A fun, fast-paced combination of strategy and luck for great times with family and friends! You may think you have the upper hand until it happens… Tough Luck! This card game is sure to bring fun to any gathering! For 2 to 4 players or buy 2 decks for up to 8 players!
Object of the Game: Be the first to play all of the cards in your hand and in front of you!
Game Setup: Choose how many players you have and deal the cards according to the directions below.
2 Players: The dealer deals both players 29 cards. Without looking at your cards (or letting the other players look at them) pick 8 cards out of your hand and place them in front of you face down. Place one card face up on each of the cards you just placed face down.
3 Players: The dealer deals all players 19 cards. (Discard any one card.) Without looking at your cards (or letting the other players look at them) pick 6 cards out of your hand and place them in front of you face down. Place one card face up on each of the cards you just place face down.
4 Players: The dealer deals all players 14 cards. (Discard any two cards.) Without looking at your cards (or letting the other players look at them) pick 4 cards out of your hand and place them in front of you face down. Place one card face up on each of the cards you just place face down.
5 Players: The dealer deals all players 23 cards. (Discard any one card.) Without looking at your cards (or letting the other players look at them) pick 8 cards out of your hand and place them in front of you face down. Place one card face up on each of the cards you just place face down.
6 Players: The dealer deals all players 19 cards. (Discard any two cards.) Without looking at your cards (or letting the other players look at them) pick 6 cards out of your hand and place them in front of you face down .Place one card face up on each of the cards you just place face down.
7 Players: The dealer deals all players 16 cards. (Discard any four cards.) Without looking at your cards (or letting the other players look at them) pick 5 cards out of your hand and place them in front of you face down. Place one card face up on each of the cards you just place face down.
8 Players: The dealer deals all players 14 cards. (Discard any four cards.) Without looking at your cards (or letting the other players look at them) pick 4 cards out of your hand and place them in front of you face down. Place one card face up on each of the cards you just place face down.
HOW TO PLAY:
First… some simple rules:
Only after a player plays all of the cards in their hand can they play the cards that are face up in front of them on the table.
And…
Only after a player plays all of the cards that are face up in front of them on the table can they play the cards that are faced down on the table. You flip over and play these cards one at a time (no peeking at the other cards!) — Keep these ‘faced-down’ cards face-down until all cards in your hand and the cards facing up in front of you are gone.
In a 2 player game if you flip over a REVERSE card, flip over and play another card… If the card you played after the REVERSE has a lower value the the card played previous to the REVERSE card… “Tough Luck”! You get to pick up all of the cards in the ‘played pile’. If you play a higher value car it is the other players turn.
The first player puts a low-value card from their hand (or any card value they choose) on the table face up on the ‘played pile’. (2 is the lowest value and 12 is the highest value card.)The next player places a card down from their hand that has an equal or higher value than the card previously played on the played pile.
If a player has more than one of the same card they can play as many of those same valued cards during his turn.
Example: If a player has two “5” cards in his hand, they can play both of the cards if they want to at the same time.
When 4 cards of the same value are played consecutively in turn those 4 cards and all cards in the played pile are no longer played in the game and go into the discard pile.
If the next player cannot play an equal or higher valued card onto the played pile from their hand, that player picks up all of the played cards on the played pile and adds them to their hand.
The player that picks up all of the cards from the played pile has “Tough Luck™”! They must play the cards in their hand before they can go back and play from the cards in front of them.
End of Game: The first player that runs of out cards wins the game.
It is possible that your last card may be a RESTART — Play it and win the game, a RESET — Play it and win the game or a REVERSE — Play it and win the game!
Special Play Cards:
REVERSE: The REVERSE cards reverses the play of the game (counter-clockwise to clockwise, etc). If a player plays a REVERSE card the next player has to match or beat the card they just played. If you play a REVERSE card your turn is finished. In a 2-Player game if you play a REVERSE card you get to go again.
RESET: The RESET cards clears the pile of cards that everyone is playing on. These cards are no longer used in the game and go into a discard pile. If you play a RESET card your turn is finished.
RESTART: The RESTART cards resets the deck to whatever value card the player chooses. The player plays the RESTART card and then can play whatever card they want to from their hand.
Game Play Variation:Try playing with less cards in front of you and more cards in your hand or vice-a-versa to add a different challenge!