6 Forces
6 Forces Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- Trick Cards: 48 (cards numbered 1–12 in four colors)
- Trump Indicator Cards: 12 (4 sets of 3 double-sided cards)
- Chips: 15 (Front: Prediction Chip / Back: Flex Chip)
Setup
Place the chips in the center of the table. Give each player one set of Trump Indicator Cards (3 cards). Together, the front and back sides provide all six trump types. In a 3-player game, return the remaining set to the box.
Dealing the Cards
- 3 Players: Use only the Trick Cards numbered 1–9. Return the 10–12 cards to the box. Shuffle the remaining 36 Trick Cards face down and deal 12 cards to each player.
- 4 Players: Use all 48 Trick Cards. Shuffle them face down and deal 12 cards to each player.
Game Flow
Each game is divided into three phases: Planning, Trick Play, and Scoring. Play them in this order.
Choose a Starting Player using any method.
Planning
During the Planning phase, starting with the Starting Player and proceeding clockwise, each player chooses either Predict Tricks or Choose a Trump Indicator Card. After everyone has taken one turn, beginning again with the Starting Player, each player performs the action they did not choose the first time.
Predict Tricks
Predict how many tricks you will win in this game, then take that many chips. For example, if you think you will win 3 tricks, take 3 chips. If you think you will win 2 tricks, take 2 chips. Place them face up in front of you. If you think you will not win any tricks, announce "0" and do not take any chips.
You may turn exactly 1 chip face down to make your prediction more flexible.
For example, placing 3 Prediction Chips and 1 Flex Chip in front of you means you predict winning either 3 or 4 tricks. Placing only 1 Flex Chip means you predict winning either 0 or 1 trick.
If you win exactly the number of tricks you predicted, you score points. If you predicted correctly using only Prediction Chips, you score 4 points. If you predicted correctly using a Flex Chip, you score 2 points.
Note: If you predict 0 tricks, you must announce "0" since you do not take any chips. Also, if there are not enough chips remaining, you may predict only up to the number of chips left. (If no chips remain, you must predict 0 tricks.)
The number of chips is limited, so during the Planning phase, deciding whether to Predict Tricks or Choose a Trump Indicator Card first can be an important strategy.
Example: Player A predicts 2 tricks using 2 Prediction Chips. Player B predicts 3 tricks using 3 Prediction Chips. Player C predicts 2 or 3 tricks using 2 Prediction Chips and 1 Flex Chip. Player D predicts 1 or 2 tricks using 1 Prediction Chip and 1 Flex Chip.
Choose a Trump Indicator Card
Choose 1 of the 6 Trump Indicator Card types and place it face up in front of you. Your Trump Indicator Card determines which cards become trumps when you are the Leader (the player who leads the trick).
In a 3-player game, you may not choose a Trump Indicator Card type that another player has already chosen. In a 4-player game, up to two players may choose the same Trump Indicator Card type. However, there must be at least 3 different Trump Indicator Card types in play. Once two players have chosen the same type, the remaining players must choose from the types that have not yet been chosen.
Color Trump Indicator Cards
If you choose the Red, Yellow, Blue, or Green Trump Indicator Card, the corresponding color becomes trump and is the highest suit whenever you are the Leader.
Number Trump Indicator Cards
If you choose the High Numbers Trump Indicator Card, higher-numbered Trick Cards become stronger whenever you are the Leader.
If you choose the Low Numbers Trump Indicator Card, lower-numbered Trick Cards become stronger whenever you are the Leader.
Example: With the Low Numbers Trump Indicator Card, a 1 is stronger than a 2, which is stronger than a 12. With the High Numbers Trump Indicator Card, a 12 is stronger than a 1.
Trick Play
The Starting Player is the first Leader and starts the first trick. Beginning with the Leader and proceeding clockwise, each player plays 1 Trick Card.
The Leader may play any Trick Card from their hand. Each following player must play a Trick Card of the same color if they have one. If they do not have a card of the same color, they may play any Trick Card.
After all players have played 1 Trick Card, determine the winner by checking the Leader's Trump Indicator Card.
Determining the Winner
If the Leader's Trump Indicator Card is a Color Trump
- If no trump cards were played: The player who played the highest-numbered card of the same color as the Leader's card wins the trick.
- If one or more trump cards were played: The player who played the highest-numbered trump card wins the trick.
Example: The Leader plays a red 10. Player B plays a red 3, Player C plays a red 11, and Player D plays a red 5. No trump cards were played, so Player C wins the trick with the highest-numbered red card. (The Leader's Trump Indicator Card is a Red Color Trump.)
Example: The Leader plays a green 11 and the Leader's Trump Indicator Card is Yellow. Player B plays an orange 8, Player C plays an orange 4, and Player D plays a green 6. Player B wins the trick, as the highest-numbered yellow trump card. (Here the trump is Yellow, and the trump card is the highest-numbered Yellow card.)
If the Leader's Trump Indicator Card is a Number Trump
- If the Leader's Trump Indicator Card is "Highest": The player who played the highest-numbered Trick Card wins the trick, regardless of color. If two or more players played the same highest-numbered card, the player who played it later wins the trick.
- If the Leader's Trump Indicator Card is "Lowest": The player who played the lowest-numbered Trick Card wins the trick, regardless of color. If two or more players played the same lowest-numbered card, the player who played it later wins the trick.
Example: With the "Highest" Trump Indicator Card, the Leader plays a blue 10, Player B plays a blue 11, Player C plays a green 12, and Player D plays a blue 6. Player C wins the trick with the highest-numbered card.
Example: With the "Lowest" Trump Indicator Card, the Leader plays a red 2, Player B plays a blue 9, Player C plays a red 8, and Player D plays a red 1. Player D wins the trick with the lowest-numbered card.
After the winner of the trick is determined, they collect all the Trick Cards played, stack them face down, and place them in front of themselves. (Placing a Chip on top makes it easier to keep track of your progress.)
The winner of the trick becomes the next Leader. Repeat this until all players have played all of their Trick Cards, for a total of 12 tricks.
Scoring
After all tricks have been played, score points.
- If you predicted correctly without using a Flex Chip, score 4 points.
- If you predicted correctly using a Flex Chip, score 2 points.
- If the number of tricks you won does not match your prediction, lose 1 point for each trick of difference. If you used a Flex Chip, calculate the penalty using the smaller difference.
Scoring Examples
- 2 Prediction Chips / 2 tricks won: You predicted 2 tricks without using a Flex Chip and won exactly 2 tricks. 4 points.
- 3 Prediction Chips / 1 trick won: You predicted 3 tricks but won only 1 trick. The difference is 2. -2 points.
- 2 Prediction Chips + 1 Flex Chip / 3 tricks won: You predicted 2 or 3 tricks using a Flex Chip and won exactly 3 tricks. 2 points.
- 1 Prediction Chip + 1 Flex Chip / 0 tricks won: You predicted 1 or 2 tricks using a Flex Chip but won 0 tricks. The smaller difference is 1. -1 point.
Ending the Game
After scoring, the game ends and a new game begins.
Return all Chips to the center of the table. Collect all Trick Cards, shuffle them face down, and deal 12 cards to each player. The player to the left of the previous game's Starting Player becomes the new Starting Player, and begins with the Planning phase.
Repeat this until each player has been the Starting Player once (3 games with 3 players, 4 games with 4 players). The player with the highest score wins. If there is a tie, all tied players share the victory.