1963

Abbott's New Card Games

2–40 jugadores 30 min A partir de 10 años 1.8/5 de complejidad 5.5/10 de valoración

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This book contains nine new card games mostly played with a regular deck. Some of these games were also published separately. Babel - A real time party game that simulates the stock market. This can play a large number of people as long as you have enough card decks to pull it off (1/3 the number of players) Leopard - A card game that allows you to sabotage your opponent. Auction - An auction game where the playing cards are money. Variety - A game that uses bidding to counteract the possibility of getting a bad hand. Metamorphosis - A trick taking game where the rules change each hand. Switch - A partnership game where the partners switch every hand. Eleusis - An induction game. Construction - A board game where the board is built with cards. Ultima - A fast action chess variant.

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Preparación

1. Gather two standard 52-card decks. Set one full deck aside as the play deck.\n2. Each player takes the Ace, 2, 3, and 4 of any one suit from the second deck as their personal 'indicator' cards. The remaining cards of the second deck are not used.\n3. Cut the play deck for deal — highest card drawn becomes the dealer (Ace is high). Re-draw on ties among tied players.\n4. Deal 12 cards to each player from the play deck.\n5. Place the remaining cards face down as the stock pile.\n6. Each player keeps their 4 indicator cards separate from their dealt hand.

Flujo del turno

Each game consists of sets; each set consists of four hands. Before each hand, players secretly place an indicator card face-down to predict which hand they expect to win, then reveal simultaneously. Each hand is a full trick-taking round where players must follow suit if able, and the winner of each trick leads the next. Cards won in tricks become the player's hand for the following hand, after equalization to 12 cards. Scores are tallied after all four hands, with a bonus for correctly predicting the hand you win outright.

Puntuación y victoria

Cumulative points across all hands and sets. Highest total score wins. Fuentes de puntuación: Hand 1: −4 points per club taken in tricks, Hand 2: +3 points per heart taken in tricks, Hand 3: −1 point per card taken in tricks, Hand 4: +4 points per spade taken in tricks, Indicator bonus: +10 points for outright winning (not tying) the hand you predicted

Fuente: Rulebook

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Las reglas más útiles para jugar bien la primera partida.

Setup

Two decks are needed: one full 52-card play deck and one used only for indicator cards.

Metamorphosis requires two standard 52-card decks. The first full deck is used for play. From the second deck, each player takes the Ace, 2, 3, and 4 of any one suit as their personal indicator cards. All remaining cards from the second deck are set aside and not used during the game.

Setup

Cut for deal; highest card wins. Each player is dealt 12 cards; remainder forms the stock pile.

Players cut the 52-card play deck; the player drawing the highest card becomes the dealer (Ace is high). If two or more players draw the same highest card, those players draw again until a single dealer is determined. The dealer deals 12 cards to each player. The remaining cards are placed face down in the center of the table to form the stock pile.

Special

Before play begins, each player secretly places an indicator card face-down to predict which of the four hands they will win.

Each player holds four indicator cards: Ace (Hand 1), 2 (Hand 2), 3 (Hand 3), and 4 (Hand 4). After examining their dealt hand, each player secretly selects the indicator card corresponding to the hand they believe they have the best chance of winning outright, and places it face-down in front of them. Once all players have placed a card, all indicator cards are flipped face-up simultaneously. The indicator cards are then set aside but remain visible throughout the set to remind players of their chosen hand.

Scoring

A player earns a +10 bonus if they win outright (not tied) in the hand they indicated.

After all four hands of a set are played, any player who achieved the highest score in the specific hand they selected with their indicator card receives a bonus of +10 points. This bonus is only awarded for an outright win — if the player ties with any other player for the best score in that hand, no bonus is given.

Turn structure

Each trick: the leader plays a card face-up; all others must follow suit if able; highest card of the suit led wins, unless a trump card was played.

To start a trick, the current leader plays any card from their hand face-up to the center of the table. Each other player, in clockwise order, plays one card. A player must follow suit (play a card matching the suit of the led card) if they have one. If they have no card of the led suit, they may play any card. The player who played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick — unless one or more trump cards were played, in which case the highest trump card wins. The winner of a trick leads the next trick. Cards won in tricks are kept face-down and become the player's hand for the next hand in the set.

Restriction

A player is never forced to play a trump card, even when void in the led suit.

When a player has no cards in the suit that was led, they may play any card from their hand — including a trump card — but they are not obligated to play a trump. For example, if hearts are trump and a spade is led, a player with no spades may choose to play a heart (possibly winning the trick) or may play a diamond or club (losing the trick). The choice is entirely strategic.

Turn structure

Hand 1: No trump. Every club taken scores −4 points against the taker.

Hand 1 is played with no trump suit. The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick. After all tricks are played, each player counts the number of clubs in the tricks they won. Each club scores −4 points against that player. No other cards score in this hand. After scoring, each player takes all the cards they won in tricks and uses them as their hand for Hand 2.

Turn structure

Hand 2: Diamonds are trump. Every heart taken scores +3 points for the taker.

Hand 2 is played with diamonds as the trump suit. The same player who led first in Hand 1 leads first in Hand 2. After all tricks are played, each player counts the hearts in the tricks they won. Each heart scores +3 points for that player. No other cards score in this hand. After scoring, each player takes all the cards they won and uses them as their hand for Hand 3.

Informe estratégico

Indicator Card Prediction

Choose your indicator hand based on your dealt cards' composition, not just your strongest hand in isolation. If your hand is rich in clubs, Hand 1 is dangerous (−4 per club). If you hold many hearts, Hand 2 (diamonds trump, +3 per heart) is your target — and you can use diamonds to trump in and win hearts. Remember: you only get the +10 bonus for an outright win, so consider what opponents are likely to pick and whether you can win yours with a margin.

Cross-Hand Card Management

Cards won in one hand become your hand for the next. In Hand 1, deliberately losing tricks keeps you from accumulating clubs (−4 each) but also leaves you with fewer cards, forcing you to draw blindly in Hand 2 equalization. Sometimes taking in clubs is worth it if you win valuable non-club cards for Hand 2. Balance short-term penalty against long-hand curation.

Hand 2 Discarding Strategy

Before Hand 2, if you have more than 12 cards you discard privately. This is a powerful moment: strip out clubs (useless in Hand 2), low non-heart cards, and keep high hearts and diamonds (trump). Your opponents don't see your discards, so you can radically reshape your hand.

Hand 3 Avoidance Strategy

Hand 3 penalizes every card taken (−1 per card). This incentivizes losing all or most tricks. However, going into Hand 4, you'll have very few cards and must draw randomly (Old Maid–style) from opponents before Hand 3's equalization. But note: Hand 4's equalization uses the stock, so surviving with a good hand through Hand 3 pays off in Hand 4 discard control.

Hand 4 Spade Hunting

Hand 4 rewards spades (+4 each). Enter Hand 4 equalization by strategically discarding non-spades to concentrate spades in your hand. Because equalization uses private draws/discards (same as Hand 2), you can shape a spade-heavy hand. Control of high spades guarantees trick wins that score heavily.

Lead Order Awareness

Leading first is a structural advantage in no-trump hands (you dictate suit). In Hand 1, the dealer's left neighbor leads — a slight edge. In Hand 3 and 4, leadership shifts one seat left. Knowing who leads helps you plan whether to be aggressive or passive in preceding hands.

Preguntas frecuentes y casos límite

A player takes a trick in Hand 2 that contains both hearts and clubs. Do they score for the clubs?

No. In Hand 2, only hearts score — each heart is worth +3. Clubs have no scoring value in Hand 2. Only in Hand 1 do clubs matter (−4 each).

Smith picks Hand 2 with his indicator card and scores +15 in that hand, but Jones also scores +15 in Hand 2. Does Smith get the bonus?

No. The +10 bonus requires an outright win in the indicated hand. If any other player ties for the best score in that hand, no bonus is awarded to anyone who tied.

In Hand 2 (diamonds trump), a spade is led and a player has no spades but does have diamonds. Must they play a diamond?

No. A player who cannot follow suit may play any card they choose, including a trump (diamond) or a non-trump. Playing trump is optional, not mandatory.

Before Hand 3, a player has fewer than 12 cards. Can they draw from the stock pile?

No. The equalization method for Hand 3 is different from Hands 2 and 4. Players with fewer than 12 must blindly draw from the hand of a player who has more than 12, Old Maid–style. The stock pile is not used for Hand 3 equalization.

Before Hand 4, the stock pile runs out while one player is drawing and another still needs to discard. When does the discard pile get reshuffled?

The discard pile is reshuffled into a new stock pile before any new discards are added. Players who need to draw do so first (even if they get fewer cards initially), and the discarding player adds to the pile afterward. In a 3-player game, if both piles don't cover all draws, drawing players take what's available and draw the remainder after the discarding player adds cards.

A player avoids taking clubs in Hand 1 to minimize penalty. Does that strategy interact with Hand 4?

Indirectly yes. Avoiding clubs in Hand 1 means winning fewer tricks overall, leaving fewer cards for Hand 2. After equalization, all suits are possible. Spades (Hand 4's scoring suit) are entirely unrelated to clubs, but the cards won/lost across hands shape what remains for equalization in Hands 2 and 4.

After indicator cards are revealed, are they kept visible for the rest of the set?

Yes. After being revealed, indicator cards are set aside but remain visible to all players throughout the set, so everyone knows which hand each player is targeting for the bonus.

Who leads the next trick within a hand?

The player who wins a trick leads the first card to the next trick. This applies in all four hands.