SOLOmino
SOLOmino Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Goal of the Game
In this new approach to "Crazy Eights", players take turns adding their cards to a domino-like line. But they need to be careful when an action card comes up: all of a sudden, the direction of play may change, a player may need to draw penalty cards, or players might swap their cards with each other! In the end, the player who gets rid of his or her cards first wins the game.
Getting Ready to Play
Shuffle all the cards together and deal eight to each player, face down. All players take their cards in hand. The remaining cards are put within everyone's reach as a face-down draw pile. Turn over the top card of the draw pile and place it on the table between the players. This is the beginning of the card line.
How to Play
The youngest player goes first, with turns passing to the left. On his or her turn, a player may either add one card from his or her hand to the line, or draw one card from the draw pile.
Adding a Card to the Line
A player can add a matching card to either of the two ends of the card line. A card matches if one of its halves shows the same color, number, or action symbol as the card half at the end of the card line.
Example: One end of the line shows a red "2". You can add either a card with a "2" or a card with a red half to this end of the line (or even a red "2"!).
The new card is added to the line with the two matching halves overlapping.
Drawing a Card
A player who can't or doesn't want to add a card to the line must draw a card from the draw pile. If that card is suitable to add to the line, the player may do so immediately. Otherwise, he or she has to add it to his or her hand. Then, the turn passes to the next player.
The Action Symbols
If a player adds a card to the line that has an action symbol, that action is carried out immediately. It doesn't matter if the half with the action symbol is the one that matched up, or if it is on the half that is now at the end of the line.
Skip a Turn
If a player adds a card with the "skip a turn" symbol to the card line, the next player has to skip his or her turn, and the player after that takes the next turn.
Change Direction
If a player adds a card with the "change direction" symbol to the card line, the direction of play changes. So, if play has been passing to the left so far, it will now pass to the right—or vice versa.
Draw 1
If a player adds a card with the "draw 1" symbol to the card line, the next player has two options: he or she can either take one card off the draw pile and then take his or her normal turn, or add another card with the "draw 1" symbol to either end of the line. If he or she adds another "draw 1", the player after that must draw two cards, unless he or she adds another "draw 1" card to the line in turn, and so on. The player who eventually has to draw all these cards still takes his or her normal turn after drawing.
Swap Hands with Another Player
A player who adds a card with the "swap hands with another player" symbol to the card line must choose one of the other players, and then swap his or her entire hand of cards with that player.
Pass Hands Around the Table
If a player adds a card with the "pass hands around the table" symbol to the card line, all players must pass their entire hand of cards to the next player. The player who added the card decides if the cards are passed to the left or to the right, regardless of the current direction of play.
Call for a Card
If a player adds a card with the "call for a card" symbol to the card line, the game is briefly interrupted. The player takes the top card off the draw pile and puts it down in front of the next player, face up. That player must now take a card from his or her hand that perfectly matches half of the face-up card, and puts it down on top of it. Perfectly matching means that both color and number or symbol must match. If the player has a matching card, he or she passes both cards to the next player, who must match a card to the one that is now on top, and so on.
If the player does not have a matching card, he or she must take all the cards passed to him or her in hand. That player then takes his or her turn normally.
Example: Player A has added a card with the "call for a card" symbol to the line. He turns over the top card of the draw pile and puts it down in front of Player B. She must now play a card from her hand which shows either a red "8" or a blue "1". She has a matching card, so she puts it down on top of the first card and passes this mini-pile on to Player C. He would now have to play either a blue "1" or a blue "7", but he doesn't have either. So, he adds both cards to his hand and takes his turn.
The End of the Game
When a player only has one card left in hand after his or her turn, he or she must clearly call out "SOLOmino!" This serves as a warning to the others that this player only has one card left. A player who forgets to call out "SOLOmino!" must immediately draw one penalty card off the draw pile.
If a player adds his or her last card to the line, the game ends at once and that player has won! If the last card played shows an action symbol, that action is not carried out.
If the draw pile runs out before a player is able to play all of his or her cards, the game also ends immediately. In this case, the player with the fewest cards left in hand wins. There may be a tie among two or more players if the game ends this way, which will just mean there is more than one winner.
Rare case: If a player must still draw additional cards (from a "draw 1" action) when the game ends because of an empty draw pile, that player still has to take those cards by drawing from the line on the table, before the players count their cards to determine the winner.
Playing More Than One Round
Of course, it's possible to play SOLOmino for more than one round. In that case, each player gets one point per card he or she has left in hand at the end of a round. Players should agree on a number of rounds beforehand, and the player with the fewest points after that many rounds wins the game!
Optional Rule: "Interjecting"
The game is played as described above, with one additional rule: If a player has a card in hand with one half that perfectly matches (color and number or symbol) either end of the card line, he or she may immediately add that card to the line even if it is not his or her turn. Then, the turn to play passes to the player after the "interjector".
Note: When normal play has been interrupted due to the "call for a card" action, no player may "interject".
Example: The two ends of the card line show a yellow "5" and a blue "7". A player has a card in hand showing a yellow "5". Although it is not that player's turn, she may "interject" and add the card with the yellow "5" to the line. Play then passes to the next player after the interjecting one.