SEVEN BRIDGE
Hey there! Have you heard of the game called Seven Bridge? It’s a cool Rummy game that’s quite popular in Japan. You know what’s interesting? It’s lightly influenced by Mahjong, another awesome game!
So, in Seven Bridge, there’s something special about the number 7. Yup, it’s a special card that lets you do some really cool stuff. You can use it to create unique melds, which are groups of cards that go well together. And guess what? The game has some interesting rules about the discard pile that can even interrupt or skip turns. How cool is that?
In most Rummy games, you usually have the choice to take a card from either the draw pile or the discard pile. But, hold on! In Seven Bridge, things work a little differently. Here, you can only draw a card from the discard pile under certain circumstances. Pretty intriguing, right?
THE CARDS & THE DEAL
Let’s talk about the cards and how the game starts. Seven Bridge is played with a regular 52-card deck, just like the one you use in many other card games. To decide who becomes the first dealer and scorekeeper, here’s a fun little way to do it. Each player takes a card from the deck, and the person with the lowest card gets the job. They become the first dealer and also keep score throughout the game. Exciting, isn’t it?
Alright, let’s get this game started! First things first, I need to shuffle the cards really well. Once that’s done, I’ll deal seven cards to each player, one at a time. The rest of the cards will be placed face down in the middle. This is our draw pile. Before we begin, I’ll flip over the top card to start our discard pile.
Time to Play!
Now it’s time for each player’s turn. We’ll go through three steps: draw, meld, and discard.
To start, the player will draw a card from the draw pile. But there’s a special rule – you can only draw from the discard pile in certain situations (we’ll talk about those later). Once the player has drawn a card, they can play any legal melds face up on the table in front of them. And here’s a cool trick – during this phase, they can also “lay off” cards. This means they can add cards to melds that have already been played.
When I’m playing, my turn comes to an end by getting rid of a card from my hand and putting it in the discard pile. This is something I always have to do before my turn is over.
We keep playing like this until one of us gets rid of our last card and wins the game.
CHI AND PON
There are special rules for taking cards from the discard pile. I can’t take a card from the discard pile on my first turn. If I want to take a card from the discard pile, I have to use it right away with at least two other cards to make a special combo. When I want to take a card from the discard pile, I have to let everyone know why by saying “chi” or “pon”.
If it’s my turn and I want to use the card that the previous player discarded to make a sequence, I would say, “chi”. Instead of drawing from the deck, I take the top card from the discard pile. I then continue my turn as normal and end it by discarding a card.
If a player discards a card that I want to use to complete a set, I can take it by saying “pon”. I can do this regardless of whether it’s my turn or not. However, if it’s not going to be my turn, I need to say “pon” before the next player draws a card. By saying “pon”, I interrupt the turn order and it becomes my turn. If the player has already drawn a card, it’s too late for anyone to say “pon”. Once I have interrupted by saying “pon”, I can take my turn and the game continues with the player on my left. This means that other players might be skipped!
When playing Seven Bridge, it’s important to know the order of priority when claiming a move. If multiple players claim the same move, the one closest to the left of the current player gets the card. This rule applies to both the “pon” and “chi” moves.
In this game, there are two types of melds: “sets” and “runs.” A “set” consists of three or four cards with the same rank. For example, three 3’s would make a set. A “run” is when you have three or more cards of the same suit in sequence. For instance, having the 2, 3, 4, and 5 of spades would create a run.
The number 7 holds a special place in Seven Bridge. It has an interesting rule that sets it apart from other cards. When you use a 7 in a meld, you only need two cards to complete the meld. This means that a set of 7-7 is perfectly legal. And when it comes to runs, combinations like 6-7 and 7-8 are also allowed. But what’s even more unique is that you can play a 7 by itself as a one-card meld.
Now, here’s where it gets even more exciting. If a player plays a single 7, other players can add onto it. For example, if someone plays the 7 of hearts, another player can lay down the 8 and 9 of hearts to form a run. However, once a player adds onto a 7, it can’t be used for a different type of meld. So if the 8 and 9 of hearts are added to a 7, no one else can use a 7 of spades to form a set. The 7 of hearts is now dedicated to forming a run and can’t be changed.
It’s essential to remember that in this game, Aces are always considered low. So combinations like A-2-3 are allowed, but Q-K-A are not.
Now, let’s talk about scoring. But before we do, let’s take a moment to appreciate the importance and value of this exciting game.
When I go out, I win, and that’s the end of the round. I get points based on the total value of cards still in your hands. If I go out by melding all seven cards from my hand at once, without previously melding any other cards, I double my score for the round.
In Seven Bridge, cards have different point values:
Jacks, Queens, and Kings are each worth 10 points.
Aces are worth 1 point each.
Sevens are worth a whopping 20 points each.
And cards numbered 2 to 10 are worth their face value.
WINNING
We play one round for each player in the game. So if there are four players, we’ll have four rounds. The player with the highest score at the end of the game wins. If there’s a tie, those players keep playing until the tie is broken.