Below is a quick and easy card game I came up with while
on vacation with my wife and son a few years ago. It only
requires two regular playing card (poker) decks, and is simple
enough for kids to play as well as adults. If you have any questions
about it or would like to give me some feedback, just email me or
leave a note in the guestbook.
Four Card Mystery
Setup: Requires two poker decks* (jokers are not used)
Shuffle the first deck and deal each player the following number
of cards face down:
2 players – 6 cards 3 players - 4 cards 4 players - 3 cards
5 players – 3 cards 6 players – 2 cards
These are the prize cards, and should be known only to their owner
until claimed during play. The rest of this deck is not used and should
be set aside. Next, shuffle the second deck and deal each player four
cards, which should be held separately from the prize cards. This is
the player’s hand. The remainder of this second deck should be placed
centrally as it will be used as the draw deck for the rest of the game.
Start: Players may now cut cards , and the player who shows the highest
card will go first. Rank of cards is as follows: Ace, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7,
6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Cut again in the event of ties. Play goes clockwise after the
first player.
Play: First player draws the top card from the draw deck and adds it to
his hand. He may now lay down a set of four cards (called a “challenge”)
on the table in front of him. Challenges must include either four cards
from the same suit, or one card each from the four different suits. When a
challenge is presented, all players (including the currently active player)
check their prize cards privately. If any match exactly the challenge cards,
they become “claimed” prize cards and are placed face up in front of the
player who made the challenge. After the challenge is complete, place
the challenge cards in the discard pile and that player’s turn is finished.
If no challenge is made, the active player must check to see if they are
holding more than six cards, and, if so, discard down to six cards. When
the active player’s turn is finished, the player to their left (clockwise) goes
next.
Winning the game: The first player to collect four claimed prize cards wins
and play ends immediately. If the draw deck is exhausted and no one has
yet claimed four prize cards, the player with the most claimed prize cards
wins. If two or more players have the same number of prize cards, the
game is a draw.
* In order to keep the prize cards separate from the general play cards, using decks with different cardbacks is better.