Kuuduk
Kuuduk Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Object of the Game
To be the first player to score 15 kuuduk points.
The game is played in rounds. The round winner is the first player who correctly lays down 6 cards that spell the world "k-u-u-d-u-k" and is not holding any cards in his or her hand.
Setup
The score pad: Pick a scorekeeper, who writes the players' initials in the white circles on the top row.
The deal: Pick a dealer, who shuffles the complete deck and deals 3 cards to each player. Place the rest of the cards face down to form the DRAW pile.
Note: Three cards is the maximum that a player can hold at one time.
Play
Play begins with the player on the dealer's left.
On your turn:
- DRAW or PICK UP a card or PASS.
If you draw from the draw pile, you may play that card to the table OR hold it in your hand.
If you pick up the top d, k or u card from the discard pile, you must play it immediately to the table. You may not pick up black cards from the discard pile. (If a card is picked up from the discard pile, leaving the discard pile empty, do not turn a new card face up; leave the discard pile empty until a player discards.)
If you pass, you do nothing. Later in the game you may decide not to draw or pick up, as explained under "Getting Rid of Your Cards."
- Either LAY DOWN one card to begin spelling out "kuuduk" or DISCARD one card.
Remember, you may never hold more than 3 cards.
How do you spell "kuuduk"?
To spell kuuduk, you lay down d, k, and u cards one at a time, one card per turn. You do not have to spell the world in order, but…and here's the catch:
You must lay down a card next to another card (except the very first time), and the card you lay down must have one of two characteristics in common with the card or cards it adjoins.
Adjoining cards must have either the same number of dots (1, 2 or 3) or be of the same color (green, orange or purple).
One you lay down a card, you may not on a subsequent turn pick it up and discard it or pick it up and put it back in your hand.
However, on your turn, you may rearrange any (or all) of the cards you have already laid down before you lay down another. You can even separate 2 cards on the table – as long as you fill that momentary gap with the card you lay down.
Note: The only time a space between letters is allowed is when a card is swiped (see below), creating a gap.
The Black Cards
How to use: If you just drew a black card, or hold one in your hand, you may play it face up to the Discard pile, then do whatever action it indicates:
- Swipe left, swipe right, swipe any: Discard this card, then swipe any laid-down card you can use from the table in front of the player on your left or right or any player, as the card indicates. You must immediately lay down the swiped card; you may not hold it in your hand.
- Switch and draw again: Discard this card, then DRAW AGAIN to start your turn over. Switch reverses the direction of play around the table – until you or somebody else plays another switch card to switch it back again!
Note: You may discard a swipe card while choosing not steal an opponent's card. You would do this to stay within the limit of holding only 3 cards or to get rid of cards in order to win the round.
Getting Rid of Your Cards
While 3 is the maximum number of cards you can hold, you may choose to play with fewer as the game progresses. To decrease the number of cards you hold, you may choose not to draw before you lay down or discard a card.
Note: You may draw only 1 card and lay down or discard only one card per turn.
Winning a Round
The first player to correctly spell out "kuuduk" and to have no cards left in his or her hand wins the round.
Scoring the Rounds
When a round is won, players then tabulate their scores for that round. Score tabulation is as follows: 1 point is added for each card laid down, and 1 point is subtracted for each card still held.
Winning the Game
The first player who reaches or exceeds 15 points is the winner of the game. If there is a tie score, these players play one more round…winner takes all.
Game Options
For a shorter game you may choose to play only one round: The first player to spell out "kuuduk" is the game winner.
For a longer game, you may choose to set the total points needed for winning at 20, 25, 30, etc.