Treasure Hunt
Polarité
Puzzle PokerRules summary
Goal
Score more points than the other player when you both run out of cards. A space is yours while your card is on top of it.
Cards
Use one standard 52-card pack and its two Jokers. Red takes the hearts and the diamonds, and Black takes the spades and the clubs. Each player also takes a Treasure (the Joker): Red the colored one, and Black the black one. So each player has 27 cards. The Treasure is the lowest card, below the 2, and the Ace is the highest. Suits never matter. With Aces set to Sit low, an Ace on the board counts as a 1 (see Variants).
Starting hand
Each player shuffles their own color and draws 3. A random player takes the first turn, and the other player goes first in the next game. Both first cards go in the same column, each in its player’s home row, the row nearest them.
Play
- Play one card on an empty space or on a lower card, yours or the other player’s. A card never covers one of the same rank.
- Your home row is open to you in any column that already holds a card. Every other card goes next to or on top of one of your connected cards, side by side and never diagonally. A card is connected while your own top cards join it to your home row.
- A card cut off from your home row is unconnected. You can cover your own card only while it is connected. With no connected card left, you can still play in your home row.
- Play decides where the 5 columns are. Until 5 columns hold cards, a card next to one of your connected cards may go one column past either end. Then the board is fixed at 5 columns, and your whole home row inside them is open to you.
- Your Treasure goes only on an empty space. Every card from the 2 to the Ace can be played on a Treasure, yours included.
- Instead of playing a card, you can discard any card face up, even one that has a space. When none of your cards has a space and they all share a rank, one is discarded for you each turn. That includes your last card.
- Once your card is down, it can’t be changed.
- You draw nothing while you still hold a card. Once your hand is empty, you draw 3 new cards. The player who empties their hand second takes the next turn too, so they start the new hands.
Scoring
When both players are out of cards, each space whose top card is yours scores 1 point, or 3 with your Treasure on top. Unconnected cards still count. More points wins. On equal points, the player with fewer unconnected cards wins. If those are equal too, the game is a tie.
Examples
- Taking their Treasure moves the score by 4
You’re Red, and your home row is the bottom row.
The other player is Black, and their home row is the top row. Their
Treasure, the black Joker, is above your 10, so your 2 can go on it.
Before your play they lead 7 to 5, since their Treasure scores 3. After
it you lead 6 to 4: they lose its 3 points, and your 2 scores 1.
Their home row Your home row You
Variants
Aces sit low. With the Aces option set to Sit low, an Ace has two values. When you play it, it’s the highest card, so it can go on any card, a Treasure or another Ace included. That’s the one time a card covers one of the same rank. On the board an Ace counts as a 1, below the 2, so any card from the 2 up can be played on it. Your Treasure goes only on an empty space, so it never covers an Ace. An Ace still scores 1 point.
Strategy tips
- Taking a Treasure moves the score by 4. The other player loses the 3 points it scored, and your card scores 1. Every card from the 2 to the Ace can be played on a Treasure.
- Keep your Treasure away from the other player’s connected cards. A Treasure next to them can be taken by any card from the 2 up. Between Skilled bots, about half of all Treasures were taken.
- A capture counts twice. Taking the other player’s space wins you a space and costs them one, so it moves the score by 2. An empty space moves it by 1.
- When the points are close, count unconnected cards. On equal points, fewer unconnected cards wins. Cutting off the other player’s cards can win you the tie.
- You can discard any card on any turn. A discard scores nothing, but your Treasure goes only on an empty space, so a discard can keep one open for it.