VIVO
VIVO Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Vivo is played over 2 rounds, each made up of 12 tricks. In each trick, players must ensure that the exact number of suits shown on the current harmony card are played, if possible.
At the end of each trick, both the player who played the lowest card and the player who played the highest card score points. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins!
Components
- A. 48 Playing Cards (4 suits, ranks 1-12)
- B. 15 Harmony Cards
Setup
- Grab a pen and paper to keep score.
- Remove the harmony cards and playing cards listed on the right for your player count.
- 3 players: Remove any 1 suit of playing cards. Remove all 3 Quartet harmony cards.
- 4 players: Use all 4 suits of playing cards. Remove 1 Solo, 1 Duet, and 1 Trio harmony card.
- Shuffle the harmony cards and place 1 faceup in the middle of the table.
- Pile the other harmony cards off to the side. Flip the top card faceup (so everyone can see what will be drawn next).
- Shuffle the playing cards and deal each player a hand of 12 cards. The player who most recently sang a song leads the first trick.
Playing a Trick
The player who is leading starts the trick by playing any card they have. Each other player must then play 1 card in clockwise order and must follow the harmony if possible. If a player can't follow the harmony, they must play "off-harmony" instead (see Playing Off-Harmony).
Following the Harmony
On your turn, you must check whether the required number of suits shown on the harmony card have been played during the current trick.
If the required number of suits have been played, you must play a previously played suit. If they have not been played, you may play any suit, provided the required number of suits can still be played by the end of the trick. If the required number of suits can only be played if you play a new suit, you must play a new suit.
Example 1: Player 1 leads red. Since the trick is a Duet, Player 2 may play any suit. They choose to play green. Now that 2 suits have been played, Players 3 and 4 must play red or green.
(Player 1 leads red; Player 2 chooses to play new suit (green); Player 3 must play 1st or 2nd suit; Player 4 must play 1st or 2nd suit.)
Example 2: Player 2 may again play any suit, this time choosing blue. Since only 1 suit has been played, Player 3 may also play any suit, and they also choose blue. Player 4 cannot play blue, because 2 suits must be played before the end of the trick.
(Player 1 leads red; Player 2 chooses to play 1st suit; Player 3 chooses to play 1st suit; Player 4 must play new suit.)
Playing Off-Harmony
If you have no cards that follow the harmony, you must play off-harmony. Choose any card in your hand and play it faceup as normal. When the trick is scored, your card is ignored, and you cannot score points.
Example 3: Player 4 must play either red or blue to complete the Trio, but has neither, so they play off-harmony.
(Player 1 leads; Player 2 chooses to play 1st suit; Player 3 must play new suit; Player 4 plays off-harmony, having no red or blue.)
Scoring a Trick
When everyone has played a card, follow these steps to score the trick. Ignore all cards played off-harmony. Each player keeps their scored cards in a scoring row in front of themselves.
- SCORE HIGHEST: The player who played the card of the highest rank flips their card facedown and adds it to their scoring row.
- SCORE LOWEST: The player who played the card of the lowest rank keeps their card faceup and adds it to their scoring row.
- DISCARD: Discard all other played cards facedown.
If players tie for either highest or lowest rank, whoever played later in the trick wins the tie and scores their card. If all players are tied, the tie winner scores their card as highest rank, and no one scores lowest rank.
3P Scoring Example: P1 plays a 3, P2 plays a 6, P3 plays a 9 but is off-harmony. P2 scores highest, P1 scores lowest. The 3rd player was off-harmony, so they can't score highest rank.
4P Scoring Example: P1 plays an 11, P2 plays a 5, P3 plays a 5, P4 plays a 1 but is off-harmony. P1 scores highest, P3 scores lowest (winning the tie with P2 by playing later). The 4th player was off-harmony, so they can't score lowest rank. The 3rd player wins the tie, since they played later.
The Next Trick
After scoring a trick, discard the harmony card in the middle and replace it with the top card from the pile. Flip the new card on top of the pile faceup, if there is one.
The player who scored lowest rank in the previous trick leads the next trick. If no one scored lowest rank, the player who scored highest rank leads instead.
Round End
After 12 tricks, the round ends. Each player counts up the points in their scoring row:
- Each facedown card is worth 2 points.
- Each faceup card is worth points equal to its rank.
Write down each player's score on a piece of paper. If you have only played 1 round, set up and play another round. The player who scored lowest rank in the last trick of round 1 leads the first trick of round 2.
After round 2, the game ends, and the player with the most points wins. In a tie, victory is shared.
Round Total Example: A player's scoring row has three faceup cards scored as lowest rank — ranks 5, 1, and 7 — worth their rank value each, for LOWEST (x3): 13 pts. It also has four facedown cards scored as highest rank, each worth a flat 2 points, for HIGHEST (x4): 8 pts. TOTAL: 21 pts.
Clarifications & Tips
- During the round, players may not look at the discard pile or facedown cards opponents have scored.
- In a Solo, all players must play the same suit as the lead player.
- In a Trio with 3 players or a Quartet with 4 players, every player must play a different suit.
- In a Trio with 4 players, if Players 1 and 2 play the same suit, Player 3 must play a new suit. Since Player 4 can only play 1 suit, 2 suits must be played before their turn.
- If the required number of suits cannot be played before the end of the trick regardless of what suit you play, you must still play a new suit. Example: In a Trio with 3 players, Player 2 plays off-harmony. It is now impossible to complete the Trio, but Player 3 must still play a new suit.
Credits
- Design: Vic Village, LEO
- Illustration: Sai Beppu
- Graphic Design: Anca Gavril & Co.
- Rules Editing: Jeff Fraser, Eric Slauson
- 3D Artist: Filip Gavril