Janken Deck

Janken Deck is a rock-paper-scissors game mixed with hand management, strategy, and the luck that we have all come to love/hate.

How to Build

• There are 38 cards to cut out as well as 5 "Winner Tokens".
• Feel free to use any of the Janken Deck Card Backs for the back of your cards, otherwise leave it blank and just use penny sleeves.

GAME RULES

Objective

The player to first win 3 Tokens is the winner.

Setup

1. Shuffle all of the cards and place the Draw deck face down so all players can reach.
2. Each player draws 5 cards from the Draw deck.
3. Players play a round of Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine who goes first. Winner’s choice.

Phases

1. Starting the Round
2. Play a Card from your Hand
3. Ending the Round

Starting the Round

A player starts the round by playing a card from their hand to the center of the table. The first card played may be any card. Subsequent cards must follow Janken Deck rules.

Play a Card from your Hand

Players now alternate playing a card from their hand. A valid card must follow one of these rules:

1. The card matches the current type (i.e. Rock, Paper, Scissors) in play and is of a higher value. Example: Player A plays a 3 Rock. Player B must play a Rock with a value of 4 or more.
2. The card beats the current type (i.e. Rock, Paper, Scissors) in play and is of any value. Example: Player A plays a 5 Paper. Player B may play a Scissors with any value.

Play continues until a player cannot play a valid card.

Ending the Round

The player that could not play a valid card has lost the round. The winning player receives one Token.

The cards from the center of the table are added to the winner’s Discard pile.

Players may choose to discard up to 2 cards from their hand into their respective Discard piles.

Each player draws cards from the Draw deck until they have 5 cards total in their hand. If there are not enough cards for each player to have 5 cards in their hand, the game is over.

End of the Game

First player to win 3 Tokens wins the game. If there are not enough cards in the Draw deck to play another round, the player with the most Tokens wins. If both players have the same number of Tokens and there are not enough cards to play another round, the player with the most cards in their discard pile wins. If there is still a tie, both players play a round of Rock Paper Scissors to determine the winner.

Wild Cards

Wild cards can be any Type when played and have a value of 0. Once played, that card will stay that Type moving forward.