6 takes !

Game rules

6 picks is a game coming from Germany, which is played with numbered cards from 1 to 104, where each card is unique. The objective is to get as few ducks as possible !

Course of the game

At the beginning of the game, the dealer deals 10 cards to each player and put 4 right away on the table. These 4 cards are starting 4 series.

Opposited to more common card games, 6 picks doesn't follow a classic turn structure, but is based on simultaneous choice. In other words, everybody play in the same time rather than one after the other. Each player choose the card he wants to play, but we reveal all cards and put them appropriately on the table only when verybody has made up his mind.

When all players have chosen a card of their hand, one proceed to the placement in the series. The player having the smallest card goes first, and then we play in order, the greatest card goes last.

Picked cards don't go back to the hand of the player picking them, but are instead discarded and are contributing to the scoring at the end of the round.

Once all played cards have been put on the table acording to the rules above, each player choose the card he wants to play next, and one again follow the same rules. The round ends when all players have played their 10 cards.

Example

Here is an example to illustrate the rules explained above. Suppose there are four players: Alice, Bob, Celia and David, and that the following series are currently on the table :

Alice plays a 23, Bob a 88, Celia a 7 and David a 64. Here is what happens :

  1. Celia goes first because 7 is the smallest ammongst 23, 64, 7 and 88. 7 is smaller than 21, smaller than 24, smaller than 57 and smaller than 81; none of the series can accept it. Celia thus decides to pick 69, 72 and 81, which gives her 3 ducks. The 7 card starts a new serie which can be immediately used right away.
  2. Alice goes second. 23 can either go after 7, or following 21. Between 7 and 21, 21 is the greatest; 23 will therefore be put following 21.
  3. Bob goes third with his 64. HE has four options: after 7, after 23, after 24 and after 57. 57 being the greatest of those four, it's where 64 will go.
  4. Finally, David goes last with his 88. Always by following the same rules, 88 must go after 64. But the serie has already 5 cards ! David must so pick 33, 42, 50, 57 and 64, which gives him 11 ducks. His 88 starts a new fresh serie. Bad luck ! David probably though that his 88 would go after the 81 picked up by Celia...
  5. Everybody has played for this turn; the game continues by letting each player choosing the next card to play.

Scoring

When a round ends, the cards picked up by the players are counted. All cards give ducks :

Note: 55 being both a multiple of 11 and 5, this card gives 7 ducks !

The objective of the game is to have as few ducks as possible. Players who go beyond a defined limit (66 by default) are out of the game, and the winner is the last who didn't reach the limit, or, if everybody is out at the same time, the player with the fewest number of ducks.

Variants

Advanced or professional mode

In this variant, one play with the minimum required number of cards according to the number of players (one keep the cards from 1 to 10n+4 and all greater cards are discarded), and no longer always 104. As a result, the game is much more strategic and chance plays a lesser role, because one can deduce the cards held by other players with a little training and memory.

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