Tall Tales Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Components
• Preparation
• Round Overview
  • Ranking Example
  • Memory Market Example
• Scoring

Components

• 76 number cards (1-19 in 4 suits)
  • 1-9 used for dealing
  • 10-11 able to be taken in round 1
  • 12-14 able to be taken in round 2
  • 15-16 able to be taken in round 3
  • 17-19 able to be taken in round 4
• 12 round cards (3x for each suit)
• 1 rulebook

Preparation

1. Separate the cards 1-9 from the cards 10-19. For a 3-player game, remove the cards 1-3 from the game.
2. From the cards 10-19, organize the four suits into stacks in ascending order face-up with the 10 on the top and the 19 on the bottom. Place the Round Cards as indicated (Round 2 for each suit under the 11, Round 3 under the 14, Round 4 under the 16). Place the four stacks to one side of the play area. This forms the Embellishment Market.
3. Shuffle the remaining cards (4-9 for a three player game. 1-9 for a four player game). Form the Memory Market by drawing one card for each player and placing it in their market area.
4. Deal the remaining cards to the players.
5. Choose a first lead player using a method of your choosing.

Round Overview

1. The lead player plays a card from their hand to the play area closest to themselves. The card played creates the lead suit.

   Someone begins to tell a story.

2. In clockwise order, players play a card from their hand to the play area closest to themselves. Each player must follow (play the same suit as) the lead card if possible. If it is not possible, they may play any card of their choice. Once everyone has played a card, this is called a trick.

   Everyone tells a story of the same type, trying to outdo the initial storyteller.

3. Rank the winning order of the trick according to the following rules:

   • a. The highest card of the lead suit wins.
   • b. Lower cards of the lead suit are ranked according to their values.
   • c. Cards from suits that were not led (offsuit) are ranked by their values.
   • d. If there is a tie between offsuit cards, the player who played later is ranked higher.

Ranking Example

Sam leads with 6 in Gun. Sue does not have a Gun in their hand, so plays a 7 in Axe. Ty has Guns and plays a 9 Gun. Tina does not have a Gun in their hand, so plays a 7 in Lasso.

The rank is as follows: Ty (9 Gun), Sam (6 Gun), Tina (7 Lasso played later), Sue (7 Axe).

4. In order, from the highest ranking player to the lowest ranking player, each player will take a single card from any one of the Memory Markets, placing the new card face-down into a personal discard pile.

   Everyone chooses a detail of someone else's former story to remember and borrow for the next gathering.

   The lowest ranked player instead chooses a card from the top of any stack in the Embellishment Market. The card chosen must be a card that is allowed to be taken the current round or any previous round (as indicated on the cards).

   The worst storyteller finds a bit of flair to make their story better for the next gathering.

Memory Market Example

The example diagram shows the trick's play area and the Memory Markets. Ty takes the 8 of Gun (1). Sam takes the 3 of Axe (2). Tina takes the 6 of Fish (3). Sue takes from the Embellishment Market (4). The remaining Memory Market card is discarded out of the game (5).

5. The card remaining in a player's Memory Market is removed out of the game.

   Details of a story that no one wants to retell are forgotten forever.

6. The cards played in the previous round are moved into each player's Memory Market.

   Stories told today may be remembered for tomorrow.

7. Play a series of tricks until everyone has played every card in their hand.

8. Begin the next round using the cards in your personal discard pile as your new hand.

   Each storytelling gathering builds upon our memories, ever changing as we lift inspiration from our fellow storytellers and add embellishments.

9. The game is played over a series of four rounds. At the end of four rounds, the player with the highest score wins.

   The greatest tall tale will be remembered forever!

Scoring

1. Scoring occurs at the end of the second and fourth rounds.

2. To score at the end of the second round, sum the values of cards in your discard pile. Your score is the sum of the values in your hand divided by two. Example: The sum of Tina's cards after round two is 75. Tina's score after round two is 37 1/2.

   Editor's note: step 2 as printed says both "discard pile" and "hand" in consecutive clauses. It is transcribed exactly as printed; the worked example (75 gives 37 1/2) matches halving the summed value.

3. To score at the end of the fourth round, sum the values of cards in your discard pile. Your fourth round score is equal to the sum of the card values. Example: The sum of Tina's cards after round four is 125. Tina's score for round four is 125.

4. Final scores are achieved by adding a player's scores from round two and round four. Example: Tina's score from round two is 37 1/2 and their score from round four is 125. Tina's final score is 162 1/2.