Cupboard's Folly

Cupboard's Folly is a Quentinian card game created around 1910, with rules standardized by Patrick Zevlons in Snowland, The United States of Quentin in 1912. The game is based around the USQ executive advisory counsel called the Cupboard. Each player is given 2 cards to begin with, and must try to gain as high of cards as possible by making a set of decisions and moves resembling the powers and actions the Cupboard takes. The game is one of the most popular card games in the USQ, along with Squabble and Trime Kicker. The game is played in many other countries, most popularly in The Protectorates of Allia, Ravensonia, and The Iridium Coast.

History

Cupboard's Folly was first played around 1910, mainly in the state of Snowland, The United States of Quentin between groups of friends. The game soon spread, both to other states and other groups of people, and soon the game was being played in many states with different rules. Around that time Patrick Zevlons, a preacher in Jameisville, Snowland, would play the game before bible studies and prayer sessions to lighten up members of the church and group. However, he soon realized people had different sets of rules, resulting in conflict and hostility between people who disagreed on them.

In 1912, Patrick decided enough was enough, and wrote down the standard set of rules for the game, using them in his sessions. While on a trip in The Chip Area, he was showing the standardized rules to a group which apparently didn't like them much, and got into a fight. He was eventually jailed, and later killed by The Mukdukk, however the rules caught on, possibly even spurred on by publicity from his incident. Throughout the 20th century the game was played, with gangs and in communities from 1912-1925, and then spread by soldiers and fighters in The Greater Venturian War. After the war, it continued to rise in popularity, and today it is one of the most popular card games in Quentinian casinos, besides the most popular, Squabble.

How to Play

Setup

Cupboard's Folly can be played with up to 26 players, however in casinos and other establishments, it's most commonly played with 11 players. The game begins with the dealer giving two cards to each player randomly, after shuffling thoroughly. The players look at their cards, without showing others, and designate one card their Identity Card and the other their Burrow Card. The identity card should be placed face up on the table, while the burrow card should be kept secret.

After these cards are examined, the dealer identifies the President of the game, the one with the highest identity card, then the GTNEC, the one with the second highest, then Secretary of State, then Secretary of Foreign Affairs, then Secretary of Defense, then Secretary of Health, then Secretary of Infrastructure, then Secretary of Transportation, and finally the last three as Misc 1, 2, and 3, or however many players are playing.

Beginning, Process, and Powers

The game should also have a pile of cards that is the Trician Pile, all the remaining cards the players don't have. The first round will begin with the President picking up a card, and looking at it. The ultimate goal of the game is to have the highest burrow card possible at the end of 2 rounds, which end when the Trician pile runs out. The President will then see if they want the card, either for their identity card or their burrow card. If they do, they'll replace the card with the other card and pass the old card to the GTNEC, if not they'll pass the card they just picked up to the GTNEC. They will then take that card, and go through the same process with it as the President, with the card going down the line, until it reaches Misc 3, who will put the card in the discard pile after going through the same process with it.

The game goes on like this for both rounds, however there are also added powers the players in higher positions get. Below are each position's powers, if they have any, and the frequency at which they can use them.

President: First power is the ability to call on the dealer, who will replace the burrow card of any player the President wants with the top card on the Trician Pile. This can be used three times per round. Their second power is the ability to swap any player's identity card, which switches their Cupboard position, turn order, powers, etc, and replace them with another player. This can be used twice per round. Finally, the President can take 10 cards from the Trician pile and swap them, as he wishes, with everyone's else's burrow cards. This can be used only once in the game.

GTNEC: First power of the GTNEC is the ability to hold a card from the rest of the Cupboard after they get it from the President and examine it, and place it in the discard pile prematurely. This can be used twice per round. Their second power is the ability to confer with any Cupboard member for 2 1/2 minutes, with a possibly of coming to an arrangement on strategy, card exchange, etc. This can be used once for every player.

Secretary of State: The Secretary of State has the ability to switch where people place their identity or burrow cards on the table. This ability can be used as frequently as the Secretary wants.

Secretary of Foreign Affairs: The Secretary of Foreign Affairs can take any player's burrow card and discard it, replacing it with any card they want in the two piles, Discard and Trician. This can be used 4 times per round.

Secretary of Defense: If the Secretary of Defense has a figurehead card as their burrow card, they can make someone skip their turn, as long as the dealer is shown the figurehead. This power can be used as long as they have a figurehead in the burrow.

Secretary of Health: None.

Secretary of Infrastructure: This Secretary has the ability to take the top three cards from the Trician pile, and create a new pile, called the Archipile. This pile can be accessed by the Secretary of Infrastructure at any time during the game, and can swap out the cards in their identity or burrow with the archipile card. They can create only one archipile per game.

Secretary of Transportation/Miscs: None.

Ending

Once both rounds are over, the players will give their identity cards to the dealer. During this time, if there is any money on the game or bets of any sort, a player can preserve, a move which means they don't think they will win, and will draw their name from any possibility of winning in exchange for only paying 45% of their betting debt. The players that are still in will then flip their burrow cards over, revealing them to the other players. The player with the highest valued card in their burrow wins the game.