Trick Dumpling Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Tricks
• Perfect Dish
• Special Cards
• Round End
• Mission Cards
• 2 Player Game
• Cook Variation

Components

• 35 dumpling cards
• 5 mission cards
• 5 rank boards
• 5 cook boards
• 5 score dice
• 1 rulebook

Setup

1. The player who most recently ate the dumpling becomes the first chef, and lays out the rank boards in any order. This represents the current popularity rank of the dumplings. The boards fit on the bottom of the game box.

2. Deal the cook boards. Put the score dice together in one place.

3. Prepare as many mission cards as the number of players, which must include 1 card with the 'spy' on the back. Shuffle them so that the secret mission ('owner's nephew / spy') stays hidden and deal 1 card each. Players may look at the back of the card, but keep it hidden from other players.

4. Deal the dumpling cards according to the number of players as follows. Any leftover dumpling cards will not be used this round. For a 2-3 player game, remove all the numbers '1' and '9' (8 cards total) from the deck.

   2-3 players	4 players	5 players
   8 cards each	8 cards each	7 cards each

5. The game is played in multiple rounds. Each round ends when all the dealt cards are played. If you accomplish your mission at the end of the round, you score points. Now, let's start steaming!

Tricks

1. Starting with the chef (lead player), play 1 dumpling card of any suit. The suit (kimchi / chives / shrimp / soup) of the card played is called the lead suit. Even if the chef's cards are turned over during the trick, the lead suit does not change.

2. Going clockwise, all following players must play 1 card in turn. You must follow the lead suit (as instructed by the chef) unless you choose to play a special card (see 'Special Cards'). If you have no cards of the lead suit, you may play any other suit or a special card.

3. Each time you play a card, add up all the numbers of cards of the same suit. (Think of it as putting all the dumplings of the same type into the same steamer.) If the sum of the numbers exceeds 10, turn over the card with the highest number. Repeat this process until all players have played 1 card.

   Example: Chef plays Shrimp 2 (lead suit: Shrimp). 2nd player plays Shrimp 7 (the current total of Shrimp is 9). 3rd player does not have lead suit, plays Chives 4. 4th player plays Shrimp 3: the total of Shrimp is 12, so flip shrimp '7' over.

4. The cards remaining face up are compared to determine the winner of this trick. The winner of the trick is the player who played the highest numbered card of the suit with the highest total (or, in the case of a tie, with the highest popularity rank), regardless of the lead suit. At any time during the trick, if the number of dumplings hits exactly 10, the 'Perfect Dish' special rule is triggered (see 'Perfect Dish').

   Example (continued): The total of Shrimp exceeded 10, and '7' is the highest, so it is flipped. The total of Chives is 4, which is lower than the shrimp's. In the end, the total of the shrimp is 5. Of which '3' is the highest, so it wins the trick.

5. The winner of the trick gathers all the cards played in this trick and places them (face down) in their player area. This shows how many tricks each player has won this round.

6. The winner of the trick becomes the new chef and starts the next trick.

※ There are some rule changes for a 2 player game, see '2 Player Game'.

Perfect Dish

1. During a trick, a 'Perfect Dish' is completed when the sum of the dumplings of a particular suit reaches exactly 10. The player who completes a Perfect Dish must declare "Perfect!".
2. If any players have not yet played a card, declare "No way!" or "Accept!" in order.

   1. No way!: If you can cancel the Perfect Dish, you may declare "No way!" then play a card face up according to the normal rules of trick.

      ※ Specific situations in which you can declare "No way!" are as follows: ① When you play a card of the same suit as the Perfect Dish and flip an existing card over. ② When you play a 'Giant Steamer' card. ③ (In rare cases,) When you complete a new Perfect Dish with a suit that has a higher popularity rank.

   2. Accept!: If you are unable or unwilling to cancel the Perfect Dish, declare "Accept!" then play a card of your choice face down, regardless of suit. This allows you to break the 'must follow' rule and remove any unneeded cards.

3. If anyone declares "No way!", the Perfect Dish is immediately canceled. If any players have not yet played a card, continue the trick according to the normal rules.
4. If no one declares "No way!", the player who completes the Perfect Dish is the winner of the trick, even if their card has a lower number. If there are 2 suits with a total of exactly 10, only the one with the higher popularity rank is considered a Perfect Dish.

Example (No way!): Chef plays 6; 2nd player plays kimchi 7; 3rd player plays kimchi 3 — "Perfect!". 4th player declares "No way!" and flips the kimchi '7' (by playing kimchi 4) to win the trick.

Example (Accept!): Same cards through the 3rd player's "Perfect!". 4th player declares "Accept!" and plays a card face down.

Special Cards

There are two kinds of special cards: Schrödinger's Dumplings (numbered '5' and '99') and the Giant Steamer.

1. Schrödinger's Dumplings: These cards are the numbers '5' and '99', which are always considered to be of the same suit as the lead suit. If the lead suit has not yet been determined, they will be determined by the next suit played. This means that the '99' card will always be face down unless there is an effect of 'Giant Steamer'.
2. Giant Steamer: The size limit of the steamer is removed. This means that for this trick, no cards can be face down, even if the sum of the numbers is over 10, and the Perfect Dish rule does not apply. Any cards that were already face down (including "Accept!" cards) are also turned face up again. However, if none of the suits total exceeds 10, the player who played this card is the winner of the trick (as a reward for bringing the heavy steamer).

※ If the chef plays a special card, the first regular card played afterward determines the lead suit. In rare cases, when 3 wild things compete, the biggest always wins. (We'd rather not know what the heck that dumplings are forever.)

Round End

1. If all players have emptied their hand, the round ends immediately. Players who accomplish either the basic mission or secret mission earn as many points as the number of players who did not accomplish any of their missions. (Apologies, if you accomplish both missions, you do not earn double points.) Place the score dice on your cook board to show your score. Any score over 6 points is marked by rotating the dice back to a '1'. ('1' = 7 points / '2' = 8 points ...)
2. If someone has reached the victory point threshold for the number of players (see chart below); the player with the most VPs wins! If there is a tie, share the win. If no one has reached the victory point threshold, then the last player to win a trick becomes the chef. Collect and deal out mission cards and dumpling cards as before and start a new round. The chef may change the popularity rank of the suits before they look at their cards.

2-3 players	4 players	5 players
5 points	7 points	8 points

(Victory points)

Mission Cards

Mission	Card
Basic mission	"I only have 3 steamers..." — Win exactly 3 tricks.
Secret mission	"In fact, I'm the owner's nephew..." — Win exactly 0 trick.
Secret mission	"In fact, I'm the spy next door..." — Defeat everyone else's mission.

1. In general, you can accomplish your mission by winning 3 tricks ('I only have 3 steamers...') or 0 tricks ('In fact, I'm the owner's nephew...').
2. The exception to this is the lone spy, who wins the round if everyone else misses their mission ('In fact, I'm the spy next door...'). In this case, it doesn't matter how many tricks the spy wins. It's a tough but rewarding mission!

2 Player Game

The 2 player game is played with a dummy player 'Dumpling Master'. The Master may win at the end of the game. The normal 3 player rules apply with the following exceptions;

1. The Master always has a mission card with 'Spy' on the back. It means the Master scores points when winning 3 tricks, or when no real players accomplish their missions. The Master stacks their dumpling cards face down, and for each trick, plays the top 1 card according to the following rules.
2. A trick with a real player as the chef: Another real player plays next, and the Master is the last to play. The Master always cancels a player's Perfect Dish whenever possible.
3. A trick with the Master as a chef: The Master plays first, and then both real players play simultaneously. If both players complete a Perfect Dish, the player who played the lower number of cards wins the trick. If the Master plays 'Schrödinger's dumplings' as the first card, count it as '5' / '99' of all suits at the same time.

Cook Variation

The cook variation allows you to use different special abilities depending on which cook you choose. They're more about unpredictability and fun than balance, so we recommend applying them after you've familiarized yourself with the base game.

• Assorted Dumplings: If you win tricks with 4 different suits in a round, you immediately win the round by yourself. Keep the card you used to win beside this cook as a reminder.
• Picky Eater: If you win 3 tricks with the same suit in a round, you immediately score 1 point. Keep the card you used to win beside this cook as a reminder.
• Slacker: 2 times during the entire game, you may play a card face down, in which case you lose the trick. This ability also ignores the effect of 'Giant Steamer'.
• Hard Steamer: If this player completes a Perfect Dish, no other player can declare "No way!"
• Double Agent: Earn 1 point whenever another player scores points by accomplishing a 'Spy' mission. However, if you are the spy, you do not earn any with an additional point.