AttackJack

This is modification of Blackjack, with a more heavy emphasis on strategy and a bit of a battling gameplay, contributed by Caedyn Danow . It is also known as BrawlJack or BattleJack.

The number of players is in theory limited only by the number of cards in the deck, but in practice four is the optimal number, using a standard 52-card pack with two jokers. In this game the players play against each other, not each individually against the dealer as in Blackjack.

To begin the game, each player is dealt two cards face up; each card is the start of a separate hand. The top card of the deck is revealed, and then the first player is chosen by either rock-paper-scissors or dice. The players take turns clockwise around the table.

A player begins his or her turn by drawing the top card of the undealt part of the pack, looking at it, and "hitting" (adding this card to) any one of the hands around the table which is still face up and has not yet been "stayed". The player can then "stay" any or all of his or her hands, which freezes the value of the hand and prevents any more cards from being added to it.

When a hand reaches a total value over 21, it is "busted" and must be turned face down.

When all of a player's hands are busted or stayed, that player is considered "done", and takes no further turns.

Unless someone has a 21, the player with the highest hand (after all players are done) wins. However, when someone has a 21, "points mode" starts. The more 21s you have, the more points you have. A hand consisting of an Ace and a King (known as an "AK-47") is worth two 21s. If points mode is started, the player with the most 21s wins.

A Joker is called a Bomb. It is worth exactly 21 points. Therefore if you get it dealt as one of your hands, it is an automatic 21. However, if you don't go first that round, another player has a chance to bust that hand before you can stay it. A player who draws a joker from the deck can automatically bust someone with it.

An Ace is dynamic. It can be counted as either 11 or 1 and can switch at any time. For example, if you have an ace and a seven, it's an 18 (A(11) + 7), but if someone hits it with a 4, it becomes a 12 (A(1) + 7 + 4).

If a card on top of a hand (the card previously added to it) is the same rank as the one being hit to it, the hit card becomes a new separate hand belonging to that player. For example if a hand consists of 5-8 and an 8 is added to it, this does not make a 21 but becomes two separate hands - a 13 and an 8.

If only one player remains who is not done, he cannot see the top card of the deck before deciding which hand to hit with it. This is called "playing regular".

If there is a tie for most 21's, you can play blind, which is a tiebreaker in which each player is dealt one card face down. They play regular without seeing any of their cards until each decides to stay. The player who has the highest hand that is not busted wins. If another draw occurs, repeat playing blind.

Version with "dealer"

This game can be played with an extra virtual player, the "dealer", who plays after all the ordinary live players are done. The role of the "dealer" can be taken by any of the players who did not win the hand. The dealer plays "regular" under the same rules as any other player, with the objective of making a hand or set of hands that equals or beats the winning player. That is, if the winning hand is below 21 the dealer must at least equal it without busting, and if the winner has one or more 21's, the dealer tries to get at least as many 21's. If the dealer succeeds in equalling or beating the winning player, no one wins. If not, the live player's win is confirmed.