Phase 10
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| Phase 10 | |
|---|---|
 Cards used in Phase 10 |
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| Designer | Kenneth Johnson |
| Publisher | Fundex Games |
| Players | Two to six |
| Setup time | < 1 min |
| Playing time | > 3 min per hand |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Skills required | Saving important cards; knowing when to put down those cards; matching, ordering |
Phase 10 is a card game created in 1982 by Kenneth Johnson and currently produced by Fundex Games. Phase 10 is based on a variant of rummy known as Liverpool Rummy. It requires a special deck or simply 2 regular decks of cards, and can be played by two to six people. The game is named after the ten Phases (or melds) that a player must advance through in order to win. Phase 10 is Fundex's best selling product, selling 32,658,845 units to date, making it the 2nd best selling card game, behind Uno.
Contents |
[edit] Object
The object of the game is to be the first player to complete all 10 Phases. In the case of a tie, the player with the lowest score out of the tied players is the winner.
[edit] The Deck
There are 108 cards in a deck and there are 24 cards of each color. 2 Wilds of each color and 4 blue skips.
With two regular decks of cards, the suits can represent the 4 different colors. One way to play is with the cards 2 through Kings being the basic cards, the Ace cards are wilds, and the Jokers are skip cards.
[edit] Special Cards
- Wild Cards: A "Wild" card may be used in place of a number card, or may be used as any color, in order to complete a Phase.
- More than one "Wild" card may be used in completing a Phase. Players can use as many "Wild" cards as the want as long as they use one (1) natural card.
- Once a "Wild" card has been played in a Phase, it cannot be replaced by the intended card and used elsewhere. It must remain as that card until the hand is over.
- If the dealer starts the discard pile with a "Wild" card, the card may be picked up by the first player.
- A "Wild" card may not be used as a "Skip" card.
- Skip Cards: Skip cards have only one purpose: to cause another player to lose a turn. To use, a player discards the "Skip" card on their turn and chooses the player who will lose a turn.
- When a "Skip" card is drawn it may be discarded immediately or saved for a later turn.
- A "Skip" card may never be picked up from the discard pile.
- A "Skip" card may NEVER be used to complete Phase 8.
- When someone is skipped, a "round" is once around the table.
- If the first player starts the discard pile with a "Skip" card, the next player's first turn is automatically skipped.
[edit] Phases
A phase is a combination of cards. Phases are made of sets, runs, cards of all one color, or a combination of sets and runs. As the name suggests, there are ten phases:
- 2 sets of 3
- 1 set of 3 + 1 run of 4
- 1 set of 4 + 1 run of 4
- 1 run of 7
- 1 run of 8
- 1 run of 9
- 2 sets of 4
- 7 cards of one color
- 1 set of 5 + 1 set of 2
- 1 set of 5 + 1 set of 3
Each player can make only one phase per hand.
[edit] Definitions
- Set: A set is made of three or more cards with the same number.
- Run: A run (similar to a straight) is made of four or more cards numbered in order. (The cards must be in one set of colors.) A run may not go in order of 11, 12, 1, 2; this is an illegal play. Runs must stop at 12 and only start at 1.
- All One Color: The cards are all of the same color unless you have a wild card which can be any color
[edit] Play
Choose one player to be dealer. The dealer shuffles the deck and deals 10 cards, face down, one at a time, to each player. Players hold their 10 cards in hand so that the other players cannot see them. Place the remaining deck face down in the center of the play area to become the draw pile. The person to the dealer's left turns the top card of the draw pile over and places it next to the draw pile, to become the discard pile. They can take this card as their draw, allow others to take it, or let it sit to become the discard pile. Play continues in a clockwise direction. On a player's turn they draw one card, either the top card of the draw pile or the top card of the discard pile, and add it to their hand. Their turn is ended by discarding any one of their cards onto the top of the discard pile.
During the first hand, all players try to complete Phase 1.
[edit] Completing Phases
If, during a player's turn, they are able to make a Phase with the cards in their hand, they lay the Phase down, face-up on the table before discarding.
- A player must have the whole Phase in hand before laying it down.
- A player may lay down more than the minimum requirements of a Phase, but only if the additional cards can be directly added to the cards already in the Phase.
- Only one Phase may be made per hand.
- If a player successfully makes a Phase, then they try to make the next Phase in the next hand. If they fail to make a Phase, they must try to make the same Phase again in the next hand. As a result, players may not all be working on the same Phase in the same hand.
- Phases must be made IN ORDER, from 1 to 10.
- Players receive credit for making a Phase as soon as it is laid down. A player does not need to win the hand in order to receive credit for the Phase. Several players will often complete a Phase in the same hand.
[edit] Hitting
Hitting is the way to get rid of leftover cards after making a Phase. A hit is made by putting a card directly on a Phase already laid down. The cards must properly fit with the cards already down. (Before a player can make a hit, their own Phase must already be laid down. A player may only hit during their turn. A player may hit any combination of their own cards and other player's cards.)
[edit] Going Out / Finishing a Hand
After laying down a Phase, players try to "go out" as soon as possible. To go out, a player must get rid of all of their cards, by discarding or hitting on an existing Phase. The player to go out first wins the hand. The winner of the hand, and any other players who also complete their Phase, will advance to the next Phase for the next hand. Players total the number of cards left in their hands (the fewer cards left in their hand, the better). All the cards are shuffled and a new hand begins. (Remember, if a player did not complete their Phase before another player went out, they must work on the same Phase again in the next hand.) After a player goes out, the other players have one last turn to try to finish their hand.
[edit] Scoring
Paper and a pencil will be needed to keep a running total of each player's score. The winner of a hand scores zero. All remaining players score points against them, for cards still in their hands, as follows:
- 5 points for each card numbered 1-9
- 10 points for each card numbered 10-12
- 15 points for each "Skip" card
- 25 points for each "Wild" card
Only cards in hand are scored, not cards already laid down. After the scores are recorded, the player to the left of the dealer becomes the new dealer. All cards are gathered and shuffled, and a new hand is dealt. If you can play a card when the selected player goes out this is called "floating" each player gets a turn until someone goes out.
[edit] Winning
The first player to complete Phase 10 at the end of a hand is the winner. If two or more players complete Phase 10 in the same hand, then the player with the fewest total points is the winner. In the event of a tie, the players that tied replay Phase number 10. The first one to go out is the winner.
[edit] Varieties
[edit] Masters Edition
The Masters Edition of the game can be played by two to four players and includes additional rules:
- The ability to choose which Phase to attempt (not necessarily in numerical order) based on the cards dealt to the player. Players must verbally declare which Phase they are attempting during the hand after cards are dealt.
- The ability to set aside (or save) one card per hand.
- The ability to draw one card from their save pile per hand.
The Masters Edition comes with 10 Phase cards for each player to keep track of the Phases which they have completed during gameplay. The Masters Edition also includes only two Skip cards instead of the four that the original edition contains. This makes the playable number of cards 106, plus the forty phase cards, for a total of 146 cards in the box.
[edit] Phase 10 Dice
Phase 10 Dice is dice game inspired by Phase 10.
