User:TBGF/S'Quarrels

S'Quarrels is a card game created in November 2007 in Western Washington by Bryan Lovell, which was published by Home Lantern Games in November of 2009. The game's theme is based on the simple task of squirrels collecting acorns before winter.

S'Quarrels requires a special deck of cards. The card game can be played by two to six players. The name of the game originated from a combination of two words: Squirrel and Quarrel. A series of rounds are played while each player tries to store as many acorns as possible before the winter card is drawn. S'Quarrels shares some similarities to the game War.

Game Setup
After the deck has been shuffled, 7 cards are dealt out to each player. Once every player has received their cards, all Action cards (gold leaf cards) are discarded and replaced. Each player will start with 7 red leaf cards in their hand. Players decide together the final winning score. (i.e. 50 or 100)

Playing S'Quarrels
Game Objective

In a nutshell, players compete to store the most acorns before winter arrives. After multiple rounds, the player that reaches the predetermined score wins the game.

A Player's Turn


 * 1) At the beginning of a player's turn, the player must draw one card from the deck. After the first card the player may continue drawing one card at a time until they reach a maximum of 7 cards in their hand.


 * 1) If at any time the player draws a gold leaf Action card, player stops drawing cards, and the Action card is played immediately.


 * 1) Once player decides to stop drawing cards (or has reached 7 cards in their hand) that player can store any sets of 3 matching cards into their storage pile.


 * 1) Player discards one card into the Hoard pile. It is now the next player's turn.

Action Cards


 * Ambush - Player takes one card randomly from each player's hand; they then store any sets and discard.


 * Hoard - All players try to slap the Hoard deck. The first one to slap the deck keeps the deck. If a player has less then 7 cards after winning the Hoard, the player may elect to draw additional cards up to 7. Player then stores any sets, and discards. Play then continues from the player who won the Hoard.


 * Quarrel - All players select a card from their hand placing it face down on the table. Once all players have selected a card everyone turns over their cards. The highest card wins all other cards played. The winner of the Quarrel then stores and discards. Play continues to the winning player's left. In case of a tie, tied players select another card until someone wins. In the event of a draw, all cards are returned to their original player. The Quarrel is canceled, and the original player continues their turn.


 * Whirlwind (Cycle) - Player collects all players' hands, shuffles them up, and deals them out, starting with current player. Player then continues drawing cards until they wish to store or reach a total of 7 cards in their hand.


 * Winter - Once this card is drawn, the round immediately ends.

Special Cards


 * Rotten Acorn (Lead Acorn) - is worth -5 points if caught in your hand when winter arrives. It cannot be discarded into the Hoard pile unless it is the last card in a player's hand at the end of their turn. A player may play the Rotten Acorn during a Quarrel; it counts as the lowest card played. (Note: the Rotten Acorn may be placed in the Hoard pile over the Gold Acorn  if these are the only two cards in the player's hand.)


 * Gold Acorn - is worth +5 points if in your hand when Winter arrives. This card may also be used during a Quarrel as a trump card, but is discarded from the round if played. If a player is forced to play the Gold Acorn  because it is their last card, then they win the Quarrel and retain the Gold Acorn.

End of Game/Scoring
Once the Winter card is drawn, all players count up their acorns from their storage pile. Points are added in sets of 3's (i.e. Three 1's counts as 1 point, Three 5's counts as 5 points). Also make sure to account for the Gold and Rotten Acorn S. Play continues to the next round until a player reaches the predetermined score and becomes the winner.