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Goal

Be the first player with 21 points in cards in front of you. Each King you have in play lowers that total. You win the moment you reach it.

Cards

Use a standard 52-card deck without Jokers.

Ranking

For a scuttle, cards rank from the Ace, which is 1, up to the 10. Between two cards of the same rank, the suit decides. From low to high the suits are ♣, ♦, ♥, and ♠ (alphabetical order).

Starting hand

The dealer gets 6 cards and the other player 5. The rest of the cards are the face-down deck. Discarded cards go face up beside it in the scrap pile. The player with 5 cards goes first.

Play

1. Take one action a turn. Choose one of these:
   • Draw the top card of the deck.
   • Play a point card. Put an Ace to 10 face up in front of you. It’s worth its rank in points, and the Ace is 1.
   • Scuttle. Play an Ace to 10 from your hand onto one of your opponent’s point cards that it outranks. Both cards go to the scrap pile, with any Jacks on the target.
   • Play a Royal. Put a King, a Queen, or an 8 turned sideways in front of you, or put a Jack on one of your opponent’s point cards.
   • Play a one-off. Put an Ace to 7 or a 9 on the scrap pile for its effect.
   What each rank does is set out under Card abilities.
2. Counter with a 2. When your opponent plays a one-off, a Royal, or a Jack, you can counter it by putting a 2 from your hand and one more card of your choice on the scrap pile. The countered card goes to the scrap pile without taking effect. Your opponent can counter your 2 the same way, and so on. The card takes effect only if nobody countered, or if the counters were countered in turn. Point cards and scuttles can’t be countered, and nothing can be countered while its player has a Queen in play. With Classic 2s (see Variants), the 2 alone counters, and only a one-off.
3. The hand limit is 8. You can draw while holding 8, but whenever your action leaves you with more than 8, discard down to 8 before your turn ends.
4. When the deck runs out, both players play with their hands face up, and you can pass instead of taking an action. Three passes in a row end the game. The player with more points in play wins, and equal points is a draw.

Card abilities

Any Ace to 10 can be played for points or used to scuttle instead of for its effect. A one-off goes to the scrap pile once its effect is done. A Royal stays in play until something scraps it. The picture beside each rank is the one in the corner of that card.

• Ace, one-off. Scrap every point card in play, yours too, with any Jacks on them.
• 2, one-off. Scrap one of your opponent’s Royals, or the top Jack on a card they control. A 2 is also the counter.
• 3, one-off. Take any card except a 3 from the scrap pile into your hand.
• 4, one-off. Your opponent discards 2 cards of their choice, or their last card if they hold only 1.
• 5, one-off. Discard 1 card, then draw 3. If the 5 is your last card, just draw 3.
• 6, one-off. Scrap every Royal in play, yours too, and every Jack. Each stolen card goes back to the player who played it for points.
• 7, one-off. Turn up the top 2 cards of the deck and play one of them in any way it can be played. Put the other back on top of the deck. If neither can be played, which happens only with Jacks that have nothing to steal, scrap one of them.
• 8, Royal, played sideways as Glasses. Your opponent plays with their hand face up to you.
• 9, one-off. Put one of your opponent’s cards in play on top of the deck, where it’s the next card drawn. On a stolen card, only the top Jack goes, and the card goes back to the player before.
• 10. No effect. It can only be played for points or used to scuttle.
• Jack, Royal. Put it on one of your opponent’s point cards to take control of it and its points. A Jack can go on a card that already has one, and the top Jack decides who controls it. When the point card is scrapped, its Jacks go with it.
• Queen, Royal. Your other cards in play can’t be the target of a 2, a 9, or a Jack, and nothing you play can be countered. A single Queen doesn’t protect herself, but two Queens protect each other. A Queen doesn’t stop a scuttle, an Ace, or a 6.
• King, Royal. You need fewer points to win: 14 with 1 King, 10 with 2, 5 with 3, and 0 with 4, which wins at once.

Examples

Each example starts on your turn, under the default counter rule, which costs one more card. Each strip shows the cards in the order they’re played.

• Your one-off is countered Your opponent has the K♠ in play and a J♣ on your 7♥. You play the 6♦ as a one-off. Your opponent counters, putting the 2♣ and the 3♥ on the scrap pile, so the 6♦ goes there too without taking effect. The K♠ and the J♣ stay.
• You counter back If you then counter with the 2♦ and the 4♣, the 6♦ takes effect after all. The K♠ and the J♣ go to the scrap pile, and the 7♥ is yours again.
• A Queen stops counters With your Q♥ in play, you play the 9♠ as a one-off on your opponent’s 10♣. They hold a 2, but nothing you play can be countered, so the 10♣ goes on top of the deck.
• A scuttle by suit Your 9♥ scuttles your opponent’s 9♦, because hearts outrank diamonds, and both go to the scrap pile. Their Q♣ doesn’t stop a scuttle. A 9♦ couldn’t scuttle a 9♥.

Variants

Twinned plays. During your turn, before or between anything else, you can play 2 cards of the same rank for that rank’s effect, once, and still take your action. You can do this more than once a turn, and any rank but the 10 can be twinned. A twinned one-off scraps both cards. A twinned Royal or Jack puts one card into play and scraps the other. A 2 can counter a twin as usual, and you keep your action whether it’s countered or not.

Micro. Play with only these 16 cards: A, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 9, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, J, Q, and K, with the cards of a rank in different suits. Deal 8 to each player. There’s no deck, so both hands are face up for the whole game and you can pass. The goal is still 21.

Micro with Jokers. Each player also gets a Joker, and the hand limit is 9. A Joker can only be played as a one-off, and only when the scrap pile has cards in it. Shuffle the scrap pile to make a new face-down deck, then draw 1 card. Hands stay face up.

Classic 2s. The published counter rule. A 2 counters a one-off by itself, with no extra discard, so a single card in hand is enough. Royals (an 8 as Glasses, a Jack, a Queen, or a King) can’t be countered and take effect at once. A 2 can still scrap a Royal as a one-off on your turn, and that one-off can be countered. Works with every other option.

How this version differs

• Countering costs an extra card. You discard one more card with the 2. The published rules use the 2 alone. The Classic 2s option plays the published rule.
• A 2 can counter a Royal or a Jack. The published rules let a 2 counter only a one-off. The Classic 2s option plays the published rule.
• You can draw while holding 8 cards, and then discard down to 8. The published rules don’t let you draw at the hand limit.
• A 9 puts the card on top of the deck. The published rules return it to its owner’s hand.
• Hands are face up once the deck is empty. The published rules keep them hidden.
• Three passes in a row go to the player with more points. The published rules make it a draw whatever the points.