Chalice and Wand
A co-operative card game for 2 players
Contents Link to heading
60 cards, made up of 3 copies each of chalice and wand cards numbered from 1 to 10. Also included is a first-player marker.
Setup Link to heading
shuffle the deck and deal 10 cards to each player, separated into two 5-card hands, a left hand and right hand. For an easier game, the cards are dealt face-up, but for a harder game, the cards in each player’s hands are kept hidden at all times.
Then, turn 7 cards face-up next to the deck to form a shared center row. Decide who will be the first player, and give them the first player token. Start play with the left hand.
Object Link to heading
Score as many points as possible along with your partner by playing matching values of chalice and wand cards together in a series of “rites”.
Steps of a turn Link to heading
- Discard unwanted cards from current hand and redraw that amount.
- Acquire up to 3 cards from center row into current hand, then refill center row.
- Attempt to complete a rite.
- Pass first player marker, switch hands used for next round, and check for end of game.
Discard – starting with the first player, each player may discard any number of cards (including zero) from their current hand into a discard pile next to the deck, then redraws that many cards from the deck into their current hand.
Acquire – Starting with the first player, each player may take up to 3 cards into their current hand from the center row. Note there is no limit to the number of cards that may be in a player’s hand at one time.
Rite – The first player then plays at least one card of the same type into a “rite”. Note that players may not play both chalices and wands into a rite into the same time - only chalices or wands, but not both. Then the second player attempts to match the total value of chalices played with wands from their current hand, or vice versa, matching wands played with chalices.
Successful rites are made of cards where the total value of chalices are exactly equal to the number of wands. Example: a 6 of wands and 6 of chalices is a successful rite. A 3 and 2 of wands with a 5 of chalices is also a successful rite.
If a successful rite is completed, players take the cards in the rite and place them in a score pile for the end of the game. However, if the second player cannot successfully complete the rite, then they must choose any 1 card from their current hand to play into the rite, and all cards in the rite are then discarded.
Pass first player marker, switch hands, and check for endgame – The first player marker is then passed to the other player, and the players switch which hand they will use for the next round of play, going from left to right and then back to left. If the deck is empty, the endgame is triggered – players combine each of their two hands into one hand, which are then turned face up if not already, and attempt rites over and over until they cannot complete any more of them successfully. Once this process is completed, the game is over.
Players count the total value of cards in the score pile, which is their score for the game. Try to beat previous scores in future games!