Payback
Payback Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Goal
Be the first to get rid of all your cards.
First play your hand cards, then your face-up cards, then your face-down cards... blindly.
Swap at the start, play equal or higher, and know when to pick up or chance it!
Setup
Shuffle the deck and deal each player:
- 3 face-down cards (don't peek)
- 3 face-up cards on top
- 3 in hand
Before the start, you can swap hand cards with face-up cards. We recommend putting your best cards face-up. You'll need them later!
Start
The player with the lowest card in hand starts. Ask "Who has a 1? Who has a 2?" The person with the lowest number will place that card in the center and start the pile.
Turns go clockwise.
How to Play
Equal or Higher
Play a card equal or higher than the top of the pile.
Multiples
You can play multiples of the same card at once. Works with specials too.
Note that the numbers and specials don't stack. For example: (7, 7, 7) = 7.
Four in a Row
4 matching cards in a row makes a BURN! The pile is discarded and you go again. Play anything!
Note: the sequence must be uninterrupted.
- 7, 7, 7, 7 = Burn
- 7, Ghost, 7, 7, 7 = no Burn
The Number 4
The number 4 is tricky: it forces the next player to play 4 or lower. The effect stops with 1, 2, 3, reset or burn.
Can't Play?
Pick up the entire pile and end your turn, or...
"Chance it" by flipping the top card of the deck. If it works, you're safe. If not, you take the pile, and end your turn. Turn goes to the next player.
Special Cards
Play these over any card to get out of sticky situations.
- BURN: Discard the pile. Play again. The best card in the game!
- GHOST: Ghost the game! Passes your turn without changing the pile value.
- SKIP: Skip the turn of the player on your left. During 1v1, you play again!
- RESET: Resets the pile value to 0. Next player can play anything. Note, the pile stays under the card.
- MIRROR: Sends the turn back to whoever acted last (played or picked up). Cannot be yourself.
Game Progression: Three Phases
1. Hand
Play cards from your hand onto the pile. Always draw back up to 3 cards while the draw deck has cards. Once the draw deck is depleted and your hand is empty, you move to phase 2.
2. Face-up
Once your hand is empty, you finally get access to your face-up cards. Play them directly onto the pile.
If you can't play, pick up the pile with the losing card of your choice. That allows you to get slightly ahead.
You'll have to empty your hand again before playing the remaining face-up cards.
3. Blind Cards
Once all your face-up cards are played, you can finally play your face-down cards. Use your magic senses to guess which is the right card to play, and reveal it on the pile. The more dramatic the better!
Winning
Keep playing until only one player is left. That's the ultimate loser. But don't worry, you can always get Payback.
1v1 "Fortress" Mode
Same game, head to head, but with 6 face-up and 6 face-down cards instead of 3, so the hand phase stays shorter.
- SKIP: In Duel, Skip makes you play again.
- GHOST & MIRROR: In Duel, these send the pile straight to your opponent.
"Gladiator" Mode
When the first player is out of the game, they become Julius Caesar, and get to watch the arena. If they're "not entertained" they have the power to speed up the game by showing their thumb to the crowd.
- Thumbs down = 3 matching cards are now a burn.
- Thumbs down again = 2 matching cards are now a burn.
- Thumbs up: They are entertained. Game continues as normal (4 matching cards are a burn).
FAQ
I picked up. Who plays next? You picked up. You're punished. The next player on the left will start the pile.
How many players can play? 2 to 6 players with a base game. 2 to 12 players with 2 base games. We also have a mode for 7 players: simply deal 2 face-up, 2 face-down, 3 in hand to each player.
Does 2 skips, skip 2 people? No. All special cards, even multiples, act as 1 special card. Two skips only skip 1 player.
Tied players at the start? If it's tied, and players are next to each other (aka a cluster), the one on the right goes first. That allows both players to get rid of their low card. Otherwise, if players are far apart, just do rock paper scissors to break the tie! And if there's a cluster on one side, and an isolated player on the other, the cluster starts.
Mirror on a Skip? The turn goes back to the player that played skip, as that's the last person who played.
Mirror on a Burn? The turn goes back to the player that played before you.
Mirror on a Mirror? Turn goes back to the player who played mirror. We like to keep conflict personal.