(idea) by m_turner Wed Jan 03 2001 at 0:07:16
From the classic game The Fool's Errand, this card game entertained me for quite some time. Its a deceptively simple game played with the major arcana from a tarot deck that bears a similarity to Black Jack.

The dealer and the player are each dealt two cards from the Major Arcana of the tarot deck, one face up, once face down. Three cards are dealt face up between the two players. The player could then select one of the three cards to add to the existing hand or forfeit at a penalty of 27 points. After this, the dealer would then select a card from the remaining two or forfeit with a penalty of 27 points. If both players had the same score, the tie was broken by looking at the highest valued card (first list below). Example: Hierophant and Hermit beats Emperor and Empress (both Royal Pairs) because the Hierophant has a higher value. Likewise, Magician and Fool (High Pair, 81 points) beat Tower, Chariot, Lovers (Low Triplet, 81 points) because the Magician has a higher value.

Winning with no pair or triplet scored 9 points. Winning with a pair would score between 18 and 81 points, and winning with a triple would score between 81 and 144 points. First person to 700 points wins.

Value of single cards:

  1. Death
  2. Magician
  3. High Priestess
  4. Hierophant
  5. Devil
  6. World
  7. Moon
  8. Star
  9. Justice
  10. Judgment
  11. Strength
  12. Emperor
  13. Empress
  14. Hanged Man
  15. Hermit
  16. Wheel of Fortune
  17. Temperance
  18. Tower
  19. Chariot
  20. Lovers
  21. Fool
Combinations of cards, and point value. The triple is 72 points higher valued than the pair. There is no High Triplet.

I like it!