Where's Suzy?
She'll be here soon enough.
Ugh.
'ey, Fred. What's this game you four always be playin'.
did we never tell you? Thursday Mind Shuffle!
Each person gets 5 cards, and you take turns playing them. First to 0 cards wins.
Oh, that sounds a bit—
BUT, every card has it's own functions and rules. You also cant have the rulebook out during play, unless you're the ref, so players have to memorize them all.
You wanna do a round before Suz gets here, JJ?
I guess we can do one.
First get me another soda. I'll shuffle the deck and setup the game while you do that.
Got it.
He heads into the Back to get the cherry soda, Emma's favorite. All the drinks and food at The J are all custom recipes invented by the old man who used to run it. No one ever sees him, some think he's dead. It's a mystery, as the family history of The J's owners is completely secret. They aren't in the system as any name other than placeholders like "bar guy", "the j person", and "jjjjj."
Meanwhile, Emma deals out everyone 5 cards.
Here's ya' soda.
Ok, We're going to play an easier version of it. You get to use the rulebook during play, and we won't time limit you.
i'm first! ok ... there's a 6 o' clubs on the discard. I'll play "Discard 8 of Hearts, End."
The 8 of Hearts can be played on any card, and if the turn number is odd, then the person to the left draws.
I hate you, Fred. "Draw 1. End."
Ok. Uhhh. "Discard 10S. End." Your move, JJ.
Oh my, this is certainly complex.
Jame pauses on the rules for a card. He puts the 6 of Hearts next to the discard pile, creating a new pile.
Burn 6H. End
Incorrect Procedure. You forgot the D2F, because the 10 of Spades is black.
Draw 1.
They continue the game, the newbie taking his time, and making small mistakes on some of the more complex cards.
a note from the writer: i really don't want to write out all this first game. its close to publishing time, and i didn't plan this specific session out.
Sorry, I'm late... Ooh we got Jamie on the Shuffle?
Hell yeah we do. just finished
We gotta show him how it's actually done. Deal out a new game.
Emma shuffles the deck, and deals Ben, Fred, Suzy, and herself 5 cards each. The top card is the 6 of Clubs.
What we gonna bet? 40 Silv each?
Sounds good for a quick match.
ice cold deal bro. it's game time
These four players were TMS Professionals. The only four of their kind who could memorize the rules. Since using the rulebook made it too easy and too slow, they collectively decided to ban usage of the book in-game, unless you're the referee. They usually don't play with a referee unless it's a competitive game with outsiders. When it's just them, each one of them is a referee.
Discard 10D, End.
burn AH; end
Discard 6S, End.
burn 3C, burn 2 drawings, end
Burn 10C, End.
There's no conversation like the last game. This was real, and they were serious.
Burn 10C, End.
Discard AC, Consume the 10C, Draw 1, and End.
Discard QS, End.
discard KH; end
Draw 3, End.
Draw 3, End.
Burn 6D
Discard the 5S, Consume 6D, 4S,,, and 8C, and End!
Discard JS, End.
Burn AD, End.
burn QC; end
Discard 8S, Draw -1, End.
Wait what?
Drawing negative cards is a thing. You just take any card you don't want, and put it on top of the Draw pile. Suzy puts the Jack of Hearts there, and she will regret that in a few turns.
Discard 9C, Consume QC and AD, End.
Aha, Discard the 2C, Burn 9H, End!
uhm... ugh...
Discard 7D, Incorrect Procedure, Draw 1, End.
discard AH; consume 9H 3C 4H; win
Fred won this round. Suzy is once again angry for losing with a single card left.
AGH I WAS SO CLOSE. STUPID JACK OF DIAMONDS
Nice one.
pretty smart putting the near-unplayable card in the draw pile. until you drew it again.
GG
anyways pay up you nerds
i love you guys
What was shown here is what they consider a "small" game. They didn't bet a whole lot, as they usually do about 100 Silver Credits each, and have had their highest round in a 6 player match betting 1 Gold Credit per player. They usually don't have outsiders play it, due to the game's extreme memorization requirement.