Smitten 2
Smitten 2 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Goal
Two players work cooperatively to complete two identical 3x3 grids of cards.
Setup
Shuffle the 18 cards into a deck, set aside 1 random card face down (1 unknown card), then each player draws a hand depending on the desired difficulty level. We recommend starting each session on Medium difficulty and adjusting it for subsequent games.
- Easy: 4 cards
- Medium: 3 cards
- Hard: 3 cards (includes a slight rule change as noted below)
Gameplay
Throughout the game, the only information you may discuss is if you do or don't want to play a card, saying nothing more than, "I can play/I want to play" or "I can't play/I don't want to play." A combination of those indicators is fine too: For example, if you have a card you can legally play but it may quickly lead to a losing situation, you could say, "I can play, but I don't want to play."
Then either player takes a turn: The active player PLAYS a card in either grid. Then their partner must follow the instructions on the played card; this often includes the requirement that they must PLACE a card, which does not trigger any instructions on the placed card.
Important: All played/placed cards must be orthogonally adjacent to a card already in the grid (except the first card in each grid) and must be positioned in its correct position in the grid (the art must align).
Hard difficulty: You may not play or place cards if it results in a grid having at least 2 more cards than the other grid. For example, if a grid has 4 cards, you can't play or place a 6th card in the other grid.
At the end of each turn, both players draw cards 1 at a time until they have a full hand each or there are no cards left (the active player draws their card(s) first). Then decide who will take the next turn. The same player may take multiple turns in a row.
Winning & Losing
Lose instantly if neither player can play a card or a partner can't follow the instructions on a played card.
Win instantly if 17 cards are in the grids (when the 17th card is played, ignore the instructions on that card). As the finishing touch, place the final card to complete both grids.
Solo Rules
1 player · 10 minutes · ages 10+. There's no need to read the 2-player rules to learn the solo mode.
Goal
Complete two identical 3x3 grids of cards.
Setup
Shuffle the 18 cards into a deck, set aside 1 random card face down, then create 2 HANDS by dealing 2 face-up cards and 1 face-down card to each. Each hand is the other hand's PARTNER.
Gameplay
Each turn, PLAY a card from either hand in either grid. In a turn, the hand that plays the card is "your hand" and the other is "your partner's hand". If the card you play is a face-down card, flip it before putting it in a grid. Whenever a card has been played, if the partner has a face-down card, immediately flip it. Finally, follow the instructions on the played card. This often requires that 1 or 2 cards are PLACED, which does not trigger any instructions on the placed card.
Important: All played/placed cards must be orthogonally adjacent to a card already in the grid (except the first card in each grid) and must be positioned in its correct position in the grid (the art must align).
At the end of each turn, repeat the following until both hands have 3 cards or there are no cards in the deck:
- Draw 1 card without looking at it and add it face down to any hand with at most 2 cards. Flip the card face up if there's at most 1 face-up card in that hand.
You may alter the difficulty using any combination of the options below:
- Easy: Once per game, at the beginning of a turn, either hand may set any card from any hand aside face up and replace it, face up, with the card that was set aside during setup.
- Hard: The first card played and the last card placed must come from the left hand.
- Hard: You may not play/place a card if it results in a grid having at least 2 more cards than the other grid. For example, if a grid has 4 cards, you can't play/place a 6th card in the other grid.
Winning & Losing
Lose instantly if neither hand can play a card, if you try to play a face-down card and it turns out to be impossible to play legally, or if the partner can't follow the instructions on a played card.
Win instantly if 17 cards are in the grids (when the 17th card is played, ignore the instructions on that card). As the finishing touch, place the final card to complete both grids.
Card Rules
Card 4 and 9: "Reveal" simply means "choose". Card 5: If the partner discards, flip the remaining cards in their hand face up. Card 8: You cannot choose the middle column.