The Dealer
The Dealer Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Aim of the Game
- Each round, one player is The Dealer. They earn points by making other players go bust.
- The other players earn points by getting as high a total as possible without going bust.
- Hands score if they are between 3 and 5 inclusive. Anything else, you're bust!
- The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
1. The Setup
- Players sit so that everyone has a clear view of everyone else.
- The oldest player is the first Dealer. They take The Dealer role card.
- The Dealer shuffles the 100 number cards to form the deck.
- The Dealer shuffles the remaining role cards, and hands one, face-up, to each other player.
2. Before Each Round
- Role cards with this icon (before-round icon) have powers that activate before the round begins.
- For specific card explanations, see Section 9: Powers that Activate Before the Round.
3. The Deal
- Role cards with this icon (deal icon) have powers that activate during The Deal.
- The Dealer draws cards equal to the number of players, including themselves.
- The Dealer looks at the cards and hands one to each other player in any order. Each card must be facing outward, so that the player taking it cannot see what it is.
- Players continue to hold their card facing outward. They can not see their own number, but everyone else can.
- The Dealer discards their final card.
4. The Discussion
- Players now have 30 seconds to try and work out the value of their card(s).
- Players can help each other by telling the truth, hinder each other by lying, bargain for information, make promises — anything they like!
- The only rule is: players may never look at their own cards.
- The Dealer's goal is to encourage players to bust. They may also join the discussion.
- Players can bank their hand at any time by placing their cards face down on the table.
- Once 30 seconds is up, The Dealer counts down from three. All players still holding their card(s) by the end of the countdown are considered active.
5. Repeat Sections 3 and 4
- Repeat Sections 3 and 4 until all players have banked.
6. The Reveal
- Role cards with this icon (reveal icon) have powers that activate during or after The Reveal.
- Starting with the player to the left of The Dealer, all players take turns to flip their cards and count their total.
- If a player's total is 3, 4 or 5, they have succeeded, and score that many points.
- If a player's total is less than 3 or more than 5, they have bust, and score no points.
7. The Score
- Players who succeeded keep their cards in a face-up scoring pile.
- Players who bust discard their cards.
- For each player who busts, The Dealer draws two cards and adds them to their own scoring pile.
8. The Next Round
- All players pass their role card to the left (including The Dealer).
- The next round begins at Section 2 with a new Dealer.
- The deck is NOT shuffled between rounds.
- If the deck runs out, shuffle the discard pile and deal from there.
9. Powers that Activate Before the Round
- The Frenemy: Publicly choose another player. Secretly assign them a Frenemy card. If your friend succeeds or your enemy busts, draw a number card and add its value to your score (even if you bust).
- The Secret Keeper: Draw a number card. Only you can look at it. Place it face-down. Its value is included in your hand.
- The Sniper: Secretly choose a Sniper card. This is your predicted score. If you are correct, draw 2 number cards and add their value to your score.
Component note: the Frenemy cards show the words FRIEND and ENEMY. The Sniper cards are numbered 3, 4 and 5 (the rulebook shows these three as the Sniper card faces).
10. Powers that Activate During The Deal
- The Giant: Your safe range expands to 3-7 instead of 3-5.
- The Prophet: Guess the value of each card dealt to you. The Dealer must tell you if you are correct or not.
- The Supercomputer: The Dealer must tell you whether each card they give you is odd or even (0 counts as even).
- The Witness: The second card you are dealt this round is played face-up on the table so everyone can see it.
11. Powers that Activate During The Reveal
- The Destroyer: Announce a number before revealing your cards. After revealing, discard all cards of that value.
- The Gambler: If you do not bust this round, you may draw one more card. If its value is 0, you bust. Otherwise, add the new card to your score.
12. The Endgame
- 3 Players: The game ends when all players have been The Dealer twice.
- 4-6 players: The game ends when all players have been The Dealer once.
- Each player counts up all the numbers in their scoring pile.
- The player with the highest total wins.
- Tiebreaker: All tied players take a card face-down from the top of the deck. One by one, they guess the number on the card and reveal it. The player who is correct wins. If multiple players are correct, play repeats until only one is correct. In the case of some correct and some incorrect players, only the correct players continue drawing.