BASIC INFO

REQUIREMENTS

2 - 6 players. (See last page for 2-player-game.)

A normal deck of 52 playing cards + 3 jokers. (2 jokers is fine, too.)

Simple bookkeeping equipment.

DECK & STARTUP

All the cards are shuffled and each player dealt 3 hand cards. The deck is put into the center of the table, and next to it left space for the hot pile.

The face cards are their number equivalents (J = 11, Q = 12, K = 13), the ace being the highest number (A = 14).

Joker is always the same number as the previous card - or if no cards below, it’s number 1.

BASIC IDEA

The game proceeds player by player in clockwise order. On his/her turn the player must play one card onto the hot pile and then pick a new card.

• PLAY: The played card must be the same number or higher than the previous - or alternatively a face down card, presumably of the same number.
• DOUBT: If the topmost card of the pile is face down, the player may also doubt before playing a card:
  • The winner gets the card as a doubt bonus, while the loser gets naked - puts all hand cards face up on the table - and might also lose a card.
• RANDOM: In addition, the players are also allowed to play the topmost card of the deck (face up or face down).
  • If played face up and its number is too low, the hot pile crashes and the player must start a new pile without picking up a new card.
  • In some circumstances, the players are also allowed to use auto-protection - a free random card that will not crash the pile.

The round ends when there are only 2 players left - each then gets points from the remaining hand cards and collected doubt bonuses. If the deck runs out (usually once or twice), it’s reshuffled.

PLAYING DETAILS

PLAYING ON THE HOT PILE

On his/her turn, the player must always (eventually) play one card onto the hot pile:

• PUBLIC: The number of the played card must either be higher or the same as the hot number (= number of the previous face up card).
• SECRET: Alternatively the card can be played face down and sideways on the pile, thus promising it to be the same number.

The card can be played from 1. hand cards, 2. naked cards or 3. from the deck. However, naked cards cannot be played secretly (face down).

After playing a card, the player picks up a new hand card from the deck - unless he/she just crashed the pile by a failed random card.

• Playing a naked card and picking up a new hand card is the only way to get rid of naked cards - without losing a card.

AUTO-PROTECTION

Auto-protection means getting a free random card. The player takes the topmost card of the deck and turns it face up on top of the hot pile:

• ACCEPTED: If the card is the same or higher number (than the hot number), it’s played - left on the pile - and the turn moves to the next player.
• FORGIVEN: If the card is lower number, it’s just discarded away. And so the hot pile does not crash, but the player must still continue his/her turn.

The player may use auto-protection only when both of the conditions below are met:

• The hot number is high: J, Q, K or A.
• And the player is either completely naked (all hand cards face up) or has only 1 hand card left.
• Using the auto-protection is voluntary. It can be used at any point during the turn, but only once in a turn.

CRASHING THE HOT PILE

There are two ways to crash the hot pile:

• FAILED RANDOM: Playing a random card of a lower number (than the previous) face up on the pile - unless it was an auto-protection card.
  • The played card and the hot pile are discarded away.
  • The player then starts a new pile without picking up a new card - and, thus, losing a card.
• SPOTTING A LIE: Doubting someone correctly and choosing to crash the pile.
  • The card is collected by the doubter as a doubt bonus - put face down and sideways next to the naked cards - while the rest of the pile is discarded.
  • Because the doubter chose to crash the pile, he/she must also start a new one - by playing any card face up and then picking up a new card.

A new hot pile can be started with any card (jokers being number 1), but it must always be started publicly (never with a face down card).

DOUBTING DETAILS

PERFORMING A DOUBT

Doubting is done by flipping the topmost secret card face up:

• The doubted card is always compared against the topmost face up card of the hot pile - the jokers are ignored.
• If the doubted card is the same number (or a joker), the doubter loses. Otherwise - lower or higher number - the doubter wins.

The player may choose to doubt many subsequent secret cards but only one at a time, starting from the top.

• Doubting can be continued until 1) dying, 2) there’s no more secret cards or 3) the next secret card belongs to the doubter (= full cycle).

JUDGEMENTS

After flipping the card, the judgements are carried out:

• WINNER: The winner of the doubt collects the doubted card as a doubt bonus - face down and sideways next to the player’s naked cards (if any).
• LOSER: The loser of the doubt must get naked - put all hand cards face up on the table.

In addition, the loser may face more penalties:

• ALREADY NAKED: If the loser was already fully naked, he/she also loses one of the naked cards - the player may choose freely which one.
• PLEASER - same suit: However, if the naked loser played the same suit and has doubt bonuses, he/she loses a doubt bonus instead of a naked card. (Cheating while being fully naked is only possible by playing a random card secretly.)
• ARROGANT - different suit: If the cheater played the wrong number and suit, he/she always loses a naked card - after getting naked (if not already).

AFTER DOUBTING

After all the judgements have taken place, the doubter must continue his/her turn.

• AFTER BEING RIGHT: After spotting a liar, the doubter must choose whether to keep or crash the hot pile. (If crashed, doubting cannot be continued.)
• AFTER BEING WRONG: If the doubter accused falsely, he/she has to either play a card on the pile or continue doubting (if there are more secrets to doubt).
  • Note: If the hot number is high and the doubter was not naked before, he/she has now earned the right for auto-protection.

ENDING, SCORING & AFTER THE ROUND

ENDING & SCORING

The round ends when there are only 2 players alive. The two survivors then get naked (hand cards face up) and the points are counted:

• Each remaining hand card (now face up) is worth 10 points.
• Each doubt bonus (face down & sideways) is worth 5 points.

The points are then added to the players’ cumulative scores. The winner of the game is the first one to get (at least) 100 points.

• When playing with 6 players the rounds may be quite long sometimes. If time is limited, it might be better to end the game after a fixed number of rounds (eg. 1 or 2 rounds) instead of a point limit.

DEALING & BOOKKEEPING TURNS

Traditionally, the dealer's and bookkeeper's jobs are given randomly to two different players. After each round:

• The bookkeeper chooses the next bookkeeper and swaps places with him/her. (The bookkeeping equipment need not move.)
• The dealer's job is passed one player clockwise after each round.

VARIATION FOR 2 PLAYERS

PLAYING WITH A DUMMY

The 2-player game is played like a 3-player-game, with the following differences:

• LAYOUT: The 2 humans are positioned opposite to each other, while the dummy is located perpendicularly in the middle.
• DUMMY IS ALWAYS NAKED: Instead of hand cards, the dummy gets a row of 3 naked cards.
• DUMMY IS IMMORTAL: Whenever the dummy loses a card, a new one is drawn from the deck, and the flow of turns is reversed.
• FLOW OF TURNS:
  • The turns always flow from the dummy towards the deck. The deck is located at either end of the dummy's naked cards.
  • When the flow is reversed, the deck is moved to the other end of the row.
  • At the start of the round the deck is at the non dealer's side of the naked row. The dummy always starts the round.
• CHEATING: The dummy never plays secretly (cannot with naked cards, and will not with random cards) - thus he never cheats.
• ENDING: Because the dummy cannot die, the game ends when one of the humans die.
• SCORING: When the round ends, the dummy's naked cards are merged into pile and counted as 1 card (= 10 points).

DUMMY'S ACTION LIST

The dummy has the following priorities when choosing what to do:

• DOUBT-PROTECTION: If there is a secret card on top (low or high), the dummy uses doubt-protection (see-below).
  • If the dummy doubted correctly, he chooses to crash the hot pile and starts a new one (with his lowest naked card).
  • If the dummy was wrong, he will think about doubting the other card by repeating the doubt-protection routine.
• AUTO-PROTECTION: Otherwise, if he has auto-protection - if the hot number is high - he uses it.
• LOWEST POSSIBLE: The dummy chooses to play the lowest card that is acceptable - the jokers are regarded as the highest.
  • If there are many equally low cards, the dummy plays the one furthest away from the deck.
• RANDOM: If none of his naked cards fit, the dummy plays a random card. The card is played normally (face up) - never secretly.

DOUBT-PROTECTION

Doubt-protection is performed for the dummy whenever a secret (face down) card is on the top:

• A free random card is taken from the deck and turned face up on the hot pile. If it’s allowed, the dummy plays it instead of doubting.
• With a card of a lower number than allowed, its colour is compared against the topmost face up card of the pile before discarding it:
  • DOUBTING: If the colours are different, the dummy doubts.
  • BELIEVING: If the cards are the same colour, the dummy believes and continues with his action list instead.

If the dummy has both protections (doubt- and auto-), only the doubt-protection is performed. (It already contains the auto-protection routine within it.)

STRATEGICAL ADVICE

How to lose

The most common way to start losing is to first get naked and then being forced to play random cards.

• There are only 2 ways out of this: 1) being able to play the naked cards, or 2) by losing them (and eventually dying).
• Note: If you doubt correctly, you can choose to crash the hot pile and start a new pile with any card.

The deadliest of mistakes is to cheat (or get caught cheating) when only having very low cards in hand (and/or on the table).

• If the other players do not mess up this opportunity, you are very likely to die - and very soon.
• Even if you are lucky with random cards for some time, it does not help you to ‘dress up’ your pathetic naked cards.
• Your main hope lies in spotting a liar and resetting the hot pile - or otherwise wishing for miracles (eg. for the previous player to play low or die).

About naked strategies

Generally being naked is very disadvantageous. Mainly due to having less options (no deliberate cheating) and less private information.

• As a thumb rule, you should always leave at least one relatively high card in hand, when you are going to cheat - as a backdoor.
• Also cards of very low number (~ 2 - 5) are likely to stay for a long while, unless you can doubt your way out (and thus start a new pile).
• If you have only high cards in hand, getting naked does not really give you that much disadvantage.

Besides all this terror, being naked has one distinct advantage:

• If the hot pile is high (= J, Q, K or A), you get to use auto-protection (= a free random card).
• You can also earn the right for auto-protection during the turn by making a false accusation and getting naked (if you weren’t naked already).

About cheating pleasingly

If you cheat pleasingly - that is, play the wrong number but the same suit - your punishments are lesser:

• If you weren’t completely naked, your only punishment is to become naked.
• Even if you already were fully naked, but you have doubt bonuses you lose one of them instead.

Because you cannot cheat with naked cards, the only way to cheat pleasingly while being fully naked is by playing a random card secretly.

• By doing so, you are very likely to be doubted and consequently either lose a naked card (~ 3/4 probability) or a doubt bonus (~ 1/4 probability).
• The naked-pleasing-cheating is the only way to remove an already collected doubt bonus.

THANKS

FOR IDEAS, HELP WITH DEVELOPMENT & PLAYING

Antti Mannila, Tomi Laine and Johan Rautio.