Kabuki Tricks Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• How To Play
  • Phase 1: Deal cards
  • Phase 2: Choose the trump suit
  • Phase 3: Play seven tricks
  • The Joker
  • Winning a Trick
  • End of Round
  • Phase 4: Scoring
  • Next Round and Game End
• 2-player Variant
• Advanced Variants
  • Advanced Variant #1: Failed Predictions
  • Advanced Variant #2: Toxic Number

Components

• 4 Actor cards
• 1 High-Low card
• 15 Player cards (3 per player)
• 40 Suit cards (10 per suit)
• 5 Joker cards (1 per player)
• 50 Score sheets

Setup

1. Place the High-Low card in the center of the table, with either the High side or the Low side visible at random.
2. Place the Actor cards in random order to form a row to the right of the High-Low card.
3. Leave a convenient space for a discard pile.
4. Give each player a Joker card and a set of three Player cards.
5. Take all of the Suit cards. Remove the following card numbers according to the player count and return them to the box:
   • 2 players: Remove numbers 8, 9, 10 (keep 28 cards). See page 15 for changes in the 2-player variant.
   • 3 players: Remove numbers 8, 9, 10 (keep 28 cards).
   • 4 players: Remove numbers 9, 10 (keep 32 cards).
   • 5 players: Keep all 40 cards.
6. Choose a player to become the first dealer and give the remaining Suit cards to that player.

How To Play

The game is played over a number of rounds equal to the number of players, so each player has a chance to be the dealer.

At the end of each round, the role of dealer moves to the next player in clockwise order. Pass the score sheet to the new dealer to act as a visual reminder.

Each round consists of the following phases:

• Phase 1: Deal cards
• Phase 2: Choose the trump suit
• Phase 3: Play seven tricks
• Phase 4: Scoring

See page 15 for changes in the 2-player variant.

Phase 1: Deal cards

The dealer shuffles the Suit cards and deals seven cards face-down to each player (including the dealer). Any leftover cards are discarded face-down to the discard pile.

Note: The dealer may choose to discard a number of Suit cards according to the player count, and then distribute the remaining cards evenly to all players.

• 2 players: Discard seven cards.
• 3 players: Discard seven cards.
• 4 players: Discard four cards.
• 5 players: Discard five cards.

All players should have a total of eight cards in their hand at the start of every round, including their Joker card. Player cards are not part of the hand.

Players can look at their own cards, but must not reveal them to other players.

Phase 2: Choose the trump suit

Each round, the dealer acts as the Director for a Kabuki performance, deciding which actors take the leading and supporting roles.

The dealer does this by choosing the trump suit for the round, taking one or both of the following actions:

• Flip the High-Low card to change whether higher or lower numbers are strongest this round. The dealer may leave the High-Low card unchanged.
• Rearrange the Actor cards. The actors range in strength from strongest on the left (beside the High-Low card) to weakest on the right. The dealer may leave the Actor cards unchanged.

In this 5-player example: Higher numbers are stronger than lower numbers. Green is the strongest suit, followed by Purple, then Orange, and finally Blue is the weakest.

Figure captions: "10 Green is currently the strongest Suit card." and "1 Blue is currently the weakest Suit card."

Phase 3: Play seven tricks

A "trick" is played when players each take a turn in clockwise order to play one card from their hand to the play area. Each round, the dealer starts the first trick, then the winner of that trick starts the next trick.

When a player starts a trick, they choose a Suit card from their hand to play face-up.

Note: A trick cannot start with a Joker card.

In clockwise order, the other players must choose a card to play from their hand. They can:

• Play a card with the same suit type.
• Play a card with a different suit type, but only if they do not have the same suit type in their hand.
• Play a Joker card. A player can choose to play their Joker even if they have a card of the starting suit.

Note: Only one Joker card can be played per trick. After a Joker has been played in the current trick, other players cannot play their own Joker during the same trick.

See page 8 to learn more about using the Joker card.

The trick ends when all players have played a card.

In this 5-player example:

• Ang started the trick with 7 Purple.
• Beth played 2 Purple from the same suit type.
• Chad wanted to play an 8 Green, but he was not allowed to play that Suit card because he had a 5 Purple in his hand.
• Dalila played a Joker card.
• Eliot wanted to play a Joker card but could not, because only one Joker card is allowed in each trick.

The Joker

A Joker card cannot win the trick, because the Joker is always considered the weakest card.

However, when you play a Joker card, you can perform two actions immediately, in any order.

Mandatory Joker action: Place a Player card

• Place one of your Player cards face-down beside one of the Actor cards to predict how many tricks you will win.

You can also score additional points for keeping a final Suit card in your hand that matches the chosen Actor card. See page 12 for more information.

Each Actor card can only have one Player card placed beside it.

Note: In 5-player games, the 5th person to play a Joker cannot take the mandatory action because there are only four Actor cards, but they can still take the optional action.

In this example:

• Dalila placed her Player card face-down beside the Blue Actor card.
• The next player to play a Joker card can only choose from Green, Orange, and Purple Actors when placing their Player card.

Optional Joker action: Adjust the trump

• Flip the High-Low card to the other side.

  OR

• Swap the position of two adjacent Actor cards to immediately change the strength of those suit types. You may not change the position of Actor cards that are not adjacent.

Note: If there is a Player card beside an Actor card when the Actor card moves, the Player card moves with it.

Winning a Trick

If the trick ends with all cards of the same suit type, the player with the strongest number wins the trick.

In this 4-player example:

• 7 Purple wins the trick since the higher number is stronger.
• 2 Purple would have won if the High-Low card switched to the lower number being stronger.

If the trick ends with different suit types, the stronger suit type as shown by the Actor cards has priority to win the trick.

In this 4-player example:

• 2 Green wins despite being a weaker number because the Green suit is the strongest, as shown by the Actor cards.
• 8 Orange is weakest, despite having the highest number.

The winner of a trick collects all the played Suit cards face-down and then starts the next trick.

Keep any tricks you win separate from each other so you can easily count how many tricks you have won.

End of Round

The round ends after players have played seven tricks, leaving only one card in their hand.

Reveal the Player cards placed beside the Actor cards. Each player also reveals their final card.

Phase 4: Scoring

Each player scores points as follows:

1. 1 point for each trick you won.
2. 2 points if your Player card correctly predicted how many tricks you won. If more than one player predicted that same number of tricks (even if they were wrong), the Player card at the strongest Actor card can score 2 points while the other player/s can score 1 point.
3. 1 point if the final card in your hand matches the suit type of the Actor card you chose with your Player card.
4. 5 points if the final card in your hand is the Joker and you won 0 tricks.

Record each player's score on the score sheet.

In this 5-player example:

Player	(1) Tricks won	(2) Correctly predicted tricks won	(3) Final card suit matches chosen Actor card suit	(4) Final card is Joker, with 0 tricks won	Total this round
Ang	1 trick = 1 point	Yes, 2 points	1 point	-	4 points
Beth	3 tricks = 3 points	Yes, 2 points	No	-	5 points
Chad	1 trick = 1 point	No	1 point	-	2 points
Dalila	2 tricks = 2 points	Yes, 2 points	1 point	-

Note: Chad and Dalila both predicted 2 tricks won. Dalila's Actor is stronger so Dalila can score 2 points if correct, and Chad can only score 1 point if correct. Dalila was correct, but Chad was not.

Next Round and Game End

After the scoring phase, the role of dealer moves to the next player in clockwise order. Return the Player cards and Joker to each player and begin a new round.

The game ends after each player has been the dealer for a round.

• 3 players: 3 rounds
• 4 players: 4 rounds
• 5 players: 5 rounds

Total the scores for each player across all rounds. The player with the highest total is the winner!

If there is a tie for the highest total, the tied player with the strongest final card in their hand is the winner. If all tied players have a Joker as their final card, they share the victory.

2-player Variant

Setup and gameplay for two players are the same as a normal game, with the following changes:

Setup:

Deal three hands of seven cards – one for each player, and a third for a non-human player – and place the rest in the discard pile. Place the third hand to the side within reach of both players. Give both human players a Joker card and a set of three Player cards.

The third non-human player doesn't need Player cards or a Joker card, and never takes the role of dealer.

Playing Tricks:

The non-human player starts all seven tricks. Reveal the top card of its hand as the first Suit card of each trick.

Unlike a normal game, players don't take turns clockwise. Instead, the second card in each trick is played by the winner of the previous trick (or the dealer for the first trick).

The non-human player can win tricks but doesn't score points.

Next Round and Game End:

The game ends after 4 rounds, allowing both players to play as the dealer twice.

Advanced Variants

Optional variants to add some extra challenges for players.

Advanced Variant #1: Failed Predictions

At the end of each round, -1 point for any player who failed to predict their number of tricks correctly.

Players who did not place their Player card beside an Actor card are not affected.

Advanced Variant #2: Toxic Number

At the end of each round, -1 point for the player or players whose final card in hand has the strongest number compared to other players (only compared by number, not including the suit).

Players with a Joker as their final card are not affected.

If more than one player has the same strongest number, all of those players receive the penalty.

In this 4-player example:

• The High-Low card makes high numbers the strongest.
• Ang and Beth receive the penalty because they both have the strongest number.