The Six of VIII
The Six of VIII Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Players and Time
Players: 3-4, in teams
Time: 15-60 minutes
Components
- Crown timeline token
- 63 cards that form the deck:
- 13 black, 13 red, 9 orange, 6 yellow, 9 green, 12 blue, and a King
- 3 timeline cards
- Church of England card
- Three-player game card
The six suits for the six Queens, and the King card.
The Timeline
The timeline shows which suit is currently trump, and when it will change. At the beginning of the game, Catherine of Aragon is Queen, and black is trump. The token moves along the timeline after each trick.
Set Up for Four Players
Players should be seated so that the teams will alternate turns.
Decide whether to play a short game (one hand) or a full game (one hand per player).
Lay out the timeline within sight of all players. The black-red card goes at the beginning, followed by the red-orange-yellow card, and finally the green-blue card. Place the crown token on the first black space at the far left of the timeline.
Remove the King, the two zero cards, and the Church of England card for the standard game. (See the Advanced Variant for how to include these components.) The three-player game card is also not needed.
Determine a starting player. The starting player shuffles the cards and deals 15 cards to each player.
Each player selects two cards to pass to their partner, face down. Once the cards have been passed the players may add the new cards to their hand.
Game Play
The first player plays a card from their hand, and the other players follow around the table in clockwise order.
If a player has a card in the suit that was led, they must follow suit. If they do not, they may choose any card.
The timeline token indicates which suit is currently trump. It is allowed – but not required – to lead the trump suit.
Resolving a Trick
The highest trump played to a trick will win the trick.
If no trump was played, the highest card of the suit led will win the trick.
The player who wins the trick collects the cards played.
- It is helpful to stack the tricks taken at right angles so that it is easy to see how many tricks were won at the end of the hand.
The timeline token is advanced on the round track one space.
- If the timeline token is on the last space and cannot move any further, proceed to scoring.
The person who won the trick will lead to the next trick.
Scoring
Each team earns one point for each trick that they won.
The number of stars on the cards collected in those tricks is added to the team's score.
- If you are playing the short game, declare the winning team.
- If you are playing the full game, the lead will move clockwise around the table until everyone has had a turn. Points for each hand will be added to the team's previous total.
Next Hand
The new starting player shuffles all of the cards and deals out a new hand.
The timeline token is moved back to the starting space.
Winning the Game
The team with the most points wins. If there is a tie, the team who won the last trick wins.
Advanced Variant
The advanced variant adds three new cards: The King, the black 0, and the red 0. It also introduces the Church of England.
The King Card
The King card is the color of the current reign. It is highest trump card in the game and will always win the trick in which it is played.
It may be played any time a player can play the current trump color:
- It is the lead card for the trick, or
- trump was led, or
- a player is out of the led suit.
The King card cannot be pulled from hand to follow suit.
King Henry pursued Anne Boleyn for almost seven years before they were married.
Those loyal to Catherine of Aragon did not accept Anne Boleyn, and considered King Henry's first wife the rightful Queen.
Those loyal to Anne Boleyn saw her as the future, the young wife who would surely give the King a son.
The Zero Cards
The zero cards are spies, working to undermine the rival side.
The black 0:
- is part of the black suit. It must be followed with black cards if led. If black is led by another player and you have the black 0 in hand, you must follow, with the 0 or another black card.
- may be played as a red 13 to follow a red lead, but cannot be pulled from a hand to follow red.
- can win as trump on orange, yellow, green, or blue, when played as a red 13 during Anne Boleyn's reign. If it follows black, it is black.
Put another way, the only times a 13 can be played is when the 13 color is led, or the player does not have the led suit. A player is not obligated to play a 13 if its suit is led.
The red 0 is the same, but flipped.
The Church of England
King Henry created the Church of England when he wanted to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and be free to marry Anne Boleyn.
The Church of England may be used once per hand to annul a trick after all cards have been played.
- Neither team will get the points on the cards or the point for the trick. The cards are put on the discard pile with the undealt cards.
- The timeline token is still advanced.
- The player who would have won leads to the next trick.
- The Church of England card cannot be used on a trick that includes the King.
The team with fewer points after the hand has been scored will control its use in the following hand. Thus, the second, third, and fourth hands of a full game. If there is a tie, neither team has the power of the Church of England.
It comes into play once the token reaches Anne Boleyn's reign on the timeline, as that is the year it was formed.
Set Up Changes for the Advanced Variant
Shuffle all 63 cards. Deal 15 cards to each player. 3 cards will remain face down out of the game.
When setting up the second, third, and fourth hands, place the Church of England card above the first red area of the timeline.
Tiebreaker
If there is a tie, the team that does not have the King card wins. If neither team had the King card, the team that won the last trick wins.
Changes for Three Players
In a three-player game, two players will be on a team and the other player will control a face-up dummy hand.
The starting player places the three-player card in the center of the table so that "Solo" is facing them.
The starting player shuffles the cards and deals 15 cards to each player and 15 cards to a pile for the dummy player.
The two players on a team will exchange two cards face down as usual.
The solo player looks at their hand and puts two face down cards on the dummy pile, as they would when exchanging with a partner.
The solo player puts down their hand and picks up the dummy pile. They will arrange the dummy hand. If the King card is present, it should go on the left, followed by black cards high to low, red cards high to low, and so on.
The solo player adds two cards face down to their hand, to complete the exchange.
After the other players have exchanged cards, the player controlling the dummy hand will lay it face up on the table within easy reach.
The solo player will lead from their active hand. They will play next to the "Solo" area of the three-player card.
The second player will play to the trick, next to the "Partner" area of the three-player card closest to them.
The first player will play a card from the open dummy hand, next to the "Dummy" area of the three-player card, and then the third player will play in front of the remaining "Partner" area.
If the Dummy hand wins the trick, the lead comes from the Dummy's cards.
The cards from tricks are taken by the teams as usual. However, when the hand is completed, only the Solo player counts and records their score.
The Solo player position rotates so that each player has the chance to control the dummy hand. Highest score wins.
For a longer game, play until a player has won two games.
Credits
Designed by: Carol LaGrow
Graphic Design by: Daniel Newman