COURT



OBJECTIVE OF COURT: The player with the highest score after three rounds wins

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2 – 4 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: 54 cards

RANK OF CARDS: (low) 2 – Ace (high)

TYPE OF GAME: Card Drafting, Set Collection

AUDIENCE: Adults


INTRODUCTION OF COURT

Court is a card drafting and set collection game created by Scott Huntington.  Inspired by Sushi Go and 7 Wonders, Court is played with a standard deck of cards and two Jokers.  In this game, players are dealt a hand of cards.  They must choose one card from the hand and pass the rest to the left.  Hands are passed until all of the cards are chosen, and players are trying to build the best combinations possible. 

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

 Court uses a standard 52 card deck as well as two Jokers.  The starting hand size depends on the number of players.  In a two player game, deal 9 cards to each player.  For a three player game, deal 8 cards.  A four player game consists of a seven card hand.  Place the rest of the cards face down off to the side.  They will not be used for this round.

After each round is complete, all of the cards are collected and shuffled back into the deck for the new round.

THE PLAY

Each player chooses one card from their hand and holds it face down in front of them.  Once every player has selected a card, the chosen cards are revealed.  Players pass the rest of their hand to the left.

From their new hand, players pick another card, reveal it simultaneously, and pass the remaining cards to the left.  Continue this process until there are no more cards.

After playing a face card, a player can only choose another one if it finishes the pair.  Players are not allowed to begin a second pair until the first is complete.  For example, Player 1 chooses to keep the King of Spades.  They pass their hand to the left and receive a new group of cards from the opponent on their right.  They choose to keep the Queen of Hearts from that hand.  However, they must add the Queen of Hearts to their King of Spades.  They cannot use it to start a new pair. 

Once all of the cards have been chosen, it is time to tally up the score.

JOKERS

If a player chooses a Joker, they may exchange that Joker for two cards rather than one in a future hand.  The Joker is placed into the hand that the two cards were chosen from, and other players may use the Joker if they wish.

For example, Player 1 chooses the Joker and reveals it.  They pass their hand to the left and receive a new set of cards from the player on their right.  They see two cards they want in that hand.  They keep the two cards they want, reveal them, and place the Joker into that hand of cards before passing them left.

SCORING

Points are earned for creating specific card combinations.  Points are also earned for having the highest number card total in each suit.  Suit does not matter for the face card pairs.

King and Queen = 5 points

King and Jack = 4 points

Queen and Jack = 3 points

One Ace = 5 points

Two Aces = 3 points

Three Aces = 1 point

A player also earns 5 points for having the largest number card total in a single suit.  5 points are earned for each suit.

WINNING

The player with the highest score after 3 rounds wins the game.

Mark Ball
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