XERI
Welcome to Xeri, a fun card game for 2 players! The objective of the game is to score more points than your opponent by matching card ranks.
SETUP
To start the game, randomly choose the first dealer. The dealer position will alternate between players. It’s purely a matter of luck, as being the dealer doesn’t give any advantage.
The deck will be shuffled, and the opponent will then cut the deck. Each player will be dealt a hand of 6 cards. In addition, 4 cards will be placed face up in the center of the table between the players. The remaining cards will create a stockpile on the side.
The 4 cards in the center of the table will form the play pile. If there are any two cards in the play pile that have the same rank, or if the top card is a jack, the pile will be reshuffled back into the stockpile. Then, a new play pile will be dealt.
Card Ranking
In the game, there is no card ranking used. The gameplay starts with the non-dealer and passes alternatively between players. When it’s your turn, you have to play one card from your hand and put it on the play pile. Different things can happen when you do this. You can capture the play pile, add to it, or make a new play pile.
To capture the play pile, you have two options. You can either play a card that has the same rank as the top card of the play pile, or you can play a jack to a play pile that already has cards in it. Either way, if you do this, you get to take the whole pile and put it in your scoring pile. The cards you capture are kept face down and you can’t look at them again until the game is over.
If the card you play doesn’t capture the pile, it simply stays on the play pile and becomes the new top card.
Hey there! Ready to learn about a cool card game? Let me tell you all about it!
So, in this game, if there’s no current play pile, you can start a new one by playing any card. Pretty simple, right? But here’s where it gets interesting.
There’s this thing called a Xeri. It happens when there’s only one card in the play pile, and the next player captures it with a card of the same rank. They keep that captured card face up and perpendicular in their scoring pile, so they won’t forget it’s a Xeri. And guess what? Xeris score extra points!
The game keeps going until all the players’ hands are empty. Then, the dealer deals each player another hand of six cards. This repeats until there are no cards left in the stock or the players’ hands.
Now, here’s the deal. The last player to capture a card from the layout scores any remaining cards in the layout at the end of the round. So, it’s good to be the last one standing!
SCORING
Once the round ends, I’ll score the piles of cards. If I have captured the most cards, I’ll get 3 points. For each Ace, King, Queen, Jack, or 10 that I have captured, I’ll earn 1 point. If I manage to capture the 2 of clubs, I’ll get an extra point, and the same goes for capturing the 10 of diamonds.
Now, here’s where things get exciting. Every Xeri card I capture is worth a whopping 10 points! But if I’m lucky enough to capture a jack as a Xeri, it’s worth a staggering 20 points!
But what happens if there’s a tie for the most cards captured? Well, unfortunately, no one gets those 3 points. Tough luck!
The team that scores the most points in this round is the winner. Simple as that!
THE FINAL BELL RINGS
Once we reach the agreed-upon number of rounds, the game comes to an end. The team that has won the most rounds throughout the game is crowned the ultimate champion!
READY FOR MORE?
If you’re up for some extra excitement, check out 4-player Xeri! There are even more variations to explore and enjoy.