OBJECTIVE OF CAPTURE THE COMMANDER: Be the last player in the game with a Commander
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 – 4 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: 52 cards
RANK OF CARDS: (low) 2 – Ace (high)
TYPE OF GAME: War
AUDIENCE: Kids, Adults
INTRODUCTION OF CAPTURE THE COMMANDER
Capture the Commander, created by Danny and Isabella Bruggeling, is a game that mixes elements of War, Memory Match, and Pyramid Solitaire to create a unique card battling experience. To win, players must remember card placement and choose the correct cards from their own layout in order to win battles. During the war, players will work their way to their opponents’ Commander. The last player with a Commander wins the game.
THE CARDS & THE DEAL
Capture the Commander is played with a 52 card deck. Shuffle and deal thirteen to each player. Without looking at the cards, each player builds a pyramid layout. The pyramid starts with one card closest to the player, then a row of two, three, three again, and finally a row of four.
Card number thirteen is the player’s Commander.
THE PLAY
The player sitting to the left of the dealer goes first, and play continues that direction for the game.
COVERED & UNCOVERED CARDS
A card is considered covered when it is completely blocked by the cards in the above row. In the beginning of the game, all of the cards are covered except for one, two, three, and four.
Partially uncovered cards are only half blocked. In the picture below, card number six and seven are partially uncovered.
A card is completely uncovered when it has no cards from the above row blocking it. In the example below, cards two, four, and eight are completely uncovered.
ATTACKING
On a player’s turn, they attack an opponent of their choosing. To do so, the attacking player chooses a completely uncovered card from their layout as the attacking card. Next, they choose a completely uncovered or partially uncovered card that belongs to one of their opponents. Both players turn the cards over at the same time. The highest ranking card wins the battle. The loser’s card is taken from their layout. The winner flips their card face down again, so the rank of the card is hidden.
In the event of a tie, each player chooses an adjacent card to the one involved in the battle and flips it over at the same time. Whoever loses the battle removes all of the cards that have been flipped. If a player runs out of cards to flip during a battle, the battle ceases and the player with more cards wins.
Play like this continues until only one Commander remains.
WINNING
The last player to remain in the game with a Commander wins the game.
- TRIPLE SNAKES - February 15, 2021