Tribulation — How to Play

Game Objective

In Trio, players aim to collect a specific number of Trios, which are sets of three cards with the same number. The number of Trios needed depends on the chosen difficulty level: MILD requires collecting 3 Trios, while PIKANT requires collecting 2 connected Trios. Alternatively, a player can win by collecting the 7s Trio, which trumps all other conditions.

Connected Trios are identified by small numbers in the corner of the cards, indicating which Trios are linked. For example, collecting the 2s Trio and the 5s Trio would result in a win if they are connected.

Setup

To set up the game:

• First, players must agree on a difficulty level: MILD or PIKANT.
• Shuffle the cards and deal a specific number of cards face down to each player, based on the player count:
  • 3 players: 9 cards per person
  • 4 players: 7 cards per person
  • 5 players: 6 cards per person
  • 6 players: 5 cards per person
• Place the remaining cards face down in the center of the table. The number of cards to place in the center also varies by player count:
  • 3 players: 9 cards
  • 4 players: 8 cards
  • 5 players: 6 cards
  • 6 players: 6 cards
• Each player takes their dealt cards into their hand and sorts them from left to right by numerical value in ascending order.
• The player who most recently ate an avocado starts the game.

Game Flow

The game proceeds with players taking turns in clockwise order. On your turn, you will reveal cards one by one.

For each card you reveal, you have a choice:

• A: Reveal a card from the center of the table. You can reveal any face-down card from the center.
• B: Reveal a card from a hand. You can reveal either the lowest or highest card from your own hand or from another player's hand. The revealed card is then left face up on the table.

Your turn ends immediately when you have revealed three cards with the same value. This means you have successfully collected a Trio, and you should place it face up in front of you.

If a revealed card has a different value than the previously revealed card, the revealed cards are flipped back face down or returned to the player whose hand they came from. Then, the turn passes to the next player in clockwise order.

IMPORTANT:

• You may perform the same action (A or B) multiple times in a row, even on the same player.
• When revealing cards from hands, you are always restricted to revealing only the lowest or highest card.
• If you run out of cards in your hand, you continue playing normally but can only reveal cards from the center of the table or from other players' hands.

Actions and How to Play

On your turn, you will reveal cards. For each card revealed, you have two primary options:

Action A: Reveal a card from the center of the table.

You may choose any face-down card from the center of the table and reveal it. This card is then left face up on the table.

Action B: Reveal a card from a hand.

You may choose to reveal a card from a hand. This can be your own hand or another player's hand. When choosing from a hand, you must select either the lowest card or the highest card. The revealed card is then left face up on the table.

Ending Your Turn:

Your turn concludes as soon as you have revealed three cards of the same value. This constitutes a collected Trio, which you then place in front of you.

If your revealed cards do not form a Trio:

If a card you reveal has a different value than the one revealed immediately before it, your turn ends. The cards that were revealed are either flipped back face down or returned to the player whose hand they originated from. The turn then passes to the next player.

End of Game and Scoring

You win the game immediately when you achieve one of the following conditions:

• Collect 3 Trios (in MILD mode).
• Collect 2 connected Trios (in PIKANT mode).
• Collect the 7s Trio. This condition overrides all others.

Team Variant End of Game:

In the Team Variant, a team wins the game immediately when the team collectively achieves one of the following conditions:

• Collect 3 Trios (MILD).
• Collect 2 connected Trios (PIKANT).
• Collect the 7s Trio.

Tips for Winning

Here are a couple of tips to help you in your quest to collect Trios:

• When revealing cards from hands, always consider whether revealing the lowest or highest card is more beneficial for you or detrimental to your opponents.
• Pay attention to the connected Trio numbers if playing on the PIKANT difficulty. Strategically collecting these linked sets can lead to a quicker victory.