Psychological Jujitsu

Goal of Psychological Jujitsu: Be the first to reach the target score.

Number of Players: 2 or more players

Number of Cards: Standard deck of 52 cards. Use additional decks for games with 3 or more players.

Card Rankings: King (highest), Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace (lowest)

Type of Game: Strategic

Audience: Teens and Adults

Introduction to Psychological Jujitsu

Psychological Jujitsu is a game that revolves around psychology. It is a game of strategy where luck plays a limited role. To win, being cunning or quick-witted won’t be enough. You need to understand what your opponent is thinking.

The Deal

When playing the game of psychological Jujitsu, I start by removing one suit from the deck and shuffling it. Then, I place it face-down on the table. Next, I distribute a complete set of cards to each player, ranging from Ace to King. Each card represents a number, from one to thirteen, with Ace being one and King being thirteen.

ACTION TIME

As I begin playing psychological Jujitsu, I set the game to have a total of thirteen rounds.

The Bidding Process

At the beginning of each round, I auction off the top card of the extra suit to all the players. Here’s how it works: we each select a card from our hand secretly and, on the count of three, we reveal our cards. These cards serve as bids for the top card of the extra suit. The card with the highest rank wins the bid. The value of each card is equal to its numerical value, which is either printed on the card or assigned to it.

If there’s a tie during the auction, we discard the card that caused the tie, as well as all the cards played that round.

However, there’s another way to handle ties. You can also choose to only discard the two tied cards and give the bid to the next highest ranked card.

What happens after the bidding and how points are scored

Once you win a card, you must place it in front of you with the face-up.

Since there are 13 rounds in total, and each player has 13 cards, you’ll only play one card in each round.

After each round is completed, you need to score your hand and add it to your total score. There are a total of 91 points available in each hand. You earn points by winning cards in the bid.

It’s important to keep track of the cards that your opponents play so that you can plan your strategy accordingly.

It’s important to keep track of the cards that your opponents play so that you can plan your strategy accordingly.