This is game is a work in progress. It has been playtested a few times with the rules as written, but not enough to say that it is a finished game. Maybe this will turn out to be the final version, or maybe it will need changes. You are welcome to try it out, but please don't judge the Decktet on the basis of it. If you do try it, feedback is especially welcome.

Divers Weights

a silent auction game for 2 to 4 players, using the Decktet

Object of the game: To score points by winning tricks.

If players play high cards, then the low card will win the trick. If players play low cards, then the high card will win the trick. So you need to guess what your opponents will do and make an honest assessment of your own chances.

Set up

A hand begins with the dealer shuffling the deck and dealing out five cards to each player.

The trick

The dealer takes a number of cards from the deck and places them face up in the center of the table. In a two-player game, the dealer flips just one card. Three players: two cards. Four players: three cards.

The total of the cards in the center is the threshold for the trick. Aces count as one. Crowns count as ten.

Each player then selects a card from their hand and places it face down in front of them. When every player has selected a card in this way, they flip their cards face up. Total the ranks of all the played cards. (Again: Aces count as one. Crowns count as ten.)

If the total is less than the threshold.

The player who played the highest card wins the trick.

If the total is greater than the threshold.

The player who played the lowest card wins the trick.

If the total is exactly equal to the threshold.

No one wins the trick.

The winner selects one of the cards from the trick and sets it next to them as a prize card. They may pick from any of the threshold cards and any of the cards played. The remaining cards from the trick are discarded.

If more than one player plays the same winning rank, then each of them counts as winning the trick. They take the card that they played as a prize card, and the remaining cards are set aside.

This repeats until five tricks have been played, at which point the hand is over.

In the sample trick above, the two cards in the center are a 3 and an 8. So the threshold is 11.

The total of all the cards played is 15 (=6+5+4). This is greater than the threshold, so the lowest rank card (a 4) wins the trick. Bob takes a prize card and the remainder are set aside.

Note that it is possible for a trick to have no winner (if the cards played total to exactly the threshold) or even for every player to win a given trick (if everyone plays a card of the same rank). As such, the total tricks won in a hand typically won't add up to five.

Scoring

At the end of the hand, you score one point for each suit symbol among your prize cards; that is, 1 point for each Ace or Crown and 2 points for each number card.

You score a 5 point bonus if every suit symbol appears at least once among your prize cards.

The maximum possible score for a hand is 15; that would require winning every trick, taking five number-ranked prize cards, and getting the bonus.

The player to the dealer's left becomes the dealer for the next hand.

Bidding

In this variant, players bid on how many tricks they will take and collect prize cards so as to count tricks, but it doesn't matter which cards they take as prizes.

Before the first trick: Beginning with the player on the dealer's left and going clockwise around the table, each player says how many tricks they think they will be able to take. Players score points only if they take at least as many tricks as they bid. The exception is a bid of zero (or nil bid) which scores only if the player takes exactly zero tricks.

At the end of the hand: If you won fewer tricks than you bid (or if you made a nil bid and won any trick at all) then you score no points. If you made your bid, then you score 4 points for each trick that you bid and 1 point for each overtrick. If you made a nil bid and won no tricks, then you score 20 points.

Credits

Design and development: P.D. Magnus, Cristyn Magnus

The Decktet is presently available either as a digital document or as a printed deck.

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The Decktet is ©2003-8 P.D. Magnus. Some rights reserved. The deck, illustrations, and supporting text are offered as open content under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be negotiated.