Welcome to the Exciting World of PHAT

Phat is a fun and challenging card game that you can play with four people. It’s all about strategy, teamwork, and a little bit of luck. The game is played with two teams of two, and each team tries to be the first to reach a score of 181 points. Throughout the game, you’ll need to win certain cards and use clever tactics to outsmart your opponents. Don’t worry, keeping score is easy with handy pegboards!

Let’s Get Started: Game Setup

To begin, we need to determine the first pitcher. This can be done randomly, so it’s fair for everyone. The player seated to the right of the first pitcher will be the dealer. Each round, the dealer will pass the deck of cards to the player on their left, and that player will become the new pitcher.

Once the roles are assigned, the dealer will take the deck of cards and give 13 cards to each player in a clockwise direction. This is your starting hand, and it’s crucial to plan your moves wisely.

Now, here comes the interesting part! The pitcher’s partner is not allowed to look at their cards until the pitcher plays the first card. Why? Because the card that the pitcher plays will determine trumps for the round. The partner must respect this and not try to influence their decision. It’s all part of the challenge!

Card Ranking and Values

Let’s talk about how cards are ranked and valued in the game. It may seem a bit confusing, but don’t worry, I’ll break it down for you.

First, let’s look at the ranking. The cards are ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (low). Now, let’s move on to the values.

In the game, the cards are divided into two categories. We have the “phat” cards, which you receive scores for immediately, and the “muck” cards, which are scored at the end of the round.

Now, let’s focus on the phat cards. These are the cards that have specific values attached to them. The ace of trumps is worth 4 points, the king of trumps is worth 3 points, the queen of trumps is worth 2 points, and the jack of trumps is worth 1 point. Additionally, the 9 of trumps is worth a whopping 18 points, and the 5 of trumps is worth 10 points. Keep in mind that trumps are a special category of cards in the game.

But wait, there’s more! All non-trump 9s are worth 9 points each, and all non-trump 5s are worth 5 points each. These cards may not have fancy titles like “ace” or “king”, but they still carry their weight when it comes to scoring.

So, there you have it! Now you know how the cards are ranked and valued in the game. This information will give you a better understanding of the game mechanics and help you strategize your moves.

In the game, there are special cards called “muck” that hold different point values. Each ace is worth 4 points, each king is worth 3 points, each queen is worth 2 points, each jack is worth 1 point, and each 10 is worth 10 points. Altogether, there are 80 points available to be won from the muck. The team that wins the majority of the muck scores 8 points.

How to Play

First, the pitcher starts the game by playing any card from their hand. This card determines the trump suit for the round. Then, the pitcher’s partner is allowed to pick up their cards. The other players must play a card that matches the suit led if they have one, but if not, they can play any card, including trumps. The player with the highest-ranked trump card wins the trick. If there are no trumps, the trick is won by the player with the highest-ranked card of the suit that was led. The winner of the trick leads the next one.

How to Score

The game of pegboard keeps score by representing earning 181 points, and it takes two full trips around the board to win. After every trick, the score for the phat is recorded, and after each round, the score for the muck is recorded.

With a total of 88 points per round (80 for muck and 8 for majority muck), most games are won by the fourth round. There can be a fifth round, but usually, a team wins before that.

If both teams score exactly 40 points for the muck, then the 8 points for the muck from that round are carried over to the next round. That means having the majority of the muck in the next round is worth 16 points.

THE GAME ENDS

The game ends when a team reaches 181 points. At that moment, that team wins the game.

The game ends when a team reaches 181 points. At that moment, that team wins the game.