Stockpile - A strategic card game played with a regular deck of cards
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on June 22, 2015, 7:31 p.m. by -Logician
--- Stockpile ---
Introduction:
Tired of boring card games like Crazy Eights, Go Fish, War, etc? For those of you who like a game with a little bit less luck and a little bit more skill, this game is for you! Stockpile is a card game played with a regular 52-card deck of playing cards. I would describe it as strategic, thought-provoking, and even psychological to a degree. It is a game that I created, and I intended for it to be complex. There is definitely a learning curve and a lot to remember. It is strictly a two-player game.
Basic Setup:
- Deal each player seven cards. Hands are private information.
- Put the rest of the cards in a face-down pile in the center of the table. This pile is called the deck.
- Put the top card of the deck into a new pile right next to the deck face up. This new pile is called the stockpile.
- If the first card put into the stockpile is an ace or a face card, continue to put cards from the top of the deck into the stockpile until you get a card that isnt an ace or a face card.
- Knowing what the top card of the stockpile is, players will now enter a phase of the game where they decide who will go first. Players each put one card from their hand face down in front of them (to hide it momentarily). Once each player has a face down card, they reveal those cards. Whosever card is higher (2 through ace, ace high) gets to go first. If the cards revealed are the same, players continue this process with different cards in their hands until the cards revealed are different and a starting player is determined. In the extremely unlikely event that this happens 7 times and a starting player is not able to be determined, shuffle all cards together and start over.
After following the basic setup of the game, players will have seven cards in their hand, the top card of the stockpile is something between two and ten, and a starting player will have been determined.
Objective:
- If your opponent has thirteen or more cards in his or her hand, you win that game.
- If you have no cards left in your hand, your opponent finishes drawing any cards you may have caused him or her to draw, then you win that game.
- When you win, you receive an amount of points equal to the number of cards in your opponents hand minus the number of cards in your hand. Then shuffle the cards and begin a new game.
- The first player to reach 20 or more points wins the match. This number can be changed based on the players discretion.
Forcing your opponent to draw cards is a big part of this game. In the next section, I will explain all the moves you can make during the game complete with examples. If the card drawing mechanics start becoming overwhelming, you can find remorse in the section after that where I will summarize the card drawing mechanics to make it easier to understand.
Moves:
- Duplicate - Play any number of cards in your hand that have the same number as the card on top of the stockpile. When you do so, the opponent draws cards equal to the amount of cards in a row with that number on top of the stockpile.
- Example 1: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can play a 5 from your hand. Then, since there are two 5s in a row on top of the stockpile, your opponent draws two cards.
- Example 2: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can play two 5s from your hand at the same time. Then, since there are three 5s in a row on top of the stockpile, your opponent draws three cards.
- Proceed - Play a card or a series of consecutive cards that starts one number higher than the card on top of the stockpile. A series can be of any length. Your series cannot proceed past 10 (because 10 highest number in this game, you'll see).
- Example 1: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can play a 6.
- Example 2: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can proceed in a series by playing a 6, a 7, and an 8 in a row (or any length of series that you're able to play).
- Proceed and Duplicate - Play two or more cards that are one number higher than the card on top of the stockpile. When you do so, this is like duplicating, and your opponent draws card equal to the number of cards in a row with that number on top of the stockpile.
- Example 1: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can play two 6s. Then, since there are two 6s in a row on top of the stockpile, your opponent draws two cards.
- Example 2: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can play three 6s (illuminati confirmed). Then, since there are three 6s in a row on top of the stockpile, your opponent draws three cards.
- Wild Card - Face cards are wild cards. They must be played alone, and can always be played, no matter what is on top of the stockpile. A wild card is always acted as the proceeding number, and cannot be duplicated. When you play a wild card, it cannot for any reason force your opponent to draw cards (this comes up in the *Proceed To Ten* rule discussed later).
- Example 1: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can play a wild card because it doesn't matter what is on top of the stockpile. The wild card is treated as a 6 (because 6 is the proceeding number), and your opponent is not allowed to duplicate that by playing 6s from his or her hand.
- Example 2: If there is a face card on top of the stockpile and it is being treated as a 6, you can play a wild card on top of it. Your wild card is treated as a 7 (because 7 is the proceeding number), and your opponent is not allowed to duplicate that by playing 7s from his or her hand.
- Ace - Ace is also a sort of wild card, but an even better one. An ace is arguably the best card. Aces must be played alone, and can always be played, no matter what is on top of the stockpile. Playing an ace causes your opponent to draw two cards. When there is an ace on top of the stockpile, the next player must proceed to 2.
- Example 1: If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you can play an ace because it doesn't matter what is on top of the stockpile. Since you played an ace, your opponent draws two cards.
- Example 2: If there is an ace on top of the stockpile, you can proceed by playing a 2.
- Example 3: If there is an ace on top of the stockpile, you can proceed with a series by playing a 2, a 3, a 4, and a 5 in a row (a series of any length).
- Example 4: If there is an ace on top of the stockpile, you can play a wild card, which would be treated as a two.
- Example 5: If there is an ace on top of the stockpile, you can play an ace on top of that. Since you played an ace, your opponent draws two cards, and since you duplicated aces and there are now two aces in a row, your opponent draws an additional two cards. If your opponent then plays an ace on top of that, you would draw five cards: two from the ace, and three because there are three aces in a row on top of the stockpile.
- The *Proceed to Ten* Rule - If you proceed to ten without using a wild card, your opponent draws two cards.
- Example 1: If there is a 9 on top of the stockpile, you can proceed by playing a ten. Since you proceeded to ten, your opponent draws two cards.
- Example 2: If there is a 7 on top of the stockpile, you can proceed with a series by playing an 8, a 9, and a 10. Since you proceeded to ten, your opponent draws two cards.
- Example 3: If there is a 9 on top of the stockpile, you can proceed and duplicate 10s by playing three 10s. Since you proceeded to 10, your opponent draws two cards, and since there are three 10s in a row, your opponent draws an additional three cards.
- Example 4: If there is a 10 on top of the stockpile, you can duplicate that 10 by playing a 10. You didnt proceed to 10, but your opponent still draws two cards because there are two 10s in a row on top of the stockpile.
- When a 10 is on top of the stockpile, the count loops back to 2; therefore, the proceeding number is 2. You can still duplicate 10s while 10 is on top of the stockpile if you have them.
- If you cannot make a move, you draw five cards and immediately pass turn back to your opponent.
Reasons you draw cards:
- Your opponent duplicated what was already on top of the stockpile. Ignore duplicates of face cards, like two queens in a row for example. That doesnt cause any drawing. However, do not ignore duplicates of Aces, as those do count. (draw cards equal to the amount of cards with the same number in a row)
- Your opponent proceeded to the next number, and played duplicates of that number. (draw cards equal to the amount of cards with the same number in a row)
- Your opponent proceeded to ten. (draw two cards)
- Your opponent played an ace. (draw two cards)
- You cannot make a move. (draw five cards)
Illegal Moves:
- If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, you cannot play a series of a 5, a 6, a 7 etc, because a series must start with the proceeding number (which in this case is 6).
- If there is a 7 on top of the stockpile, you cannot play a series of an 8, a 9, a 10, a 2, a 3 etc, because a series must always stop at 10. You cannot have one series going from 10 looping back to 2 and onward.
- If there is an ace on top of the stockpile, you cannot play two or three aces on top of it as your turn. This is because when playing aces and wild cards, you can only play one at a time for your turn. That's their downside.
- If there is a 5 on top of the stockpile, your move cannot be something like: 6, 7, 7 , 8, 8, and 9. You can only duplicate the number on top of the stockpile, or proceeding number. You cannot duplicate in the middle of a series.
Rulings:
- Any time there are two game mechanics both causing you to draw cards, like when your opponent duplicates an ace, both mechanics mesh into one event that causes you to draw the combined amount of cards simultaneously.
- If an event requires you to draw an amount of cards that is greater than the number of cards in the deck, instead shuffle all but the top card of the stockpile into the deck, then draw those cards. Any duplicates of the card on top of the stockpile that were there before the shuffle is forgotten. There is now only one of that card.
- If a player has 12 cards in his or her hand and that player's opponent causes them to draw five cards, that player will draw all the way up to 17 cards and lose with 17 cards in their hand. Not 13.
- If a player runs out of cards in his or her hand and the winning move causes the opponent to draw cards, the opponent draws those cards before the game is actually over. Those additional cards do count in the game's score calculation.
- While the stockpile is face-up, it must remain a stack of cards, and not a flow of cards sliding outward like in Rummy. The previous cards played should be remembered, not looked at. If a player wants to know how many 2s have been played this game, they are not allowed to go rummaging through the stockpile to find out. They need to commit information like that to memory. However, if you need to remember how many duplicates have been played under the top card, that is okay to look at, and if there's a long run of wild cards and it becomes unclear what the top wild card is representing, players may backtrack down to deduce what the top wild card is representing.
- You can choose to draw 5 cards as though you do not have a play, even if you actually do have a play.
Now that you know how to play the game, let's talk about some strategy!
Strategy:
- If your opponent proceeds with a series of perhaps 4, 5, 6, and 7, then there's a good chance he or she doesn't have an 8. Thats good information. Duplicating the 7 is a stronger move than playing an 8. Dont fill the gap between your opponent's 7 and 9! If your opponent doesn't have an 8 or a face card, then duplicating the seven is a way to get him or her to maybe not have a move and be forced to draw five cards.
- Watch when your opponent plays face cards. It shows where their hand might be weak to that number. It may give you an opening. On the next ascension, use a face card to force them to proceed to that number if you can, and theres a small chance that they still dont have it.
- Remember that face cards must be proceeded. If you just play a 5 and pass turn, it opens the door for your opponent to respond with either a 5 or a 6. But if you wild card the five, your opponent must proceed to 6, thus leaving the 5s in his or her hand and shutting down his or her options.
- If you think your opponent has a five, and you have two fives, you may want to just play one of them. See if he duplicates. If he does, you can duplicate back.
- 2s are vital in this game. Since aces can happen at any moment, try not to use your 2s if you don't have to. If your opponent plays a 2, that's the best time to fire off your ace and hope they don't have more 2s, drawing two cards from your ace, and potentially five more from not having a move. Usually, it just makes them spend a wild card, which is still good.
- If you can help it, try be the one playing even number cards (2, 4, 6, 8, 10), because it gives you a slightly higher chance of being the one who proceeds to 10.
- If you're in game setup and deciding on a starting player, this is where you make a pretty tough decision. You're about to show your opponent a card, or several cards in your hand. You don't always want to go first, especially if you don't have a good move to make, or any move at all. If you're trying to shell out a low card, try not to show them your 2 if you have one. Keep that information secret. Reveal a 3 or 4 instead if you can help it. If you don't care whether or not you go first, perhaps revealing the card you intend to play first isn't a bad idea. That way, if you go first, you'll immediate get rid of the one card your opponent knows about. The only downside to that being that if you don't end up going first, now your opponent can change his or her plan and make it so that you can't play that card, leaving it in your hand as known information. The entire process of determining who goes first is actually a very interesting sub-game, and if you get into it, can drop you deep into the thinking tank even on that early phase of the game.
- If the number of cards in your hand is getting dangerously high (like 11 or 12), and your opponent is down to something low like only 3 cards in hand, try not to worry as much about them running out of cards as you hitting 13+. Instead of forcing them to draw cards by duplicating, unless you can drop a huge series, try to just hammer down wild cards, which will limit your opponent's options in their already limited hand, and hope they have to draw 5 cards. Save your ace if you have one in this situation. If you're at 11 cards and play a wild card (now you're at 10 card), your opponent can't beat you with an ace. But if you're at 11 cards and you play an ace, not only are you giving your opponent two draws to find an ace, but you lose to an ace now (because it will make you draw four cards).
- If you're down to your last wild card and you have about 4 or 5 cards in hand, it may be better to just draw 5 regardless that you could play a card, because playing your last wild card is dangerous, and you could just slow roll it a little more and sculpt a powerful series.
Closing:
I hope that gave you a general idea of thoughts that run through your mind while playing. All in all, winning this game is very satisfying. The biggest flaw though is admittedly the depth of the game itself, because this is indeed a difficult game to explain to a friend. For that reason, it might be hard to find an opponent. If this game captures your interest and you have any intention on sharing it with a friend and playing it, I highly recommend saving this page in your phone so you have access to it on the go.
Thank you very much for reading! If something is confusing you and you need something further explained, please let me know.
Have a wonderful day.
Serra_Sentinel Wow! I really appreciate that. :) I hope you can find someone to play with. It really is a good duel.
June 22, 2015 8:33 p.m.
Serra_Sentinel says... #4
I mean, I had never given much thought to the simpler things like this. I'm always just trying to be better at Magic to do better at tourneys. Can I get an upvote button for this thread yeaGO?
June 22, 2015 8:38 p.m.
Serra_Sentinel It found it challenging to make a complex game like this using a regular deck of playing cards, but the result was worth the effort. It may have been inspired from the first episode of the 2010-2014 series Sherlock, where he plays a simple mind-game against a criminal with only one move to make. I like a game where one move requires a lot of thought, and while this game isn't just one move, and nor is magic, I think that in both cases, a lot of consideration and arguments can be derived from a simple move of gameplay and that's the ultimate appeal.
June 22, 2015 8:51 p.m.
Serra_Sentinel says... #6
I love the inspiration, and I love games that use simple premises to make a more complicated game. Complexity is an unnamed mechanic in every game that survives (except CoD, but I think that's because people have a need for violence). It drives people to be the best they can be at it. Thanks for making my day a little better by showing me people are still trying to innovate with simplicity.
June 22, 2015 9:15 p.m.
CapnMooMoo says... #7
This game makes drawing cards bad.
And I like drawing cards.
rip
June 22, 2015 9:38 p.m.
CapnMooMoo One could argue a strategy where you don't want to fall below 5 cards, and the best position to be in is having either 6 or 7 cards, therefore making card draw good in some cases. Depends on your playstyle. Do you want to try to rush out your hand, or do you want to be more conservative and always have a move? You sort of have to make that decision after you look at your opening hand. Even though you might prefer conservative, your opening hand might demand that you play aggressively and opportunistically instead.
June 22, 2015 9:44 p.m.
CapnMooMoo says... #10
That's a fair point.
Wow, this is more complicated than I thought.
I can see it now: STOCKPILE PRO TOUR
June 22, 2015 9:48 p.m.
Who could've thought that something so strategic could come out of a simple 53-card deck? Outstanding job, man.
CapnMooMoo: Actually, this kinda feels competitive in a way. As the OP mentioned, it's less about luck, more about skill. Sounds competitive to me, anyway.
June 22, 2015 10:02 p.m.
JDMCRIB It's definitely competitive, but there's still a small degree of luck, as you will find. Theoretically, you can give yourself some good odds, but in the end, if your opponent has the god hand, you could just get rekt by a huge series. That's the case in any game though, including magic.
June 22, 2015 11:08 p.m.
Is this a glitch on my end, or is the original post I made not showing up for everyone else too?
June 25, 2015 7:25 p.m.
That's extremely disappointing. I put a hell of a lot of work into that post.
Can someone look into this?
June 26, 2015 12:57 a.m.
Added a ruling:
- You may choose to draw five cards as though you don't have a play, even if you actually do have a play.
It actually comes up a lot -- see the newly added element to the bottom of the strategy section.
Serra_Sentinel says... #2
You're a genius, and a monster. I'm not sure if I should hug you or punch you. This is simultaneously the greatest innovation in something so simple I've read in a while, and a rage inducing device.
All things aside, and that being said, I wanna play :D
June 22, 2015 8:25 p.m.