Matching 4U
Matching 4U Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Item cards: 24 cards (numbered 1-24) [Red/Blue/Yellow x7 each and White x3]
- Date cards: 8 cards
- Rulebook
Card Description
Card Type
Item Cards
The cards you need for your dates. There are 7 types: girls, clothes, bags, rings, shoes (4 of each), perfume, and aquarium tickets (2 of each).
Date Cards
These cards are the boys you are going to date. If you get 1st place in "2) Play Cards", you will get the "Date Point (DP)" and "Item Icon" shown.
Date Point (DP): A point that marks a successful date. It can be obtained from both "Item Cards" and "Date Cards" and is used when calculating scores.
How to Read the Item Card
- Number Icon: Represents the number on the card.
- Item Type: Represents the item type. When counting the number of icons, refer to the "Item Icon".
- Item Icon: This is the icon used when scoring. The scoring method is different for each icon.
- DP/Scoring Method: Describes how this card is scored.
There is a gauge around the number icon in the top left, which indicates the strength of that number among the other numbers of that color. (In this case, the yellow 5 card represents the second lowest yellow number).
Game Preparation
The player who most recently went on a date becomes the first player. The first player shuffles all item cards face down and distributes 8 cards to each player. Next, shuffle all the date cards face down, and place it in the center of the table, leaving it face down, creating the Date Deck.
Game Flow
The flow of Steps 1-3 is regarded as 1 round, and the game ends after 3 rounds.
For 2-player rules, see the end of this rulebook.
- Card Draft
- Play Cards
- Calculate Score
1) Card Draft
All players look at the 8 item cards they have been dealt, select 2 of them, and place those 2 cards face down in front of them. After that, pass the remaining cards to the player on your left, face down. Pick up the cards passed to you and repeat the above steps (select 2->place face down->pass) until all players have 8 cards again, face down, in front of them.
2) Play Cards
- Presentation of Items
- Acquire Items
1. Presentation of Items
The first player turns over the top card of the date deck and places it face up where everyone can see it. Starting with the first player and going clockwise, play any one item card face up from your hand in front of you. After everyone plays one item card, the ranking order is determined according to the following rules based on the card played by the first player.
- 1a) If you play the same color as the first player: The player with the highest number is ranked first, followed by the second highest number, and then the third highest number.
- 2a) If you play a different color as the first player: The player with the highest number is ranked first within 2a), but still ranked under all players who played 1a).
2. Acquire Items
Once the order is determined, the following cards are obtained in order starting with the player in 1st place.
- 1st place: Acquires 1 date card and 1 item card of your choice.
- 2nd place: Acquires 1 item card from the remaining item cards in play.
- 3rd place: Gets the last remaining item card.
Example: The first player, Mr. A, plays a "Yellow 5", Mr. B plays "Yellow 23", and Mr. C plays "Blue 24". So the order is as follows:
- 1st place: Mr. B gets the date card and chooses the "Blue 24".
- 2nd place: Mr. A chooses the "Yellow 5" from the remaining cards.
- 3rd place: Mr. C gets the last remaining "Yellow 23".
About White Cards
White cards will become the same color as a previously played card (if there are two colors in play, you can choose which color). If you play a white card as the first player, it will be treated as white (weakest color, ranked lower than cards in 1a and 2a described above). The next card played becomes the "first player" color.
Example: The first player, Mr. A, plays a "Red 15", Mr. B plays "White 21". The "White 21" becomes a "Red 21".
Place the acquired card(s) faceup in front of you. After that, the player who ranked first overall during step "2. Acquire Items" becomes the first player.
Repeat Steps "1. Presentation of Items" and "2. Acquire Items" until all players are out of cards.
3) Calculate Score
Score the round, with pen and paper, using the chart for Card Scoring on the right. Then, shuffle all item and date cards separately, distribute 8 item cards to each player, recreate the date deck, and proceed to the next round (3 rounds total).
2 Player Rules
When playing 2P, the game is played with a 3rd dummy player, and only the following rules are changed:
- [Card Draft] The remaining 8 cards are the dummy player's hand. The dummy player selects 2 cards at random before passing them to the next player.
- [Presentation of Items] Item cards played by the third person are chosen at random.
End of Game
The game ends after 3 rounds and the player with the highest total score wins. If there is a tie, share the victory.
Card Scoring
Scores are calculated by totaling the number of item icons printed on all cards in front of you. The scoring method for each item is as follows.
Item Icons
- Girl: -10 points for 0 or -5 points if you have 2 or more.
- Clothes: 2 points each.
- Bag: Have 1/2/3/4+ bags, get 1/4/9/16 points.
- Ring: The player with the most rings gets 6 points, second most 3 points. *No mention of what happens in ties, so assume you share the points.
- Shoes: For every pair of shoes (2 icons) you will get 7 points. If you have one by itself, -3 points.
- Perfume: Quadruple (4x) the score for one of your Clothes (8 points instead of 2 points).
- Aquarium tickets: 2 points per date card you get.