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Goal

Win battle cards over 3 rounds. Each battle card is worth victory points (VP), and the player with more VP after round 3 wins.

Cards

Use a standard 52-card deck and 2 Jokers. The 2 Jokers and the A♠, J♠, Q♠, and K♠ are the battle deck. Shuffle it face down. The other 48 cards are the draw deck, and the only spades in it are the 2 to 10.

• Each Joker is worth 1 VP.
• The J♠ and Q♠ are worth 2 VP each.
• The K♠ and A♠ are worth 3 VP each.

Starting hand

Shuffle the draw deck and deal 10 cards to each player.

Setup

Each round, turn up battle cards from the battle deck: 1 in round 1, 2 in round 2, and 3 in round 3. Each battle card is a separate battle. At the start of rounds 2 and 3, each player also draws 6 cards and adds them to the cards they kept.

Play

1. Commit one card, or pass. Players take turns. On your turn, add one card from your hand to your side of any battle. Each side of a battle has three stacks, one each for hearts, clubs, and diamonds, and a card goes on its own suit’s stack. Aces, face cards, and spades follow the rules under Card abilities.
2. Passing is for the whole round. Once you pass, you play no more cards this round. The other player can then play as many cards as they like, one at a time, before passing too.
3. Score the battles. When both players have passed, score every battle, then discard every card committed this round. Cards still in your hand carry over to the next round.
4. Who starts. In rounds 2 and 3 the player with more VP starts. With equal VP, the player who started round 1 starts.

Scoring

Score each battle on its own. A stack’s value is the total of its cards.

• Each suit goes to the player whose stack in that suit has the higher value. Equal stacks win the suit for nobody.
• The player who wins more suits takes the battle card and its VP.
• If both players win the same number of suits, the player with the higher value across all three of their stacks takes the battle card. If that’s equal too, the battle card is discarded.

After round 3, the player with more VP wins. Equal VP is a draw.

Card abilities

• Number cards are worth their face value.
• Aces are worth 1. An Ace must go on the other player’s side, on its own suit’s stack at a battle you choose, and you draw a card from the draw deck.
• Face cards are worth 0 and go on their own suit’s stack on your side.
• Jack: move the whole stack it joins, the Jack included, onto your stack of the same suit at another battle, on top of any cards already there. You must move it when there’s another battle. In round 1 there isn’t, and the Jack only adds 0.
• Queen: discard the stack she joins, the Queen included, and the other player’s stack of the same suit at that battle.
• King: doubles the value of every card below it in its stack. Cards played on top of it aren’t doubled.
• Spades are wild. Add a spade to whichever of your three stacks at a battle you choose. From then on it belongs to that stack, so a King doubles it and a Queen discards it.

Examples

• Your stacks: 10, 14, and 6 Your stacks are below the battle card, the Q♠. Your hearts are the 8♥ and the 2♥, worth 10. Your clubs are the 3♣, the 4♠, and the K♣: the 4♠ is wild and joined your clubs, and the King doubles both cards below it, so 6 + 8 = 14. Your diamonds are the 6♦, worth 6.
• Your opponent’s stacks: 10, 9, and 8 Your opponent’s stacks are above it. Their hearts are the 10♥, worth 10, their clubs the 9♣, worth 9, and their diamonds the 5♦ and the 3♦, worth 8.
• You take the Q♠ Hearts are equal at 10, so nobody wins them. You win clubs, 14 to 9, and your opponent wins diamonds, 8 to 6. With 1 suit each, the higher value across all three stacks takes the battle card, your 30 against 27. You take the Q♠ and its 2 VP.

  10 9 8 10 14 6

Playing with your own deck

Keep the battle cards you win face up in front of you, and note who started round 1, which settles who starts later rounds when the VP are equal.