PEGS AND JOKERS

Hey there! Have you heard of Pegs and Jokers? It’s a super fun card and board game that you can play with 4, 6, or 8 players. The goal of the game is to get all of your team’s pegs “home” before your opponents do. Exciting, right?

Now, before we begin, let me tell you about the setup. Pegs and Jokers is a game played in partnerships, so you’ll be teaming up with a buddy. Depending on the number of players, there will be two teams of 2, 3, or 4 players. And guess what? Each teammate gets to sit between two opponents. Talk about being in the center of the action!

SETUP

Alright, let’s get everything ready. You’ll need a special board for Pegs and Jokers, and the size of the board will depend on the number of players. But don’t worry if you don’t have a board that fits all player numbers; there’s a solution for that, too! For a 4-player game, you’ll use a 4-sided board. If you have 6 players, a 6-sided board will be used. And finally, for an 8-player game, an 8-sided board will come to the rescue.

Now, let’s talk about the cards. In an 8-player game, you’ll need 4 decks of cards and 8 jokers. But for all the other games, you’ll only need 3 decks of cards and 6 jokers. Make sure you have those cards shuffled and ready to go.

Ok, listen up! Let’s dive into the exciting world of this game. First things first, you gotta choose your color. Pick the one that speaks to you and set up your side of the board. Make sure all your little pegs are in the starting area. It’s easy to find, just look for the colored circle.

Now, let’s talk about dealing. The first dealer is totally random, and then it goes to the left for each new deal. The deck gets shuffled, and the player on the right of the dealer gets to cut the deck. Pretty cool, right?

Finally, it’s time for the action. The dealer gives each player 5 cards, and the rest of the deck becomes the draw pile. Get ready to make some moves!

The Power of the Cards

Listen up, because this is where the magic happens. The cards in this game are the key to moving your pieces. But here’s the catch: each card moves your peg in a different way.

If you want to move your pegs from the starting area, you gotta channel the power of an Ace or a face card. They’re the only ones who can do the job.

Now, let’s talk about the real superstars. When you use a King, Queen, or Jack to move your peg along the track, they take that piece on a wild ride of 10 spaces. Pretty impressive, huh?

When playing the game, certain cards have specific effects on your piece’s movement. Cards with values of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 will move your piece forward a number of spaces equal to their numeric value.

If you have a 7 card, you have two options. You can either move one piece forward 7 spaces or move two pieces a combined total of 7 spaces.

An 8 card will move your piece backward 8 spots along the track.

A Joker card is versatile. You can use it to move any of your pegs, even ones in the starting area, to any spot occupied by another player, whether they’re on your team or an opponent.

GAMEPLAY

The game begins with the player to the left of the dealer and continues clockwise. On your turn, you will draw up to 6 cards in your hand. From those cards, you’ll play one to the discard pile, and then move your piece along the track.

In the game, if I have a card that can legally move my peg forward on the track (excluding the joker), I have to play it. If I don’t have a card to move, I can choose to discard one card onto the discard pile and draw a new card from the draw pile. This action will end my turn.

To leave the starting area and start moving my pegs, I need to play an ace, King, Queen, Jack, or Joker. These cards, except for the joker, will move one of my pegs from the starting area to the space just outside called the “come out” space.

When playing this game, there are a few important rules you need to keep in mind. First, you cannot pass or land on your own peg. However, you can pass over and land on another player’s pegs. Passing over them doesn’t have any effect, but if you land on a peg belonging to another player, you get to move it.

If the peg you land on belongs to an opponent, it goes back to their starting area. But if it belongs to your teammate, it is sent to their “in-spot.” Now, if the “in-spot” already has a peg of that player’s color, you can’t move it. Remember, you can’t perform the move altogether if this is the case.

Next, let’s talk about jokers. You never have to play a joker, but if you choose to, you follow the same rules as landing in another player’s spot.

Getting Your Pieces Home

Hey there! Once I’ve made my way around the board, I’ll arrive at my “in-spot” and my home area. The “in-spot” is a hole right in front of my colored home area, just off the track. Now, if I’m forced to move past my “in-spot,” I have two options: I can either go around the entire board again or use a card to back up behind it.

In order to move into my home area, I’ll need a card that will move me past my “in-spot” a certain number of spaces, so I can get onto the track. Remember, though, if I don’t move all the way to the back of the home area, other pegs won’t be able to move past me.

Once I’ve successfully moved all my pegs into the home area, I’m done! On my future turns, I can help out by moving the pegs of my teammates who are closest to my left and still have pegs that need to be moved home.

That’s a Wrap!

The game comes to an end when a team manages to get all their pegs into their home areas. And that team becomes the winner of the game.