Dodekka
Dodekka Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What's the Aim?
To collect the highest combined score of one type of element, whilst avoiding cards that will reduce your score.
What's Inside?
You'll find 60 cards of 5 different elements: Fire, Water, Air, Earth and Ether. Each card has a value and each element 'suit' has the following number of cards:
- 1 x "4"
- 3 x "3"
- 3 x "2"
- 4 x "1"
- 1 x "0"
How to Set Up
Shuffle the deck and place within easy reach of all players.
Place 3 cards face up from the top of the deck into a line beside it. These three element cards are the beginning of your dodekka. (figure 1)
If at any time there are no cards next to the deck, deal three more cards face up before the next player's turn.
The object is to collect as many high scoring cards of the same element as you can whilst keeping the total of the dodekka at 12 or below - if you turn a card and go over 12 then you bust and collect all the cards in the dodekka unless the NO BUST* rule applies (see later).
Figure 1: the DECK at one end, and the DODEKKA line beside it (Fire 2, Earth 2, Air 4).
Player Turn
Each player has 2 choices in their turn.
1 - Take the Card Nearest the Deck
Take the card that is nearest the deck - in Figure 1 this would be Fire 2.
Place this card into your hand and keep it hidden from other players.
OR 2 - Turn a Card
Turn the topmost card over from the deck and place it at the end of the dodekka, furthest from the deck.
Example: Andy is first to play. He adds up the total of the dodekka in figure 1: 2 Fire + 2 Earth + 4 Air - the total of the dodekka is 8. Remember: The card nearest the deck is the only one that can be picked up (in this case the Fire card). He decides to flip a card from the deck and add it to the end of the dodekka. It's an Earth 2. The total of the dodekka is now 10. Andy ends his turn. (figure 2)
Mathilda is next to play. She takes the Fire 2 nearest the deck and moves the remaining three cards along to close the gap. The total of the dodekka is now 8.
Thomas plays next. He turns over an Ether 4 and places it at the end of the dodekka. The total is now 12.
The next player, Rosie, knows that if she turns over a card that isn't either a zero (leaving the total at 12) or a 4 (in which case the NO BUST rule applies*) she will have to collect the whole dodekka so she picks up the Earth 2 next to the deck. The total of the dodekka is now 10.
Andy turns over another card - it's an Air 3 - the total of the dodekka is now 13, so he's bust. The players shout 'dodekka' and Andy collects all the face up cards and adds them to his hand. He lays out three more cards from the deck face up to start the next dodekka.
Play continues until there are no more cards in the deck at which point any unclaimed face up cards left in the dodekka are discarded.
The NO BUST Rule
If the card you turn takes the total of the dodekka over 12 but it is the same NUMBER as its neighbour in the line you have not bust and play continues to the next player.
If the next player also turns a card they will have to pick up all the cards in the bust dodekka unless they ALSO manage to turn over a card that matches the last card laid. Alternatively they can take the card nearest the deck. Remember you can NEVER bust if you choose to take the card nearest the deck even if it would leave the dodekka over 12.
Example: Rosie turns over a 2 taking the total over 12, however there's already a 2 at the end of the dodekka so Rosie doesn't collect the cards. It's Andy's turn next - if he doesn't turn over a 2 (of any element) he will have to collect the dodekka - even if he turns over a zero as the total is already over 12 so he chooses to play safe and takes the card nearest the deck.
Scoring
Add up the score for each element in your hand and decide which element will be your scoring suit. Turn over the cards you are not using for your final score and deduct one point for each unused element card. (Note - you only deduct one point per card, you do not add up the face values of the other cards).
The winner is the one with the highest score. In the event of a tie the player with the most cards in their final hand (both positive and negative) wins.
Example: Andy is holding 20 cards. He has 11 Air cards totalling 19 and 9 other element cards (3 Earth cards totalling 10, 4 Fire cards totalling 7, 2 Ether cards totalling 6) so that's 9 other element cards that count against him- his final score is 10.
Let's Talk Tactics
Sometimes it will help your hand if you bust the dodekka on purpose - for example if there are cards of the same element and they have a high score you might be better off busting and taking all the face up cards than just taking the single card next to the deck. Just remember there are zeros in the deck as well and be mindful of the NO BUST rule. If you fail to bust the dodekka then the next player might benefit.