SPLIT: A Strategic Card Game

Welcome to Split, a thrilling and strategic card game where the objective is to clear your hand of cards while earning points by making matches. Be careful though, because the more cards you have at the end of each round, the more penalties you’ll face and the fewer points you’ll accumulate throughout the game.

Matches can be made based on numbers, colors, or even suits. By mastering different levels of matches, you’ll have the power to force your opponents into negative positions, bringing them one step closer to defeat! Pay close attention, upgrade your matches, and emerge victorious!

Getting Started

Alright, let’s get started with the setup. First, make sure that everyone has a score sheet and a pencil. These will be used to keep track of scores during the game.

Now, it’s time to shuffle the deck of cards. Once that’s done, find the four reference cards and place them on the table within everyone’s reach. These cards will come in handy if anyone needs to look up any information during the game.

The player who happens to be the oldest will be in charge of shuffling the cards. Then, they will deal out nine cards to each player. The remaining cards can be placed face down in the middle of the group to create the draw pile. The dealer will then take the top card from the draw pile and place it faceup next to it. This will be the start of the discard row.

Now that all the cards have been dealt, it’s time for each player to take a moment to look at their cards. Remember, the player on the left of the dealer will take the first turn, and then the gameplay will continue in a clockwise direction.

Let’s start playing!

When it’s my turn, I have three possible moves. First, I can either pick a card from the draw pile or choose one from the discard row. Then, I have the option to play or upgrade any matches. Finally, I have to get rid of one card from my hand.

If I decide to draw a card from the draw pile, I can only take the top card and add it to my hand. But if it’s the last card in the pile, the round ends and I don’t get another turn. In that case, I have to mark one negative box for each card I still have in my hand. The cards in the discard pile are stacked in a way that I can see all of them; each card is placed on top of the others, with one card being revealed. If I want to draw from the discard pile, I have to be able to play the card and I have to take all the cards on top of it.

When I want to play a game, I need to choose two matching halves of a card from my hand and place them in front of me. I can make as many matches as I want, and each time I make a match, I get to do some bonus actions that are listed on the back of the card. If I want to make a match even stronger, I can play another card from my hand onto a card that is already on the table. But I can only make upgrades that make the match stronger – I can’t make it weaker.

Once I’ve made all the moves I want to make on my turn, I have to get rid of a card from my hand and put it on top of the discard row. I have to do this every turn, so I always have one less card in my hand.

When you discard your last card, the round ends. Everyone else has to put a negative mark for each card they still have. If you go out on your first turn, players who haven’t had a turn yet can play their matches before scoring. No bonus actions happen.

Matches

Matches are the most important part of the game. They’re what get you points. A perfect match is when you put together two halves that are the same. A strong match is when the halves have the same number and color, but not the same suit. A weak match is when the cards have the same number, but not the same suit or color.

Matches always have to be the same number. If they’re not, you can’t match them.

Bonus Actions

Once you find a match, you have to take immediate action before moving on to the next match. If you manage to create a perfect match, you have the power to choose a player and mark a negative box on their scoresheet. When you make a strong match, you have the option to draw a card from the draw pile, but it’s not mandatory. If you make a weak match, you can exchange one of your played matches with another player, but both matches must be of the same strength – not stronger or weaker.

THE END OF THE GAME

When I play this game, the round ends in two different situations. Firstly, it ends when I discard all the cards in my hand. Or, it can end when there are no more cards left in the draw pile. Once the round is over, it’s time to mark my score. For every match I made during the round, I get to fill in a box on my scorepad. But if I have any cards remaining in my hand, I have to fill in a negative box. It’s important to keep track of my score because it determines how well I’m doing in the game. Once the scoring is done, I just need to shuffle all the cards again and deal nine cards to start a new round. The player who went out in the previous round becomes the dealer for the next round.

Once I have played three rounds, the game comes to an end. Now it’s time to tally up all my points. To do this, I add up the values in the first open boxes of each row in the top half of my scorepad. But I also need to subtract the values in the first open boxes of each row in the bottom half. This gives me my final score. And of course, the player with the highest score wins the game! It’s always exciting to see who comes out on top.