Before the game starts, players should decide
- whether the Tuba Mirabilis and First Inversion cards will be used: if not, remove them;
- whether any categories will use alternative win conditions: by default, highest values, longest duration and earliest year win.
Game Setup
- The dealer shuffles the deck and deals all the cards face-down.
- Players hold their cards face-up so only they can see them.
Game Play
- The player to the dealer’s left becomes the active player and chooses a category from their top card.
- All players state their values for the chosen category, and the winning player collects all the cards from the round and places them at the bottom of their pile.
- The winning player becomes the next active player.
- If two or more players draw with a winning value, all of the cards from that round are placed in a central pile, and the winner of the next round claims all the cards in the pile.
Special Cards (if used)
Special cards may only be played by the player who holds them, and only once per game, after which they are removed from play.
- Tuba Mirabilis wins the round outright, regardless of category or values.
- First Inversion reverses the winning condition for the current round so that a category usually won by the highest, earliest or longest value is won by the lowest, latest or shortest value.
End Game
A player with no cards is out; the last player holding game cards wins.
Custom Cards
The deck includes two blank cards which can be used to add new pieces, if desired. Values must be agreed by all players before a game starts.
Multiple Decks
Full Score decks may be combined to create larger mega-decks with more repertoire. The game works best when entire decks are combined rather than selecting individual cards from different sets.