GAME RULES
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CONTAINS:
1 QUASH® gameboard, 1 standard deck of 52 cards, 2 QUASH® game scoring markers, one cloth pouch, and instructions.
OBJECTIVE:
QUASH® is a 2 or 4 person card game where players go head to head gaining points on each round by forming single, double* sequenced, and triple** sequenced cards that are higher than their opponents. The first player to land on the final QUASH® circle WINS!
STARTING THE GAME (2 PLAYER):
Set up the QUASH® gameboard on a flat surface. Place the red player marker on the red START circle and the black player marker on the black START circle. Choose who will be BLACK and who will be RED. The player who chooses RED sits on the RED side of the gameboard and the player who chooses BLACK sits on the BLACK side. To determine the dealer to start the game, each player draws one card from the deck. The person with the highest card deals first. Players take turns shuffling and dealing the deck for each round of play.
Shuffle all 52 cards from a standard playing card deck. The dealer deals 13 cards to both players faced down. The remaining cards are placed faced down on the draw (pick-up) pile located on the gameboard. Players will hold their 13 cards in their hand without showing them to their opponent.
The player who did not deal plays first. Selecting one card in their hand, they place it face up on their side of the gameboard on any of the nine card spots. They then pick up one card from the top of the draw pile, replenishing their hand. Players should always have 13 cards in their hand at any given time (until the draw pile has been depleted). During gameplay, if a player forgets to draw a card from the draw pile after playing a card they can pick up a card at any point.
The dealer goes next and does the same (plays one card anywhere on their side of the gameboard and then picks up a card from the draw pile). Play continues with each player taking turns, playing one card and drawing one card to complete single, double*, and triple** sequences higher than their opponents on their card spots. Both players will play with 13 cards in their hand until the draw pile has been depleted.
Once the draw pile is empty, players will continue taking turns using the remaining cards in their hands until every card spot is filled (and only have 8 cards left in their hand). At no point during the game can a player pass on their turn. NOTE: Players will know what cards their opponent has by simply seeing the cards they are holding in their own hand in addition to the cards that have already been played on the gameboard. Strategies may change at this point of the game because each player can figure out what cards their opponent is holding.
Once all the card spots have been filled, a total of 18 cards will have been placed on the gameboard sides of both players. The remaining eight cards in the players’ hands are leftover cards and will be used in the event of a TIEBREAKER. The round is now finished and players will add their points up on the gameboard.
NOTE: If a player cannot fulfill a double or a triple sequence properly this is a “FAILED SEQUENCE”. For example, in a triple sequence a player has an 8/9 on a triple sequence card spot but does not have a 7 or 10 card to properly fulfill the triple sequence. The player must still play a card on this card spot to take the place of their missing 7 or 10 card. Players may want to choose either a card that will not be helpful in any of their other card spot sequences or a low card in the event of a TIEBREAKER (see bottom of this page. Their opponent will gain one bonus point for the player’s FAILED SEQUENCE.
SCORING:
Each side of the game board is divided into three sections, each containing spaces (or card spots) for a single, double, and triple sequence (for a total of 18 card spaces on each side.) The highest card played on single card spots 3 or 6 or 9 wins 1 point for each spot won. Highest double sequence on card spots 2, 5, or 8 wins one point for each spot won. Highest triple sequence on card spots 1, 4, or 7 wins one point for each spot won. Aces are high. If a player wins all three spaces in one section, they have QUASHED their opponent and win two additional (bonus) points.
Sequences do not have to be the same suit. However, if a player can make a double or triple sequence with cards of the same suit, it beats their opponent’s same double or triple sequence that is not of the same suit. For example, a same-suited triple sequence of Jack♥️, Queen♥️, and King♥️ sequence beats a non-suited triple sequence of Jack♠️, Queen♦️, and King♠️.
TO BEGIN SCORING:
Always start your scoring at card spot 1. Players will score in order from card spots 1 to 9. This is important because the first player to land on the FINISH circle wins the game. Knowing that the scoring starts at card spot 1 and goes in order to card spot 9 will be important during the last potential round of the game (see TIPS and TRICKS below).
While scoring at the end of each round, each losing card spot should be turned face down. This helps to see at a glance if someone obtained a QUASH®, which gains them two bonus points (i.e., if three card spots are turned over face down in a section, then the opposing player can easily see they have QUASHED their opponent.) In addition to the two bonus points, players will also score their usual one point for each card spot won in the section, for a total of five points. For example, if a player wins card spots 4, 5, and 6, they win one point for card spot 4, one point for card spot 5, and one point for card spot 6, plus two bonus points for winning all three card spots in the this section (a QUASH® totalling five points).
FAILED SEQUENCES:
If a player cannot create a proper sequence, their opponent earns one point for winning the card spot (assuming they had a proper sequence on their card spot) and one additional (or bonus) point because their opponent had a FAILED SEQUENCE. If both players do not have a proper sequence then both players each gain 1 point (for their opponent not fulfilling a proper sequence).
TIEBREAKERS:
A TIEBREAKER occurs when two head to head card spots have the same single card or sequence of cards. For example, if card spot number 2 has a 10/Jack for the RED side and the BLACK side also played a 10/Jack, then there is a TIE. To determine who wins the TIEBREAKER, each player will select a card out of their hand and will place it face down in front of them. Once both players have selected their card, they will turn their card over, revealing it. The higher card wins and the winning player earns one point. If both players flip over the same card (another tie) then they repeat – selecting a card from their hand and placing it face down. Again, whoever reveals the higher card wins that card spot and earns a point. NOTE: Multiple TIEBREAKERS may occur in one round. You can strategize as to what card you should play from your hand for each TIEBREAKER. Sometimes you may want to lose the first TIEBREAKER on purpose in order to win the second one which could result in a QUASH® win in a section for you.
PLAYABLE CARDS ON CARD SPOTS:
The Single Card Spots (3, 6, and 9), players can play any card on these spots. Ace is high (beats a King).
*The Double Sequence Card spots (2, 5, and 8), players can play a 2,3 or 3,4 or 4,5 or 5,6 or 6,7 or 7,8 or 8,9 or 9,10 or 10,Jack or Jack,Queen or Queen,King or King,Ace. Ace is high.
**The Triple Sequence Card spots (1, 4, and 7) players can play a 2,3,4 or 3,4,5, or 4,5,6 or 6,7,8 or 7,8,9 or 8,9,10 or 9,10,Jack or 10,Jack,Queen or Jack,Queen,King or Queen,King,Ace. Ace is high.
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FOUR PLAYER RULES (Same as two player rules except):
Two teams of two players each (Teams are RED vs BLACK). Teams face each other (RED faces RED at the table for example). Players are dealt 13 cards each, using the entire deck (so no draw pile). Gameplay goes clockwise. The player to the dealer’s left (who is an opponent to the dealer) goes first. They play one card anywhere on their side. Then on to the dealer’s partner who plays one card on their side. Then to the dealer’s other opponent who plays one card on their side. Then the dealer plays one card on their side. This continues until all card spots are filled on the gameboard, and each player has four cards remaining in their hand. Each team must try to build sequences together without knowing what cards each other have. Teams cannot talk out loud or hint to their partner as to what cards they have or do not have (NO “TABLE TALK”).
The teams score their points the same way as the 2-player version and follow the same rules for TIEBREAKERS. Just before adding up your points, have team RED combine their leftover cards, and team BLACK combine theirs in case of a TIEBREAKER situation. Teams must choose one of their players to play the TIEBREAKER card if required. Or both players on a team can sit beside each other (viewing each other’s hand) and select a card together.
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TIPS and TRICKS:
Once all the cards have been picked up from the draw pile, players should know exactly what cards their opponent has left in their hand. Players should take their time studying the gameboard and their hand to figure out exactly what cards their opponent is holding. There is no time limit when it comes to players turn of play.
Players should try to make sequences using the same suit. Same suit refers to a sequence having all ♥️, all ♦️, all ♣️, or all ♠️. All same-suited hands automatically beat non-suited hands in the event of similar sequences (and no tiebreaker is needed). The same-suit advantage only applies if the player’s and opponent’s cards are the same sequence. For example, if a player has a same-suited 2/3/4 sequence and their opponent has a higher non-suited 3,4,5, sequence then the opponent wins because they have a higher sequenced hand (regardless of the suit).
As the game nears the end, it is important to note who is in the lead. When starting a new round towards the end of the game, the losing player may want to “load up” their best cards on card spots 1, 2, 3, and play their weaker cards on card spots 6, 7, 8, and 9. This is because after the round is over, scoring begins at the card spot 1 and then on to number 2 and so on. The first player to land on the QUASH® finish circle wins so the losing player might not have time to score their points on card spot 3 because their opponent has already landed on the QUASH® finish circle, winning the game.
Good luck! Now go and QUASH® your opponent!
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Advanced play for 2 or 4 players (optional):
For the 2 player version. The designated dealer is to shuffle the cards, discard 6 of them facedown so no one (not even the dealer) can see them. Then the dealer deals the remainder of the deck to each player. For 4 players, the dealer is to deal the entire deck of 52 to all 4 players evenly.
To achieve higher sequences on card spots players may move around any of their played cards (i.e., those on the gameboard) by swapping a card played from their hand with a a card that is already on the board. The card that was swapped out by the card in their hand must be moved to another card spot - it cannot go back into their hand. This card can also be swapped elsewhere as long as the potential for a proper sequence exists. You can continue in this fashion as long as the card you pick up on the board is playable elsewhere. You can swap out any card that is on the single card spot (spots 3, 6, and 9), it does not have to be one higher or lower in value. You can also place a card you swapped out on a completely blank single, double, or triple card spot. Remember that any card swapped out must be played somewhere else.
Example 1: There’s a Jack and a Queen on a Double Sequence card spot. The player has a King in their hand. On their turn, they swap the Jack with the King (forming a Queen, King sequence) and then move the Jack to another card spot (i.e., either single, double, or triple card spot.)
Example 2: There’s a 6♣️, 7♦️, and an 8♦️ on a triple sequence card spot. The player has a 9♦️ in their hand. They can swap the 6♣️ with the 9♦️ in their hand and move the 6♣️ to another card spot. This now gives the player a higher and now same-suited triple sequence card spot (i.e., 7♦️, 8♦️, 9♦️). The 6♣️ can also swap out another card on another card spot. This can continue as long as potential sequences are met. For example: You cannot swap out the 6♣️ on a card spot that contains a 10 and a Jack. Why? Because you cannot have a 6 with a 10 or a Jack on the same card spot because it can’t become a sequence.
Example 3: If there is a 10,Jack on a double sequence card spot and you want to swap out the 10 for a 9. You cannot, because then a 9,Jack are not a sequence. You can only replace your 10 for a Queen. Jack,Queen make a Sequence.
Watch the video below to learn more.
Advanced PLAY VIDEO
Ready to take QUASH to an all new brain-shredding level? Click on the video link to the right.