The Court
| Card | Effect | Score |
|---|
| ♛ Queen | Closes tower | +full sum (clean) or +half sum (over Jack) |
| A Advisor | Closes tower, can rescue Jacks | +half sum always (includes Ace = 1) |
| ♚ King | Sweeps tower, frees slot | −sum beneath (Jack's 10 counts; King not counted) |
| ♟ Jack | Freezes tower (only A/Q/K may follow) | −half sum if unresolved |
| 2–10 | Build towers | Face value |
Turn Rules
1A card is drawn automatically each turn. Place it immediately on a tower or start a new one.
2Cards must equal or exceed the top card's rank. Ace (14) tops anything.
3A frozen tower (Jack on top) only accepts Queen, Ace, or King — not another Jack.
4Maximum 4 open towers at once. Closed or swept towers free their slot immediately.
5The Ace never starts a tower. If no tower exists to top, the Ace is discarded.
6Unplayable cards are offered to your partner (co-op) or discarded (solitaire).
Moat
·Bank up to 2 number cards (2–10) face-down. No face cards or Aces.
·The Moat seals after both your Kings are played. No further banking.
·When a King sweeps, your lowest Moat card auto-deploys into the freed slot.
·Unused Moat cards at game end: −face value each.
Game End
·Your game ends when your deck is exhausted, or when all your Queens and Aces have been played — whichever comes first.
·Stranded open towers score 0. Unresolved Jack towers score −half sum.
Targets
·Solitaire: beat +55.
·Co-op Easy (Free Gift): combined +85.
·Co-op Medium (Mutual Swap): combined +80.
·Co-op Hard (Burn): combined +55.
Co-op Exchanges
EasyFree Gift: After drawing, you may offer your card to your partner. They accept or decline; if declined you place it normally.
MedMutual Swap: Both draw simultaneously. A swap only happens if both agree — either can veto. Each places their own card.
HardBurn: After drawing, you may permanently discard your card. Nothing goes to partner.
Strategy
·Queens are everything. Build towers toward clean Queen closures. A Queen on a tower summing to 40 scores 50 total.
·Queens and Aces are your clock. The game ends when your last Queen and Ace are played. Use them deliberately.
·The Advisor rescues Jacks. An Ace rescuing a Jack swings about +18 points. Save Aces for frozen towers when possible.
·Minimise King damage. A King on a tower with two low cards costs −3. A King on a tall tower can cost −40 or more.
·Bank in the Moat early. The Moat seals once both Kings are played. Bank low cards before your Kings are spent.
·Jacks on your smallest towers. If a Jack can't be resolved, you pay −half sum. Minimise by keeping Jack towers as small as possible.
Shared Deck Variant
·One shuffled 52-card deck. Players alternate drawing from it. Red player (♥♦) vs Black player (♠♣).
·Color-locked face cards. Red faces (♥♦) belong to the Red player; black faces (♠♣) to Black. Number cards play on your own towers.
·Forced handoff. Draw an opponent's face card → hand it to them immediately; they place it; their next turn is skipped; your turn resumes (draw again).
·Communal pile. Discarded number cards go face-up to a shared pile. On your turn, draw from the pile top instead of the deck.
·No Moat. All standard scoring rules apply. No combined target — individual scores.