Welcome to Arizona Pegs and Jokers!

Let’s Learn about Arizona Pegs and Jokers

I’m here to tell you all about Arizona Pegs and Jokers, a thrilling card and board game for 4, 6, or 8 players. The objective is simple: be the first team to bring all your pegs home!

Now, here’s how it works. This game is all about teamwork, so you’ll need a partner. Depending on how many players there are, you’ll have 2, 3, or 4 players on each team. Picture this: each teammate sits between two opponents, ready to take on the challenge. And here’s the exciting part – every player can move any of the team’s pegs on their turn!

Setting Up the Game

Now, let’s talk about how to set up the game board. The board you use will depend on the number of players. If you have a board that works for all player numbers, there will be a designated area for your game. In a 4-player game, you’ll use a 4-sided board. For a 6-player game, you’ll need a 6-sided board. And if you’re playing with 8 players, an 8-sided board will be your go-to choice.

When playing an 8-player game, we use 4 decks and 8 jokers. But for all other games, we only need 3 decks and 6 jokers.

First, each player chooses their color and sets up their side of the board. Make sure all your pegs are in the starting area, which is usually marked by a colored circle.

Now, let’s talk about dealing the cards. The first dealer is picked randomly, and then the dealer passes to the left for each new deal. The deck is shuffled, and the player on the dealer’s right has the option to cut the deck if they want.

The dealer then gives each player a hand of 5 cards, and the remaining deck is placed in the center as a draw pile.

What do the cards mean?

The cards in this game have different meanings and are used to move your pieces.

If you want to move your pegs from the starting area, you’ll need either an Ace or a face card.

When you use an Ace to move along the track, you can move one of your out pegs one space.

When playing the game, you have a King, Queen, and Jack. If you use any of these cards, you can move your peg 10 spaces ahead.

For the cards valued 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 10, you can move your peg forward a number of spaces equal to the value of the card.

The 7 card is special because it can either move one peg forward by 7 spaces or split the 7 spaces between 2 pegs.

If you have an 8 card, you can move your peg backward by 8 spaces.

The 9 card is similar to the 7 card. It can either move one peg forward by 9 spaces or split the 9 spaces between 2 pegs.

Jokers are powerful cards. You can use them to move your peg to any spot on the track, even if it’s occupied by another player. At first, jokers can only be used to move your peg from the starting area. But if all your teammates’ starting areas are empty, you can use the jokers to move any teammate’s peg from the track to another occupied space.

Now that you know how to move your pegs, let’s talk about the gameplay.

When we start the game, it’s your turn first if you sit to the left of the dealer. Then we take turns going clockwise. Here’s what you do on your turn: play a card from your hand onto the discard pile, move one of your team’s pieces along the track, and draw back up to 5 cards.

If you have a card that can legally move one of your team’s pegs along the track (except for a joker), you have to play it. But if you don’t have a card that can move, you can discard one card into the discard pile and draw a new one from the draw pile. Then it’s the next player’s turn.

To move a peg out of your team’s starting area, you need to play an ace, king, queen, jack, or joker. Except for the joker, these cards will move one peg from your team’s start area to the space just outside of it, which we call the “come out” space.

When I play the game, there’s one rule I always keep in mind: you can’t pass over or land on a peg that’s the same color as yours. But, you can go over and land on pegs of any other color. Passing over doesn’t do anything, but if you land on a peg that belongs to another player, you move it. If it’s an opponent’s peg, it gets sent back to their starting area. But, if it’s a peg that belongs to someone on your team, it goes to their “in-spot” (more on that later). But here’s the catch, if that spot is already taken by a peg of the same color, you can’t move it and the whole move is canceled.

Now, there’s something else you need to know. You never have to use a joker. But if you do decide to play one, you have to follow the same rules as before when it comes to landing on another player’s spot.

Getting Pegs Home

When you move your playing piece around the board, you’ll come across spots that match the color of your piece and the corresponding home area. There’s a special spot called the “in-spot,” right in front of your home area. If you’re forced to move past your “in-spot,” you have two options: go all the way around the board again or use a card to back up.

To enter your home area, you need a card that lets you move past your “in-spot” and onto the track. Just remember, if you don’t move your piece all the way into the back of your home area, other pieces can’t pass it.

Once all the pieces of your team are in their home tracks, the game is over.

End of the Game

The game ends when all of a team’s pieces are in their home areas. The team that achieves this is declared the winner.