No Thanks! Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• OBJECT OF THE GAME
• CONTENTS
• SET UP
• GAME PLAY
• WINNING THE GAME
• TIPS

OBJECT OF THE GAME

To score the fewest points; players score points each time they collect a card and subtract points for each counter they hold at the end of the game.

Although this game is designed for ages 8 and up, the components listed in red are a choking hazard. Please take special care to keep these components away from young children.

CONTENTS

• 33 Cards, numbered from 3-35
• 55 Counters

SET UP

1. Shuffle the cards thoroughly and put nine cards back into the box without looking at them. These cards will not be used.
2. Place the rest of the cards, face-down, to form a stack.
3. Give a supply of counters to each player, based on the number of people playing. For 3-5 players, give 11 counters; for 6 players, give 9 counters; and for 7 players, give 7 counters. Return any remaining counters to the box.
4. HINT: It’s a good idea to keep your counters hidden. Most people hold them in their closed fists, but anywhere you hide them will work.

GAME PLAY

1. If you’re the oldest player, you start play by:

   • Flipping over the top card from the stack and deciding if you will:
     1. Take the card and put it face-up in front of you (this means that you collect the points on the card), or
     2. Say, “No Thanks!” and put a counter from your supply of counters onto the card so you don’t have to take it.

   Each card is worth the number of points shown on the card (but remember, points are bad!). Counters are good – each one cancels out one point from a card at the end of the game.

2. If you don’t take the card, the player on your left must make the same choice: take the card or put a counter onto it. This continues until a player takes the card, and all of the counters on it. Sometimes (typically with cards that have high numbers), play will go around and around – you’ll get multiple chances to put a counter onto the card before you or someone else takes it. When you take a card, put it face-up in front of you on the table and add the counters on the card to your supply of counters.

3. Every time you take a card, re-start play by flipping over the top card from the stack. You can then either take that card or put a counter onto it. If you keep taking cards, your turn continues and you flip over additional cards. As soon as you put a counter onto a card instead of taking it, play passes to the player on your left to decide whether to take the card or put a counter onto it.

4. When you don’t have any counters left, you must take the card.

5. If you take cards with consecutive numbers, only the lowest number in the series will count against you. A series can be made up of as few as two cards. When you collect cards that form a series, place them face-up so that they overlap, but so that players can still see the numbers in the corners of the cards.

WINNING THE GAME

The game ends when the stack is gone and there are no cards left to collect. Add up the points on all the cards you took (only count the lowest card in a series), then subtract the number of counters you have.

The player with the lowest total wins.

TIPS

1. It’s a good idea to try to hold onto counters – they help your score at the end of the game and they keep you from taking cards you don’t want to take when you run out of counters.

2. If a card that you need for a series has a high number, you may want to let it go around a few times before you take it so that the other players put counters onto it before you take it. Even if one of the other players takes it, s/he may be adding a lot of points to his/her score (which helps you).

3. Pay attention to which players are running low on counters – they may be forced to take a card that you want when they run out.