Card Explosion

Contributed by Nic Giacchino who invented it during school as an alternative to BS.

It can be played with as many people as you like, but is most fun with 3 or more friends. The first thing you must do before dealing is to create a 45-card pack consisting of 2-10 of each suit, four jacks, one king, two aces and two jokers. From a standard deck of 52 cards plus jokers, take out all the queens, three kings and two aces, and if it has more than two jokers, take out all but two of them. You then deal an equal amount of cards to all players, as many as you can until there are no longer enough cards to go around. The excess cards are placed in the center of the table to start the play stack.

If one player has both jokers (or one joker and the other is in the remainder cards) that player chooses who starts. If the two jokers are split between two people, they play rock paper scissors to see who chooses the first player. Players sit in a circle, and take turns putting down their cards. The game begins clockwise but the direction of play can be changed by playing a jack.

The foundation of the game is that you must put down a card one less than, equal to, or one more than the top card of the play stack (the card played by person who put down a card before you). for example, if the player who goes first put down an 8 than the next player to go can put down a 7, an 8, or a 9 (or a bomb - see below). If the player does not want to play or cannot play due to lack of required cards, they may pass.

Now here comes the explosive part. There are 4 types of bomb cards, each with their own properties. Bomb cards can be thrown down during your turn whether they follow the "one less than, equal to, one more than" rule or not. So if a player throws down a 7 directly before your turn and you don't have (or don't wish to play) a 6, a 7, or an 8 you can still throw down any bomb card you've got. The 4 bomb card types are 3s, 5s, 10s, and jokers. When you throw down a 3, a 5, or a 10, you count down from that number. Put down a 3 you count down "3-2-1", put down a five you count down "5-4-3-2-1", etc. When counting down from that number you may speak as fast or as slowly as you like, but your speech must be easily understandable and not slurred. Break this rule once and you get a warning and your bomb card does not detonate. Break it twice and you are kicked out of the game, your cards being put in the center deck (the place where people are throwing their played cards). When you count down, the person who has the next turn has to put down a card that follows the same rules that normally apply - equal to or one greater or less than the bomb card, or another bomb. You cannot pass when being bombed. If you fail to put down the card before they get to "1" in their countdown, the cards explode on you. When the cards explode on you, you take the whole center deck into your hand and your turn is skipped.

I have not yet explained jokers. A joker (also known as a nuke) is an instant explosion, not requiring countdown. When a joker is played on the center deck the next-turn-person has no choice but to take the deck.

Jacks are known as tricksters. They reverse the direction of play from clockwise to counter-clockwise or vice versa. omb cards and nukes. Jacks can be played on any card except on a bomb.

The king is known as the uber-shield. It is a fancy forcefield thingy, which blocks any bomb, including nukes, when placed on top of them during your turn. This shield is so awesome that it somehow blocks bombs even after they go off! Hence, there is no rush to use them, but rather a strategic decision: "would I rather take this deck or give up my king?". Anything can be put down on top of a king.

Aces make your bombs into missles. When you play an ace, you have to put down bomb on top of it. The ace adds rocket propulsion to your bomb, increasing its range. Point to whoever you want to bomb, then begin the countdown. The countdown is based on the type of bomb, the same as a plain bomb with no missle attachment. Nukes, of course, have no countdown, so just point who you want to blow up and bask in their complaints. All missles, like bombs, can be blocked by the uber-shield. When a player is attacked by a missle, the order of turns can be affected. If the bomb is countered or defused, the turn sequence continues from the attcked player. If the missle explodes, turns continue normally from the bomber, but the attacked player's next turn is skipped.

If at any time in the game a player puts down a card when it is not their turn or if they put down an illegal card, they must take the center deck and their next turn is skipped.

Kings can not be used except when you are bombed, aces can not be used without a bomb, and jacks can't be used by a player who is being bombed.

The first player who gets rid of all the cards from their hand is the winner.