Updated rules to the playing card game “Trades”
August 10th, 2008Alright, after some playing of the game, I’ve updated the rules to allow for a more balanced experience.
I have also removed Optional Trades from the game. They were rather ineffectual and we’re nearly always a bad move. I may add them in again if I find a way to balance them. I have also added the option to use one of your deck trades at the very end of the game, right after the timer ends. There are also a few more small rule changes in there. I’ve italicized the rule changes.
Here are the updated rules:
Trades: A card game for 3 or more players
Each player gets 7 cards. A time limit is chosen (5 minutes is standard). The goal of the game is to have the lowest total when you add up your cards at the end of the time limit. Aces count as one, jacks as 11, queens as 12, and kings as 13. You exchange cards by making trades.
There are three types of trades:
Mandatory Trade: You pick 2-4 cards from your hand and place them face down and declare who you want to trade with. However many cards you trade, you then pick half that many of your opponents (rounding down, eg. if you trade 3 cards, you choose 1, if you trade 4 cards, you choose 2) at random. They then pick half (rounding up) of their cards to make it so that an equal amount of cards are being traded both ways.
Trade with the Deck: You are limited in any given game of Trades to 3 Trades with the Deck, in which you choose one of your cards, put it at the bottom of the deck, then pick a card from the top and put it in your hand. If you save one of your deck trades until the end of the game, you can make one deck trade after regular trading has ended.
You can either take turns declaring trades, or you can make it a free-for-all where anyone can declare a trade at any time (if you declare a trade with someone who is already trading, your trade starts after theirs ends.) I’ve found that taking turns works best for groups of three players, and free-for-all works best with larger groups, especially when there are an even number of players, however, it is the choice of the players which one of these styles is used.
You cannot trade away the exact same cards you got in a previous trade (if you got 3 cards in your last trade, you can only trade away two of those cards during your next trade.) This rule keeps the same few cards from getting constantly passed around the table.
You cannot trade with the same person you just traded with, unless they have traded with someone else since your last trade.
The game ends when the time limit is reached. Any players who still have deck trades left can make one trade with the deck each at this point, as mentioned in the deck trade rules. Then the players add up their cards and the person with the lowest total wins.
This is still only a rough version of the rules. I’m probably going to continue to play-test it and improve it. If anyone plays the game and finds any loopholes in the rules, or any imbalance issues, then please comment on this thread for incorporation in the next version.
Hope you enjoy!
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