Scum Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Getting Started
• Seating Position Definitions
• Card Definitions
• Round 1
• Round 2
• Basic Rules for Play of Scum
• Scoring
• Winning the Game
• Tips and Tricks (Website)
• Card Set (from the official Spanish rules)
• Setup (from the official Spanish rules)
• Definitions (from the official Spanish rules)
• Object of the Game (from the official Spanish rules)
• Basic Rules (from the official Spanish rules)
• Strategy (from the official Spanish rules)
• Variations (from the official Spanish rules)

Getting Started

After the Scum deck is shuffled, each player draws 1 card. The person with the highest card is designated as President and sits at the head of the table. The remaining players then sit in descending order until the person with the lowest card is seated to the immediate right of President. This player is designated Scum. This is the seating arrangement for the entire first series. In event of a tie (drawing the same card number) a second card is drawn and the higher number receives the higher seating position.

(Tie-break as printed in the Spanish rules: use the colors Red, Orange, Green, Blue, in that order of priority, to break a tie for the highest card. See the Setup section of the Spanish rules below.)

Seating Position Definitions

• President: The player at the head of the table.
• Vice President: The player at the immediate left of the President.
• Scum: The player at the immediate right of the President. The Scum card is the lowest card in the deck.
• Next to Scum: The player to the right of Scum.
• Middle Class: Those players between Vice President and Next to Scum.

Card Definitions

• The highest card in the deck is the President or Wild President card.
• The lowest card in the deck is the Scum card.

Round 1

The President plays a card (or cards) to begin the game. Play continues to the left until everyone has had a chance to play or pass. Once every player has either played or passed, the round is over.

Anytime a President or Wild President card is played, the round immediately ends.

Scum gathers the played cards and lays them face down in a discard pile. Whoever ends the round wins the lead for the next round.

Play continues around the table again, until someone has gone out. This person becomes the President for the next series. The remaining players continue playing until all but one player have gone out. The sequence in which players go out determines seating order for the next series. (The first player to go out becomes President, second out becomes the Vice President, third out sits next to Vice President as Middle Class, and so on until the last person holding cards becomes Scum.)

After the series ends, each player reseats themselves and receives points according to this order. Another series is begun and play continues as described above.

Round 2

After Getting Started and playing Round 1, the Vice President re-shuffles all the cards and deals clockwise, beginning with the President. Deal out all the cards even though some players may receive an extra card.

Scum then trades his or her two highest cards to the President, even if they are Wild President cards. The President then passes whichever two cards he or she wants to give Scum.

Note to Scum: Be sure to be honest when trading because the President will notice if you play a high card that he or she should have received.

Next to Scum then performs the same trade with the Vice President, but only one card is exchanged.

Exception: If there are only four players, the President and Scum exchange only one card and the Vice President and Next to Scum do not trade.

Basic Rules for Play of Scum

• The President always begins the game.
• No player is allowed to play more than once per round.
• First person to a certain point value wins.
• During a round, you must always play a higher card than the previous one.
• If you cannot play, you must pass.
• If the leading player plays doubles, the remaining players must also play doubles, or be forced to pass. (This rule applies to triples, quadruples, etc.)
• One President or Wild President card always wins the round, even if doubles or triples are being played.

Scoring

The first player who goes out in each series becomes the President for the next series and receives points equal to the number of players in the game. The second player who goes out becomes the Vice President and receives one less point than the new President. Each player who goes out receives one less point than the player preceding them until there is one player remaining with cards. This player becomes Scum for the next series and receives only 1 point for the current series.

Example: If there are six people playing the game, the first player to go out (the President for the next series) receives 6 points; the next player to go out receives 5 points; the next player, 4 points; the next player, 3 points; and the next player (Next to Scum for the next series) receives 2 points. The last player with cards left in his or her hand receives 1 point and is Scum for the next series.

Note: If you have more than six players you may need more than one deck of cards. It's best if each player has a minimum of 9 cards.

Winning the Game

• Normal Play: 4-6 Players. The first player to reach 40 points wins, and the game ends.
• Large Group: 6-12 Players. The first player to reach 60 points wins, and the game ends.

The point system to win can be changed to your game style.

Tips and Tricks (Website)

• Don't trust anyone. The purpose of the game is to WIN.
• When playing, remember no one likes to be in Scum forever. Sometimes when you are President and you know that you will win the hand, it's nice to help out those little people in the Scum position. If you are definitely going to win, then help them out by trading them good cards.
• Scum play always goes in a clockwise motion. The President always begins the play first.
• Watch people, because bluffing is the name of the game. If you have a good poker face, you can get ahead. But be careful, because you might get burned.

Card Set (from the official Spanish rules)

Translated from the official 4J Spanish rules sheet. The English website does not list the card set.

The deck has 54 cards:

• 11 Red cards, numbered 2 to 12
• 11 Orange cards, numbered 2 to 12
• 11 Green cards, numbered 2 to 12
• 11 Blue cards, numbered 2 to 12
• 4 Scum cards, one of each color
• 4 President cards, one of each color
• 2 Wild President cards

Note: This set is designed for no more than six players. Another set of cards is recommended if there are more than six players in the game.

Players: 4 or more. Age: 8+.

Setup (from the official Spanish rules)

Translated from the official 4J Spanish rules sheet. Where it differs from the English page above, both are given as printed.

1. Scum shuffles and deals all the cards, starting with the President. (Deal all the cards even though some players may receive an extra card.)

Note: The English Round 2 page says the Vice President re-shuffles and deals, clockwise, beginning with the President. The Spanish sheet says Scum shuffles and deals. Both are kept as printed; the English page is the one quoted in the Round 2 section above. 2. Scum gives his or her two highest cards to the President, who in exchange gives Scum the two cards he or she wants. 3. Next, Scum does the same with the Vice President, but with one card only.

Exception: If there are only four players, the President and Scum exchange only one card, and the Vice President and Scum do not trade.

The game is now ready to play.

Definitions (from the official Spanish rules)

• President: The player at the head of the table.
• Vice President: The player at the immediate left of the President.
• Scum: The player at the immediate right of the President.
• Next to Scum: The player at the immediate right of Scum.
• Middle Class: The players between the Vice President and Scum.
• Round: Going around the table once, with each player having a turn, or until the President/Wild President card is played.
• Series: All players but one play every card in their hand.
• Go out: Play all of your cards in a series.
• Lead: The player who loses the last round starts the next round by playing any card he or she chooses.
• Pass: The option of not playing on a turn.

Object of the Game (from the official Spanish rules)

Be the first player to reach the predetermined number of points. Points are earned in each series according to the number of players in the game (see Scoring above). The first player to reach the predetermined points wins the game. (Note: this player does not necessarily have to finish the series as President, but it helps for bragging rights.)

Basic Rules (from the official Spanish rules)

Translated from the official 4J Spanish rules sheet. Items 1 to 3, 5 and 6 and the example also appear in the English basic rules above, which are kept as printed.

1. The President starts the game or series, but not necessarily every round.

2. No player is allowed to play more than once per round.

3. During the round, the player must always play a higher card than the previous player. If he or she cannot play, the player must pass.

4. You may pass on your turn, even if you could play.

5. If the leading player plays doubles, the other players must also play doubles or pass. (This rule applies to triples, quadruples, etc.)

   Example: If a player leads with a Blue 8, the next player may play a card of a higher number, or a card with a higher-priority color such as a Green, Orange or Red 8. This option dramatically affects the President card game. In the original version, whoever plays a President card automatically wins the round. In this version, a President card of a higher-priority color wins over another President card of lower-priority color.

6. A President or Wild President card always wins the round, even if doubles or triples are being played.

7. The Scum card is the lowest card in the set.

Note on the Wild Queen variant named in the Spanish rules: "The Wild President Queen" (El Presidente Comodín Reina) lets Wild President cards beat President cards. This also changes the game's dynamics dramatically, so take care when playing President cards.

Strategy (from the official Spanish rules)

Translated from the official 4J Spanish rules sheet.

1. Get rid of your lowest cards as soon as possible. They will be harder to play as the game advances.
2. You have the option to pass even if you can play.
3. Reserve your high cards, especially the President and Wild President, so that they let you win rounds and gain advantages.
4. Try to keep doubles and triples together. They can be as effective as the President card.
5. If you were dealt a weak hand (mostly low cards), let the stronger players go out and keep your stronger cards to contend for a middle position.

Variations (from the official Spanish rules)

Translated from the official 4J Spanish rules sheet.

• Carousel: Instead of ending the round after each player has had only one chance to play, you may let the round continue as long as someone can play. Note: in this version of Scum a player may pass and then play if the play continues around the table to him or her later.
• Color Clash: In this version, the value of each card is further determined by its color. The color priorities are, from highest to lowest: Red, Orange, Green, and last Blue. When playing this version of Scum, a player may pass and then play a card of the same numerical value as the previous player's card if that card has a higher-priority color.