Matches
Matches Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 55 Match Cards
- 5 Flare Cards
- 16 Burn Cards
- 24 Yellow Fire Tokens
- 16 Red Fire Tokens
- 1 Leader Token
- 1 Instruction Booklet
Setup
The player who most recently got burned will be the Leader and dealer for this round. Give that player the Leader Token.
Leader Instructions:
First, shuffle all the Match Cards and Flare Cards together. Deal a face-down hand of 10 cards to each player (9 for a 6-player game). Players should keep their hands secret, and may sort their cards however they wish. Keep the rest of the Match Deck near you, face down.
Next, take one Match Card from your hand and place it face-up in the center of the play area, and take one Yellow Fire Token and place it on top*. This card is called the Blaze. Set all other Fire Tokens aside. This is called the Bank.
*In a 2-player game, you'll take 2 Yellow Fire Tokens from the Bank to place on the Blaze (instead of 1), to begin the round.
Finally, take 4 Yellow Fire Tokens from the Bank and set them aside (1 for each round of the game). These will be distributed later as "Burnout Tokens."
Then distribute some Fire Tokens: 0 for yourself, 1 for the player seated next to you (clockwise), 2 for the next player clockwise, 3 for the next, and so on around the table.
Callout as printed (the diagram labels "Everyone" and "The Leader" separately): "EVERYONE / THE LEADER GETS BURNOUT TOKENS TO START."
Optional rule: Burn Cards. Shuffle the 16 Burn Cards and place them in a face-down stack in the play area. This is called the Burn Deck. Deal 4 Burn Cards in a row face-up, leading up to the Burn Deck.
How to Play
Starting with the player clockwise of the Leader, players will take turns playing cards from their hands to the table in front of them. Play continues moving clockwise around the table until the winner of the round has been determined.
Taking Your Turn
On your turn, you must choose one of these 5 actions:
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Match the Blaze with a Single Card. You may play a single Match Card whose value equals the Blaze. When this happens, take a Fire Token from the Bank and place it on the Blaze. The fire has grown.
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Match the Blaze with a Set. You may play any combination of Match Cards whose total equals the value of the Blaze. For example: If the Blaze Card is a 10 you might play two 5s, or a 6 and a 4, or two 4s and a 2, etc. Note that you may only play one set in a turn, even if you have more than one set in your hand.
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Run Up to the Blaze. You may play one or more cards face-up and follow them with a number of facedown cards, adding 1 for each face-down card until you reach the value of the Blaze. For example: If the Blaze Card is a 10, you might play a 3 and a 4 face-up, and then 3 more cards face-down.
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Play a Flare Card. You may play a single Flare Card. This is the same as playing an exact match, and adds a Fire Token to the Blaze in the same way.
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Burn Out. If you can't play any of the other four options, you'll have no choice but to Burn Out. You may also choose to Burn Out on purpose. A player who Burns Out will take no more turns this round, but immediately receives 1 Fire Token from the Bank for each pair of Match Cards they've played since the round began (Flare Cards and face-down cards don't count). For example: If you played a 3 and a 4 on your first turn, and 3 and a 4 on your second, and then Burned Out on your third, you'd get 2 Fire Tokens: one for the pair of 3s and another for the pair of 4s.
If Burn Card rules are being used: you may also choose to play a Burn Card on your turn. This is a free action, and may be done before or after you choose the main action of your turn. See the Burn Card rules below for more details. Once you've taken your turn, play passes to the next player clockwise.
End of the Round
When all but one player has Burned Out, the last remaining player is the winner of the round. That player receives all of the Fire Tokens on the Blaze. They do NOT score for any pairs played that round. Before the next round begins, each player may discard any Match Cards they wish from their hands.
Players can always swap 5 Yellow Fire Tokens for 1 Red Fire Token as needed.
Starting a New Round
The player who burned out first in the previous round gets the Leader Token and one of the four Burnout Tokens that were set aside in the beginning.
New Leader Instructions: Gather up all the played cards, all discarded cards, and the Blaze Card. Place them in a Discard Pile near the Match Deck. Deal fresh cards to all players from the Match Deck until everyone has the starting number of cards again (if the Match Deck runs out of cards, reshuffle the Discard Pile to make a new Match Deck). Finally, take one Match Card from your hand and place it in the center of the play area, then take one Fire Token from the Bank and place it on top of that card (or two in a two-player game).
A new round has begun. Play continues with the next player clockwise.
If Burn Card rules are being used: If there are any empty positions in the row of Burn Cards, move the non-activated Burn Cards outward (into lower-cost positions). Fill in the remaining positions with fresh Burn Cards until there are 4 facing up again. If the Burn Deck is empty, do not reshuffle the used Burn Cards; they're spent.
Running Out of Fire Tokens
It's possible that during the last round, there may be no more Fire Tokens in the Bank. If this happens, just continue to play out the round as usual, with the following differences: (1) Players who Burn Out may not receive Fire Tokens from the Bank, and (2) no more Fire Tokens will be added to the Blaze on an Exact Match or a Flare.
End of the Game
After 4 rounds the game is over, and the player with the most Fire Tokens wins. In case of a tie, the win goes to the player who played the fewest Burn Cards (if the "Burn Card" rules are being used), or else the player who acquired the most recent Fire Token.
Burn Cards (Optional)
There are 16 Burn Cards, which provide extra abilities for players to use strategically. Playing a Burn Card is a free action, and may be done before or after you choose the main action of your turn.
To activate a Burn Card, you will need to pay a number of Fire Tokens to the Bank. The cost depends on the card's distance from the Burn Deck: The card farthest from the Burn Deck costs 1 Fire Token to activate. The second farthest costs 2, the next 3, and the closest card to the Burn Deck costs 4 Fire Tokens to activate. You may only activate one Burn Card per turn. Take it and place it near you, face-up.
When a Burn Card is activated its effects apply immediately. Note that some Burn Cards will remain in effect until the end of the round (or even longer), and should be kept face-up until then. When the effect of your Burn Card comes to an end, flip it face-down but keep it near you.
NOTE: Any Burned Out players are exempt from the effects of Burn Cards.
Burn Card Effects
- 3rd Degree Burn: One player of your choice discards all pairs they have played this round.
- Burn it to the Ground: One player of your choice immediately discards 2 cards from their hand.
- Candlelight: All other players must keep their hands visible for the rest of the round.
- Crossfire: Copy the Effects of ANY previously played Burn Card.
- Explosion!: Draw 3 cards from the Match Deck and add them into your hand.
- Fire Dancer: Trade hands with the player of your choice.
- Fire Fighter: All Match Cards played have their value adjusted by -1 for the rest of the round. For example: a Blaze of 9 can be matched by a 6 and a 5 (which counts as a 5 and a 4), or by a single 10 (which counts as a 9). This effect lasts until the end of the current round.
- Fire Starter: All Match Cards played have their value adjusted by +1 for the rest of the round. For example: a Blaze of 9 can be matched by a 3 and a 4 (which counts as a 4 and a 5), or by a single 8 (which counts as a 9). This effect lasts until the end of the current round.
- Fuel Source: Name a number from 1 to 10. Match Cards must match this value instead of the current Blaze. If you play a card of the same value as your named number, this counts as an Exact Match action. This effect lasts until the end of the current round.
- Gasoline: Double the number of Fire Tokens on the Blaze. These Tokens come from the Bank.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) Does a pair of Flare Cards count as a pair when you burn out? No, only pairs of Match Cards.
2) Can you Burn Out on purpose? Yes! In fact, it might sometimes be an advantage to Burn Out earlier in a round.
3) Would a 3 of a kind count as 1 pair when Burning Out? Yes, only 2 of them would count as the pair.
4) If you Burn Out, can you still be targeted by Burn Cards? No. Burned Out players are exempt from the effects of Burn Cards, whether targeted or not.