Old Bill
Old Bill Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Setup & Goal
Shuffle the deck. Deal 5 cards to each player and place the deck facedown between players. The player who most recently made a deal goes first.
The goal is to score the most points from Thief cards in your Den. The trick is that Points are only scored from your suit with the most cards and your suit with the least. Each matched pair of Thieves will also earn a player 2 Points.
The Offer
On a turn, you will make an offer to another player using cards from your hand. Choose any player, then offer exactly one face up card and one or more facedown cards to them—placing them onto the table near that player.
All of the offered face-down cards must be from the same suit and they cannot match the suit of the offered face-up card.
You are welcome to sweet talk the offer. The player may check the number of face-down cards, but is not allowed to see what they are.
Accepting the Offer
The player to whom you made the offer must choose to take either the face-up card or all the face-down cards. Unless Old Bill is involved (see below), they add the chosen cards face up to their Den.
Then, you take the cards that were not chosen and add them face up to your Den.
At the end of your turn, draw back up to 5 cards. The player to your left now takes the next turn.
Your Den
Your Den is the play area in front of you. You'll want to keep the cards in it separated by suit and away from other players' Dens. This will help players know what (or what not) to offer you.
There are 4 suits, with 12 cards in each. The rulebook shows the suits only as icons (the printed rules do not name them), so they are referred to here by suit.
Marco the Mime
Marco claims to be a people person, but really they just don't like to be put in a box. Their "?" icon means they can be offered alone or with a suit facedown, but they will never make pairs in a player's Den.
- If a Mime is offered without a suit (face up or facedown), then the player who receives it may assign the Mime to a suit present in their Den. If the player has no cards, the Mime must join up with the next suit they receive.
- If a Mime is offered with a suit facedown, then it stays with the suit it was offered with when it enters the player's Den.
- Multiple Mimes may even be offered by themself or with a suit facedown.
Old Bill
Watch out for Old Bill! He's seen better days, but he still knows a thing about an undercover sting! Like Mimes, Old Bill may be offered alone or with a suit facedown.
- If Old Bill is offered without a suit (face up or facedown), then the player who receives him discards Old Bill and they must discard one card from their Den.
- If Old Bill is offered with a suit facedown, then the player who receives that side of the offer discards all cards with Old Bill AND they must discard one card in their Den that matches the suit he was offered with (if they can). Even if multiple Old Bills are offered facedown, the player who receives them still only discards one card from their Den.
Old Bill cannot be in the same offer face up and facedown.
Game End
Once the deck runs out, complete a round so each player (including the one who drew the final card) takes one last turn.
Now, each player scores their Den. Total up the value of your suit with the least cards (that has at least one card) and your suit with the most cards. If there is a tie for the most or least in a suit, the player chooses which suit to count.
Each pair of Thieves in a Den earns a player 2 Points even if that pair's suit wasn't used in scoring. Add all points from pairs to the totals from your most and least suits.
The player with the most points wins! In case of a tie, the player with the most pairs wins. If there is still a tie, the win is shared.
Den Scoring Example
- 4 Points from Thieves
- 5 Points from Thieves (including Marco)
- 4 Points from 2 Pairs
Total = 13 Points
Strategy Tips
Offering the face-up complement to a player's pair is a great way to sweeten a deal. Learn how to bluff your opponents into accepting a bad deal. The flexibility of a face-up Mime or Old Bill can be a nice way to tempt an opponent into an offer when you want the face-down cards.
Classic Games
Memory Match
Setup: Remove 3 Old Bills and Mimes numbered 1-3 from the deck. Shuffle the deck and deal all 52 cards facedown in rows between players. It's okay if a row doesn't have an equal number of cards.
Gameplay: The goal is to collect the most pairs of cards. The youngest player goes first. On a turn, you will flip over two facedown cards.
- If a match is made, take the pair face up in front of you, then take another turn.
- If you did not make a match, turn the cards back over (facedown) and the next player clock-wise takes a turn.
Game End: Continue until there are no longer any facedown cards in the middle. The player with the most pairs wins the game!
Old Maid
Setup: Remove 4 Old Bills and Mimes numbered 1-3 from the deck. Shuffle the deck and deal a card to each player until all cards are dealt. It's okay if a player has more cards than another. Players then place any matching pairs from their hand face up in front of them.
Gameplay: The goal is to end the game without Old Bill in your hand. The oldest player goes first. On a turn, offer your hand of cards to the player to your left. Do not show them your cards. That player selects a card from your hand and adds it to their hand. If a match is made, they place the pair in front of them face up. If not, then they keep the card in their hand. Now, they take a turn, offering their cards to the player to their left.
Game End: Once a player no longer has cards in their hand, they are out of the game. Continue taking turns until the last pair has been matched. The player with Old Bill left in their hand loses the game!