Daupun

Daupun (from Welsh: dau ddeg pump, meaning “25”) is a two-player card game: south and north. It is played with a 40-card French deck (from Ace to 10; without J, Q, or K; the Ace is worth 1) and stones for the stakes. Definitions: The reserve is the set of five cards discarded by each player in the construction phase. A trick is a pair of opposed cards in the battle phase. The battlefield is the set of five tricks in the center of the table. The position of a trick is the value of each trick according to the order played: the first is worth 5 stones, the second 4, and so on until the fifth, which is worth 1 stone. The distance of a trick is the difference between the opposed cards of that trick. The value of a trick is (position + distance) × number of tricks won; the total defines the value of the battlefield for each player. A crown is 250 stones. The game ends when a player reaches the agreed number of crowns (1, 2, or 3). The pot is where the stones of the stakes are placed. Initial deal:Each round assigns at random a dealer and a cutter. The cutter begins the round. Each player receives five cards. The rest forms the draw pile. Structure of a round:A round has two phases, with south playing first (in the next round, the winner of the previous round plays first): Construction phase: The goal is that your five cards sum to at least 25. If you do not reach it, you lose all stones gained (unless the opponent also fails to reach 25). You draw one card from the draw pile (you now have six). You optionally make a stake (the process is explained later). You discard one card to keep five and place it face up in the reserve. You exchange cards between your hand and the reserve up to three times, only when the reserve has five cards. Upon reaching 25, you may say “I stay” to stop. The opponent may choose between “I stay” and “I leave” (grants one stone to the opponent). Battle phase: If both stay, combat begins. The five cards of each player are arranged from lowest to highest and face off 1 vs. 1 in five tricks. A trick is won with the lowest card. After the battle, tricks are removed according to this priority: Ties are removed. If pairs remain, the lowest ones are removed until leaving an odd number. If it is still even, the lowest one is removed. Possible cases: 0 ties: the two lowest are removed (3 remain). 1 tie: the tie and the lowest are removed (3 remain). 2 ties: both are removed (3 remain). 3 ties: the three and the lowest are removed (1 remains). 4 ties: the four are removed (1 remains). 5 ties: all are removed (0 remain). There must always remain an odd number of tricks; the only total tie occurs when there are five tied tricks and all are removed, in this case, no player takes the stones from the pot. Stakes:During construction, after drawing and before discarding, you may: I stake: place three stones in the pot if it is empty, or one if it is not. I stake to N: set the pot at N stones, without exceeding what is necessary to complete a crown. The opponent responds: I’m in: accepts the stake. I’m out: rejects the stake and grants two stones to the opponent. I raise to N: increases the stake, setting the pot at N stones, without exceeding what is necessary to complete a crown. End of the game:The game ends when a player reaches the crowns agreed upon at the beginning. Whoever achieves that number wins the game. —description from the designer