Nusicle

Fun multi-pile blackjack/switch clone for Two players.

Object

To play out all ones card.

Starting

From a full deck of fifty-two cards, nine cards are dealt to each player, in batches of three. Three piles are then dealt in the centre of the playing area, continue dealing cards face up on these piles until a royal card (Jack, Queen or King) is on the top of each pile. If at any point during the deal an ace is dealt, clear that pile (placing the cards on the bottom of the deck and continue dealing. Deal a further card on top of any Queen piles.

If this is a not a queen or an ace stop dealing. If it happens to be a queen, simply deal another further card. If it is an ace see Ace Cards and Pile Clearing below. The remaining cards are set aside and used as a draw pile. It is possible to get a situation where the deal cannot be completed. In this case it should be abandoned and re-dealt.

The Pile 'Orientation'

The type of royal on each pile determines the orientation of that pile. For example:

Player Turns

Each players turn consists of either:

Changing Pile 'Orientation'

A pile's orientation can only be changed in one of two ways:-

Ace Cards and Pile Clearing

If a player accordingly plays an ace card on top of a pile, that pile is removed, the cards are placed on the bottom of the draw pile and the player must play a royal from his/her hand to create a new pile. Hence a player must have a royal in his hand to be able to play an Ace. In the case of a Queen, the top card from the draw pile is turned over as normal. If an Ace card is turned onto a Queen in this manner, the pile is removed, the cards are placed on the bottom of the draw pile and cards from the top of draw pile dealt out until there is a royal on the top of the pile.

Winning the Game

The winner is the first player to play out all the cards from his hand.

Stalemate

In the unusual event that all aces are held, there are no more cards to draw/deal and no-one can make a legal move, the game should be abandoned and re-dealt.

Keeping Score

The winner scores a number of points equal to the total number of cards in the pile he/she last played on, and the other player scores points equal to the total number of cards in his/her hand and those left in both other piles. The player with the lowest number of points is the overall winner.

So for one game it is possible to win, yet score more points than your opponent, and hence lose.

Variants

Credits

Devised by Francis and Andy B.

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