House Of DecksGame rules
Cinco Vidas
Be the last player with lives left when everyone else runs out.
Deck
Standard 52-card deck
Players
2 to 8 players
Dealing
Each player starts with 5 lives. Rounds deal 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 card per turn, and once it reaches 1 it starts back at 5, and so on.
The highest card is the King and the lowest is the Ace; there is no trump suit.
Bids
At the start of each round, in turn order (starting to the left of the dealer and ending with the dealer), each player says how many tricks they think they'll win that round.
The dealer bids last, and can't say a number that would make the total of all bids equal to the number of cards in the round - someone has to miss, no matter what.
The 1-card round
In the 1-card round you see everyone else's cards, but not your own. Instead of bidding a number, you simply say whether you think you'll win that single trick or lose it.
The same rule as always applies to whoever decides last: if enough has already been said that their answer would make the total add up to 1, they're forced to say they win; if not, they're forced to say they lose.
Once everyone has said win or lose, there's nothing left to play: the cards are revealed and the result plays out on its own.
How to play
Whoever bid first leads. On your turn you play any card from your hand, with no obligation to follow suit.
Whoever played the highest card wins the trick; ties go to whoever played it later. The trick winner leads the next one.
Lives
At the end of the round, anyone who didn't hit their bid exactly (over or under) loses 1 life for every trick of difference between what they bid and what they won.
The reveal shows itself for a few seconds and the next round starts automatically - nobody needs to confirm or click anything.
How to win
Once only one player has lives left, that player wins the game.
Tips and strategy
Bidding zero is still a bid
Bid 0, make 0, lose no lives - with a bad hand it is the safest bid in the game. The mistake is thinking you have to win tricks: you only have to be right about how many.
A hand full of middling cards (7, 8, 9) is harder to bid 0 on than it looks, because one of them will win a trick by accident. The easiest hands to nail at 0 are the genuinely low ones.
Holding two Kings? Bid 2, not 3 "just in case". High cards are near-certain tricks; the rest of your hand is not information, it is noise.
Position changes everything
The dealer bids last and is barred from making the total add up, so they are often forced into a number they did not want. When it is your deal, count what everyone else said before you read your hand: sometimes you already know you are going to miss.
Bidding early? Bid low. The players behind you will adjust around your number, and a high bid declared early makes you the target of the round.
Ties go to whoever played the card later. Playing last in a trick is a real edge: the same card is worth more played later.
Losing tricks on purpose
Half this game is dumping high cards when you do NOT want to win. If you bid 1 and already have it, unload your Kings on a trick somebody else is winning - holding them guarantees you overshoot.
In the one-card round you see everyone’s card but your own. If a King is on the table and you are not the last to decide, saying "I lose" is nearly always right.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I overshoot or undershoot my bid?
You lose 1 life per trick of difference, in either direction. Bidding 3 and winning 1 costs 2 lives, exactly the same as bidding 1 and winning 3. Only an exact match costs nothing.
Why can’t the dealer bid any number they like?
Because if they could, the bids could add up to the number of cards dealt and everyone could be right. The rule forces the total never to match: somebody is guaranteed to miss every round.
How does the one-card round work?
You see everybody else’s card but not your own. Instead of a number you simply say whether you think you win or lose that single trick, with the same restriction on the last player to decide. Nothing is played - the cards are revealed and the result settles itself.
Is there a trump suit?
No. There is no trump and no obligation to follow suit: on your turn you play any card you like. Highest card wins the trick (King high, Ace low), and ties go to whoever played later.
Cinco Vidas, against the computer
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