Contents
GOAL OF BOX: Be the only player with cards left in your box
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 players
NUMBER OF CARDS: 52 cards
RANK OF CARDS: (low) 2 – Ace (high)
TYPE OF GAME: Hand Shedding
AUDIENCE: Kids, Adults
INTRODUCING BOX
Welcome to Box, a thrilling card game designed by Richard Bradley. In this game, the objective is simple – be the last player standing with cards in your box! To achieve this, you must strategically play your cards and outsmart your opponents, discarding them one by one. Once a player has emptied their box, they’re out of the game. The winner is the one who manages to hold onto their cards until the very end.
THE CARDS AND DEALING
When you play Box, you’ll need a deck of 52 cards. Make sure to shuffle the deck well and then deal eight cards to each player, placing them face down. The first four cards you deal to yourself will become your box, so keep them in front of you in a 2×2 grid, but remember not to look at them. The second set of four cards you receive will be your hand, and you can look at those. You’ll also have a space in front of you where you can put any extra cards you win during the game. The remaining cards will form the draw pile and should be placed face down in the center of the table.
HOW TO PLAY
When it’s time to play a card game called “Highest Card,” the dealer starts with the player on their left. As a player, I have to put down the highest card from my hand. Each round, the first card I play must be my highest card. Then, it’s the next player’s turn, and they have to play a card that is equal to or lower than the card played before them. For example, if I start with a 10, the next player must play a 10 or lower. If they play a 7, then the next card must be a 7 or lower, and so on. But here’s a twist: if two players play cards of the same rank in a row, the turn order reverses. So, if player 1 plays a 7 and player 2 also plays a 7, the play reverses and starts going right instead of left.
So, here’s how it works. Let’s say I have a card game, and I want to explain the rules to you. When it’s your turn, you need to play a card that is either equal to or lower than the card that was played before. But what happens if you don’t have a card like that? Well, in that case, you have to draw a card from your box. And guess what? You also have to draw a card from your box at the start of your turn if your hand is empty. Got it so far?
Now, let’s talk about what happens when you draw a card from your box. If the card you draw is either equal to or lower than the previous card, you can play it, and the round continues. But hold up! If the card you draw is too high, you can’t play it. Instead, you have to give it to the player who played before you. They get to keep it in their special extra cards pile. Oh, and by the way, once that happens, the round is over, and the winner is the player who got the extra card. Interesting, right?
After the round is done and dusted, everyone gets to draw back up. Each player gets to have four cards in their hand again. But let’s say you successfully played cards from your box during the round. Well, guess what? You get to draw cards to fill your box back up to four. But here’s the catch: if you draw a card from your box and you can’t play it, you don’t get to replace that card. Tough luck, huh?
Let’s dive into the next round by having the player who won the previous round play their best card. This exciting game keeps going until someone runs out of cards in their box. Once that happens, and they’re not allowed to get more, they’re out of the game. We keep playing until there’s only one player left standing.
HOW TO WIN
The ultimate victory goes to the last player with cards still in their box.