patisserie 3CARD is a two player card game from Japan using only 7 cards. The designer had published Cabaret 4 Card, in which players have only 4 cards each, but then thought if it could be minimised further.
The game was designed for a French patisserie in Kobe, where the chef wanted customers to play card games in the cafe.
In patisserie 3CARD, the two players have only three cards each. There is one start card which goes in the middle between the players. The 6 cards are shuffled and three dealt to each player.
The cards have simple logic instructions (Place, Do Not Place, Place Last One) and the players take turns placing one card to the left or right side of the middle card, or taking a card back. When placing, cards can be placed on top of another card, staggered to show the card below.
By placing the cards, the three cards form a sentence in Japanese. This sentence controls how the other player may proceed.
The first player to shed their three cards wins.
user summary
The designer says:
When you place a card, it becomes a sentence. It is a sentence like this: "Place a card called "Place"", "Do not place a card called "Place"", or "Place the last card called "Last card"".
The cards in your hand are played according to the sentence. If the sentence is not followed, the card in the field is added to your hand. The sentence structure is different between Japanese and English, so it is difficult to translate the sentence into English.
publishers summary