who played the winning card for the winning horse, and the game ends. The cards in the players' hands are discarded and are not counted.
Basic Game Scoring
All players score one point for each card they have collected and two points for each horse figurine. Most points wins. In case of a tie, whoever has more horse figurines is the winner. If still tied, then add up the value of each tied player's cards, and highest value wins.
Advanced Game Scoring
All players score the face value for all the cards they collected. A "Second Look" card's value is not doubled. Horse figurines are worth one point each. In case of a tie, whoever has the most horse figurines is the winner.
The game can also be played over several hands. The deal rotates to the next player on the left. Play a set number of hands or one hand per player in the game. When a player wins a hand instantly by collecting four horse figurines, the hand stops there and is scored as usual. The highest total score wins.
Partnership Game
(4 and 6 players)
The partnership game is fun to play and is especially recommended with the Basic Game.
Players seated across from each other are partners, so there are two partnerships with four players and three with six.
Each player is dealt five cards. Play as normal, except collect the winning cards and horse figurines into a single pile for each partnership. Players are encouraged to talk up the horses, but partners should not discuss cards in their hands.