In Love and War Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Set Up
• The Flow
• The Goal
  • A. Sets of 3s
  • B. Pairs
  • C. Meeting the Proposal Requirements
• Game Rules
  • Intercepting a Card – "Meow!"
  • Making a Marriage Proposal – "Meow, Meow, Meow!"
  • Order of Priorities
  • Interfering With a Marriage Proposal
• Gadget Cards
• Wild (Baby) Cards
• Good Impression Marks
• Ending the Game & Scoring

Contents

There are a total of 108 game cards and 30 marks in this game set:

• 12 kinds of Proposal Cards (6 cards for each kind for a total of 72 cards);
• 4 kinds of Gadget Cards (6 cards for each kind for a total of 24 cards), namely: Houses, Love Letters, Roses and Diamonds;
• 8 Baby Cards (these are wild cards);
• 4 "Yes, I Do!" Cards;
• 30 Good Impression Marks.

Set Up

1. Shuffle all game cards except the four "Yes, I Do!" cards (104 cards in total); distribute 7 cards to each player and place the rest face down in the center of the playing surface to form a stack.

2. Set aside the four "Yes, I Do!" cards and all Good Impression Marks for later use.

3. The player who has most recently planned on making a marriage proposal becomes the Starting Player for the first round.

The Flow

Turns are passed in a clockwise direction. When it's your turn, draw a card from the stack to add to your hand, choose one card from your hand to discard, then pass the turn to the next player.

NOTE: If you draw a card that allows you to meet the Proposal Requirements (described below), you can proceed to make a marriage proposal after showing your hand to the other players.

The Goal

The ultimate goal of this game is to make a successful marriage proposal; the first player to get a "Yes, I Do!" card wins the game. To meet the requirements for making a marriage proposal (the "Proposal Requirements"), players must collect two valid Sets of Three cards plus one valid Pair of cards, as explained and illustrated below:

A. Sets of 3s

There are three kinds of valid Sets of 3s, namely:

1. three cards of the same color and number;
2. three cards of the same color and consecutive numbers; and
3. three cards of the same color and symbol.

NOTE: Number 1 can only be played as the lowest number and cannot follow number 6.

B. Pairs

There are two kinds of valid Pairs, namely:

1. two cards of the same color and number; and
2. two cards of the same color and symbol.

C. Meeting the Proposal Requirements

Any combination of two valid Sets of 3 and one valid Pair meets the Proposal Requirements. Examples are illustrated in the rulebook.

Game Rules

Intercepting a Card – "Meow!"

When any player discards a card that allows you to complete a Set of 3, you may call out "Meow!" and the next turn is yours (i.e. skipping any other players to the left of the player who made the discard). After the call out, place the discarded card in front of you, lay down (from your hand) the other two cards which complete your desired Set of 3, and choose one of the remaining cards in your hand to discard on the playing surface. The turn is then passed to the player to your left.

NOTE 1: If you have already laid down a Set of 3, all you need in your hand to meet the Proposal Requirements is another Set of 3 plus a Pair. Naturally, if you have already laid down two Sets of 3, all you need in your hand is a Pair.

NOTE 2: If another player discards a card that allows you to meet the Proposal Requirements, you may intercept this card by calling out "Meow, Meow, Meow!" (rather than a single "Meow!"), and proceed to Making a Marriage Proposal in accordance with the Order of Priority (both described below).

Making a Marriage Proposal – "Meow, Meow, Meow!"

Upon meeting the Proposal Requirements (either by drawing a card from the stack or by intercepting a discarded card), call out "Meow, Meow, Meow!" and show your cards to the other players. Then add one "Yes, I Do!" card to your hand, shuffle all of them face down, and randomly draw out one and turn it over. You win this game if the drawn card says "Yes, I Do!"

If the "Yes, I Do!" card was not drawn, set it aside for later use. Then discard all your remaining cards and draw 7 new cards from the stack for your hand. You get a Good Impression Mark from this "failed proposal", and the turn is passed to the player on your left.

Order of Priorities

1. In the event that two or more players call out "Meow!" after a discard (i.e. the discarded card does NOT complete the Proposal Requirements for any of these players), the turn is passed in a clockwise direction to the first one of these players (i.e. skipping those who did not call out "Meow!").

2. In the event that two or more players call out "Meow!" or "Meow, Meow, Meow!" after a discard, the player for whom the discarded card completes the Proposal Requirements gets the card (and the turn).

3. In the event that two or more players call out "Meow, Meow, Meow!" after a discard, then these players take turns making a marriage proposal (starting from the one closest to the left of the player who made the discard and moving in a clockwise direction).

Interfering With a Marriage Proposal

You may interfere with another player's marriage proposal if you hold the exact same card(s) as those held by the proposing player. In this case, add your matching card(s) to his/her hand for the shuffle (thus lowering the probability of his/her drawing a "Yes, I Do!" card).

NOTE 1: You may use any Baby Card in your hand to interfere with another player's marriage proposal by specifying such Baby Card to match any card of the proposing player's hand.

NOTE 2: Sets of cards that have been laid down in front of you as a result of card intercepts cannot be used to interfere with another player's marriage proposal.

Gadget Cards

There are four kinds of Gadget Cards in this game: Houses, Love Letters, Roses and Diamonds. As there are no numbers on the Gadget Cards, it is more difficult to form a Set of 3 with Gadget Cards, because the only way to do so is to collect three cards of the same Gadget. However, for every Pair or Set of 3 consisting of Gadget Cards, you get an additional "Yes, I Do!" card to shuffle with your hand for the draw, thus improving your chances of winning.

If you meet the Proposal Requirements with, for example, 3 cards of the same Gadget, 3 cards of the same color and number, and a pair of cards of the same color and number, then you will get to shuffle two "Yes, I Do!" cards with your hand for the draw.

Also, if your hand consists of 3 cards of the same Gadget, 3 cards of the same color and number, and a pair of the same Gadget, then you will get to shuffle three "Yes, I Do!" cards with your hand for the draw.

Wild (Baby) Cards

Baby Cards are wild cards in this game. They can be used as cards of any color, number, or symbol (Gadgets), and can also be grouped with other Baby Cards to form a Set of 3 or a Pair without having to combine with any other kinds of cards. In addition, they can be used to interfere with a Marriage Proposal.

NOTE 1: When Baby Cards are used to meet the Proposal Requirements, the proposing player must specify what kind of card each Baby Card represents. If players wish to interfere with a given marriage proposal, they must use cards matching any of the cards (including those represented by Baby Cards) held by the proposing player.

NOTE 2: As Baby Cards can be used as Gadget Cards, when you use a Set of 3 or a Pair of Baby Cards to meet the Proposal Requirements, you may choose to substitute these Baby Cards for a specific kind of Gadget (such specification must be announced), or you may use them as Proposal Cards. For every Pair or Set of 3 consisting of Baby Cards used as Gadgets, you get an additional "Yes, I Do!" card to shuffle with your hand for the draw; however, no additional "Yes, I Do!" card is awarded to Baby Cards used as Proposal Cards.

Good Impression Marks

When you make a marriage proposal, every Good Impression Mark gives you an additional chance to turn over one more card after the shuffle, resulting in a better chance of getting a "Yes, I Do!" card to win the game.

Ending the Game & Scoring

The game ends when a player makes a successful proposal; the first player to get a "Yes, I Do!" card wins the game. The game also ends when the stack is depleted or when the cards run out. When this happens, the player with the most Good Impression Marks wins the game. If two or more players share the same number of Good Impression Marks, the game concludes with the designer of this game being the ultimate winner.