How to Play Pyramid Arcade

Objective of the Game

In Martian Whist, players are trying to score the most points by building as many solid color Trees as possible from the pyramids won in tricks. The game is a minimal luck pyramid drafting and Tree-based trick-taking game.

Preparation (Setup)

1. Place all of the Trios (two Trios each of every color on the Color Die) into an opaque sack (the purple Pyramid Arcade bag).
2. Draw from the sack one small, one medium, and one large pyramid to make a Tree.
3. Continue this until all of the pyramids have been used to make a row of 10 Trees.
4. At this point, trump may be determined by rolling the Color Die. If the atomic symbol is rolled, there will be no trump.
5. The player who most recently played a card game goes first.

Fluxo do Jogo

Martian Whist is played in two rounds:

STAGE ONE: DRAFTING TREES

This stage is meant to build a mixed stash of pyramids via drafting. There are two ways to draft pyramids, and players should agree on which method to use:

• Method #1: Drafting whole Trees: Players take turns taking whole Trees from those available. Players will receive five Trees each.
• Method #2: Drafting Tree layers: Players take turns taking single pyramids from the highest layer still containing pyramids, or may pass choosing any single pyramid in a layer as long as two or more still remain on that layer. If a player passes on a choice, then the other player chooses which pyramid to give them. The player who passes last on a layer gets to go first on the next layer. Again, players will receive five Trees each.

STAGE TWO: PLAYING TRICKS

Using the pyramids in their drafted stashes, the players will play tricks to build a final scoring set. Starting with the person who drafted last, a player will present a Tree and the other will follow with one of their own. These Trees can be built from any of the pyramids in their personal stash.

• The following player must present a Tree containing at least one pyramid of the same color as any of the pyramids in the leading Tree if they are able.
• If they do not have a color to follow the Tree led, then they can follow with a Tree containing any colors that they choose.
• The player winning the trick will reserve their Tree for final scoring, while the losing Tree will be discarded.
• The player who won the trick leads the next trick.
• Play will continue like this until all of the players' pyramids have been used, after which final scoring will begin.

Ações e Como Jogar

Resolving Tricks

To resolve tricks, the color of the pyramids used determines the higher-ranking Tree. The ranking of the pyramid colors is:

Trump > Purple > Red > Yellow > Green > Blue

• Solid color trees will resolve according to the color rankings or trump.
• Trees of a single color will always beat Trees of mixed colors, even those containing trumps.
• Trees of mixed colors will resolve from bottom to top according to color. That is, players compare the base of the Trees first.
• Then the middle of the Tree is compared.
• Finally, the top of the Tree is compared.
• The player who won the majority of the Tree segments wins the trick.
• If the two Trees played are identical or they result in a tie segment score, then the player who placed first wins the trick.

Fim de Jogo e Pontuação

How to Win

When all of the Trees have been played to tricks, then the player with the highest score wins.

Scoring

From the pyramids won in tricks, the players can rearrange the colors to form as many solid Trees as possible.

• Solid Trees are worth 3 points each.
• The remaining mixed Trees are worth 1 point each.

The player with the most valuable set of Trees wins the game.

Dicas para Vencer

Consulte o manual para detalhes sobre esta seção.