THE LOST HEIR

Welcome to The Lost Heir, a fun and exciting card game that can be played with 2 to 4 players. The objective of the game is simple: be the first player to reach or exceed 40 points in order to claim victory.

For games with four players, you have the option to play as partners, with each team sitting opposite each other. In this mode, the winning score is reduced to 25 points.

GAME SETUP AND BIDDING

Before starting a three-player game, remove the two blank cards from the deck. These cards are only used in games with 2 or 4 players. To determine the first dealer, you can choose randomly or agree on a method. After each round, the dealer position rotates to the left. The dealer will then shuffle the deck and distribute the cards evenly among all players.

So, here’s how the game works. We all gather around and start bidding. The goal is for one of us to become the dealer. Whoever makes the highest bid gets the chance to be the dealer. But here’s the twist – the dealer can either accept or reject the bid! If they accept it, the person who made the bid gets to decide the trump suit for the round. And here’s the catch – the dealer has to score the same number of points as they bid in order to score anything at all. If they reject the bid, they won’t be able to score any points for that round, but they do get to choose the trump suit.

Now, onto the cards.

In this game, we have a deck of cards that represents different cities. There are four suits, each representing a different city. And get this – each suit has seven cards! But wait, there’s more. We also have special cards like the Lost Heir card, the Wrong Boy card, and even two blank city cards. These cards add an extra layer of excitement to the game. So, get ready to strategize and think on your feet because this game is full of surprises!

The cards in each suit are ranked in the following order: Mayor (high), Chief of Police, Commissioner, Detective, Captain, Sergeant, and Policeman (low). Among the trump cards, the Lost Heir holds the highest rank, while the Wrong Boy is the lowest. The two blank cards have no suit or rank and can only be played as a discard when a player is unable to follow suit.

How to Play

The game begins with the player to the left of the dealer. They have the freedom to play any card as the first move. The other players must follow suit if they can, but if they are unable to, they are allowed to play any card of their choice, including trumps and blank cards.

The trick is won by the player who plays the highest-ranking trump, if applicable. If no trump is played, the trick is won by the player who plays the highest card of the suit led. The winner of the trick collects all the cards and leads the next trick.

If you’re playing with blank cards, you can only discard them if you can’t follow suit. But there’s an interesting rule that applies to them. If you play a blank card in the same trick as the Lost Heir or Wrong Boy, it cancels out either one in the scoring.

SCORING

Once all the tricks have been won in the round, it’s time to score them. Each trick gives you 1 point, 5 points if it’s the Lost Heir, and -3 points if it’s the Wrong Boy.

If the dealer didn’t manage to score as many points as they bid for, they won’t get any points.

END OF GAME

The game ends when a team or player reaches the required number of points to win. And that team or player becomes the winner.

I’m Amber (They/Them), an Austin writer and gaming enthusiast. I consider myself a gaming master, and I adore dogs, plants, and D&D.