Combo Up
Combo Up Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 48 number cards (values 1 to 12, 4 of each)
- 10 special cards (2x Stop, 3x Draw, Joker, Pass On and Take Up, 1 each)
- 15 tokens
Setup
Shuffle all cards. With three and four players, deal everyone 10 hand cards face down. With five players, everyone gets 8 cards. Take your cards into your hand without changing their order.
During the entire game you may not sort your hand cards either!
Each player also lays 2 cards (as reserve cards) face up in front of them and takes 3 tokens. Place the remaining cards as a draw pile.
Play
You play several hands (Durchgänge), where each hand consists of several rounds. In the rounds you play one after another in clockwise order.
On your turn you play either one card or one combo. If you do not want to or cannot, you take one of your reserve cards into your hand.
The player who most recently saw a triangle starts and chooses a hand card and plays it face up. Alternatively, you can play a combo of two or three cards that are adjacent in your hand.
If you play a combo, these cards must either have the same value or directly consecutive values. With consecutive values, however, the cards do not have to be in the correct order in your hand; e.g. 2, 1 or 7, 5, 6 is also correct.
The next player now has the choice. They must play a higher card or combo. If they cannot or do not want to, they take a reserve card into their hand.
Higher-Ranking Combos
Two cards always rank higher than one card, and three cards always rank higher than two. With the same number of cards, equal values always rank higher than consecutive values. (The rulebook illustrates this with a picture of example combos.)
Reserve Cards
If you cannot or do not want to play a higher-ranking combo, you take a reserve card into your hand. You may sort it in at any position in your hand.
By sorting in a reserve card or by playing cards, new cards become adjacent in your hand. This way new combos can arise in your hand. So play your cards in such a way that you always make stronger combos possible for yourself.
Then it is the next player's turn, who must outbid the previously played combo or take one of their reserve cards into their hand.
Example: Jin plays a 12. Aloy plays the combo 5-5. Nathan decides to take a reserve card into his hand. He sorts the 3 in so that he has a three-card combo (4-3-2) in his hand.
End of a Round
The round ends after all of you have had one turn. Set the played cards aside. The player who played the highest combo starts the next round.
If at the end of a round you have no hand cards left, the others play the following rounds of the hand to the end without you. It does not matter whether you still have reserve cards. If you played the highest combination, the player with the second-highest combination starts the next round. If nobody played a second-highest combination, the player who was before you in turn order starts.
Special Cards
Instead of a number card or a combo, you can play a special card on your turn. You may play one after every combo that has been played.
Joker
You can play the Joker alone or combine it with adjacent number cards. If you do not define its value, it forms the highest possible combo together with the other cards. E.g. the Joker together with a 4 forms the combo 4-4.
Stop
If you play Stop, the round ends immediately, and you start the next round. It can happen that the round ends before everyone has had a turn in the round. If someone played 3 Draw in the round, you must draw three cards.
Take Up
If you play Take Up, all the others must immediately take one of their reserve cards into their hand and sort it in as they like. If someone has no reserve card lying in front of them any more, that player skips the Take Up. The player whose turn is after yours must outbid the previously played number card or combo.
Example: After Jin has played his last two cards 3 and 2 as a combo, Aloy plays Take Up. Nathan takes his last reserve card into his hand. Jin has no hand cards left, but must still carry out all actions of the special cards in the round. He takes the Joker into his hand. Then it is Nathan's turn and he must outbid Jin's combination.
Pass On
If you play Pass On, each player chooses one of their hand cards and gives it to the next player in clockwise order. You may sort a received card in as you like. Afterwards you continue the round as normal. The player whose turn is after yours must outbid the previously played number card or combo.
If you played your last card in this round, you do not pass a card. But it can be that you are passed a card and continue to play.
Example: Now it is Nathan's turn and he plays Pass On. Everyone simultaneously passes one card face down and sorts the received card into their hand as sensibly as possible. Jin has no choice and must pass on his Joker. In return he receives a 9. Since his combo 2-3 is the highest in the round, he starts the next round.
3 Draw
If you play 3 Draw, the player with the highest card or combo at the end of the round must draw three cards. The affected player first draws one card and sorts it in, then the next, and so on. The player whose turn is after yours must outbid the previously played number card or combo.
In rare cases it can happen that only the special cards 3 Draw, Pass On and Take Up were played. Then the player who played the first card must draw cards. If someone has played 3 Draw and you play Stop, you must draw three cards. If both 3 Draw cards are in the round, the affected player must draw six cards.
End of a Hand
If you can neither outbid the previously played combo nor take up a reserve card, the hand ends immediately. The round also ends with it, and you must give up one of your tokens.
A hand also ends if all the others have played out their cards and you are alone in the round. In that case too you must give up a token.
If several of you play your last cards last in a round, these players must give up a token - except for the player who won that round.
Whoever gave up a token starts the next hand.
End of the Game
When a player gives up their last token, the game ends and all the others have won together.
Variant: Classic Game - Krass Kariert
Combo Up was published earlier under the title Krass Kariert. For this variant, remove the special cards Take Up and Pass On. They do not play. If you play with five players, everyone receives seven hand cards. All other rules apply as described.
Variant: Scoring
For this variant, note down points at the end of each hand. If you had to give up a token, you receive no points. Whoever still had hand cards at that point receives one point. All who got rid of their cards each receive three points. You play until one player has had to give up all their tokens. Whoever has the most points in total at the end of that hand wins. If several of you are tied, you win together.