Dryads is a popular card game played throughout the continent. It can be played with 2-4 players and requires skill as well as luck.
Overview of the game
The goal of the game is to create the strongest army of five cards.
At the start of the game, each player draws 10 cards from the deck.
The first player is initially chosen randomly. In the next game, the player to his or her left will be the first player.
Each game consists of three rounds:
- In the first round, each player plays two cards. Afterwards, each player draws 1 card from the deck.
- Similarly, in the second round, each player plays two cards again, and afterwards draws yet another card from the deck.
- In the last round, each player plays a single card.
The score of each 'army' (the five played cards) is counted. The army with the highest score wins.
Cards
The deck of cards consists of four suits: mankind, elves, dwarves and creatures.
Each suit has 13 cards, ranging from 1 to 13 in terms of importance.
Additionally, there are four suitless wildcards, called bards, jokers or jesters.
Each card therefore has a type, suit and also a score, indicating the strength of the card.
A wildcard has no inherent score, but can take the shape of any other card.
(In addition to a suit and score, some cards also have an extra ability.)?
Scoring
The total score of an army is calculated as follows:
- The score of each card in the army is added up.
- Doubles: If there are two or more cards with the same score, the scores of these cards are doubled.
- Suites: If there are three, four or five cards with the same suit, an additional 1, 2 or 3 points is added to the total score respectively.
- Courts: When the army contains a complete court (a king, queen and jack), 3 points are added to the total score.
- Dryads: When the army contains all four aces, 20 points are added to the total score, such that the four aces are worth 24 points, thus instantly winning the game.
Stakes and addiction
The stakes of the game can get as high as the players desire. When you win, you win it all, and the game itself has a very addictive quality to it. Because of this, gamblers are often tempted to play for more than they can lose. It is not uncommon to see men or women throw away their life because of the game.
List of Cards
| # |
Rank |
Value |
Humans |
Dwarves |
Elves |
Creatures |
| 1 |
Beggar |
1 |
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Dryad |
| 2 |
Peasant |
1 |
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| 3 |
Craftsman |
1 |
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| 4 |
Merchant |
1 |
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| 5 |
Scholar |
1 |
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| 6 |
Infantry |
2 |
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| 7 |
Cavalry |
2 |
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| 8 |
Mercenary |
2 |
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| 9 |
Officer |
2 |
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| 10 |
General |
2 |
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| 11 |
Mage |
3 |
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| 12 |
Queen |
3 |
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| 13 |
King |
3 |
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