Rage
Rage Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
The game contains 96 colored cards in six different colors (blue, green, red, yellow, purple, and orange) with values from "0" to "15." The highest card is the "15," the lowest card is the "0."
There are also 16 action cards: 2x "Joker," 4x "No Trump," 4x "Trump Change," 3x "+5," and 3x "-5" (see "Special Rules for the Action Cards").
Setup
One player volunteers to record the plus and minus points of the players on a scoresheet (see also the copy template on the next page). First, they write down the names of the players. Then they shuffle all 112 cards and deal each player ten cards for the first round. After each round, the dealer changes clockwise.
Sequence of Play
1) Dealing the Cards
In the first round, each player has ten cards in hand. With each card, a player can win one trick. So in the first round, a player could win ten tricks. In the second round, each player is dealt nine cards. In this round, a player can win nine tricks. In the third round, eight cards are dealt to each player, then seven, and so on, until in the tenth round each player receives only one card.
The cards that are not dealt out in a given round are placed face down as a pile in the middle of the table. The top card of this pile is turned face up and placed next to the pile. This card determines the trump color for that round.
If the turned-up card is an action card, the top card of the pile continues to be turned up and placed next to the pile until a colored card appears.
"Trump" = A trump is a card. A trump card wins over any other card of a different color.
2) The Prediction
After the players have sorted their cards by color and value, each player considers how many tricks they will win in this round. In turn, each player announces their prediction to the player with the scoresheet. The player to the left of the dealer begins. The predictions are recorded on the scoresheet.
Before the first trick, the predictions should be repeated once more for everyone.
3) The Tricks
What is a trick? Each player, in turn, plays a card into the middle of the table.
The cards in the middle of the table are the trick.
"Trick" = Each player plays a card into the middle of the table in turn. These cards are the "trick."
The player to the left of the dealer plays a card for the first trick. The other players follow clockwise. The color played first must be followed, i.e. a player must play a card of the same color as the first card played in the trick. If this is not possible, the player must play a card of any other color, play an action card, or trump.
"Follow suit" = A player must play a card of the same color as the card that opened the trick.
Trumping
If a player does not have the color that was played first in their hand, they may play a card of the trump color (the color of the card next to the pile) and thereby win the trick. If several trump cards are played in one trick, the highest trump card wins the trick.
The trick is won by:
- The highest card of the color played first, if there is no trump in the trick, or
- The highest card of the current trump color.
The won tricks must be kept separate from one another so that it is always clear how many tricks a player has already won. The winner of a trick opens the next trick by playing a card. When all players have no cards left in hand, the round is scored (see "4) Scoring a Round").
Special Rules for the Action Cards
If a player does not have the color of the card played first in their hand, they may also play an action card. The action cards do not belong to any of the six colors.
"+5": The winner of the trick that contains this action card receives five plus points at the end of the current round.
"-5": The winner of the trick that contains this action card receives five minus points at the end of the current round.
"No Trump": If a player plays this action card, the card next to the pile is immediately turned over to show the current trump color. There is no trump for this trick. If trumps have already been played in the trick, they count as normal colored cards. The trick is won by the player who played the highest card of the color played first in the trick.
Example: Red is the trump color. Anja starts and plays a yellow "8." Bernd follows with a red "4" (trump). Claudia plays the action card "No Trump." The trump card next to the pile is immediately turned over. Red is no longer the trump color. Anja wins the trick, because she was the first to play a color and her card is the highest yellow card in this trick, and trumps no longer count.
After the trick, the top card of the pile is again turned over and placed on top of the card that previously determined the trump color. If the turned-up card is an action card, the process is repeated until a colored card appears. The new colored card now determines the trump color for this round.
"Trump Change": If a player plays this action card, the top card of the pile is immediately turned over and placed on top of the card that previously determined the trump color. If the turned-up card is an action card, the process is repeated until a colored card appears. The new colored card determines the trump color for the current trick and for the rest of this round. The previous trump color is thus no longer valid, even in the current trick.
"Joker": Whoever plays a Joker card must name a color that applies to the Joker. The chosen color may also be the current trump color. The Joker is the highest card of the chosen color in the trick. If the current trump color is not chosen as the color for the Joker, then every card of the current trump color is higher than the Joker. If both Jokers are played in one trick, the second Joker is higher than the first.
Note: The first card of a trick can also be an action card. If a trick is opened with an action card, then any card may be played as the second card. The first colored card or a Joker determines the color that must be followed. If only action cards without a Joker are played in a trick, the action card played first wins the trick.
4) Scoring a Round
Once all the tricks of a round have been distributed (the players have no cards left in hand), the round is scored.
- For each trick won, a player receives one plus point.
- For each "+5" card among their tricks, the player receives five plus points.
- For each "-5" card among their tricks, the player receives five minus points.
- If a player's prediction matches the number of tricks they won, they receive ten plus points.
- If a player's prediction does not match the number of tricks they won, they receive five minus points.
The plus and minus points earned by each player are recorded on the scoresheet.
Example for the first round with ten cards:
Anja had predicted three tricks and also received three. Her prediction came true. She receives ten plus points for this, plus three plus points for three tricks. Unfortunately, she received the action card "-5" in one of her tricks; these five minus points are deducted from her 13 plus points. She receives eight plus points for this round (10 + 3 + "-5" = 8). Bernd's prediction did not come true (-5). His trick contained the action card "+5." He receives one plus point for the trick. So Bernd won one plus point this round (-5 + "+5" + 1 = 1). Claudia's prediction of two tricks came true (+10). She receives two plus points for the two tricks. In this round she makes twelve plus points. Dieter's prediction did not come true (-5). He receives four plus points for his tricks. So Dieter ends up with one minus point this round.
End of Game
The game ends after ten rounds. The last round is still scored. Then the results of all ten rounds are added up for each player. The player with the highest score wins.
Variants
Plus/Minus One: As before, the predictions are passed openly to the player with the scoresheet. However, the total number of tricks predicted by all players may not match the number of tricks actually available. For example, if a round is about 5 tricks, then the players must together predict more or fewer than 5 tricks in total.
Hidden Guess: All players first secretly write down their predictions on a slip of paper. Once everyone has guessed, the predictions are passed openly to the player with the scoresheet before the round begins. This way, no player is influenced by their competitors' predictions.
Secret Prediction: All players secretly write down their predictions on a slip of paper. Only when the round is over are the predictions revealed. This means that during the round it remains unclear how many tricks each player wants to win.
Sweep: If a player wins all the tricks in a round, they receive 2 plus points for each trick instead of just one point. This does not apply in the last round, where there is only one trick at stake.