Sichere Six
Designed by Mark S. Ball
INTRODUCTION
Sichere Six is the second entry in the Misfortune Series of card games. It introduces Fate's Mercy & Mirth.
Much like in Nein Nine, players have the opportunity to stick their opponents with painful penalty cards. In Sichere Six, they can try to collect all of the penalty cards and bring down their opponents' scores even more.
This game begins as a free-for-all. As it progresses, temporary alliances form, backstabbery ensues, and only one will escape Fate's game with the victory.
MATERIALS
Play with a standard 52 card deck by stripping the pack down to 6’s through Jacks in each suit. Also, include one Joker to complete the 25 card deck.
A piece of paper and pencil is needed to keep score.
SETUP
To determine the first dealer, shuffle the pack and deal out cards one at a time. The first player to receive a 9 is the dealer.
Dealer shuffles the deck and deals out eight cards to each player. One card will be leftover. This is Fate’s Mercy. Place it face down on the table.
PLAY
The player seated left of the dealer leads the first trick. They may play any card from their hand. That card is placed face up in the center of the table.
Continuing left around the table, players must follow suit if they can (unless they want to play the Joker). If they cannot follow suit, they can play any card.
SETTING TRUMP
The trump suit is set by the first 8 played to a trick, and it goes into effect immediately. The suit that becomes trump is the highest ranking suit for the round.
SPITS
The trump suited 7 becomes the highest ranking trump card for the round. It is called the Big Spit. The other 7 of the same color becomes the second highest trump card, and it is called the Little Spit. It is also considered part of the trump suit.
(Example) An 8 of Hearts is played to the trick. Hearts become trump immediately, and the ranking for that suit changes to: 6♥ 8♥ 9♥ 10♥ J♥ 7♦ 7♥
In the example above, the 7♦ is the Little Spit, and the 7♥ is the Big Spit.
THE JOKER
The Joker can be played any time whether or not the player can follow suit. When playing the Joker, that player must immediately declare whether they win or lose the trick. If they say win, the Joker ranks higher than any other card. If they say lose, it ranks lower than any other card.
WINNING THE TRICK
The highest ranking card in the suit that is led, the highest ranking trump card, or the Joker (if win is declared) wins the trick. That player collects the trick and keeps it face down in front of them. Players cannot look at the cards they have collected until the end of the round.
FATE’S MERCY
The first player to capture a 9 is named The Chosen. They are given Fate’s Mercy. They pick up that card and add it to their hand. They select one card from their hand and place it face down in their trick collection pile. This must be done before leading the next trick.
The Chosen is allowed to place a 9 in their collection pile to help them trigger Fate’s Mirth.
CONTINUE PLAY
Play continues until all eight tricks are completed. Once this occurs, the round is over, and scores are tallied.
SCORE
PAPER & PENCIL SCORING
At the end of each round, players earn 1 point for each trick they capture. Next, they deduct points from their score for each 9 they capture.
Capturing one 9 = -2 point
Two 9’s = -4 points
Three 9’s = -6 points
Four 9’s = Fate’s Mirth is triggered
FATE’S MIRTH
If The Chosen captures all four 9’s, they trigger Fate’s Mirth, and a special scoring system is activated. The Chosen’s opponents each deduct 6 points from their scores for the round.
(Example) Opponent A captures 3 tricks. They deduct 3 points from their game score (+3 for tricks, -6 for Fate’s Mirth). If opponent B captures 0 tricks, they deduct 6 points from their game score (+0 for tricks, -6 for Fate’s Mirth).
RIVER STONE SCORING
For a more tactile scorekeeping method, use dark and light stones. Each player determines their score for the round. If their score is a positive number, they add that many light stones to their collection.
If their score is a negative number, they remove that many light stones from their collection. If a player no longer has any light stones, but they still have penalty points to account for, they add that many dark stones to their collection. A player with a collection of dark stones is said to be in the dark.
If a player is in the dark, their dark stones can be removed with positive points.
(Example) Wendy is in the dark and has two dark stones in her collection. She ends the round with three tricks and no 9’s. That is three positive points. Wendy removes the two dark stones from her collection and adds one light stone. Wendy is no longer in the dark and has a positive score of 1.
CONTINUE THE GAME
Once the score for the round is totaled, collect the cards. Deal passes left from the previous dealer. Continue playing rounds until the game ends.
WIN
Sichere Six is typically played for nine rounds. At the end of the final round, whoever has the highest score wins. If there is a tie for highest score, continue playing until there is a winner.
If a player reaches a score of -9 or 9 before the end of the final round, the game ends. At this point, whoever has the highest score wins. If there is a tie, continue playing until there is a winner.
Enjoy the game? Consider buying the designer a cup of coffee.