Bridge City Poker
Bridge City Poker Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Ancestors of Bridge City Poker
Climbing Games
Games in which players must play increasingly valuable sets of cards or pass.
Shedding Games
Games in which players win by emptying their hand of cards.
Trick-Taking Games
Games in which players play cards into a central pool, or "trick." The player who plays the highest card or cards "takes" the trick.
Credits
Designer Lee Gianou
Developers Brandon Coonrod, Taylor Reiner, Kaitlyn Beebe, Caleb Sohigian
Graphic Design Shea Satterlee & Caleb Sohigian
Special thanks to our playtesters, our Discord server, and Ty and Alex at Cloud Cap Games in Portland.
Components
- 60 Bridge Cards in 4 suits, numbered 0 to 14 (the four bridge suits are Tilikum Crossing, Fremont, Hawthorne, and St. John's)
- 27 Power Cards, including 2 "Team Only" Power Cards marked with a feather icon
- 4 double-sided player aides
Power Card Anatomy
Each Power Card shows:
- Icon — a small symbol identifying the card
- Points — the point value of the card
- Title — the card's name
- Card Description — how the card's effect works
- Setup Indicator — a symbol showing whether the card is recommended for a first game
- How this card can be played — a symbol explaining the card's play restrictions
The "how this card can be played" symbols are:
- A crescent-moon icon: this Power Card is played alone as your action during the Trick Phase
- A card-with-crescent-moon icon: this Power Card must be played with a meld
- A card-with-crescent-moon-or-alone icon: this Power Card may be played with a meld or alone
- A crown icon: this Power Card can only be played if you have the lead
The setup indicator symbols are:
- A gear/starburst icon: Starter card
- A feather icon: Team only
Setup
- Find your player count on the chart below and set up your deck accordingly.
- Remove the two "Team Only" Power Cards marked with a feather icon from the Power Card deck (see: Variants). Shuffle the remaining Power Cards and reveal five. (For your first game, we recommend using the cards marked with the starter-card icon: HALT, CYCLE, FOLLOW, DITCH and WILD.)
- Shuffle the five selected Power Cards with the Bridge Cards to form a single deck.
- The dealer is the player who most recently crossed a bridge (physically or metaphorically). Deal cards according to the chart below.
- The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick.
| Player Count | Cards in Deck | Hand Size | Rounds of Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 players | 1-12 | 11 cards | 3 rounds* |
| 3 players | 1-14 | 9 cards | 3 rounds |
| 4 players | 0-14 | 7 cards | 4 rounds |
*In a two player game, the leader of the final round is the player with the fewest points.
Phases of a Round
Rounds are played over a series of tricks. Each player will have a single opportunity to play during each Trick Phase. After each Trick Phase is a Draw Phase, then a Cleanup Phase.
1. Trick Phase
The first player leads the trick by playing a meld of one or more cards, playing a Power Card or discarding a Power Card. The lead player can not pass. Then, each of the players in clockwise order chooses one of the following four actions:
Play a Meld. Your meld must be the same type as the lead meld, and must be of equal or greater value. To follow a run, your run must use the same amount of cards of the same or higher value. Suits are only relevant in determining flushes. (Some Power Cards can be played with melds. These will often edit the cards in the meld, and can only be played if the resulting meld would be a legal one.)
Play a Power Card. Some power cards may (or must) be played alone. Resolve their effect immediately (see the Power Card anatomy on page 3).
Discard Power Cards. A player who chooses this action discards one or more Power Cards from their hand with no effect. They will draw one card during the Draw Phase (or two cards in a two player game).
Pass. A passing player simply announces they will pass, and play continues with the next player (they will draw two cards during the Draw Phase).
Lee leads with a pair of 8s. Taylor follows with another pair of 8s. Brandon plays a 14 and pairs it with the WILD power card, making it a 14 as well. Caleb doesn't have an equal or higher pair, so he passes.
After each player has taken an action, the player who played the highest version of the lead meld wins the trick, with ties going to the player who played last.
2. Draw Phase
After the trick, those who played into the trick and lost, draw one card. Those who passed draw two. Those who discarded Power Cards draw one. If there aren't enough cards for everyone to draw, no one draws. The winner of the trick leads the next trick.
In a two player game, a losing player draws two, while a passing player draws three.
In the previous example, Lee and Taylor draw one card each, and Caleb draws two. Brandon keeps the WILD power card face up in front of himself, then leads the next trick.
3. Cleanup Phase
Players keep their played Power Cards face up in front of themselves. All other played cards are discarded. The winner of the trick leads the next trick.
Melds
- Single — One card
- Pair — Two cards of equal rank
- Triple — Three cards of equal rank
- Full House — A triple and a pair (the triple determines meld strength)
- Run — Three, four, or five cards in sequential order
- Flush — Five cards of a single suit
Wrapping It Up
Ending a Round
The hand can end in one of two ways:
Shedding. A player plays all cards from their hand during a trick, finish that trick. Skip the Draw Phase. Then, proceed to scoring.
OR
Decking. During the Draw Phase, when there aren't enough cards for everyone to draw, discard the remaining draw pile instead. Play a final trick, skipping the draw phase. (In case of the deck being depleted perfectly during the Draw Phase, play two more tricks to finish the round.) Proceed to scoring.
Below is Shea's hand at the end of a round. She decides to discard her three Tilikum cards, as well as her unplayed CYCLE Power Card. This leaves her with 8+2=10 points, plus the point value of any power cards she played during the round.
Scoring
If a player sheds-out, they receive the point values of their scored power cards and a bonus -5 for shedding out.
All other players "burn a bridge" by discarding all cards of a chosen suit from their hand. Discard all unplayed Power Cards. The point values of played power cards (those left face up in front of players) are counted, and bridge cards remaining in hand are worth their printed value. Unplayed power cards are worth zero points.
If there are more rounds of play, the dealer rotates to the left (see the chart on page 4). Proceed to the next round.
In a two player game, the leader of the final round is the player with the fewest points.
After the final round, the player with the lowest score is the winner. (In case of a tie, play another round, with the player with the highest score leading).
Variants
We've Got the Power
Instead of choosing just five Power Cards for the entire game, draw and reveal five new Power Cards each round to mix it up! Remove the Power Cards used in previous rounds from the game.
Four Player Team Play
(Change the following rules, all others remain the same. Partners cannot communicate about the contents of their hands.)
Setup. Sit opposite of your teammate at the table. Use the two "Team Only" Power Cards marked with a feather icon and three basic Power Cards. Setup the deck and deal as you would in a four player game.
Drawing. The team that won the trick doesn't draw during the Draw Phase.
Scoring. Both teammates need to shed their hand in order for a team to score the -5 points in a round. Each player burns a suit, then counts their hand as normal. Power Cards played by either team member should be counted toward each teammate's score in full. The teammate with the highest score for the round is recorded as the score for the team.
If Player 1 scores 3 points and their teammate, Player 3, scored 27 points at the end of the round, their team has a score of 27 points.
FAQ
Clarifications
Any flush played later in the trick will beat a previous flush, regardless of numerical values.
You may play more than one "with a meld" power card at once. Brandon plays a 6 and a 10, WILD (naming "8") and WRENCH (Adjusting the values of his 6 up by one and his 10 down by one) to make a three card run of 7-8-9.
If a Power Card is led alone, the first player to not play a lone Power Card determines the leading meld. If all players play Power cards, the trick's leader leads the next trick.
Power cards left in your hand at the end of a round score no points.
If after burning a bridge you are left with no cards in hand, you don't earn the shedding bonus.
Power Cards
Arches. This card must be played between at least two other cards. It counts as either one or two numbers, so 3-ARCHES-6-7 and 10-ARCHES-12 are both legal melds.
Copy. This card can only be played in the manner that the copied card could be played. For instance, if you copied a "with meld" card, you must play copy with a meld. Remember to score the copied card and have the player you took that card from score COPY.
Cycle. This card cannot trigger the end of a round (see: Decking), even if there are one or two cards left in the deck. If there are no cards left in the deck, you may still return up to two cards to the deck using CYCLE. This action doesn't "un-end" the round.
Extend. This card allows the trick to continue for (potentially) multiple laps around the table. Once a player passes, they are out of the trick. However, if a passed player played cards into the trick previously, they draw only for a "loss" (one card instead of two, or two instead of three in a two player game). You may play multiple "alone" powers into an "extended" trick, as long as they are in separate laps around the table (not more than one at once).
Follow. "Following" is a trick-taking term for playing a card of the same suit as the one previously led. If you play FOLLOW with a meld with multiple suits, the other players may choose any of those suits to "follow" with their melds.
Lee plays a pair of 9s, one Hawthorne and one Tilikum, along with FOLLOW. Caleb also has a pair of 9s, but he can't play them because neither match the suits of Lee's cards. Instead, Caleb passes. Brandon plays a pair of 10s, one Hawthorne and one St. John's.
Give Lead (Team only). This card can bring your partner back into a round after they have shed-out their whole hand.
Halt. This card prevents all cards drawn from the draw deck. This does not prevent drawing cards from the Power Deck or cards retrieved from the table with REUSE.
Merge (Team only). The teammate who plays MERGE must still play a legal meld. You may not discuss this action with your partner (nor any action—no table-talk!). If your partner is unable to contribute, you still score MERGE.
Taylor plays a pair of 2s and MERGE. His partner, Lee, adds a 2 of his own, making it a triple. After the player to Taylor's left passes, Lee takes his turn as normal, playing 8-8-8.
Timer. If you choose to recover from the discard, shuffle it face down then deal eight cards onto the deck. If there are less than the required number of cards in either the deck or discard pile, do as many as possible. This cannot trigger the end of the round (see: decking).
Upside Down. This card inverts the rules of the current trick starting with the meld you play. Players must play melds of the same type with a lower value or less.
Lee plays a pair of 14s. Caleb plays a pair of 2s with UPSIDE DOWN. Taylor plays a pair of 1s. Brandon wins the trick with his own pair of 1s (the later meld of the same value always wins).
Wheel. Each player chooses freely whether they'd like to pass one, two or three cards. Then, all players pass those cards at once. If you have three or less cards, you cannot "shed-out" as a function of the WHEEL card.
Wrench. You may choose to adjust the value of some cards up and some cards down while leaving others the same. Taylor plays 10-11-12-2-2 and WRENCH to make a Full House of 11-11-11-3-3 (adjusting the 10-2-2 up by one and the 12 down by one).
Reference
Phases of a Round
1. Trick Phase
Each player can:
- Play a Meld (of the lead type)
- Play a Power Card
- Discard One or More Power Cards (as a loss)
- Pass
2. Draw Phase
Played cards and lost? Draw ONE card.
Passed? Draw TWO cards.
In a two player game, a losing player draws TWO and a passing player draws THREE.
3. Cleanup Phase
Each player keeps their played power cards in front of themselves. Discard all other played cards. The winning player leads the next trick.
Scoring
If a player sheds-out, they receive the point values of their scored power cards and a bonus -5 for shedding out.
Each other player scores their played power cards. Then, they may discard all cards of one bridge suit and all unplayed power cards, then score each card at face value.
Glossary
Meld. One or more cards played as a group: a Single, Pair, Triple, Full House, Run, or Flush.
Round. A Trick Phase, a Draw Phase and a Cleanup Phase.
Hand. A series of rounds ending with either decking or shedding. A game consists of a set number of hands.
Shed-out. To play or discard the final cards of your hand during a trick.
Lead/Leader. The player who playes first into a trick. They determine the meld for the trick.
Score. To leave a card in front of yourself as points.