TRICKTAKERs Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Game Overview
  • Playing a Trick
• Winning Conditions
  • 1. Get Two Crowns
  • 2. Get Three Black Crowns
  • 3. Fulfill the Character's Winning Condition
• Trick
  • Number Cards
  • Rare Card
  • White Flag Card
• Preparation
• Round 1
  • 1. Deal Playing Cards
  • 2. Select a Character Card
  • 3. Set Up the Character
  • 4. Play Tricks
  • 5. Acquire a Crown
• Round 2
  • 1. Deal Playing Cards
  • 2. Select a Character Card
  • 3. Set Up the Character
  • 4. Play Tricks
  • 5. Acquire a Crown / a Black Crown, and Points
• Round 3 (Final Round)
  • 1. Deal Playing Cards
  • 2. Select a Character Card
  • 3. Set Up the Character
  • 4. Spend Black Crowns
  • 5. Play Tricks
  • 6. Acquire a Crown / a Black Crown, and Points
  • 7. Determine the Winner
• 2-player: Basic Version
  • Preparation (2 players)
  • Rounds 1-4 (2 players)
  • Round 5 (The last round, 2 players)
• Additional Characters
  • Differences from the basic game
  • Collector's "reservations" and Ruler's "Tasks"
• 2-player: Advanced Version
  • Preparation (2-player advanced)
  • Rounds 1-3 (4) (2-player advanced)
• Character Setup and Abilities
  • KING (1A)
  • GAMBLER (2A)
  • RESISTANCE (3A)
  • HERMIT (4A)
  • BERSERKER (5A)

Components

• 8 Character Cards
• 8 Character Cards for 2 players
• 40 Playing Cards
  • 36 Number Cards
  • 2 Rare Cards
  • 2 White Flag Cards
• 7 Berserker Exclusive Cards
• 1 King Exclusive Rare Cards
• 2 Adventurer Exclusive Cards
• 6 Ruler Exclusive Task Cards
• 15 Adventurer Exclusive Item Cards
• 4 Ruler Exclusive Lead Tokens
• 1 Gambler Exclusive Dice
• 1 Resistance Exclusive Kakumei Token
• 1 Collector Exclusive Reservation Token
• 1 Round Sheet
• 5 Crown Tokens
• 6 Black Crown Tokens
• 10 Victory Points (20 pieces)
• 50 Victory Points (20 pieces)
• 6 Round Progress Cards
• 5 Player Aid Cards

Game Overview

The game consists of 3 rounds. In each round, each player chooses a character after 5 cards are dealt. After 5 tricks, players score points according to their characters. After 3 rounds, the player with the highest score wins; however, this is not always the case since there are several other ways to win this game.

Playing a Trick

Each player plays a card from hand and compare the value of the cards.

Winning Conditions

1. Get Two Crowns

• The player who won the most tricks in a round gets a crown. When getting two crowns, the player wins the game immediately.

2. Get Three Black Crowns

• The player who won no tricks in a round gets a black crown. When getting three crowns, the player wins the game immediately.

3. Fulfill the Character's Winning Condition

• Each character has its own winning condition. On fulfilling the condition, the player wins the game.

Trick

"Trick" means that all of the players take turns playing a card clockwise and the one who played the card of the highest value wins the trick. Playing cards are used for playing tricks. The playing cards consist of Number cards, Rare cards, and White flag cards.

The winner of the trick collects up the cards to put in front of them, and becomes the lead player of the next trick. ("Lead player" means the player who plays the first card in a trick)

Number Cards

4 colored number cards (1 to 9).

Card strength

Among the same color, the larger the number, the stronger. (9 is the strongest)

Black is stronger than the other colors.

The 3 colors (red, blue, green) are the same strength. However, if a color is played first (lead), the color becomes the strongest.

• When red 2 (lead), red 5, red 8, and blue 9 are played in order, red 8 wins. (red 8 > red 5 > red 2 > blue 9)
• When red 2 (lead), red 8, black 1, and blue 9 are played in order, black 1 wins. (black 1 > red 8 > red 2 > blue 9)

Must Follow

A player must play a card in the manner of "must follow".

In each trick, a player must play a card of the same color as the first player played. If the player has more than 2 cards of the color, they can choose which card to play. If the player doesn't have any cards of the same color, they can play any card from hand.

• Red 5 is the lead and your hand is red 2, red 7, blue 8, green 4, black 1: either red 2 or red 7 can be played.
• Red 5 is the lead and your hand is blue 2, blue 7, blue 8, green 4, black 1: any one of these cards can be played. If black 1 is played, the player wins. If one of the other cards is played, the player loses the trick.

Rare Card

This card is stronger than any number card. You may want to play this when you want to win the trick. If two or more rare cards are played in a trick, the one played first wins the trick.

White Flag Card

This card is weaker than any number card. You may want to play this when you want to lose the trick. Raising up the white flag, it gives way to you. So, please treat it nicely. :)

How to play Rare / White Flag Card

The card can be played any time in the player's turn, ignoring the must follow rules.

• Red 5 is the lead and your hand is red 2, green 4, black 1, Rare, White Flag: red 2, Rare, or White Flag can be played.

When the first card played is either Rare or White Flag, the next player can play any card. If the player plays a number card, the following players must follow the color of the card if they can.

Preparation

1. The player deals each player 30 victory points.
2. Place 3 crowns and 6 black crowns on the round sheet.
3. Place 5 basic character cards face up.
   • Basic characters: King, Gambler, Resistance, Hermit, Berserker
4. Shuffle 40 playing cards well, and place them face down as a draw deck.

Round 1

1. Deal Playing Cards

Draw 5 cards for each player from the draw deck. Players see their cards in hand.

2. Select a Character Card

Decide who will be the first player, and, starting from the first player, each player selects a character clockwise.

3. Set Up the Character

Please refer to the Character Setup section.

4. Play Tricks

The player who first chose a character becomes the lead player (the player who starts a trick first). From the player clockwise, each player plays a card to table. The winner of a trick becomes the lead player for the next trick. 5 tricks will be played until all the players run out of their hands.

5. Acquire a Crown

The player who won the most tricks (1st place alone) acquires a crown. If there is a tie, no one gets a crown.

• ex) A: 2 wins, B: 1 win, C: 1 win, D: 1 win → A gets a crown
• ex) A: 2 wins, B: 2 wins, C: 1 win, D: 0 wins → No one gets a crown

When no one gets a crown, the crown for the round returns to the box.

Acquire a Black Crown

The player who did not win a single trick acquires a black crown. Only two players can get black crowns. The priorities of the characters are taken into account regarding who to receive them.

• ex) Where Gambler: 0 wins, Resistance: 0 wins, Hermit: 0 wins, Hermit cannot get a black crown.

[The priorities]

King (1A) > Gambler (2A) > Resistance (3A) > Hermit (4A) > Berserker (5A)

The black crown(s) not taken returns to the box.

Acquire Victory Points

Players acquire victory points according to the conditions written on their character card.

Round 2

1. Deal Playing Cards

Place 40 playing cards face down and shuffle them well, and place them in center of table as a draw deck. Draw 5 cards for each player from the deck. Players see their cards in hand.

2. Select a Character Card

Place 5 Character cards face up. Players choose a character in the order mentioned below.

• 1st — The player who selected "King" in the previous round
• 2nd — The player who do not have a crown. In ascending order from the player with the lowest score. (If there is a tie for the victory points, compare the priority of the character each player selected in the previous round. The higher goes first.)
• 3rd — The players who have a crown (in ascending order of points)

*Black crowns will not affect the priority.

3. Set Up the Character

4. Play Tricks

Among the players who do not have a crown, the player with the least victory points lead the first trick of this round. (If there is a tie for the victory points, compare the priority of the character each player selected in the previous round. The higher goes first.)

5. Acquire a Crown / a Black Crown, and Points

Priority of Characters

King (1A) > Gambler (2A) > Resistance (3A) > Hermit (4A) > Berserker (5A)

Refer to this chart when selecting characters, when playing the first trick, or when multiple players winning the game at the same time.

Round 3 (Final Round)

1. Deal Playing Cards

2. Select a Character Card

(The same way as the Round 2)

3. Set Up the Character

4. Spend Black Crowns

Black Crown(s) can be used to renew your cards in hand. (Spend 1 Black Crowns, you can discard as many cards in hand as you want and draw as many cards from the draw deck. Once used, the Black Crown goes back to the box.

• ex) Discard 5 cards and draw 5 cards from the deck. It is possible to spend 2 Black Crowns and do the renewing twice.

5. Play Tricks

(The same way as the Round 2)

6. Acquire a Crown / a Black Crown, and Points

7. Determine the Winner

Priority of Winning the Game

• 1st — Accomplish the "Win the Game" ("ゲームに勝利") condition on Character Card. If several players accomplish their winning conditions at the same time, the winner is determined by the priority of characters. For example, when "5 wins by King" and "0 wins by Berserker" happen at the same time, King wins the game in accordance with the priority.
• 2nd — Acquire 2 Crowns
• 3rd — Acquire 3 Black Crowns. When this is accomplished by several players, the character with higher priority wins the game.
• 4th — Score the most Victory Points. If there is a tie, the character with higher priority wins the game.

2-player: Basic Version

Each player takes turns selecting one of the 5 characters. After playing 5 rounds, the player with more victory points wins the game. No crowns or black crowns are used for determining the winner.

• Crowns and Black Crowns are used to indicate which characters have already been selected.
• Place Character Cards for 2 players on the Character Cards.

Preparation (2 players)

1. Each player receives 30 victory points.
2. Play rock-scissors-paper. The winner becomes the first player.
3. The first player receives 5 crowns, the other 5 black crowns.
4. Place 5 basic characters face up with the character cards for 2 players on (half-sized cards for each character).
5. Shuffle 40 playing cards. Place them face down as a draw deck.

Rounds 1-4 (2 players)

1. Deal playing cards — Deal 5 cards each from the deck and players look at the cards in hand.
2. Select Character Cards — The first player selects a character first (in round 1 and 3). Place a crown (a black crown for the other player) on the Character Card selected. Once a character is selected, the other player cannot select the same character for the round. (The second player selects a character first in Round 2 and 4)
3. Set up the Character
4. Play Tricks — The player who selected a character first becomes the lead player, and the winner of a trick will be the lead player for the next trick. A game consists of 5 tricks, and all the cards in hand are played.
5. Acquire Victory Points — Players acquire victory points according to the conditions written on their character card.

Important rules for Round 4

Select a character carefully for round 4 so as to avoid selecting the same character as the other player's in round 5. For example, the player with black crowns chose "Berserker" in round 4. The player with crowns, who is supposed to be able to choose either "King" or "Gambler", now needs to choose "Gambler". This is because if the player chooses "King", that forces both players to choose "Gambler" in Round 5, which is against the rules.

The Character Cards with a (black) crown on are the ones that have already been selected. The half-sized "Character Cards for 2 players" are placed on top of each corresponding Character Card.

Round 5 (The last round, 2 players)

1. Deal playing cards
2. Select a Character
3. Set up the Character (the last one)
4. Play Tricks — The player with fewer victory points can decide which player to lead the first trick.
5. Acquire Victory Points
6. Determine the Winner

Additional Characters

Once you get used to playing TrickTakers, it is a good idea to add "Adventurer", "Collector", and "Ruler" into the game. If this is your first time playing with additional characters, it is advisable to add "Adventurer" only.

Differences from the basic game

When more than 6 characters are used in the game, player count + 1 characters are placed on table when selecting them. In the next round, those characters not shown in the previous round must be included in the selection.

• ex) When 8 characters are used in a 5-player game, 6 Character Cards are placed for the character selection, and 1 character will remain unselected among them. In the next round, the 2 Character Cards not shown in the previous round will be placed first. After that, the 6 cards (5 used, 1 unselected) are shuffled and from them 4 cards are shown for the selection.

Collector's "reservations" and Ruler's "Tasks"

• The cards acquired by Collector's reservation are treated the same as those acquired by a trick. Because of this, there may be situations where Ruler's tasks such as "Take OO" or "Do not take OO" can/cannot be completed.
• When a player other than Collector wins a trick, the player cannot acquire the card reserved by Collector. Because of this, Ruler's task of "Take OO" may not be completed.
• ex) Player A received the task of "Take a Red card" from Ruler. A won a trick. There was a red card in the trick, but it was the one that Collector had reserved. In this case, A's task is not yet completed.

2-player: Advanced Version

6 (8) characters are used to play 3 (4) rounds. The player with higher victory points is the winner. Crowns and Black Crowns are not used to determine the winner. Place a Character Card for 2 players on top of each Character Card.

Preparation (2-player advanced)

1. Each player receives 30 victory points.
2. Play rock-scissors-paper. The winner becomes the first player.
3. Take turns selecting Character Cards. (for 6-character play, add "Adventurer" to the basic 5 characters)
   • [6 Characters] 1st player → 2nd player → 2nd → 1st → 1st → 2nd
   • [8 Characters] 1st → 2nd → 2nd → 1st → 1st → 2nd → 2nd → 1st
4. Shuffle 40 playing cards. Place them face down as a draw deck.

Rounds 1-3 (4) (2-player advanced)

1. Deal playing cards — Deal 5 cards each from the deck and players look at the cards in hand.
2. Select Character Cards — Place a Character Card face down in front. After both players placed their characters, put the Character Card for 2 players on top of the Character Cards. (Each character can be selected only once)
3. Set up the Character
4. Play Tricks — The player who selected a character first becomes the lead player, and the winner of a trick will be the lead player for the next trick. A game consists of 5 tricks, and all the cards in hand are played.
5. Acquire Victory Points — Players acquire victory points according to the conditions written on their character card.
6. Determine the Winner after the last round

Character Setup and Abilities

On the Character Cards, the letter "勝" means "win(s)" and "ゲームに勝利" means "win the game".

KING (1A)

The Royal-Road Trick Taker — Winning tricks is the royal road!

Tricks won	Victory points
0 wins	+0 points
1 win	+20 points
2 wins	+50 points
3 wins	+80 points
4 wins	+120 points
5 wins	Win the game

Preparation — King Exclusive Rare Card

Add this King Exclusive Rare Card to hand, and discard a card of your choice from hand.

King's Privilege (next round)

At the beginning of the next round, regardless of how many crowns or victory points you have, you can select a character first. However, you may not select King.

The Final Battle (final round)

Only in the final round, you can acquire twice as many victory points.

• ex) King won 3 tricks in the last round. The player acquires 160 points (80 x 2).

GAMBLER (2A)

The Bidding Trick Taker — Guess how many tricks you will win!

Successful bid	Victory points
bid 0, successful	+30 points
bid 1, successful	+60 points
bid 2, successful	+90 points
bid 3, successful	+150 points
bid 4, successful	Win the game
5 wins	Win the game
Win the bid ("的中")	+ the amount you bet
Miss the bid ("外れ")	- the amount you bet

ex) "3当" on the Character Card means "Your successful bid for 3 wins". "的中" means "win the bid" / "外れ" means "miss the bid".

Gamble — +20 Points

You receive 20 victory points at the beginning of the game.

Poker-like exchanging cards

You can discard cards in hand, then receive as many cards from the draw deck. You can do this twice; however, it is not mandatory.

• ex) You discard 5 cards in hand, and draw 5 cards from the deck. After this, you discard 2 cards, and draw 2 cards from the deck.

Bidding for how many tricks you will win

Using the dice, you bid how many tricks you think you will win in the round.

• ex) You bid for 2 wins, so you change the value of the dice to "2".

Betting for your bidding

You can bet up to 50 victory points for your bid. In the final round, you can bet up to 100 points. The points you bet are placed near the dice. It is not mandatory for you to bet.

• ex) You bid for 2 wins, and bet 50 points for the bid. If your win the bid, you acquire 90 + 50 (Bet) = 140 points. And the 50 points you used for the betting will return to you.

Winning 5 tricks

When you win 5 tricks, you automatically win the game. So, there is no need to bid for 5 wins. (The value "5" on the dice is only for 2-player game)

RESISTANCE (3A)

The Revolutionary Trick Taker — Quietly aim for one revolution!

In Kakumei play, if you win with the card below:

Winning card in Kakumei play	Victory points
Black	Win the game
7, 8 or 9	+100 points
4, 5 or 6	+80 points
1, 2 or 3	+50 points
White Flag	+30 points

Kakumei: Revolution (on your turn)

You may declare "Kakumei" on your turn. (Once in a round) When you do so, place the Kakumei Token on the card you have just played.

After the declaration of "Kakumei", the strength order is reversed. However, among the players who play the cards of the same strength, the player who played first wins as the original rule.

• In Kakumei play, players must follow the color led, but the advantage of leading the trick becomes nullified. Among the 3 colors (Red, Blue, Green), the first card of the smallest value wins the trick. (ex) Red 3 is led, then black 1, blue 1, green 1, red 1 — the black 1 wins.
• In Kakumei play, the Berserker's ability of losing to the cards with value 1 is nullified. For this example, since Red is stronger than Black, Red 1 wins the trick. (ex) Red 9 is led, then Rare, Berserker card, black 1, red 1 — the red 1 wins.
• Among White Flag Cards, the one played first wins the trick. (ex) Red 9 is led, then Berserker card, red 1, White Flag, White Flag — the first White Flag wins.

Acquiring a Black Crown

If you win only 1 trick in a round, and if you won the trick in Kakumei Play, your winning count is regarded as "0", so that you acquire a Black Crown.

Readiness for Battle (final round)

In the final round, you can get +30 points each time you win the trick (including the Kakumei win).

• ex) In the final round, you won two tricks and one with White Flag Card in Kakumei Play. Score: 30pt (Kakumei play) + 3 (wins) x 30 pt = 120 pt.

HERMIT (4A)

The 0-win Trick Taker — Avoid the must-follow!

Tricks won	Victory points
0 wins	+50 points
1 win	-10 points
2 wins	-30 points
3 wins	+70 points
4 wins	+100 points
5 wins	Win the game

Dexterous hand (on your turn)

Before playing a card from hand in each trick, you may draw a card from the draw deck, and discard a card in hand.

• Example: red 3 (lead), black 1, blue 8, green 7 are played and your hand is red 9, blue 7, blue 8, green 4, black 1. In the situation above, you need to play Red 9 to follow the color, which makes you win the trick.
• Draw a card from the deck (red 3). Discard a card from your hand (red 9).
• Your hand is now blue 7, blue 8, green 4, black 1, red 3. By playing Blue 7, Blue 8, or Green 4, you can lose the trick. Whereas you can win the trick by playing Black 1 or Black 2.

White Flag defeats Rare [Hermit exclusive] — +30 points (+100 points in the final round)

When Hermit plays White Flag Card, the White Flag defeats Rare Card. Each time you successfully do this, you acquire 30 points. In the final round, you acquire 100 points for this. When you play White Flag, you need to be careful: you may win the trick unintentionally.

• Red 9 (lead), Rare, White Flag, black 1, red 1: Hermit beats Rare by playing White Flag.
• Red 9 (lead), Rare, White Flag, Berserker card, red 1: Hermit beats Rare by playing White Flag, but Berserker, the next card, beats the White Flag. However, Red 1 is played after Berserker, and it wins the trick.

BERSERKER (5A)

The Brawn Trick Taker — Overpower them with sheer strength!

Tricks won	Victory points
0 wins	-30 points
1 win	-10 points
2 wins	+30 points
3 wins	+50 points
4 wins	+80 points
5 wins	-50 points

Preparation — Berserker Exclusive Deck

Discard all the cards in hand, and you receive 1 Berserker Card and 4 other randomly picked cards from the Berserker Exclusive Deck.

• Berserker Card: Lose to Red 1, Blue 1, Green 1, and Black 1
• 10 cards: Lose to 1 of the same color

Examples:

• Red 9 (lead), red 10, blue 1, red 1, green 1: Red 10 loses to Red 1 (doesn't lose to Blue 1 or Green 1), so Red 1 wins.
• Red 9 (lead), Rare, White Flag, red 9, Berserker Card: Berserker Card is stronger than Rare Card. Even if Hermit plays White Flag Card and thus defeats Rare Card, Berserker wins the trick since it is stronger than Rare Card.
• Rare (lead), Berserker Card, red 1, black 1, blue 1: Black 1 is stronger than Red 1. However, Red 1 defeats the Berserker Card first, and because of the priority, Red 1 wins the trick.

In the final round, as in the rules, you can discard cards in hand and draw as many cards from the draw deck by spending a Black Crown. However, you cannot discard the Berserker Card.

Fierce Uplifting (final round)

You win the game if you win 0 tricks in the final round.

If King's ability of "5 wins in a round to win the game" and Berserker's ability of "0 wins in the final round to win the game" occurs at the same time, King wins the game. This is because King's Character priority is higher than that of Berserker's.