Uchronicle Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Contents
• Setup
  • Standard Game (Side A)
  • Expert Game (Side B)
• 2-Player Game
• Game Play
  • Trick History
  • Designating Rules
• End of the Game
• Strategy Tips

Contents

• 30 Cards (1-6 for 5 suits)
• 2 Rule boards (JP/EN)
• 3 Markers
• 1 Rulebook (this book)

Setup

In Uchronicle, you can play 2 types of games, the standard game and the expert game, each with slightly different rules. After choosing which game to play, place the rule board with the corresponding side facing up, within reach of all players. Also, prepare markers near the rule board.

Standard Game (Side A)

• It is recommended as an introduction to this game and has a better prospect than the expert game.
• There are 2 rules that can be designated: "Rank to win" and "Trump suit".
• When removing cards from the trick history, take all cards matching the declared rank/suit as negative points. All cards can be removed, including cards in the present trick.

Expert Game (Side B)

• It is a little more complex than the standard game, and you can enjoy playing it as if you were solving a difficult puzzle.
• There are 3 rules that can be designated: "Rank to win", "Trump suit", and "Trump rank".
• When removing cards from the trick history, choose 1 card at a time and take it as a negative point. Cards in the present trick cannot be removed.

Shuffle all cards (1-6 for 5 suits = 30 cards) and deal 10 cards to each player as their hand. Then, determine the first lead player in a random way.

2-Player Game

• As in the 3-player game, all 30 cards are used. After dealing 10 cards to each player, the remaining cards are placed face down as the deck.
• At the beginning of each trick (before the lead player plays a card), reveal 1 card from the top of the deck face up as the first card played in the trick. The lead player must play a card stronger than the card thus revealed.

Game Play

Each player reveals (plays) 1 card from their hand in clockwise order from the lead player. When all players have played 1 card each, 1 trick ends. After arranging the cards played in this trick as the trick history, the player who last played becomes the new lead player and starts the next trick. Repeat this for 9 tricks to make 1 round.

Trick History

In this game, you focus not on "who won" a certain trick, but on "which card won over which card". The cards played in each trick are arranged face up so that you can see in what order they were played, where all players can easily see them (see the back of the box).

In this game, there are no restrictions on the suit of cards played; instead, players must play a card that will win the present trick at all times, or be stronger than any card played in the present trick. The strength of each card, or which card wins, is determined according to the "Rank to win", "Trump suit", and "Trump rank (for the expert game only)", as designated by markers on the rule board.

• EXPERT The strongest card is that of the "Trump suit" and "Trump rank".
• EXPERT The next stronger cards are those of the "Trump rank" (without the "Trump suit"). In a comparison between cards of the same "Trump rank", the card played later wins.
• The next stronger cards are those of the "Trump suit".
• The next stronger cards are those of the "same suit as the first card played in the trick".

In a comparison between cards of the same suit, if the "Rank to win" is "Lower", the rank with the lower number (closer to 1) wins. If the "Rank to win" is "Higher", the rank with the higher number (closer to 6) wins (except for the "Trump rank").

• In each trick, the second card played must be stronger than the first, and the third card played must be stronger (i.e., the strongest) than them.
• Each trick is treated as an independent mini-game. That is, the card played in Trick 2 does not have to be stronger than the last card played in Trick 1.
• If there are less than 3 cards played in a trick, the winner is determined based on the cards available. If there is only 1 card, that card wins.

Example 1 (Standard): (Trick 1 and Trick 2 shown with card illustrations.)

1. The following rules are applied for tricks: Rank to win = Higher / Trump suit = (a suit).
2. Trick 1: Among the cards of the same suit, the card which is stronger in "Rank to win" wins over the other. Furthermore, the card of the "Trump suit" wins over both of them.
3. Trick 2: Among the cards of the same "Trump suit", the card which is stronger in "Rank to win" wins the trick.

Designating Rules

When players play a card from their hand, they must designate which rule(s) would make that card win by placing markers over the corresponding spots on the rule board.

• STANDARD There are 2 rules that can be designated: "Rank to win" and "Trump suit".
• EXPERT There are 3 rules that can be designated: "Rank to win", "Trump suit", and "Trump rank".
• For the "Trump suit" and "Trump rank", players can designate 1 of the suits/ranks or "None (trump)". If "None" is chosen, place the marker outside the rule board.

If players have no cards that can win under the current rules (the rules designated by the last player) in their hand, or they wish, they move marker(s) on the rule board and change the rule(s) to fulfill the "must win tricks" obligation. However, this rule change can only be made as long as the win-loss results are not inconsistent with all tricks including the present trick (i.e., the cards played later are stronger in each trick).

If there are tricks or cards with conflicting win-loss results to change to the desired rule(s), players remove as many unfavorable cards as they wish from the trick history. Cards thus removed will result in negative points equal to the number of such cards. This is the only factor that makes the difference between winning and losing this game.

• STANDARD Declare a rank/suit of the cards you wish to remove and take all cards matching the declared rank/suit as negative points. All cards can be removed, including cards in the present trick.
• EXPERT Choose 1 card you wish to remove at a time, and take it as a negative point. Cards in the present trick cannot be removed.
• Cards removed from the trick history are placed face down so that they are not mixed with the cards in your hand (During the game, all players cannot see the face of these cards).
• EXPERT In rare cases, no matter how many cards players remove from the trick history, they cannot win with the cards in their hand (the rules cannot be changed so that they win). In such cases, after playing 1 card of their choice regardless of win or loss, remove cards from all tricks including the present trick until there is less than 1 card played for each trick, then take them as negative points.

Example 2 (Expert): (Trick 1 and Trick 2 shown with card illustrations.)

1. Trick 1: Carol (C) played a card with the following rules: Rank to win = Higher; Trump suit = (a suit) / Trump rank = None.
2. Trick 2: Alice (A) played a card with the following rules: Rank to win = Higher; Trump suit = (a suit) / Trump rank = 4. The earlier card is no longer the "Trump suit", but the win-loss at Trick 1 is not inconsistent.
3. Trick 2: Bob (B) can play a card of the earlier "Trump suit" or the card with the "Trump rank" of "4". If neither card is in his hand, he will remove cards from the trick history and change the rule(s).
4. For example, by removing a card from the trick history, he can change the "Trump rank". Note that Bob cannot designate "5" as the "Trump rank" (The win-loss result for two cards in Trick 1 would be inconsistent).

Example 3 (Standard): (Trick 1, Trick 2 and Trick 3 shown with card illustrations.)

1. Trick 2: Bob (B) played a card with the following rules: Rank to win = Higher; Trump suit = (a suit).
2. Trick 3: Carol (C) removed rank "4" and suit (a suit), then played a card with the following rules: Rank to win = Higher; Trump suit = (a suit).
3. Instead of 2, she may remove rank "6" (and a suit), even then the card can be played. In this case, the "Trump suit" is still the same, but that card, the only card in the present trick, wins.
4. (In both cases 2 and 3,) Carol takes the 2 cards she removed as negative points and places them face down.

End of the Game

When repeating the above procedure for 9 tricks (until each player has only 1 card remaining in their hand), 1 round ends. Each player gets negative points equal to the number of cards took in this round (recorded with chips, etc.). After shuffling all cards and dealing them to each player as their hand, the player to the left of the "first lead player" in this round becomes the new lead player and starts the next round.

After repeating rounds equal to the number of players, the game ends. Each player adds up their negative points scored in each round, then the player whose total point is closest to zero wins the game (in case of a tie, the winners share the victory).

Strategy Tips

Strategy Tips 1: One of the simplest approaches to fulfilling the "must win tricks" obligation is to play a card as the "Trump suit". When a trick contains 2 or more suits, those played later mostly act as the "Trump suit". By removing cards so that all tricks contain only 1 suit, it is easier to change to the desired "Trump suit".

Strategy Tips 2: In the standard game, cards can be removed from the present trick as well, so no matter how strong a card you play, the next player may only remove that 1 card for 1 negative point. To increase the negative points given to your opponents, you may actively play cards of rank/suit that have been played most often in the past tricks.