Suitmatch

Contributed by Adrian Morgan

The inventor's opinion of this game has changed since inventing it more than a decade ago. In a blog entry dated November 2006, he looks back at the game and discusses its merits and weaknesses from the perspective of greater hindsight and maturity.

What you need

• Any number of players, but works best with a small group.
• Standard pack, no Jokers. Keep a spare pack handy if more than four people are playing.

General Rules

• The person having their turn is called the TURNOR (or Turnip if you prefer!!)
• The person immediately left of the Turnor is the LEFTOR.
• Play rotates anticlockwise, so a Turnor becomes a Leftor in the next turn.
• Values for non-numeric cards are Ace = 1, Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13

Setting Up

• Deal out 7 cards to each player.
• The rest of the cards become a stock.

Step 1 of a Turn

• Does the Turnor have any cards left?
  If NO =>
  • The Turnor wins.
  If YES =>
  • The Turnor passes a card face up to the Leftor, who accepts it.

Step 2 of a Turn

• The Leftor chooses between two options (Or is guided by circumstances!!)
  Option A =>
  • The Leftor passes to the Turnor one or more other cards with TOTAL VALUE equal to that of the card passed by the Turnor. (e.g. if the Turnor passed a Jack, the Leftor may pass two fives and an ace)
  • The Leftor places (_at option_) UP TO THREE CARDS underneath the stock.
  Option B =>
  • The Leftor picks up FIVE CARDS from the top of the stock.

Step 3 of a Turn

• The Turnor places (_at option_) any Aces and Two's underneath the stock.

Step 4 of a Turn

• Does the Turnor have an EQUAL NUMBER of cards in ALL four suits? (i.e. no cards in any suit, or one card in each suit, or two cards in each suit, etc)
  If YES =>
  • The Turnor wins.
  If No =>
  • End of turn. Play rotates anticlockwise as stated before.