MANIPULATION



OBJECTIVE OF MANIPULATION: Have the lowest score at the end of the game.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-5 players

MATERIALS: Two standard 52-card decks, and a flat surface.

TYPE OF GAME: Rummy Card Game

AUDIENCE: All Ages


OVERVIEW OF MANIPULATION

Manipulationis a rummy card game for 3 to 5 players. The goal of the game is to have the lowest score at the end of the game. Each round you will try to meld all the cards from your hand first.

SETUP

The first dealer is chosen at random. The dealer will shuffle the deck and deal each player a hand of 7 cards each.

All remaining cards form a stockpile to draw from.

CARD RANKINGS AND MELDS

The ranking is traditional. Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (low). Ace cannot be used as a low card.

Melds are used for this game. A meld is either a run or sequence of cards. For a sequence, you must have 3 or more cards of the same suit in ranking order. For runs, you need 3 or 4 cards of the same rank but they must all be of different suits.

GAMEPLAY

Manipulation begins with the player to the left of the dealer and passes clockwise. On each turn, players play cards from their hand to the table. Players must meld at least 1 card on their turn.

If you cannot meld on your turn you must draw, one card at a time, from the stockpile until you are able to meld a card.

You may make a new meld from your hand or add to any existing meld. You may also change and move around the melds in any way you see fit, as long as they all remain legal melds once done, and you added at least 1 card from your hand.

Once a player melds their last card from their hand the round ends.

SCORING

After the end of the round players with remaining cards in hand score penalty points. Aces are worth 15 points, 10s and face cards are all worth 10 points, and all other cards are worth 5 points. Scores are kept cumulatively over several rounds.

END OF GAME

The game ends when a player reaches either 200 or 300 points (chosen before the game begins). The player with the lowest score is the winner.

Amber Crook
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