Goblin King

Objective:

• The objective of Goblin King is to accurately predict the number of tricks you will win each round and earn the highest score by the end of the game.

Players:

• 3 to 6 players

Setup:

• Shuffle the deck and deal the entire deck of cards equally among all the players.
• Each player should hold their cards face-down and not look at them.

Gameplay:

• Goblin King is played over a series of rounds, with the number of rounds equal to the number of cards dealt to each player.
• Each round consists of one trick, where each player plays one card.
• The player who wins the trick earns points based on their prediction for that round.
• The player with the highest score at the end of all the rounds is the winner.

Round Structure:

Prediction Phase:

• Before each round begins, players must make a prediction for the number of tricks they think they will win.
• The total number of tricks predicted by all players should not equal the number of cards in the round. For example, if there are 5 cards in a round, the total predictions must be from 1 to 4 or 6 to 9, and so on.

Trick Phase:

• Starting with the player to the left of the dealer, each player plays one card face-up in clockwise order.
• Players must follow the suit led if they have a card of that suit. If not, they may play any card.
• The player who played the highest-ranking card of the led suit wins the trick.
• If a player plays a Goblin King card, it automatically wins the trick, regardless of the other cards played.
• If a player plays a card from the Goblin suit (a designated suit for each round), it acts as a trump suit, and the highest card of the Goblin suit wins the trick.
• The player who wins the trick leads the next trick in the subsequent round.

Scoring:

• At the end of each round, the players compare their actual number of won tricks to their predictions.
• If a player's prediction matches their actual number of won tricks, they earn 20 points plus 10 points for each trick won.
• If a player's prediction does not match their actual number of won tricks, they earn 0 points.
• The Goblin King card always counts as a won trick for the player who played it, regardless of their prediction.

End of the Game:

• After the final round, the player with the highest total score is declared the Goblin King and wins the game.

Variations:

• Advanced Play: Allow players to play additional special cards with unique abilities, similar to Skull King. These cards can add strategic elements and spice up the gameplay.
• Team Play: Players can form teams of two and sit across from their partner. The objective remains the same, with teammates trying to predict and win tricks collectively.

History

Popular at bars across Argea, but especially so within the Aurium Pirate Republic.

Related Organizations

• The Federation of Aurium Pirate Republics