Fizzbin
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Fizzbin is a fictional playing-card game created by Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek episode #49 "A Piece of the Action".
The game was "invented" while Kirk, Spock, and Dr. McCoy were being held hostage on Sigma Iotia II. Kirk spontaneously created a confusing card game to distract the henchmen guarding them. When he claimed that the game is played by inhabitants of the planet Beta Antares IV, Spock replied that he is familiar with the inhabitants; Kirk quickly cut him off to prevent his science officer from professing ignorance of the game.
Beta Antares IV uses slightly different cards, but a standard Earth deck of cards will do. The rules are intentionally very complex. Each player gets six cards, except for the player on the dealer's right, who gets seven. The second card is turned up, except on Tuesdays. Kirk dealt the henchman two jacks, which are a "half-fizzbin." When the henchman said he needs another jack, Kirk warned that a third jack is a "shralk" and is grounds for disqualification. With two jacks, one wants a king and a deuce, except at night, when one wants a queen and a four.
At this point, Kirk dealt a third jack, but to keep the ruse going, he ignored the disqualification rule he had just made up. He explained that, had a king been dealt instead of a jack, the player would get another card, except when it's dark, in which case he'd have to give it back. The top hand is a "royal fizzbin," but the odds of getting one are "astronomical": when Kirk asked Spock what the odds are, Spock truthfully replied that he had never computed them.
Kirk called the last card a "kronk" and then purposely dealt a card such that it fell on the floor. As the henchman being taught reached down, Kirk delivered a blow to his neck, and Spock nerve-pinched the other guard, allowing the three to escape.
Quark mentioned the game in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Ascent" as a way for him and Odo to while away the time while traveling on a runabout. (Since it was unlikely he had heard the specific story of Kirk's ruse or was intending to swindle Odo, this implies that such a game actually exists in the Star Trek universe. Either Kirk used the name of a real game when making up his imaginary one, or the Iotians -- shown to be highly impressionable -- later invented a game based on Kirk's rules and spread it through the galaxy. A third possibility is that fizzbin is a fictional game used by tricksters throughout the galaxy to deceive others who are unaware of the game.)
The game was also played in the episode "Nantucket Sleighride" of the animated series Starcom.
Actual playable rules are as follows
FIZZBIN
Six cards are dealt to every player, except to the dealer and the player on the dealer’s left who each get seven. The second card to both the dealer and the player on the dealer’s left are dealt face-up except on Tuesday. The player on the dealer’s left gets the first play, which then proceeds counter-clockwise. There is one discard pile for every player and the discard piles start with one card each. to play, you may draw from any of the four, or you may draw from the stack of remaining cards. If the card you draw is a king or a two you draw again, unless it is nighttime, in which case you must draw a queen or a four to draw again. If you draw a queen or a four during the day, or a king or a two at night, you must immediately discard it and continue to the next step. After you have drawn your card(s) and discarded as explained in the previous step you must discard another card onto any one of the discard piles. If you drew from the stack, you may discard that card, but if you drew from a discard pile you must discard a different card. When you discard you must announce the name of the card you are discarding so that all players can hear. The last card in the stack is called the Kronk. Play continues until someone desires to draw from the stack when there are no cards remaining in it. At that time all players reveal their hands and they are listed into the following categories.
1 A royal Fizzbin is the best hand, It consists of a king and a two (or a queen and a four if it is nighttime), and any two pairs of aces, jacks, or sevens. If you have more than six cards in your hand all other cards are not counted unless there is a three or four-of-a kind.
2 The next best hand is a full Fizzbin, which consists of a king and a two (or a queen and a four if it is nighttime) and any one pair of aces, jacks or sevens. If you have more than four cards in your hand all other cards are not counted unless there is a three or four-of-a kind.
3 Following the full Fizzbin is the three-quarters or point-seven-five Fizzbin. This hand consists of a three, a five, a six, an eight, a nine, and a ten that are all red (except at night, when they must all be black)If you have more than six cards in your hand all other cards are not counted unless there is a three or four-of-a kind.
4 The lowest winning hand is the half or point-five Fizzbin, which is any pair of sevens, jacks, or aces. If you have more than two cards in your hand all other cards are not counted unless there is a three or four-of-a kind.
5 The Shralk consists of any three-of-a-kind or four-of-a-kind. If you have a Shralk, You automatically lose.
Note that in any tie of hands sevens beat aces, which beat jacks. so a half Fizzbin with sevens beats one with jacks.
In scoring you win one point for every hand you beat, and you lose a point for every hand that beats yours. Ties can happen but they do not effect your score.
usually three games are played, and the person with the highest total score wins.
