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New & untested
Our own designs and adaptations of modern card games for an ordinary deck. Not yet playtested – tell us how they play!
- Orbit untested Win together or fail together – everyone has a tricky task, and nobody may say a word about their cards.
- Nova untested Launch a firework show together – you can see everybody's cards except your own.
- Unisono untested Play all your cards in perfect order – without a single word, just by feeling the rhythm of the table.
- Pokerface untested Hold'em without betting and without opponents – guess where your hand ranks at the table and line up the whole team without a word.
- Paternoster Duel untested Red against black – each of you builds one pile up and one down, and slips the odd card onto the other's piles. Whoever gets stuck first loses.
- Secret Letter untested Sixteen cards, one card in your hand – guess, peek and duel your way to the end of the round, and never let go of the letter.
- Intrigue untested Two hidden cards, a handful of coins and a straight face – claim any role you like, but if someone calls your bluff, it costs you dearly.
- Roses and Thorns untested Three roses and one thorn each – bid how many cards you can turn up without getting pricked, and keep a poker face while others try.
- Liar's Post untested Slide a card across the table, tell everyone what it is – and hope they don't believe you, or that they do.
- Sixth Card untested Everybody plays at once, the cards line up by themselves – and whoever lays the sixth card in a row swallows the other five.
- Take or Pass untested Nobody wants the cards – so you pay a chip to pass them on, until someone decides the pile of chips is worth the pain.
- Woodland Tricks untested A trick-taking duel with special cards and a twist – win a few tricks or most of them, but never too many.
- Expeditions untested Four expeditions, one question – is it worth starting? Every venture costs 20 points before it earns a single one.
- Border Stones untested Nine stones between you and your rival – build the better three-card hand at each one, and win five of them, or three in a row.
- Wizards and Jesters untested Four Aces that always win, four 2s that always lose – and one more card every round to get your prediction exactly right.
- Dragon and Phoenix untested The four 2s become a Dragon, a Phoenix, a Fox and a Herald – climb, bomb and bet with your partner that you'll be out first.
- Ten Phases untested Ten tasks, one after another – collect sets, runs and suits, wave your wild Kings and make your rivals skip a turn.
- Showdown untested A Wild West shootout with secret roles – protect the Sheriff, or be the outlaw who tries to bring him down.
- On the Scale untested Somewhere between freezing and boiling sits a cup of tea – but where exactly? Read your friend's mind and find the spot.
- Scoundrel for Two untested Two heroes, one dungeon, 52 cards – share weapons and potions, and get out alive together.
- Team Klondike untested One Klondike layout, two or three secret hands and no talking – sort the whole deck together before time runs out.
- Tricks Together untested Everybody names their number of tricks, and the whole team wins only if everybody hits it exactly – without a word about the cards.
- Defuse! untested One of you knows the code, the rest hold the pliers – and the expert may not say a single word.
- Island Escape untested The island is sinking under your feet – grab the four treasures and run for the helicopter.
- Cell Mates untested One of you may only move red cards, the other only black ones – solve a FreeCell deal together without saying a word.
- Summit Rush untested TriPeaks for two, both at once – grab, shout and clear all three peaks before the sand runs out.
- Number Crunchers untested Calculation for two: count up in ones, twos, threes and fours on shared foundations – but each of you fills only your own waste piles, in silence.
- Square Deal untested One five-by-five grid, two secret hands of three – build ten poker hands together without a word and beat the target.
- Rope Team untested Two climbers on one rope – win tricks to pull the rope your way and uncover the ridge, but pull too hard and you both fall.
- Common Cause untested Rummy for two against the stock – every meld needs cards from both of you, and you may not say which ones you hold.
- Undercover untested Klondike for two in which each of you peeks under different face-down cards – and may only hint at what lies there.
- Cross Sums untested Choose cards together, reassign targets and build your way through fifty number puzzles.
- Pot Luck untested Everyone brings a card to the pot – land three shared pots on exactly 21 as a team, never on your own card and without a word.
- Euler's Officers untested A 300-year-old card puzzle for a silent team – square the 16 officers so that no row or column repeats a rank or a suit.
- Mind the Gap untested Build a pyramid in which every card is the difference of the two below it – from secret hands, without a word, up to the target at the top.
- Spot On untested Plus, minus, times or divided by – one card each in turn, until the total lands exactly on a target from 100 to 999. Five times, without a word.
- Balancing Act untested Two pans, one shaky scale and not a word about your cards – add weights in turn and bring the scale to rest with the last card of every round.
- Final Approach untested Land an airliner together without a word – level the wings, set the speed and clear the traffic with four secret cards a round.
- Night Parade untested Sixteen spirits lie face down in a jumble – peek, slide and give silent hints until every family walks together.
- Man the Boats untested The ship is sinking – sort the passengers into orderly queues and get them into the lifeboats before the last compartment floods.
- Side by Side untested A band of friends in a long war – get rid of your cards together, but never let three of the same threat meet in No Man's Land.
- Dungeon Rush untested No turns, no mercy, five minutes on the clock – slap down the right suits together and fight your way through the dungeon to the boss.
- Split Mind untested One of you wants balance, the other wants it lopsided – the Keeper needs an even split of tricks, the Shadow wins by any big gap.
- Crown Duel untested Eight cards each, one secret choice per round – and every card has a trick up its sleeve. Out-guess your rival and win four rounds.
- Royal Garden untested Sixteen face cards and Aces in a square – every card you take tells your rival where they may go next. Four in a line wins.
- Line of Succession untested Add a card to the row or take the last five – but only once a round. Win the most supporters, or grab all three crowns and win at once.
- Hot Air untested Low cards win over the plains, high cards over the mountains – and you may play on your rival's side too. Collect prizes and win two trophies.
- Touché untested Two fencers on a piste of 23 cards. Step forward, step back, strike at exactly the right distance – and parry with the same cards.
- Mushroom Walk untested A walk along a line of cards in the woods. Gather mushrooms, sell a few for walking sticks and cook the best ones – with butter if you can.
- One Up untested Play the same number or one higher – or bail out before your hand costs you dearly. Kings are worth ten, and they come round again.
- Pinch untested Lay your cards out in front of you – and whenever you top another player's cards, you pinch them, straight into your own hand if you like.
- Big Number untested Line up cards of one suit or one rank into the biggest number you can – 9, 7 and 2 make 972 – and take one beaten card back into your hand.
- Unsorted untested You may never sort your hand – so play the cards that happen to sit side by side, and beat the table before your spare cards run out.
- Waterhole untested Eight kinds of animal crowd round the waterhole – three of a kind chase off the next weaker ones, and only the tiny Aces dare to chase the 8s.
- Sore Spot untested No suit to follow, every other suit trumps the lead – and everyone secretly has one suit that hurts.
- Boil Over untested Three pots on the stove, spades as poison in any of them – and whoever makes a pot boil over past 20 has to take it.
- Headcount untested Everyone can see your card except you. Bid on the total of all the cards – and call it when someone bids too high.
- Underdog untested One card each, one chip to fight – and the lowest card in the fight adds the underdog card, so the weakest card can win.
- Chief and Vice untested Bid by laying your cards on the table, name two kinds of trumps and pick your partner – a deep trick-taking game where every hand makes new teams.
- Cursed Bottle untested Low cards buy the cursed bottle and every sale lowers its price – win good tricks, but don't be the one left holding it.
- Secret Trumps untested Only one player knows the trumps while everyone picks their hand from open rows – then fulfil your secret goals, one per round.
- Jewel Vault untested Every trick you win and every suit you can't follow moves a jewel – into your vault, into your showroom, or out of someone else's.
- Flock Together untested Lay your cards at the end of a row, catch everything between two of a kind – and fly a flock home until you hold seven species or two threes.
- Horse Trading untested Bid for animals, pay in hidden money cards and challenge rivals to blind trades – a bluff with two zeros can win you a whole herd.
- Shared Air untested Several divers, one tank of air – every treasure you carry slows you down and uses up everybody's oxygen. Turn back in time or lose it all.
- Four Fields untested Sow, harvest and stockpile on four fields around the table – and turn the seasons so the harvest you want is never frozen in winter.
- Power Struggle untested Sixteen cards each, poker hands to climb with and coups that beat everything – and the loser has to hand the winner their best card.
- Powder Keg untested Draw a card at the end of every turn and hope it isn't a King – the Kings are powder kegs, and only a bucket of water saves you.
- Temple Gold untested Everyone swears they're an honest adventurer – but somebody wants you to open the chamber with the fire trap.
- King and Assassin untested Two rooms, three quick rounds and a swap of hostages each time – will the Assassin end up next to the King?
- Diamond Heist untested The Boss's pile of diamonds goes round the table, and it comes back lighter – now the Boss has to find out who helped themselves.