Shut The Books
Shut The Books Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Contents
- Cards: 60
- Instructions (this sheet): 1
Preparation
When there are 3 players, cards 1 through 12 are used. When there are 4 players, all cards are used.
Deal an equal number of cards to each player (16 for 3 players, 15 for 4 players).
The player who has recently closed a book is the starting player.
Forecast
Starting with the starting player, the players make their predictions in clockwise order. To make a prediction, the player takes up to 5 cards from their hand (0 is ok) and lays them face up in front of them. These are the prediction cards. Each player in clockwise order does the same. When all players have played their prediction cards, proceed to the first trick.
A prediction card indicates that the player will win a trick with the same color or same number as the card. The total number of prediction cards played is the number of tricks you expect to win this hand.
For example, if a blue 10 and a red 9 are chosen, the prediction is that a blue or 10 card will win one trick and a red or 9 card will win one trick, for a total of two tricks.
Winning a trick in the hand as predicted is called an "achievement". In addition, there are some special cases in which the prediction can be achieved. See SPECIAL CASES below.
How to read the prediction cards (example)
- Red or 9 card for 1 trick, blue or 10 card for 1 trick (2 tricks total)
- Take one trick with a purple or 7 card, one trick with a purple or 13 card, and one trick with a yellow or 3 card (3 tricks total)
Trick Play
The lead player plays a card of their choice from their hand. Afterwards the other plays play one card each in clockwise order. Players must play a color of the card led by the starting player if they have it, otherwise they may play anything they would like. Red is the trump suit. When each player has played one card, the trick is over. Move on to the winner of the trick.
The player who played the highest in the red suit wins the trick. Otherwise, the player who played the highest in the suit that was led wins the trick.
The player who gains the trick checks their prediction cards, and if there is a prediction card that matches the winning card (suit or number), they place the trick face down below that card and flip over the prediction card.
Example 1: If there is a matching prediction card
The winning card is yellow 13. The cards that match are the purple 13 and yellow 3. Either one of them can be matched. In this case, we put all the cards together under the yellow 3 to mark the yellow 3 as completed and turn the yellow 3 face down.
Example 2: If there are no matching cards
The winning card is a yellow 11, while the two predicted cards are a blue 2 and a purple 9. There are no cards with matching numbers or colors. Therefore, as shown in the diagram, the cards are grouped together and placed below the prediction cards so that there are no prediction cards above them.
Special Cases
If the player does not have the color of the led suit and wins with a trump, they may count the trick as matching the led suit.
The winner of the current trick becomes the lead player of the next trick.
End of a Hand
The hand ends when any player runs out of cards. (The player with the highest number of predictions will have fewer cards than the other players and will be the first to run out of cards, so keep this in mind as it will dictate how many tricks will be in the hand)
Score Calculation
- If you predict perfectly, you score 4 points.
- If you are off by 1 trick, you score 2 points.
- If you are off by more than 1, you score -1 point for every trick you are off by.
Example of Score Calculation
- 4 points are awarded for having closed all the prediction cards and for having exactly matched the prediction.
- The player closes the prediction card, but plays an extra trick, and scores 2 points because they are off by one.
- Two prediction cards are not closed, and one extra trick has been taken, resulting in -3 points.
- 2 points because one prediction card is not closed and there is one discrepancy.
Next Hand and End of the Game
After the scoring has been calculated, one hand is over and the next hand begins. Collect all the cards used in the game, shuffle them well, and distribute them equally to each player. The person to the left of the starting player of the previous hand becomes the starting player and starts the next hand. Play hands equal to the number of players. In case of ties, the winner is the player closest to the starting player in the last hand (the player who guesses first has the least information and is thus at a disadvantage).
If you have any questions about the rules, please contact us by email.
Game Tips
When you play the game for the first time, it may be difficult to predict the cards. If you like, I have written some tips for the game to help you play.
What kind of cards are suitable for prediction cards?
It may be a good idea to play a card that has both elements of a card with strong numbers and a card with many colors. For example, if you have a lot of blue cards and two or three 10s, you can use the blue 10 as a prediction card. If you play a card that has both color an number, you may be able to achieve the goal with the other element even if you can't achieve it with the number or color.
When the cards in your hand are too strong
Adjust the strength of your hand with the prediction cards. If the cards in your hand are too strong, it may be a good idea to use the stronger cards as prediction cards.
About trump cards
The trump card is a very powerful card. If you play prediction cards well and reduce the number of colors in your hand, you may have more chances to play trumps. Also, the card with the same number as the trump may be suitable for the prediction card.
The number of tricks is slightly reduced if a player plays a higher number of cards than expected. On the other hand, if the number of cards is low, the number of tricks will be a little high. It may be a good idea to predict the number of tricks by looking at the strength of the cards in hand and the number of cards predicted by other players.
If you win a trick and you already have achieved the conditions of more than one prediction card, you can close any of them. It may be a good idea to decide which cards to close by considering which cards are likely to be used in the future, or which cards are not likely to be used. If you have achieved the condition of several prediction cards when you win a trick, you can close any of the cards.