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Object of the game:
Claim two lines of five before your opponents
Zepherin House Rules:
There are several variations of the game of One-Eyed Jacks. The game is similar to the popular Sequence game, however our boards are perfect mirror images, with cards appearing in opposing spaces. Here are the rules we follow in our home.
Anywhere from 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, or 12 players may play. If there are more than three players, split into two or three teams and divide the glass chips evenly amongst the players.
Players should seat themselves by alternating based on their team around the game board. One player shuffles the two decks together, each player takes a card. The player with the lowest card deals first.
Deal the following cards: Two players (seven cards each), three players (six cards), four players (six cards), six players (five cards), eight players (four cards), nine players (four cards), ten players (three cards, twelve players (three cards).
Game Play:
The player to the left of the dealer goes first. He/she chooses a card from their hand and places a glass chip on one of the matching space, if it is still open. The card is then discarded face up and the player may draw a replacement card from the pile of extra cards. If the player forgets to replace their card before the next player discards, they must play short for the remainder of the game. Variation: If decided upon before the game, a forgotten pick-up may be replaced at the end of that players next turn. In this instance, the player plays short for one round.
One-Eyed Jacks – The player may remove any bead from the board that is not part of a complete line.
Two-Eyed Jacks – The player may place their bead on any open spot.
Dead Cards – When a player has a card that no longer has an open space on the board, this card is considered dead. On their turn and before playing their card, the player must announce they have a dead card, discard it, pick up a replacement from the pile and then they may play their turn.
Free Spaces – The four corners of the board marked with the Zepherin Games logo are free spaces. These four free spaces act like they have a colour from each team at all times, and can be used by all three teams if needed.
Winning the Game: form two lines of five by placing chips vertically, horizontally or diagonally. Each row of five (or four + a free corner space) becomes a sequence line. Lines may intersect only at a single position. Nine chips placed in a row could be considered two sequence lines if they only share one outer glass chip. An individual or a team wins when they have claimed two lines.
