2013 · Card Game

Piles

Four players form two teams sitting opposite each other and receive ten cards each from a standard 52‑card deck; the remaining 12 cards are laid out in a 4×3 rectangle called the Castle. Players take turns placing one card onto any Castle pile, building stacks whose control is determined by the top card’s color. The opener’s first card assigns team colors for the hand: that team scores by capturing cards of the opposite color. Each card has an intrinsic rank value (Ace=1 to King=13). A Castle card’s total value equals its rank plus one for each adjacent neighbor of the same color and minus one for each neighbor of the opposite color. Players may always stack same‑color cards; opposite‑color cards may be played only if their intrinsic rank exceeds the current top card’s total value. A player may pass, in which case the opponent to their left randomly takes one of the passer’s cards to be added to captured piles. After ten turns (when initial hands are exhausted) play ends and each team collects piles topped by their color; captured opposite‑color cards inside those piles count for score. Card scoring: Ace=9, King=4, Queen=3, Jack=2, all others=1. The game can also be played by two players using the same rules, with remaining cards dealt when the initial ten are played.

groupPlayers

2–4 best 4

schedulePlaying time

15 min

cakeAge

6+