8 1/2
8 1/2 Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Game Contents
The game contains: Cards 1, 2 - 4 times each. Cards 0, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 - 6 times each. Cards Half, Ghost - 8 times each. 72 cards in total.
Dealing the Cards
Shuffle all the cards thoroughly and deal the entire deck equally among the players. (Do not mind if one or two players are dealt an extra card.) Each player keeps his cards in a face down pile. This is his Bank - A personal draw pile.
Before starting to play, each player places in front of him 6 cards in the following way: Take the top 3 cards from your Bank and place them in front of you face-down. These are called: The Blind Cards. Take 3 more cards from your Bank and this time place them face up, one on each of the 3 Blind Cards - these cards are called: The Open Cards. Then, draw 3 more cards and hold them in your hand.
During the game the players must always keep 3 cards in their hands, among which they choose the one to play. After playing, the players must draw from their Bank to replenish their hands to 3.
A player may not use the cards on the table until he got rid of all the cards in his Bank as well as the last 3 cards in his hand.
Rules of the Game
The honor of opening the first round is given to the player who holds the lowest yellow card in his hand. This player places that card in the center to start a discard pile. Each player in his turn, (going clockwise), must discard of one card onto the discard pile. This card can be any card as long as it is higher than or equal to the top number in the discard pile.
A player who holds several identical cards may use them all in one turn.
The player may also use one of the Wild Cards: which can be used on almost any number. A player who cannot play must collect the discard pile - He takes these cards and puts them aside. These cards will not be played anymore but they will be counted against him at the end of the game. After a player collects the discard pile, the next player starts a new pile, using any card from his hand.
The 3 Wild Cards
Ghost
The Ghost can be played on any number. It is a "transparant" card that leaves the discard pile unchanged. The next player should refer to the card underneath.
Half
Half may be played on any number except "Eight and a Half" (See later). It "sticks" to the number on which it is played and raises the discard pile by half.
Zero
0 can be played on any whole number. It zeros the discard pile and the next player may play any number. 0 cannot be played when the discard pile is not a whole number. (A "Numbwr and a Half").
Special Cases of the Discard Pile
The Rule of the Policeman
A player who caused the discard pile to become a "Number and a Half", or passed such pile on with a Ghost, commits a 'felony' and may be caught and penalized. The chance of 'catching the felon' is in the hands of the next player who may do so by playing a Policeman card. The Policeman is not a special card but is always the next whole number after any "Number and Half" in the discard pile (i.e. 4 is the Policeman for "Three and a Half", 7 is the Policeman for "Six and a Half", etc.) A 'felon' who is caught must collect the pile and the catcher starts a new pile.
Note that catching the 'felon' is not obligatory and the next player may play ANY other legitimate number. In this case the 'felon' gets away and the game continues as usual.
The Rules of Eight and a Half
- A player who has both cards: Card 8 and card Half, may discard of both at the same time to form "Eight and Half" in the pile.
- When the discard pile is "Eight and Half", the next player cannot play Half as well as Zero. The only possible plays are: Ghost, 8 + Half, and of course 9, which is the Policeman of "Eight and Half".
Five
When the discard pile is "Five" the next player, and only him must play 5 or lower. 5 is not a wild card and can be played only on "Five" or lower.
Nine
The card 9 is red to indicate that it is the highest number-card and to distinguish it clearly from the card 6. Note that when the discard pile is "Nine", players may still play: 9, 0, Ghost and even raise with Halves.
When a Player Runs Out of the Cards in his Bank
When a player runs out of the cards in his Bank he keeps playing the last 3 cards in his hand and only after he got rid of the last one he may play the cards on the table. First he must play all the 3 Open Cards (They stay on the table and in each turn he selects the one to play). Only after all the Open Cards have been played, a player may play the 3 Blind Cards. They are left face down and in each turn one is selected blindly and played. If it was a "good" card, the turn goes to the next player, but if was not, he must collect the pile including his Blind Card.
After a player has started to play from the table, each time he is forced to collect the pile he must take those cards into his hand. (He might have to hold more than 3 cards). He must get rid of his hand before he may resume playing from the table. The cards he has collected before he started playing from the table stay aside.
The End of the Game
The winner is the first to get rid of all his cards. The one who ends up with the most cards in his possession among the rest of the players is the Big Loser. (Counting the cards collected and the cards that still haven't been played). In the next round, the winner will have the right to exchange one of his Open Cards with one of the Open Cards of the Big Loser.
Scoring
The winner gets 2 points. The one who ended up with the fewest cards gets 1 point. If the winner himself ends up with the fewest cards, he gets 3 points.