Scan
Scan Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Equipment
Deck of 52 color-coded playing cards and 4 scoring cards.
The Scan Deck
You may use these Scan cards to play almost any game you would play with an ordinary 52-card deck, but with some astonishing results. Because the backs of all the cards reveal their suit, you know more than you normally would about what's in your opponents' hands... but sometimes, a little knowledge can be dangerous!
The Scan Games
When you're using this special deck to play the various Scan games, you'll use the other extraordinary feature of the deck: the point values assigned to each suit. The Spades are worth +10 points, and Hearts, +5 points; but Diamonds are worth -5 and Clubs, -10. In taking tricks in Scan, you want to take as many + cards as you can, and avoid taking as many - cards as you can. See Strategy Hints for some tips.
- Spades, Black, +10
- Hearts, Red, +5
- Diamonds, Blue, -5
- Clubs, Green, -10
How to Play Team Scan
For 4 players.
Object
To be the first team to reach 155 points. This is accomplished by taking more + cards (Spades and Hearts) than - cards (Diamonds and Clubs).
Alternately, set a time limit: The winners are the team with the highest score at the end of that time.
Setup
Sit opposite your partner. You may cut for partners if you wish: The two highest cards, and the two lowest, are partners.
Remove all 4 Scoring cards; give one to each player.
Cut for deal; highest card deals. Dealer shuffles and has the player on his right cut the deck.
Deal 7 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards face down as the stock pile.
Notes
For trick-taking, the cards rank in normal order: Ace is high, 2 is low.
"Trump": Cards in the trump suit rank higher than any cards in non-trump suits. In Scan, the trump suit is whichever color suit is on the top of the stock pile after all players have drawn, so the trump suit can change with every trick. When the stock pile is exhausted, the last 7 tricks are played as "no trump."
"No trump": There is no trump suit; the highest card in the suit led wins the trick.
Play
The player left of the dealer leads the first card face up to the table; thereafter, whoever took the previous trick leads. Every player must follow suit if possible; if not, he must play a trump card if he has one.
If you can't follow suit or trump, you can "sluff" any card you wish. If your opponents are likely to take the trick, it's best to sluff a Diamond or a Club to get rid of it, the higher the better; you don't want these suits, especially high cards that might take tricks, and you want to give them to your opponents so they'll count against them, not against you. Conversely, if you think your partner will take the trick, you might sluff a Spade or Heart on it so your team will collect some extra points on the trick.
The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit led, or, if trumped, by the highest trump card played. The winner of the trick first draws the top card from the stock pile to bring his hand back up to 7; the other players draw from the stock pile in turn. Whoever won the trick then leads another card.
This continues until the stock pile is exhausted, at which point the game is played "no trump." This means that there is no longer a trump suit, and the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. It is still important to capture + cards and to sluff - cards whenever possible.
When all tricks have been played, the hand is scored as follows:
Scoring
Start a scoresheet with two columns -- "WE" and "THEY."
The quickest way to add up the value of the cards you've taken is to use the "cancel out" method, wherein the +10 and -10 cards cancel one another out, and the +5 and -5 cards do the same; add up what's left for your score. The team with a + score scores that amount; the other team scores nothing.
The deal passes to the left of the initial dealer, and play continues in the same fashion.
Winning
The first team to reach 155 points wins. Alternately, the team with the highest score at the end of a designated time period wins.
Variations
Triple Scan
For 6 players, playing in 3 teams.
Deal 5 cards to each player.
Scan Without Partners
For 2 to 6 players.
The same as the basic 4-player Scan, except every player plays and is scored individually, not as a partner.
For 5 and 6 players, deal 5 cards to each.
If towards the end of the round there aren't enough cards left in the stock pile for each player to draw one, put the remaining stock cards aside, out of play, and play the rest of the round in "no trump."
No Trump Scan
For 2 to 6 players.
NOTE: This is a good variation for beginning players, especially for younger players who may not yet understand the concept of "trump."
Editor's note on placement: the following unheaded paragraph appears on the printed sheet in the right-hand column, directly above the Strategy Hints, with no section heading. It is transcribed here in that position, as printed. Its context (stock pile exhaustion, 6 players in 3 teams) suggests it relates to the Team Scan play and scoring rules, but the sheet does not say so.
Deal 2 cards to each player. The highest card in the suit led wins the trick. The hand ends when the stock pile has been exhausted; if there aren't enough cards left in the stock pile for each player to draw one, put the remaining cards aside, out of play. Score as in the basic game.
For 6 players, play in 3 teams.
Strategy Hints
- It is always advisable to sluff a Diamond or Club onto an opponent's trick to get it out of your hand. Always sluff the highest Diamond or Club you can.
- If you must take a Diamond or Club trick, do it with the highest Diamond or Club in your hand to try to avoid taking another trick with that high card later. Likewise, if you must give your partner a Diamond or Club, make it a high one.
- Help your partnership capture points by playing Spades and Hearts on tricks your partner will take (as long as you aren't required to follow suit or trump on that trick).
- Towards the end of the game, taking the lead can be critical, depending on which cards are left in your and your opponents' hands. Capturing the lead could let you capture a considerable number of extra points if there are more + than - cards yet to be played; but if there are more - than + cards left, you would probably want to let someone else take the lead.
But what makes Scan so much fun is the fact that you may think you know what's in everyone else's hands, but...
A little knowledge could be a dangerous thing!