User:Donalsmith/Smudge (Card Game)

Introduction:

Smudge is a drinking game which follows many of the same rules as poker. Rather than betting money or chips players bet units of time ranging from five seconds to thirty seconds. The losers of each hand must drink for whatever period of time they bet. While Smudge originated as an alcoholic drinking game it can be played with any drink of the players choosing. Popular alternatives include milk, water and Pepsi Max. All players begin with the same volume of drink and once their allocation has been consumed they are out of the game. The last person to be eliminated is declared the winner.

History:

Smudge originated in Malta in 2010. The rules of the game were established by a small group of individuals from around the world. Once the gameplay had been finalized these individuals all went to their respective homelands with the intention of spreading the game throughout the world and ensuring that gameplay would be formalized. The game is a variation on the traditional game of poker although no financial gambling is involved. The rules of the game were developed over a three day period before being finalized on June 10th 2010. Only minor changes have occurred to the rules since this period and as of the 26th of July 2010 it was declared that no more alterations were to be made to the rules.

Basics of the game:

Smudge is best enjoyed with four players, although it can be played by up to six people. In general each player will receive two cards and bet the likelihood of their pair beating that of the other players. Rather than betting chips or money players bet with units of seconds. Bets can be made in multiples of five up to a maximum of thirty seconds. All losing players are then to consume their drink for whatever amount of seconds they have bet. Once a player has consumed their allocation of drinks they are out of the game. The last player remaining wins the game.

Rules of the game:

The first dealer is chosen at random. They deal one card to each player. Cards are dealt clockwise and face down. If a player wishes to participate in the round they may look at their card. By looking at their card at this point they declare that they are betting five seconds. Once it has been established who is participating in the round, the player to the left of the dealer can choose to raise the bet by five seconds (to ten seconds). This bet is put forward to the rest of the table and each of the following players can choose to call (put forward the same bet), fold (declare themselves out of the hand) or raise the bet by a further five seconds. Alternatively the players can choose to check. If all players check the first round of betting is passed over. In this first round of betting bets can be a maximum of twenty seconds. Once a bet has been agreed upon by all players remaining in the hand, the dealer deals another card to each remaining player.


 * If the bet reaches twenty seconds before the seconds cards are dealt the following round of betting can reach a maximum of thirty seconds. If it has not reached twenty seconds then twenty seconds becomes the maximum bet.

Another round of betting is then initiated by the player to the dealers left (or the next player in line depending on who remains in the hand). Once a final bet has been agreed upon all the remaining players show their cards and a winner is established.

The winner of the hand must then count up to the number of seconds that have been bet (with a separate three second count in). All losing players must consume their drink for the period of time that they bet.

Once a hand has been completed the player to the dealers left shuffles the cards and becomes the dealer for the next hand. This continues until only one player still has drink left at which point they are declared the winner.


 * All players must start the game with the same volume of drink.
 * At any point if a player indicates that they have folded they may not take any further part in the hand.
 * Any player can leave the game at the end of any hand though if they leave during a hand they are automatically eliminated from the game.
 * Although there is no strict measurement of how much a player should consume in a specific number of seconds; it is considered good practice to for the opposing players to ensure that everyone consumes a reasonably equivalent amount.
 * A player has the right not to look at their card and be excluded from the hand. However if a player declares themselves out of a hand they may still be required to consume drink if a special combination of cards appears (e.g. two aces).

Card Value:

Each card in the deck is attributed a number:

Ace=14 King=13 Queen-12 Jack=11 10=10 9=9 8=8 7=7 6=6 5=5 4=4 3=3 2=2


 * Jokers are not to be included in the deck.

When a player has received their second card they can establish their total value by adding the two cards together (i.e. Q+4=16). However a pair of any kind will beat any two unpaired cards (i.e. 2,2 beats Ace,10). A higher value pair will beat a lower value pair. (i.e. 10,10 beats 6,6). In the event of a draw both/all players with the best cards are declared winners.

Special Combinations & Draws:


 * If a player wins with the hand (Ace, Ace) all other players must drink for at least twenty seconds. If the losing players have bet more than this they must honor their bet.


 * In the event of a draw all losing players must add five seconds to their bet. If it is the case that a player did not participate in the particular hand they must still drink for five seconds regardless.


 * In the unlikely event of two players both having the hand (Ace,Ace) then all other players must drink for thirty seconds minimum.

Popularity:

Since its creation Smudge has become an internationally acclaimed card game. Its popularity has soared in Ireland and Spain. The Spanish applications developer AplicaJeugos has begun to develop a Smudge application for the Apple App Store and the Google Android operating system which they are expecting to release in December 2010.