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Pandemonium, or
"King/Queen of the World"
An introductory rummy game for 9 to 12 year olds
leading to more advanced games.
Object: To collect 5 cards of the same color (region) by trading with other players.
Number of Players: 4 to 7
Card Deck: 32 to 49 cards depending on the number of players:
4 players - 30 colored regional city cards + 2 white-centered cards
5 players - 30 colored regional city cards + 5 white-centered cards
6 players - 30 colored regional city cards + 6 white-centered cards
7 players - All 42 regional city cards + 7 white-centered cards
Note: For 4, 5, or 6 players, select the 30 regional cards as follows:
5 Gray South America/Dark Blue Western Asia;
5 Pink Pacific Asia/Red Caribbea;
5 Light Blue Western Europe/Olive Green Southeast Asia;
5 Orange Atlantic N.A./Yellow Africa;
5 Maroon Eastern Europe/Light Green AustralAsia;
5 Purple Pacific N.A./Dark Green Mediterranea.
Make sure each color group has 5 different cities.
The Play: Take turns as dealer. Deal out all the cards. Each player must have the same number. At end of each round, cards are shuffled and dealt by next dealer (left of previous dealer). With cities on both sides players should examine their hand and arrange cards by color. When deal is complete, players be- gin offering cards for trade. There is no "taking turns." Everyone trades at once calling out the number of cards they want to trade. Trades are of equal numbers.
Trading Rules: Any number can be traded but all cards must be the same color. 1 white center card can be added to a trade but white center cards cannot be traded as singles. In a trade, cards should be stacked so the player's hand conceals the color of the cards. When two players call out the same number, the trade can be made. But the trade doesn't have to be made if either player wants to wait for a different trade with another player.
When a player has 5 cards of the same color, he or she shouts "King of Red" or "Queen of Light Blue" (whatever color they are collecting). Or they can shout the name of the region, i.e., "Queen of Carribea" or "King of AustralAsia;" then that player has won the round. Scores are counted, the cards shuffled and cards are dealt by the next dealer. If two players get sets of 5 cards at the same time, the one calling out first is the winner. If a winning player has a white center card plus a 5 card set, that card makes it a 6 card set and is scored accordingly. Therefore one (but only one) white center card can be an additional "wild card" in a winning hand. A second such card is simply void. However, white center cards held by non-winners at the end of a round result in a penalty (see Scoring below).
Scoring:
3 points for each card in a winning 5 or 6 card set.
3 point penalty for each white center card left in a player's hand
when another player wins the round.
Special Scoring: When there are 5, 6 or 7 players, then the 5 white center cards can be collected. This is risky. Being stuck with 4 white center cards results in a penalty of 12 for that player. But if successful with 5 white center cards, that player shouts, "King/Queen of the World" and earns 35 points for the round! This is called Shooting the Moon.
Ending the game: The game should be at least as many rounds as there are players. That is, each player should deal at least once. But before the game begins players can decide to end the game after some other number of rounds dealt.
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