Welcome to CAP-IT!

Hey there! CAP-IT is an awesome card game called Rummy, and it’s designed for 4 to 6 players. The main goal of the game is pretty simple: you want to end up with the lowest score possible. Sounds fun, right?

When we play CAP-IT, each player is out for themselves. But here’s the twist: if everyone agrees, we can also play for stakes. This means that each player puts in an equal amount of money at the beginning to create a prize pot. The winner of each round gets a share of the pot, and the final game winner gets whatever is left after five rounds. Talk about excitement!

Let’s Get Started – SETUP:

First things first, we need to choose a dealer. It doesn’t matter who, as long as it’s fair. After that, the dealer position will shift to the left for each new deal. We’ll have a total of 5 rounds to play.

Here’s how each round starts:

• The dealer shuffles the deck like a pro.
• Then, the dealer gives each player a hand of 10 cards. Hold on to those cards tight!
• Finally, the dealer places the remaining cards face down in the center of the table as a stockpile. It’s like our secret treasure.

Ready to dive into the world of CAP-IT? Get your wits about you, and may the card forces be with you!

Understanding Card Rankings, Melds, and Card Values

So, let’s talk about how cards are ranked in this game. It’s pretty traditional – Ace is the highest, followed by King, Queen, Jack, and then the numbers from 10 down to 2. Keep in mind, though, that the Jokers and 2s are special – they’re wild cards. This means they can represent any card in a meld.

Now, let’s move on to melds. Melds can be either runs or sets, and you need at least 3 cards to form a meld. If you decide to use wild cards in your meld, remember that you must include at least 1 natural card as well. It’s also important to specify if your meld is a run or a set when you make it.

Lastly, let’s talk about the meld requirements for each round. To play melds during a round, you have to complete one meld first. Once you’ve done that, you can play other melds or lay off to existing melds. It’s all about strategizing and making the right moves!

If you’ve ever played the game of Rummy, you know that there are certain combinations of cards you need to make in order to score points. Let me walk you through the different rounds and what you’ll need to collect to earn those points.

In the first round, you’ll want to collect two sets of three cards. A set is a group of cards with the same number or rank. So, for example, you could have two sets of three cards with the number 5 on them.

In the second round, things get a little trickier. You’ll need to collect a set of three cards and a run of four cards. A run is a sequence of consecutive numbers, like 2, 3, 4, and 5.

By the time you reach the third round, the challenges keep coming. Now, you’ll need to collect two runs of four cards each. So, for example, you could have a run of four cards with numbers 6, 7, 8, and 9, and another run with numbers 10, Jack, Queen, and King.

In the fourth round, it’s back to collecting sets. This time, you’ll need to gather three sets of three cards. Remember, a set is a group of cards with the same number or rank.

Finally, in the fifth and last round, you’ll need a run of three cards and a run of seven cards. So, you could have a run with numbers 3, 4, and 5, and another run with numbers 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace.

After playing the rounds, it’s time to tally up the points. You’ll score points for the cards you have remaining in your hand. The points are as follows: cards ranked King to 10 are each worth 10 points, cards ranked 9 to 3 are worth 5 points each, 2s are worth 15 points each, and jokers are worth 20 points each.

GAMEPLAY

Now, let’s talk about how the game is played. The first player to start the game is the player sitting to the left of the dealer. From there, the game proceeds clockwise.

When it’s your turn, here’s what you’ll do in order:

1. First, you’ll draw a card.
2. Next, you’ll try to create sets or runs with the cards in your hand. Remember, a set is a group of cards with the same number or rank, and a run is a sequence of consecutive numbers.
3. Finally, you’ll discard one card from your hand.

When it’s my turn to draw cards in the game, I have two choices. I can either pick the top card from the pile of discarded cards or I can do a push. If I choose to push, I will take the top card from the stockpile and the top card from the discard pile, and give them to the player on my left. That player has to add these two cards to their hand. Then, I, as the one who pushed, draw the top card from the stockpile.

Once I have drawn my card, I can decide to place a meld. To do that, I have to first complete the required meld. Once I have played the required meld, I can play any other melds that I want or add cards to the melds that are already in play.

So here’s the deal: if I have a wild card but I also happen to have the natural card it represents in my hand, I can choose to replace the wild card with that natural card. Sounds simple enough, right? But there’s a catch. Once I replace the wild card, I have to immediately use it in another meld. The only exception to this rule is if the wild card is a 2 in the natural 2s spot. In that case, it can’t be replaced. For example, let’s say I have a run of 2, 3, 4. I can replace the wild card in the run with a natural card, but the wild card itself can’t be replaced.

After I’ve played all my melds, if I can, I’ll then discard a card to the discard pile to end my turn.

The round will come to an end when either the stockpile is empty and someone wants to draw from it, or when a player goes out by emptying their hand.

I can go out by either melding my last card or discarding my last card. Either way works.

Now let’s talk about scoring.

Once we finish each round, we need to tally up the scores. If someone managed to get rid of all their cards and go out, they won’t earn any points for that round. However, the rest of us will score points based on the cards we still have in our hands. If no one went out, then all of us will have to score points for the cards we have left.

With each round, the player who ends up with the lowest score will win a portion of the pot. It’s like a little bonus for doing well.

We keep track of these scores cumulatively over the course of five rounds. So even if you didn’t win a particular round, you still have a chance to make a comeback in the next one.

END OF GAME

Once we finish scoring the fifth round, the game comes to an end. The player with the lowest cumulative score is declared the winner. So, even if you didn’t do well in a single round, you still have a chance to emerge victorious if you performed consistently throughout the game.

Remember, the game ends after the fifth round is scored. The player with the lowest cumulative score wins the game.