Overview

Cuttle is a combat card game played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Players take turns playing cards to build their layout.

Objective

The first player to control 21 points or more in-play at one time is the winner.

Game play

The first player is the "Dealer" and starts with a hand of 6 cards. The dealer's opponent starts with 5 cards and gets to go first.

On your turn you may take one of these actions:

1. Draw a card from the deck, adding it to your hand
2. Play a card from your hand for points
3. Scuttle an opponent's point card
4. Play a card from your hand for an effect
5. Pass (only when the draw pile is empty)

Round End

A round ends immediately when one player controls 21 points in-play. The player to do this is the winner of that round.

It is rare, but a round may also end when there are 3 passed turns in a row. When this happens, the round ends in a tie. There is no winner, regardless of any points in-play or any active effects.

Game End

Duration of a game (number of rounds) can be changed in the game setup.

Quick Play (1 round only)

In a quick play game, only 1 round is played, regardless of the outcome. If the round ends in a tie, then the game ends in a tie.

Short (first winner)

In a short-length game, players will continue to play until one player wins a round. Rounds that end in a tie are ignored for the purpose of determining a game winner.

Normal (best of 3)

In a normal-length game, players will continue to play until one player has won 2 rounds. Rounds that end in a tie are ignored for the purpose of determining a game winner.

Extended (best of 5)

In an extended-length game, players will continue to play until one player has won 3 rounds. Rounds that end in a tie are ignored for the purpose of determining a game winner.

Hand Limit

There is a hand limit of 8 that a player cannot exceed. If you have 8 cards in your hand, then you cannot draw a card on your turn. Likewise, if you play a 5 One-Off effect, you may only draw enough cards to bring your hand up to the hand limit. This does _not_ prevent your opponents from placing more than 8 cards into your hand by playing a 9 One-Off effect.

Drawing a card

On your turn, instead of playing a card from your hand, you may choose to draw one card from the top of the draw pile and add it to your hand. This ends your turn.

Passing

When the draw pile is empty, then a player may choose to pass on their turn, taking no action. Three passes in a row ends the round immediately in a tie (no winner, regardless of points).

Playing a Card for Points

To play a card for points, you place it face-up on the table in front of you. All non-face cards can be played for points. Aces are worth 1 point each, all other number cards are worth their face value.

Scuttling

You may use a point card from your hand to scuttle a point card that your opponent has in-play. The card you play from your hand MUST have a higher point value than the card you are scuttling. Both cards are moved to the discard pile.

In the event that two cards have the same point value, the ability to scuttle another card is determined alphabetically by the name of the suit: Clubs (lowest) < Diamonds < Hearts < Spades (highest). For example, the 5 of Diamonds can scuttle the 5 of Clubs. The 10 of Spades can scuttle any other point card.

Playing a Card for Effect

Instead of playing a card for points, you may play it for an effect. There are two types of effects: Permanent effects and One-Off effects. Permanent effects stay active as long as the effect card is in-play. One-off effects are executed, and the effect card is then moved to the discard pile.

Card Explanations

Twos can be played on your turn to discard a single active Permanent effect that your opponent has in-play. Twos _cannot_ be used to block point cards or scuttling. On your opponent's turn, you may use a 2 from your hand to block a One-Off effect they are playing, preventing it from taking effect. Both cards are discarded. Since playing a 2 this way is a One-Off effect, it can also be blocked.

Fours can be played to force your opponent to discard 2 cards from their hand immediately. If they have 2 or fewer cards in their hand, they simply discard their entire hand. By default, the player may choose which 2 cards to discard from their own hand. For more aggressive gameplay, there is a game option to randomly choose which cards are discarded, instead of letting the player choose.

Fives can still be played, even if it is the last card in your hand. In that case, you have no cards to discard and you will still draw 3 new cards from the deck. You may not draw more cards than will fit within the 8-card hand limit.

Sevens cause you to reveal the top two cards from the deck to all players. You choose how to play one of the cards before returning the other card to the top of the draw pile. If neither card is playable, then you choose one to discard and the other is returned to the top of the draw pile. If there is only one card left in the deck, then you must reveal this one card and play it.

Eights can be played as a permanent effect. When doing this, it is played sideways (to resemble glasses), and your opponent(s) must play with the cards in their hand visible to you. This is a Permanent effect, so it cannot be blocked with a 2.

Nines can be used to return one active card to its owner's hand. The player may not play this card on their next turn (for points, scuttling or effect). When targeting a point card with Jacks attached, only the top-most Jack is removed.

Tens can be played for points or scuttling only. They have no Permanent or One-Off effect.

Jacks attach to the point card they are played against. Jacks may be stacked. If the point card is scuttled or discarded for any reason, then the attached Jacks are discarded. If the attached Jack is removed or discarded, then the point card (and any remaining Jacks that are still attached) return to its previous or original owner.

Queens protect your other cards from single-target attacks only (2, 9, Jack). The Queen does _not_ protect itself from these attacks, nor does it protect your other cards from scuttling or other attacks that affect multiple cards.

Kings reduce the number of points you need to win a round. With 1 King in-play, you only need to control 14 points to win, with 2/3/4 Kings in-play, your target winning points becomes 10/5/0. With 4 Kings in-play, your target score becomes 0 causing you to win the round.

Jokers can be used like Jacks. They attach to a target permanent effect. Jokers may be stacked. If the target effect card is discarded for any reason, then the attached Jokers are also discarded. If the Joker is removed or discarded, control of the target effect (any any remaining Jokers that are still attached) return to its previous or original owner. Jokers can not be played against Jacks attached to point cards. NOTE: Jokers are not included in Balanced or Traditional game modes, only 3-Player Battles.

Traditional Rules

Because of their popularity, you may choose to play a game variant with the earliest documented rules for the game. The rules are nearly identical to the more common "Balanced" rule set, with the following differences.

• There is no hand limit.
• 5 One-Off Effect causes you to draw 2 cards. You do not discard and draw 3.
• 7 One-Off Effect becomes a simple "top-deck", where you reveal the top card from the deck and play it, instead of revealing 2 cards.
• 9 One-Off Effect does not block the player from playing the returned card on their next turn, and is only allowed to target active permanent effects, not point cards.
• King Permanent Effect is less powerful, reducing the points required for you to win to 14/10/7/4 with 1/2/3/4 Kings instead of 14/10/5/0.

3-Player Battle

The rules for three-player battles are nearly identical to the "Balanced" rule set, with the following differences.

• Round End occurs when a player reaches 14 points, instead of the normal 21
• Hand limit is reduced to 7
• Each player starts with 5 cards, even the dealer
• 8 Permanent Effect allows the controlling player to see all opponent's hands, but does not reveal cards to the rest of the table
• King Permanent Effect reduces the points required for you to win to 9/5/0 with 1/2/3 Kings (3 Kings wins the round immediately)
• Two Jokers are shuffled into the deck. These behave like Jacks, but are used to steal permanent effects instead of points