# How to Play Palace

Written: 2023-01-04

Players: 2-5 (no limit in theory, use multiple decks for 5+)

Type: card-shedding, meet-it-or-beat-it

Time: 5-15m


## Quick Pitch

Palace is one of my favorite 2 player card games. It's
very much luck based, but it's quick enough that
you can play multiple games to turn your luck around.

I've probably played it the most while hiking,
sitting on sleeping pads with cards in the headlamp
light in the center of the tent.


## Goal

Be the first player to play all your cards.


## Play

### Setup

Each player is dealt 9 cards. The first 3 are dealt
face down *and must not be looked at*. They form your
"back row". The remaining 6 become your hand, and
should be looked at.

Of the 6 cards, pick 3 cards to place face up on
the "back row". This will be your "final hand" later
in the game (more on that later).

The remaining 3 cards form your starting hand. Choose
who should start (it's courteous to let someone vocal
about how bad their hand is start).


### Gameplay

Players take turns clockwise playing cards from
their hands and picking up to maintain a hand limit.

On your turn:

If you can't meet or beat the value of the card
on the top of the pile, pick up the pile (add it
to your hand) and end your turn without playing a
card (you are skipped). The next player begins a
new pile (any value card can be played).

If you can meet or beat it you may play *any number*
of the same card that is equal or higher to the pile.

Example:

* Pile: 5

* Play: two 6's

Note that unlike President, playing duplicates doesn't
impose any constraints on subsequent players plays.

Finally, end your turn by picking up cards from the
draw pile until you have 3 cards in your hand (if
you have 3 already, don't pick up).

When the draw pile becomes empty, we enter the final
phase of the game, where players "final hand"s and
"back rows" become their own personal draw piles.

Before picking up any cards from your "final hand",
you must drain your hand fully. Once you have no
cards, you pick up all 3 cards of your "final hand",
which you can begin playing on your next turn.

Play your "final hand" as normal (meet or beat,
picking up the pile on failure) until you run
out of cards, at which point you begin playing
cards from your "back row". These cards are played
one at a time (do not pick them all up and look
at them--they do not form a regular hand).

If a "back row" card fails to meet-or-beat the pile,
your hand becomes the pile plus the back row card.
(It does not go back into your back row once picked).

As a house rule, if you play a back-row card and
it fails to meet the pile, you do not have to show
it to the opponent (leave them guessing its value).

The first player to play all cards from their back
row wins.


### Card Value

* Aces are high

* 2's are "resets"; if you play a 2, you can immediately
  play a second card on top of it (of any value).

* 10's are "bombs"; playing a 10 clears the pile.
  Immediately after played, start a new pile with any
  card of your choosing.

NOTE: for both 2's and 10's, our house rule is that if
playing them causes you to dip below the 3 card hand limit,
you can pick up from the draw pile before playing your
next card.


### Other Misc. Rules

* You have to play if you can (no picking up the pile
  if you could meet-or-beat, even with special cards).

* If there are ever 4 of a kind at the top of the pile
  (even if played by multiple players), the pile clears
  and the player who completed the set gets to play again,
  starting a new pile.

* If you ever have enough of a card in your hand to
  complete a set of 4 (as described above), you can play
  them out-of-turn, skipping all players between the
  current player and you, clearing the pile, and starting
  a new pile.

Example: players A, B, and C, A plays 3 4's and C has
the fourth 4 in their hand. C can play the 4, provided
B hasn't played yet, clearing the pile and skipping B's
turn. C starts a new pile.


## General Strategy

* Put high value or special cards in your "final hand".
  Nothing worse than getting stuck with a 3 at the end.

* Pairs are also great for a final hand (especially if
  combined with a 2/10) since they can be played
  simultaneously -> one less turn before you get to your
  back row.

* You don't *have* to play more than one of a kind if
  you have it. For higher cards especially, it can be wise
  to not play pairs/triplets but to instead play them
  one at a time; the odds of you picking a better card
  from the draw pile are low (and if really high, like
  an Ace, you're likely just putting the cards into your
  opponents' hands if they have to pick up!). This rule
  obviously changes if the draw pile is gone / you're
  trying to get to your back row.

* Generally it's wise to play your lowest card that
  meets or beats the pile, but there are times when
  you know the contents of your opponent's hands (due
  to final hand being public) or it's critical that
  an opponent loses (i.e. is on the back row) that
  it makes sense to play a medium-to-strong card to
  make them pick up the pile.