Rules
Caravan is played with two players building three opposing caravans (or "bids") of numbered cards. The goal is to outbid your opponent with the highest value of numbered cards without being too light (under 21) or overburdened (over 26).
The game begins with each player taking eight cards from their deck and placing either one numerical card or Ace on each of their caravans.
A player may not discard during this initial round. (This is currently bugged so see Bugs Section.)
Once both players have started their three bids, each player may do one of the following on their turn:
1.Play one card and draw a new card from his deck into his hand.
2.Discard one card from his hand and draw a new card from his deck.
3.Disband one of his three caravans by removing all cards from that caravan.
Caravans have a direction, either ascending or descending numerically. All subsequent cards must continue a numerical direction and/or match the suit of the previous card. Cards of the same numerical value cannot be played in sequence, regardless of suit. Face cards and Jokers can be attached to an Ace or numeric card in a caravan (including your opponents') and affect them in various ways.
Card Values
■Joker: Played against Ace; 2-10.
Effects change based on whether it's an Ace or a number card (see below). They have no effect on face cards. Multiple Jokers may be played on the same card.
■Ace: Value of 1.
Jokers played on Aces remove all non-face cards of the Ace's suit from the table. Eg. a Joker played on an Ace of Spades removes the 2 through the 10 of Spades. This has no effect on cards whose suit has been changed by a Queen.
■Numbered Cards (2-10): Listed value.
Jokers played on these cards remove all other cards of this value from the table. For example, a Joker played on a 4 of Hearts removes all 4s (other than the card the Joker is played upon) from the table.
■Note that the "Joker" has no effect on future plays of those cards, merely affecting the cards currently on the table.
■Jack: Played against Ace; 2-10.
Removes that card from the table, along with any face cards (Jokers, Queens, or Kings) attached to it.
■Queen: Played against Ace; 2-10.
Reverses the current direction of the hand and changes the current suit of the hand. Multiple Queens may be played on the same card.
■King: Played against Ace; 2-10.
Doubles the value of a number card. Eg. a King played on a 9 adds 9 to that caravan. Multiple Kings may be played on the same card for multiplicative effects; thus, a second King will re-double the value resulting from the first King. So, 4 + King = 8, but (4 + King) + King = 16 (8 plus
.
Add to a Bid: Players add a number card (i.e. an Ace, or any card from 2 to 10) to one of their three columns and increase their bid. In order to add to a bid, a player plays a number card on the bottom of one of their stacks (by pressing down key or down on analog stick). The card must match the suit of the last card, or match the current direction. (ascending numbers or descending numbers) In both cases, the card must be a different value from the previous card.
'Direction: is determined by looking at the previous two cards in the column. At the beginning of the game, a player can choose to play a higher or lower value card, setting the Direction of the bid. Once there are at least two cards on a stack, those need to be checked to determine the current direction.
■Example: If there is a column consisting of "9-Hearts; 4-Spades; 3-Diamonds" then the direction is currently descending because 3 is smaller than 4. You could play any 2 card or any Ace. You could also play any Diamond card, except for the 3 of Diamonds. If you play a diamond of higher value then the 3, you also change the direction.
Discard: A player can choose to discard either a card from their hand, and draw a new card, or discard a stack from the table. In either case, their turn immediately ends.
Modify a Bid: Face cards (Joker, Jack, Queen, King) have special abilities and can be attached, (Placed next to, rather than below) any number card currently on the table. Modifying an opponent's bid in this way (i.e. playing a face card on one of their cards) is allowed.
Winning
A player's caravan is considered sold when the value of its cards is over 20 and under 27. The other player may still outbid by increasing the value of their opposing pile while staying within the 21-26 range. The game ends when each of the competing caravans is sold to either your side or the NPC's side. In the event of a tie between any two matched caravans, the game continues until one side has a better bid. The player with two or more sales on their side at the end of the game wins the pot. If either player runs out of cards to discard before a winning condition is met, the player will not able to discard and will be declared the loser regardless of how many winning caravans they have.
