Sluff Off! Game Rules

Welcome to Sluff Off! This is a fun and exciting game that you can play with your friends and family. Let me explain the rules to you.

The objective of Sluff Off! is to get rid of all your cards by playing them onto a discard pile. The discard pile starts empty at the beginning of the game. Each player takes turns playing a card from their hand onto the discard pile. The card must either match the suit or the rank of the top card on the discard pile.

For example, if the top card on the discard pile is a 7 of hearts, you can play any 7 or any heart from your hand. If you don’t have a card that matches, you can play any card of your choice, but it won’t change the suit or rank that other players have to follow.

During your turn, you can also choose to play multiple cards of the same rank. For instance, if you have two 9s in your hand, you can play them both onto the discard pile. The next player will then have to play a card that matches the rank of the last card played or doubles the rank.

If you can’t play any cards from your hand, you will have to draw from the deck until you get a card that you can play. Once you have played all the cards from your hand, you are out for the round. The game continues until there is only one player left with cards in their hand. That player is the winner of the round.

Sluff Off! is a game of strategy and luck, so be prepared for unexpected twists and turns. Pay attention to the cards that have been played and try to anticipate what cards your opponents might have. Remember, you can also use special cards to your advantage, such as skip or reverse cards, depending on the variant of the game you are playing.

So, gather your friends and family, shuffle the deck, and let the Sluff Off! games begin! Have fun and may the best player win.

When you play the trick-taking game of Sluff Off!, the key is to avoid taking your opponents’ tricks. That’s where the power of the game lies!

To achieve this, you can try to take tricks that other players don’t need, or you can force them to take tricks they didn’t want in the first place.

When we start a round of the game, each of us is given 15 cards. We have to guess how many tricks we will be able to win and what color they will be. It’s a little bit tricky, but I’ll explain.

Once we make our predictions, we take some tokens that match the number of tricks we think we’ll win. These tokens are important because we want to get rid of them before the round ends.

Now, the goal of the game is to not have any tokens left at the end of the round. That means we’re doing well!

But here’s the catch – if we take a trick that doesn’t match the color of our tokens, we get a penalty. In this case, we’ll receive a black -3 token. We definitely don’t want that!

Let’s Get Set Up

Alright, let’s get started! First, place the Sluffer piece and the 27 colored tokens in the middle of the table. Depending on how many people are playing, you’ll need to use different sets of cards:

• If there are 3 players, use cards numbered 1-9 in each color. That means you’ll need 45 cards in total.
• For 4 players, use cards numbered 1-12 in each color. You’ll need a total of 60 cards.
• And if there are 5 players, use all 75 cards. That’s the whole deck!

Don’t worry about the leftover cards. Just put them back in the box – you won’t be needing them for this game. Now, shuffle the cards and hand them out evenly to all the players. Each player should organize their cards by number and color.

How to Play the Game

Let’s get started! First, we need to deal 15 cards to each player. I’ll give you a quick overview of how the game works, and then we can dive right in.

Once the cards are dealt, it’s time to make your predictions. We’ll go around the table, starting with the player to the left of the dealer, and each player will guess how many tricks they think they can win. Remember, a trick is when you successfully take a round.

To make your prediction, you’ll choose the corresponding tokens to represent the tricks you think you’ll win. Alternatively, you can choose the Sluffer piece if you don’t want to win any tricks. This adds an extra layer of strategy to the game.

Now that we have our predictions, it’s time to start playing! The player to the left of the dealer will begin by playing any card from their hand. From there, the other players must play a card of the same suit if they have one. But don’t worry, if you don’t have a card of the same suit, you can “Sluff Off” by playing any card you like.

So, there you have it – the basic rules of the game. It’s all about making accurate predictions and playing your cards strategically. Have fun, and may the best player win!

When we play this game, the person with the highest card or highest Trump card wins the round. The special Blue cards are called “Trump”. When you win a round, you need to get rid of a token that matches the color of the cards you won. If you don’t have the right token, you can use a white (Wild) token instead. But if you don’t have any of those either, you’ll have to take a penalty token, which is black and worth -3 points.

The person who holds the Sluffer can still win rounds, but they don’t have to take any penalty tokens. The player who took the last round starts the next one by placing a card face up on the table. We keep playing until we’ve finished all 15 rounds.

When we reach the end of the round, the players who have red, blue, green, purple, and yellow tokens in front of them will have to do some scoring. Here’s how it works:

• You’ll get 2 penalty points for each token you have.
• If you have any -3 black penalty tokens, you’ll receive an additional 3 penalty points for each of them.
• If you have any -4 white penalty tokens, you’ll receive an extra 4 penalty points for each of them.

Keep track of your scores on a piece of paper. If you have the Sluffer token, you automatically get -4 points. However, you also get to add 1 point for each -3 black penalty token that other players have received during the round. Just make sure not to count the ones that are still on the table.

The game continues for as many rounds as there are players. The player with the fewest negative points at the end of the game will be the winner.

The game is divided into three stages: Prediction, Playing, and Scoring.

Prediction Stage

Once all the cards have been dealt and sorted, it’s time to start predicting. The player to the left of the dealer goes first:

Try These Tricks to Improve Your Card Game Strategy

In card games, strategy is key to success. By making smart predictions and utilizing special moves, you can gain an edge over your opponents. Here are two techniques that can elevate your card game skills:

• Making a Trick Prediction
• Taking the Sluffer

Making a Trick Prediction

When playing, I can try to predict how many tricks I will win in each color. I must carefully consider the cards in my hand to make an educated guess. Higher-value cards increase my chances of winning tricks in a particular color. Additionally, having blue cards gives me a trump advantage, allowing me to beat any other color. Once I have made my prediction, I can take the corresponding colored tokens from the table. The more tokens I collect, the better my chances of winning.

The next player, going clockwise, gets the same opportunity. They can either make their own predictions or choose to take the Sluffer, if it’s available. This rotation continues until every player has had a turn.

Hey there! I have an interesting game to tell you about called “The Sluffer.” It’s a game where only one player can take the Sluffer. If a player decides to take it, the other players have to make a prediction about the tricks. But, it’s also possible that no one takes the Sluffer at all.

Oh, and here’s another thing – not all tokens might get taken during the prediction phase. Just thought I’d let you know!

• Let me give you an example. In this round, Chris is starting. He has cards in different suits – red, blue, green, orange, and purple. Based on the value of his cards, Chris decides to take one red, two blue, and one green trick. So, he grabs one red, two blue, and one green token from the center of the table.

I’m about to tell you a fascinating story. It’s called “The Trick Prediction,” and it involves a crafty player named Mary. Let me set the scene for you. Imagine a table with different colored tokens – purple, blue, and red. These tokens have numbers on them, ranging from 8 to 12.

Now, Mary has a handful of tokens: Purple #9, #10, and #12, Blue #9 and #11, and Red #8, #9, #10, and #12. She wants to make a prediction and take certain tokens based on her hand. Her plan is to grab two purple tokens, one blue token, and two red tokens. But why these particular tokens? That’s the intriguing part of her strategy.

See, Mary knows something that others don’t. She knows which tokens the other players have and what they are likely to do. With this insider knowledge, she can make her prediction with confidence. She carefully selects her tokens, confident that her choices will be advantageous in the game.

Taking the Sluffer

In this game, there’s another option besides making a trick prediction and taking tokens. Players can choose to take the Sluffer piece instead. So, what does that mean?

Well, when someone takes the Sluffer, their role changes. Instead of collecting tokens and trying to score points, the Sluffer’s goal is to make things difficult for other players. The Sluffer wants to ensure that the other players can’t get rid of their tokens or, even better, make them take penalty tokens.

Here’s the catch, though – the Sluffer can never acquire any tokens for themselves, no matter what moves they make or tricks they take. Their focus is solely on sabotaging the other players. It’s a risky position to be in because the Sluffer receives a maximum of 4 penalty points at the end of the round, and possibly even fewer. Don’t worry; I’ll explain all the details about how the game progresses and how points are scored in the next sections.

So, there you have it – the thrilling tale of “The Trick Prediction” and the intriguing choice of taking the Sluffer. Are you ready to dive into this exciting game? Trust me; you’re in for quite the adventure.

For example: I don’t try to predict any tricks and instead choose to take the Sluffer. I place the Sluffer in front of me on the table.

Wild white tokens (-4 as well):

The white tokens are special tokens that can be used as any color token when a certain color is no longer available. Let’s say I want to take an orange token, but there are no more orange tokens in the center of the table. In that case, I must take the desired token from another player. As a replacement, I receive a white “wild” token. During the game, I can use these white tokens as wild cards for any trick I take.

Example: It’s my turn now. Since Katie already chose the Sluffer card, I have to make a prediction about the tricks. I want to choose two yellow, one green, and one blue trick. To start, I collect two orange and one green token from the middle of the table.

Unfortunately, there are no more blue tokens in the center, so I ask Mary if I could have her blue token instead. As a replacement, Mary receives a white token.



How to Play the Game

Let’s dive into the exciting world of card games! I’ll guide you through the rules of this particular game, step by step. Are you ready? Let’s get started!

First, the player sitting to the left of the dealer has the honor of starting the game. They can choose any card from their hand and play it face up in the center of the table. The card they choose will determine the color that everyone else must match.

Next, it’s time for the other players to join in on the action. Going clockwise, each player must play one card face up in the center of the table. But here’s the catch: the card they choose must match the color played first, if they have one in their hand.

If a player doesn’t have a matching card, they have two options. They can either play a card of any color (we call that “Sluffing Off”), or they can play a blue card. Remember, blue cards are always trump, which means they can beat any other color!

Once all the players have played their cards, it’s time to determine who “took the trick”. If no blue trump card was played, then the highest number in the color played first wins the trick. Simple as that!

Now that you know the basics of this game, get your friends together and start playing. May the best player win!



When playing the game, if someone plays one or more blue trump cards, the highest blue card wins the round. The person who wins the round takes all the cards from the middle of the table and puts them face down in a separate pile.

After winning the round, that player puts their colored token in the middle of the table. They then start the next round by playing any colored card.

If a player wins a round without having a token of the same color, they have to take a Black -3 penalty token.

Let’s say Chris plays a red card and wins the round, he puts a red token back in the middle of the table. If he wins with a blue card, he puts a blue token back. However, if he wins with, let’s say, an orange card, he has to take a Black -3 penalty token because he doesn’t have an orange token.

Remember:

If I play a blue card as the first card of a trick, then I have to give up a blue token if I win that trick.

If I win a trick with a blue trump card, but the trick was started with a different color, I have a choice. I can either give up a blue token or give up a token in the color that started the trick.

White tokens are special. They can stand in for any color and can be given up when winning any color of trick.

Keep in mind: The Sluffer is a player too, just like everyone else. The Sluffer can win tricks but never gets a token. If the Sluffer wins a trick, they put the cards on the discard pile and start the next trick with a color of their own choice.

Calculating points for the round

The first round ends when all 15 tricks have been played. If you don’t have any tokens left, you won’t get any points. But hey, great job if you successfully Sluffed Off – that’s as good as it gets!

For each colored token (red, orange, green, blue, purple) you still have, you’ll get 2 penalty points.

Black penalty tokens are worth 3 penalty points each. White tokens, on the other hand, are worth 4 penalty points.

Now, the person with the Sluffer role will get a maximum of 4 penalty points. However, if other players took black penalty tokens during the round, the Sluffer’s penalty points will be reduced.

Let’s say the other players took three black tokens in total. In that case, the Sluffer will only get one penalty point (4 – 3 = 1).

Important note: In case the Sluffer holder successfully disrupts the play of the others and they end up with four or more black penalty tokens, the Sluffer will not receive any penalty points.

No score higher than zero can be achieved.

• Chris gets 3 penalty points because he has one black token.
• Mary gets 4 penalty points because she has a white token.
• Katie (the Sluffer) gets 1 penalty point because her fellow players took 3 black penalty tokens altogether. (4 – 3 = 1).
• Cory gets 8 penalty points (2 for orange and 6 for two black tokens).



So, here’s the deal. We start by writing down all the important stuff on a piece of paper. Then, we put all the game tokens and the Sluffer piece back in the middle of the table.

The person to the left of the first dealer mixes up all the cards and gives each player 15 cards, just like before.

We keep playing more rounds, following the same steps we talked about earlier.

When it’s all said and done

We play as many rounds as there are players. The person with the fewest points at the end wins the game.