Lucky Jack
Lucky Jack Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- 84 cards for each of the seven symbols:
- 12 "Jack" cards
- 12 "7" cards
- 12 "Bell" cards
- 12 "Clover" cards
- 12 "Grape" cards
- 12 "Cherry" cards
- 12 "Lemon" cards
- 3 Game score cards
- 1 Scorepad
Game Objective
Quickly discard your cards to become the first player to lay down three or four cards showing the same symbol and win the JACKPOT.
Principle of the Game
A game is composed of 3 or 5 rounds.
- A JACKPOT is a series of 3 or 4 identical cards.
- To win the JACKPOT a player must be the first to play his 3 or 4 last identical cards and announce "JACKPOT".
Example: 3 or 4 cards of the same symbol.
- In each round, a player can either win a JACKPOT or nothing at all!
| Symbol | 3 Card Jackpot | 4 Card Jackpot |
|---|---|---|
| Jack | 7 000 pts | 10 000 pts |
| 7 | 6 000 pts | 8 000 pts |
| Bell | 5 000 pts | 7 000 pts |
| Clover | 4 000 pts | 6 000 pts |
| Grape | 3 000 pts | 5 000 pts |
| Cherry | 2 000 pts | 4 000 pts |
| Lemon | 1 000 pts | 3 000 pts |
Setup
- For the first round, the player seated to the left of the player who dealt the cards will begin. For the following round, the player seated to the left of the player who started the first hand will begin. And so on.
- Make sure the cards are well shuffled.
- Deal 7 cards to each player, one by one, face down.
- The remaining cards make up the draw pile.
How to Play Lucky Jack
Each player must try to discard all their cards, while making a 3-card JACKPOT, all showing the same symbol or a 4-card Jackpot, all the cards showing the same symbol. The player who starts the round turns over the first card on the top of the pile and places it, face up, on the table to represent the discard pile. The hand is then played in turn, clockwise. In turns, players look at the discarded card and choose from the following 4 options:
-
The player discards a card with the same symbol as the first discard. Example: If the discard is a Clover, the player can discard a Clover card.
-
The player discards a card with a higher-value symbol than that shown on the discard. Example: The card on top of the discard is a Clover, the player can choose to discard one of the following cards: Bell, 7 or Jack.
-
The player discards a card with a lower-value symbol than the discard, then they must take 2 cards from the draw pile and put them in their own hand. Example: The card on top of the discard is a Clover, the player can then discard a Lemon, a Cherry or a Grape card and then takes 2 cards from the draw pile.
-
The player cannot or does not wish to discard, so he must draw a card. He has two options: either he adds the card to his deck or he discards it. If he chooses to discard it, and only then, the next player can take it by announcing: "I TAKE IT!". Games proceeds as usual.
Note:
- It is forbidden to take a card from the stock, put it in your hand, and then discard another card.
- A player can never have less than 3 unmatched cards in their hand. In such case, the players need to pick a card and add it to their hand on their turn.
End of the Draw Pile
When there are no more cards to draw, the active player shuffles the discarded cards, places them face down to make a new pile and flips the top card.
End of the Round
-
Win the hand with a JACKPOT of 3 identical cards: When a player has only 4 cards left in their hand, including three of a kind, they can try to end the round. As soon as they can, they discard the 4th card and say out loud "JACKPOT" and lay their last 3 cards with the same symbol on the table. They then earn the number of points corresponding to the value of the symbol of their Jackpot (see page 3 or last page of the rulebook). They are the only player who earns points during this round.
-
Win the hand with a JACKPOT of 4 identical cards: A player may decide not to end the set with a JACKPOT of 3 cards but to try his luck with a JACKPOT of 4 cards for more points. If another player obtains a JACKPOT of 3 or 4 cards before him, they lose everything! To achieve this, this player must not have more than 5 cards, including 4 identical cards, in their hand. As soon as they can, they get rid of their fifth card, announcing out loud "JACKPOT", and lay their last 4 cards with the same symbol. They earn the number of points corresponding to the value of the symbol of his Jackpot. They are the only player to score points during this set.
Shuffle the cards several times between each round.
End of the Game
The players decide in the beginning of the game to play 3 or 5 rounds. The player with the most points at the end of 3 or 5 rounds wins the game.