Flip-Flush
A Game for 2 - 6 Players, designed by Justin
Requires: one standard deck of cards.
Deal eight cards to each player at the beginning of the game.
These are the only cards you get; the rest of the deck is set aside.
Each turn, you may either Place or Flip. Players Place cards into
a 3x3 grid on the table; they may Place a card in any position, removing
the card that was there, if there was one. Cards are always Placed
face-down, never face-up.
You may also Flip a face-down card. This simply consists of turning
that card face-up (orientation is irrelevant).
Flipping a card may result in a Flush -- a row of three cards of the
same suit along a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. This is
where the strategy comes in. Before making your Flip, you may declare
that you expect the Flip to result in a new Flush. Winning and losing
depends on getting this right. There are four possible outcomes:
-
If you call for a Flush, and it does result in a Flush, you win the game.
-
If you call for a Flush, and there isn't one, you are knocked out.
-
If you don't call for a Flush, and there is one, you are knocked out.
-
If you don't call for a Flush and there isn't one (the most common case),
the game simply proceeds.
The strategy of the game is mainly in remembering which cards you Placed,
and sussing when your opponents attempted to Place a Flush.
You must either Place or Flip if you can; if there is nothing to Flip,
and you have no cards to Place, then you must pass.
The game ends one of three ways:
-
If you correctly call a Flush, you win.
-
If everyone else is knocked out, you win.
-
If all of the cards are face-up, and no one is left with cards to Place,
the game ends; all remaining players are considered to have tied.
Gambling Variant
The game can also be played as a gambling game. Agree on an appropriate
stake; in a typical game, you might lost a few stakes.
Begin with everyone ante'ing one stake into the pot. Deal the
cards as above.
Play is as above, with these tweaks:
-
Instead of getting knocked out, you must pay another stake to the pot.
Players do not get knocked out.
-
When someone wins, they get all the money in the pot.
-
If the game ends in a draw, the money is left in the pot for the next game.