Rotate Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Setup
• Game Play
  • A. Trick Phase
  • Rotate
  • B. Scoring Phase
• 4. Game End
• 5. Variant Rule

Components

• 45 Suit Cards — 9 cards in each of the 5 suits (colors). Each card shows a Vertical and a Horizontal number: Vertical 0 / Horizontal 8; 1 / 7; 2 / 6; 3 / 5; 4 / 4; 5 / 3; 6 / 2; 7 / 1; 8 / 0.
• 4 Special Cards (marked with an X).
• 5 Scoring Cards.
• 13 Scoring Tokens.
• 2 Trick Indicator Cards — double-sided (Vertical / Horizontal).

Setup

1. Place the Trick Indicator Cards in the center of the table. (For your first game, use the black side.)
2. Each player takes a Scoring Card and Scoring Tokens in their chosen color. Use 3 tokens per player in a 3-player game, or 2 tokens per player in a 4–5 player game. (For 3 players, use Red, Blue, and Yellow only.)
3. Place your Scoring Card in front of you with the 0 side face-up, then place your Scoring Tokens on top of it.
4. Select the cards to be used based on player count:
   • 3 players: Suit cards 1–7 (35 cards) + 2 Special Cards (37 total)
   • 4 players: Suit cards 1–7 (35 cards) + 3 Special Cards (38 total)
   • 5 players: Suit cards 0–8 (45 cards) + 4 Special Cards (49 total)
5. Shuffle the selected Suit Cards and Special Cards and deal them to the players. Set any leftover cards aside (not used this round):
   • 3 players: 11 cards each (33 used, 4 leftover)
   • 4 players: 9 cards each (36 used, 2 leftover)
   • 5 players: 9 cards each (45 used, 4 leftover)
6. Choose a starting player to lead the first trick. Setup is complete.

Game Play

The game is played over several rounds. Each round consists of two phases:

• A. Trick Phase
• B. Scoring Phase

A. Trick Phase

A-1. The starting player plays one Suit Card from their hand in any orientation (vertical or horizontal). This card determines the lead suit. Place the card next to your Scoring Card to show its orientation. Use the number shown in the chosen orientation. If the lead player plays a Special Card as the first card, the next player's Suit Card determines the lead suit.

Example: the lead player plays Blue 7 (vertical) — or Blue 1 (horizontal).

A-2. Play continues clockwise. Each other player plays one card from their hand. You must follow both the color and orientation of the lead suit if possible. If you do not have a card of the lead suit, you may play any card, but you must still follow the orientation of the lead suit. Special Cards may be played at any time and do not need to follow the lead suit.

A-3. After all players have played a card, compare the numbers of the cards in the lead suit and orientation. The player who played the highest number wins the trick.

Example: Blue 1 (horizontal) leads. Blue 4, Purple 3 and Blue 6 follow. Blue 6 wins the trick.

A-4. The winner places one of their Scoring Tokens on the Trick Indicator Card corresponding to the winning orientation (Vertical / Horizontal).

* If all of your tokens are already on Trick Indicator Cards, move one token to the card that matches the winning orientation. If all your tokens are already on that card, nothing happens.

A-5. Set the played cards aside. The trick winner becomes the new lead player for the next trick. Continue playing tricks until all cards have been played. Then proceed to the Scoring Phase.

Rotate

This game uses a special system called Rotate, in which cards can change orientation (Vertical ↔ Horizontal) by turning 90 degrees. When a player meets a Rotate condition while playing a card, all cards currently in play are rotated.

Condition 1: Same Suit, Opposite Values. If a card of the same suit but opposite values is played after the previous card, rotate all cards in play.

Opposite Card: A card whose Vertical and Horizontal values are swapped.

Example: The lead player plays a Vertical Blue 7 (1). The next player plays the Vertical Blue 1 (Opposite Card) (2). All cards in play are rotated to Horizontal (3), and their Horizontal values are now used.

Condition 2: Different Suit, Same Values. If a card of a different suit but the same values is played after the previous card, rotate all cards in play.

Same Values Card: A card with identical Vertical and Horizontal values.

Example: The lead player plays a Horizontal Blue 7 (1). The next player plays a Horizontal Purple 7 (Same Values Card) (2). All cards in play are rotated to Vertical (3), and their Vertical values are now used. Both Horizontal 7 cards now count as Vertical 1.

Condition 3: Special Card (X). If a Special Card (X) is played, rotate all cards in play. The player who played the X card automatically loses the trick.

Example: The lead player plays a Vertical Blue 7 (1). The next player plays a Special Card (X) (2). All cards in play are rotated to Horizontal (3).

When a Rotate occurs, the card that triggered the Rotate becomes the new lead suit. Starting with the next player, everyone must follow the updated lead rules.

• If the Rotate is triggered by Condition 1, the suit remains the same, so only the orientation (Vertical ↔ Horizontal) changes for the new lead.
• If the Rotate is triggered by Condition 2, the suit is different, so both the suit and orientation change for the new lead.
• If the Rotate is triggered by Condition 3, the Special Card (X) has no suit, so only the orientation (Vertical ↔ Horizontal) changes for the new lead.

Multiple Rotates can occur in a single trick if the conditions are met again. However, even if several cards in the same play meet a Rotate condition, the Rotate only happens once.

B. Scoring Phase

After all cards have been played and the Trick Phase ends, players calculate their points. Compare the number of tokens on the Vertical and Horizontal Trick Indicator Cards. The side with more tokens is the Major, and the side with fewer tokens is the Minor.

B-1. Players score no points for tokens on the Major. (Score = player's tokens on the Major × 0 points)

B-2. Players score 2 points for each token on the Minor. (Score = player's tokens on the Minor × 2 points)

B-3. If both sides have the same number of tokens, each token scores 1 point. (Score = player's tokens on both sides × 1 point)

B-4. Players who are Zero-Trick (no tricks won and no tokens on the Trick Indicator Cards) score points equal to the total number of tokens on the Minor side. If both sides are tied, count all tokens on both sides and score half that number. (Score = total tokens on the Minor × 1 point)

Example: Red and Yellow players each have 1 token on the Minor side and score 2 points each. The Green player is Zero-Trick and scores 2 points (total tokens on the Minor side). The Blue player has no tokens on the Minor side and scores 0 points.

After scoring, players rotate their Scoring Cards to show their new totals. Each player's current score must always face them.

Check the total points. If no player has reached the target points, deal a new hand and play another round.

Points 4–7 are printed on the back side of the Scoring Card.

Target Points by Player Count

• 3 players: 7 points
• 4 players: 6 points
• 5 players: 5 points

4. Game End

If any player has reached or exceeded the target points by player count, the game ends. The player with the highest score wins. If there is a tie, the tied player who scored more points in the last round wins. If still tied, the tied players share the victory.

5. Variant Rule

Once players are familiar with the game, place the Trick Indicator Cards with the white side face-up to use the variant. Unlike the basic rules, which focus on earning individual points, this variant rewards players more for balancing the group's results.

• Basic Scoring (use black side): Major × 0 pt / Minor × 2 pt / Tie × 1 pt per token on both sides.
• Variant Scoring (use white side): Major × 0 pt / Minor × 1 pt / Tie × 2 pt per token on both sides.
• Zero-Trick: total Minor tokens × 1 pt (same in both rules).

In the variant, players can earn more points by balancing the number of tokens on both sides. Of course, that only works if no one decides to betray the group.