OBJECTIVE OF SOLO LIGHTS: Complete five strands of lights before Santa arrives
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 1 player
CONTENTS: 18 pattern cards, 42 bulb cards, 5 character cards, 5 plugs, 5 broken bulbs, 3 bubble bulbs, 4 event cards
TYPE OF GAME: Solitaire Card Game
AUDIENCE: Ages 10+
INTRODUCTION OF SOLO LIGHTS
Solo Lights is a solitaire card game that uses the Christmas Lights Card Game contents. In this game, you are trying to fix broken bulbs and complete five strands of lights. Each completed strand will need to be connected to the next with a plug, and the game must be completed before Santa’s character card is revealed.
THE CARDS & SETUP
This game uses components from the Christmas Lights Card Game. First, shuffle together the 42 color bulbs and 5 plugs. Draw five cards to form your starting hand.
Now, shuffle presents, bubble bulbs (which are wild cards), broken bulbs, and the power outage card into the deck.
Choose five character cards that you’d like to use. One of the cards must be Santa. These five cards are used as a time for the game. Make sure Santa is at the bottom of the pile and place the pile face down on the table.
From the 18 pattern card deck, draw two. Choose the one you’d like to start the game with and discard the other.
THE PLAY
Begin the game by playing one card from your hand to the table in order to start your first strand of lights. Immediately draw a card from the deck. Continue doing this until you have created a strand that matches the pattern on the pattern card. Bulbs can be played in any order, and bubble bulbs can be used to represent any color on the strand. Continue doing this until you can no longer play a bulb.
If you cannot play a bulb, you must choose a card to discard from your hand and draw another one from the draw pile.
PRESENT CARDS
When you draw a present card from the deck, you get to add another pattern card. Flip the top pattern card over from the pattern card deck. Now you have more than one option.
FINISHING A PATTERN
One you have completed a strand that matches your pattern card, flip the pattern card over and draw a new one from the deck. Strands of lights are connected by plugs. You cannot start working on your next pattern until you play a plug card.
BROKEN BULBS & POWER OUTAGE
Whenever you draw a broken bulb card from the deck, you must turn over the top card of your character card pile. Once the final card, Santa, is revealed, the game is over.
If you draw the power outage card, you must discard all of the cards in your hand and draw five new cards.
BUBBLE BULBS
Bubble bulb cards are wild. They may be used as any color bulb, a plug, or they can be discarded in order to place a character card back on the character deck.
WINNING
The game is won if you connect five strands of lights with four plugs before the Santa card is revealed.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021