OBJECTIVE OF DUBITO: Be the player with the highest score at the end of the game
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 – 4 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: 104 playing cards
RANK OF CARDS: (low) Ace – King (high)
TYPE OF GAME: Tableau building
AUDIENCE: Kids, Adults
INTRODUCTION OF DUBITO
Dubito, which is Latin for hesitate, is a Reiner Knizia card game for 1 to 4 players. In this game, players are challenged with the task of building out a tableau. Each row of the tableau must follow a specific rule, and players are trying to play as many cards as possible. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
THE CARDS & THE DEAL
To play this game with up to four players, two standard 52 card French decks will be needed. For games with five or six players, add an additional deck. Shuffle all of the cards together and deal out eight cards to each player one at a time. The remaining cards are placed in the center of the playing space as a draw pile. The player seated to the left of the dealer goes first.
THE PLAY
Each turn, players will choose one card from their hand to add to their tableau. A tableau consists of four rows. Each row follows a specific rule and can contain as many cards as a player is able to play on it. During the beginning turns of a game, players should clearly state on which row they are playing the card. Once all four rows have been established, it is no longer necessary to identify the placement. Rows are built from left to right.
Rules for the rows include:
Row 1: Cards must be played in ascending order (Aces are low, Kings are high)
Row 2: Cards played to this row must match in suit, rank does not matter
Row 3: Cards must match in suit and be played in ascending order
Row 4: Cards must have the same rank (all Kings, or all 8’s for example)
Once a person has played a card, they draw one from the draw pile. This ends their turn. Play like this continues until players are unable to add cards to their tableau. Once a player is no longer able to add any cards to their tableau, they are done for the game. The game ends after the final player is no longer able to play any cards.
SCORING
Points are earned based on the amount of cards in each row. Each row has its own value. Points are awarded as follows:
Row 1 = 1 point per card in the row
Row 2 = 2 points per card in the row
Row 3 = 3 points per card in the row
Row 4 = 4 points per card in the row
WINNING
The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021