Utsuke Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• 1) Game Overview
• 2) Game Setup
• 3) The Lord's Action
• 4) How to Play
  • Guessing
  • Trick Taking
  • Who Is the Winner? (Judging)
  • The End of the Game
• 5) FAQ
• 6) The Variant Rule for 2 Players

Components

• Card: 60 cards (from 1-12 / 5 colors for each number)
• Guess Card: 25 cards (0, 1, 2, 4, 8 / 5 sets for each player)
• Homare (Honor) Chip: 6 pieces (double-sided: 1 point on the front side, 2 points on the back side)
• UCHIKUBI (Execution) Chip: 5 pieces
• Trump Chip: 1 piece

1) Game Overview

• This is a "trick-taking game" in which played cards are used to judge the winner.
• This game has a special bidding rule in which players have to guess how many tricks the Lord (non-player character) will win.
• Players must follow the color of the card played by the starting player.
• There is a trump card.
• The game consists of multiple rounds.
• Each round players play several tricks.
• After every player plays one card from their hand, the winner of the trick is judged.
• The winner of the trick and the Lord receive all played cards and count how many tricks they (including the Lord) win.
• The round ends when all players have played all of their hands.
• When a player's guess is correct at the end of each round, you can get "Homare", and the player who gets three "Homare" wins.

2) Game Setup

• The Lord (NPC) is set between the person who admires someone recently and the player to their right.
• Shuffle all cards and deal them face down to each player and the Lord.
• You have to hold your hand and keep it secret from others.
• As shown in the picture, reveal the Lord's cards and display them on the table so that every player can see the number on the cards.
• These cards are regarded as the hand of the Lord.
• Put the trump chip on the rightmost card of the Lord's hand.
• Deal five guess cards (0, 1, 2, 4, 8; printed in the setup text as "0,1,2,4,5") to each player.

It is always important to prepare for everything. Be sure to take care of the Lord so that he can enjoy the game smoothly!

3) The Lord's Action

• When the Lord plays a card as the starting player, the leftmost card is played.
• In the Lord's turn, when he can follow the color, he plays the highest number of that color from his hand.
• If he can't follow the color, the leftmost card is played.
• Right after the Lord wins the trick (when the Lord is the starting player), he plays the rightmost card.
• The closest player to the Lord plays the Lord's card instead.

Are there any servants who don't know the Lord's behavior? Of course not.

4) How to Play

Guessing

• At the beginning of each round, you see the Lord's hand and yours and then you have to guess "how many tricks the Lord will win in this round".
• Using the guess cards, you set your guess face down on the table. Then, you put the 0 card on top and put the other cards above it.
• If you guess the Lord will not win any tricks: put guess card 0 face down and place guess cards 1, 2, 4, and 8 on the top in that order.
• Example: When you guess the Lord will win 1 trick(s): put guess cards 1, 2, and 4 face down. Then place guess cards 0 and 8 on the top in that order. (The printed examples show the order of the stack that records your guess.)

But, wait. How dare you think the mighty Lord "cannot do anything"?

Trick Taking

• For each round, the starting player is the Lord. Follow the instruction on "Lord's action" above.

1. The starting player plays a card face up from their hand.
2. In a clockwise direction, the next player plays a card whose color is the same as the card played by the starting player.
   • You can play a card which is a lower number than the card that the other players already played.
   • If you don't have any cards whose color is the same as the card played by the starting player, you can play any card.
3. After every player plays a card following the rule, the winner of the trick is judged.
4. The player who has played the highest number and the same color as the card that the starting player played is the winner of the trick.
   • In the case that someone has played a card that is the same color as the card the trump chip is placed on (if several players meet this situation, the player who plays the highest number among them is chosen), that player wins the trick.
5. The winner of the trick receives the used cards face down and collects them as a pile for each trick to count how many tricks you have won.
   • Don't add them to your hands.
   • The player who wins the previous trick is the next starting player.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 until all players including the Lord play all of their cards.

You guys are required to see the Lord's behavior and flatter him always! The most important point is to make the Lord feel comfortable during the game! "My Lord!!" "What a wonderful playing!!" "How great you are!!!"

Who Is the Winner? (Judging)

• The round ends when every player has played all of their hands.
• Reveal all of the guess cards that players set and judge how many points they will earn. It depends on how many tricks the Lord got in the game.

1. If you guessed how many times the Lord won the trick correctly, you get 2 Homare points (use the back side of the chip).

2. If no one has the correct guess, the player with the closest guess gets 1 Homare point (use the front side of the chip).

3. When several players meet 2), the player with the higher guess gets 1 Homare point. (If there are several players who meet the condition above, then all of them get the Homare point.)

   Example: At the end of the game, the Lord gets five tricks in total. When player A guessed four and players B and C guessed six, then players B and C get the Homare point.

4. If you have won the trick more than the Lord, you unfortunately make the Lord feel uncomfortable. You have to receive one UCHIKUBI chip.

The End of the Game

• The game ends when at least one player wins or loses.
• At the time of judging, if there is a player who has 3 or more Homare chips, that player wins immediately.
• If there is more than one player who meets this condition, let's share the victory among them!
• If you already have one UCHIKUBI chip and you have to receive one more UCHIKUBI chip, that player is executed and loses the game. You have no choice but to accept the defeat.
• Continue the game if no one wins or loses. Deal the cards again and move the Lord to the next in the clockwise direction.

5) FAQ

Q: What do we have to do after the Lord uses the card under the trump chip?

A: The chip remains until the trick ends. After the trick ends, put that chip on the rightmost card among the remaining hands.

Q: What if the player meets the condition to win and lose at the same time?

A: That player loses, unfortunately.

6) The Variant Rule for 2 Players

• One more new NPC "the Prince" joins the game! So, there are two NPCs there.
• Put the Lord and the Prince on both sides of the player who recently admires someone.
• The prince acts completely the same as the Lord because he is descended from the Lord.
• Put the trump chip on the rightmost card of the Lord.
• Guess how many tricks the Lord wins.
• You don't have to guess how many tricks the Prince wins.
• The position of the Lord and the Prince switch every time at the beginning of each round.
• The other rules besides the above are the same as usual.