ELEVATOR

OBJECTIVE OF ELEVATOR:  Be the first player to play all of their cards

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3-6 players

NUMBER OF CARDS: 54 cards

RANK OF CARDS: (low) 2 – Ace (high), Jokers are wild

TYPE OF GAME: Hand shedding

AUDIENCE: Kids, Adults

INTRODUCTION OF ELEVATOR

Elevator is a hand shedding game for 3 to 6 players that is also known as Bastard.  In this game, players are working to be the first to get rid of all their cards.  To do this, they must continue to build the discard pile in ascending or descending order by alternating color. 

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

Elevator uses a 52 card deck and 2 Jokers.  Shuffle and deal 7 cards to each player one at a time.  Place the rest of the cards in the center as a draw pile.  Turn one card over to become the discard pile.  

THE PLAY

The first player looks at their hand and decides which single card or multiple cards of the same rank they wish to play on the discard pile.  When cards are played, they must be higher in rank than the top card of the discard pile.  Cards played must also alternate by color.   keonhacai

For example, if the top card on the discard pile is a red 5, the player would have to play a black 6.  If the player had multiple 6’s, they would play black, red and so on.  If the player had two black 6’s, they would only be able to play one of them.

Once an Ace is played, the discard pile must start building in descending order.  Once it reaches 2, it goes back up again (up and down like an elevator).  

If a player is unable to play a card or decides they don’t want to play, they may pass on their turn.  When a player passes they must draw one card from the draw pile.  If the previous player passed, the next player may only pass if they cannot play.  If they have a card, they must play in that case. 

STUCK ELEVATOR

If a player plays a card, and every other player at the table passes, that player just got the elevator stuck.  They must draw cards equal to the number of players in the game.  If the draw pile is empty, players give them one card from their hand beginning with the opponent on the left.  If the player that got the elevator stuck can partially draw from the draw pile before it runs out, the rest of the required draw cards come from their opponents.  It is possible for a player to win while penalizing the player who got the elevator stuck.  The next player gets to continue the pile with any card they wish.

JOKERS 

Jokers are wild and can be played during a player’s turn.  If a Joker is played, the pile resets, and the next player gets to play any card they want.

WINNING

The first player to empty their hand wins the game.