Short Zoot Suit
Short Zoot Suit Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Hook
A trick-taking* game where players will take advantage of their own personal draw deck to be short-suited at the same rate as they win tricks.
*More info about trick-taking in the Trick-Taking Rules section.
Components
- 52 playing cards
- 6 double suit cards
- 6 additional scoring cards
- 4 player aids / draw deck markers
- 1 rulebook
Setup
- 2 players: cards 2–9, 4 suits. Shuffle and deal all but 2.
- 3 players: cards 2–13, 4 suits (standard deck 2–K). Shuffle and deal all.
- 4 players: cards 1–13, 4 suits (standard deck A–K).
The start player for the first round is the last player to watch a short film.
Gameplay Flow
At the start of a round, players pick any 5 cards from the cards they were dealt. Players then flip these 5 cards facedown, shuffle them, and place them into a pile in front of themselves. This is the draw pile for the player.
Before every trick begins, anyone may draw 1 card from their personal draw deck. If, after this, anyone has 0 cards left in their hand (not draw deck), the round is over. The trick-taking is must follow, with no trump. The highest card of the lead suit wins.
The winner takes the trick, except for any non-lead-suit cards. Those cards go back to the player who played them, face-up into that player's shorts pile.
Example:
Bearilyn Monroe starts the trick with a 5 Hearts.
Bearyl Streep follows suit with a 7 Hearts.
Audrey Hepbearn is out of Hearts, so she plays a 3 of Clubs.
Audrey will take her 3 and put it into her shorts pile.
Bearyl Streep played the highest of the led suit, and will win the trick.
Scoring
Players earn 1 point per trick won and 3 points for each pair of won trick and card in their shorts pile. If the number of tricks they won equals the number of shorts, the player earns 5 points per pair rather than just 3 points.
Example:
Brother Barenstain won 1 trick and has 1 short: 1 point for 1 won trick and 5 points for the 1 equal pair: 6 total points.
Sister Barenstain won 3 tricks and has 3 shorts: 3 points for 3 won tricks and 15 points for the 3 equal pairs: 18 total.
Ditka won 3 tricks and has 2 shorts: 3 points for 3 won tricks and 6 points for the 2 unequal pairs: 9 total.
Smokey won 1 trick and shorted 6 times: 1 point for 1 won trick and 3 points for the 1 pair: 4 total.
Baron won 4 tricks and didn't short: 4 points for 4 won tricks.
Winnie won no tricks and shorted 2 times: 0 points.
Intermediate Scoring
In addition to the above scoring, players shuffle the Additional Scoring cards and draw 1 to be used in the game. For the first game, it is recommended to play with the Stared Additional Scoring card where players count the number of different suits in their shorts pile and get points based on that number:
| Number of Suits | Points |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 3 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 |
Example:
Paddington shorted 2 spades and 1 heart, they get 2 bonus points for 2 different suits.
Baloo shorted 1 spade, 1 diamond, 1 heart, and 3 clubs, they get 8 bonus points.
Grills didn't short at all and got 0 bonus points.
End of Round
Players play rounds per player, where the next round's start player is the person to the left of the previous round's start player.
End of Game
Most points wins! Congrats on being best dressed!
If tied, the tied players email their favourite movie to Taylor, and he'll crown the winner!
Variants
Multiple-Suited Cards
Players swap out face cards in the original deck, with their multiple-suit equivalents. These cards are considered both in suit and following suit for both of the suits on the card.
When leading a multiple-suited card, either suit can be followed. The highest card of either suit in the trick can win, with ties going to the later played number. Any multiple-suited card shorted counts as both suits for the bonus.
Sean's Short Shorts
Players skip making a personal deck at the start. Instead, at the start of every trick, players may either place a card facedown from their hand onto their draw deck or draw a card from their draw deck. Neither is required. This variant builds the draw decks during play.
Trick-Taking Rules
Trick-taking is a mechanism used in many card games. A trick is formed when each player, in turn, plays a card from their hand to the middle of the play area. The trick is then won by one of the players. The first player in any trick (or lead player) may play any card from their hand. The suit of this led card is the trick's led suit. The remaining players in turn order must then add to the trick with a card of the same suit, or follow suit, if they are able to. If a player cannot follow suit, they are considered short-suited, and may play any other card from their hand. This is called shorting. The highest card in the suit led will win the trick. The winner of a trick will lead the next trick.