ION: Card Game Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Content
• Object of the Game
• Starting the Game
• How to Play
• Action Cards
• Joker Cards
• Winning the Game
• Scoring
• Two-Player Game

Content

128 cards as follows:

• 60 cards with 1 to 6 dots
• 62 action cards with 1 to 6 dots:
  • 6 cards +1
  • 6 cards +3
  • 6 cards Block
  • 6 cards Gift
  • 6 cards Joker
  • 6 cards Play Again
  • 6 cards Previous Player +1
  • 6 cards Previous Player +3
  • 2 cards New Game +5
  • 6 cards No Play
  • 6 cards Shift
• 6 cards Double Joker

Object of the Game

1. You can play a Quick Game with the object of being the first player to get rid of all your cards. The first player to get rid of all his cards wins the game.
2. You can play in Tournament Mode with the object of scoring 1000 points. The first player to score 1000 points wins the game.

How can you score points? The first player to get rid of all his cards in each game scores the points of the other players' cards (check Scoring).

Starting the Game

1. Choose the first player to deal the cards.
2. Deal 7 cards to each player.
3. Stack the remaining cards face down to be used during the game.
4. Turn over the top card of the pile to start the game.
5. The player to the dealer's right goes first (in case the face-up card shows an action related to the previous player, this action applies to the dealer).

How to Play

You can only play a card if it has the same number of dots as the card on the table. Only one of the two zones of the dots in the card has to match.

Example: if the card on the table has 6|3 dots, you will have to play a 6 or 3-dot card. For example, you can play a 3|2-dot card, that matches considering the 3 dots, or a 1|6-dot card, that matches considering the 6 dots.

If you don't have any playable card (or in case you have it but you don't want to use it), you will have to draw a card from the draw pile. That card cannot be played and the game continues with the next player.

Action Cards

The action cards have one or two yellow balls in the centre. The symbols inside these balls reveal the action of each card. The number of black dots in each card is unpredictable.

• +1 - when you play this card, the next player to play has to take one card from the draw pile. If, after doing that, he doesn't have any playable card or doesn't want to play any of his cards, he will have to take another card from the draw pile (this card cannot be played).

• +3 - when you play this card, the next player to play has to take three card from the draw pile. If, after doing that, he doesn't have any playable card or doesn't want to play any of his cards, he will have to take another card from the draw pile (this card cannot be played).

• Block - when you play this card, you block the action of the card played by the previous player. Example: the previous player plays a card with the Action +1; if you play this card you block the action, not drawing the respective card that is the card action. This action only has no effect upon the action Don't Play because with that action you can't play any card.

• Gift - when you play this card, you choose one of your cards and you give it to the next player. This way, you will have one less card and the next player will have one more.

• Play Again - when you play this card you can play another provided that the card is playable concerning the number of dots. Play Again cards can be accumulated, that is, you can play two Play Again cards in a row. If you use a Play Again card and then you don't have any playable card to use after it, you will have to draw a card from the draw pile. This card cannot be played and the game continues with the next player. Example: the previous player played a 5|2-dot card. You play a Play Again 2|6-dot card that gives you the chance to play again. Then, you can play a Play Again 1|6-dot card and, after that, you can play a 3|6-dot card. That way, you can play three cards in your turn.

• Previous Player +1 - when you play this card, the previous player has to draw a card from the draw pile. The game continues and the player who received the action can't do anything about it.

Joker Cards

• Joker - you can play this card in any occasion. The Joker is worth a card with any number of dots. The next player has to play a card with the same number of dots included in the other half of the Joker card.

• Double Joker - you can play this card in any occasion. The Joker is worth a card with any number of dots. Whoever plays this card gets to mention the number of dots necessary to continue the game. For example, if this player mentions 2, the next player can only play a card that has 2 dots in one or both of the card dot zones.

Winning the Game

1. In the Quick Game mode, the game ends when one of the players runs out of cards. That player is the winner.
2. In the Tournament mode, the game ends when a player reaches 1000 points (check Scoring).

If the last card played is a +1, a +3 or a New Game +5 card, the player who receives the action card will have to take the corresponding number of cards from the draw pile. These cards also count towards the score.

If there are no more cards to be taken from the pile, the cards already played are shuffled in order to make a new draw pile.

Scoring

• Dot cards (without action): total dots in the card
• +1: 25 points
• +3: 25 points
• Block: 25 points
• Gift: 25 points
• Play Again: 25 points
• Previous Player +1: 25 points
• Previous Player +3: 25 points
• No Play: 25 points
• Shift: 25 points
• Joker: 50 points
• Double Joker: 75 points
• New Game +5: 100 points

Two-Player Game

For a two-player game, the following special rules are applied:

1. Deal 9 cards to each player at the beginning of the game.
2. The action card Block is valid with the actions Previous Player +1 and Previous Player +3.
3. Whoever plays the action card Don't Play, plays again.