Zero to Hero Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Starting the Game
• Playing the Game
  • Reaching Zero
  • Playing a '2'
  • End of a Trick
  • End of a Hand
  • Drawing Extra Tiles
  • Zero to Hero
• Ending the Game

Components

• Game Tiles (52 tiles in four suits, numbered from 1 to 13)
• Score tiles (12)
• Points chips (25×1, 12×5)
• Cloth bag (1)
• Zero to Hero marker (1)
• Lead Player and Hand marker (1)
• Rules (1)

Starting the Game

Place the Points chips to one side. Each player then takes five points worth of chips.

Make sure all of the Game tiles are in the bag. To decide who will be the lead player, each player draws one Game tile from the bag. Whoever draws the highest takes the Lead Player marker. If there is a tie then the tied players draw a second tile, and so on until a lead player is decided. Place all of the Game tiles back in the bag.

The Lead Player marker should be placed on its '1' side.

Playing the Game

'Zero to Hero' is normally played over four hands, although the game can end early if a player goes from Zero to Hero. A hand involves players playing through seven tricks. In each trick, points will be given or taken depending the Score tile for that trick.

Shuffle the Score tiles face-down. Draw seven and place in a line, face-up. Place the remaining tiles to one side.

Each player draws seven Game tiles each. They may look at them, but should keep them secret from other players. Place them such that all of the other players can see the backs of your tiles.

You are now playing for the first Score tile. Starting with the lead player and going clockwise, each player plays a tile face-up. You do not have to follow suit.

Once all players have played one tile, you determine who wins and/or loses points. The suit with the highest total value in play is the one that counts. The player with highest tile of that suit takes the top reward or penalty on the Score tile. The player with second highest tile of that suit takes the lower reward or penalty. If there is no second highest player in the winning suit then the player with highest off-suit value comes second.

There is no tie-breaker, so in the case of a tie, the tied players receive the same reward/penalty. This applies to both the upper and lower points on the Score tile.

Points are recorded with Points chips, which you take from or return to the bank as necessary.

In the example shown, the winner is the player who played the orange 7, as there are 11 orange points on display (7 + 4). The orange 4 player comes second. The winner gains two points while the player who came second loses one point.

Reaching Zero

If a player is down to zero points then any further points that they were due to lose in this trick become positive points instead.

For example, a player wins a trick with this Score tile, and loses two points. As they have one point, they lose one but then gain one as they had dropped to zero. If they had started with zero points they would have gained two points.

Playing a '2'

If a player plays a '2' tile and no other tile is played of that suit then that player wins the trick. Note that in the case of a tie, each player will win the trick and gain the reward. You still calculate who came second, if appropriate.

End of a Trick

When all players have played and scores have been calculated, flip the present Score tile face-down. The winner of the last trick leads the next one and takes the Lead marker, being careful not to alter the hand number. You are now playing for the next Score tile. In the case of a tie for winner, the lead player is the one closest to the old lead player, going clockwise.

End of a Hand

When all seven Score tiles have been played for, the hand is over. All Game tiles should be returned to the bag. All Score tiles should be shuffled back together, face-down.

The Lead marker should be rotated so that the Hand value on it is one higher — this helps you keep track of how many hands you have played.

Drawing Extra Tiles

In the second, third and fourth hands players may draw extra Game tiles. All players should declare how many points they have. The player with the highest points draws seven Game tiles each, as normal. The player in second place draws one extra tile, the player in third place draws two extra tiles, and so on. In the case of a tie, tied players draw the same number of tiles depending on their relative points position.

Zero to Hero

If, at the beginning of a new hand, a player has zero points, they should display the "Zero to Hero" marker with Zero on the top. If they win five or more points in the next hand, they flip the marker and immediately win the game, from Zero to Hero!

Ending the Game

After four hands the player with the most points is the winner. Ties remain tied.