§1 Introduction.

ACCOUNT is a playing-card game of the shedding type. Characteristic of its type, the goal is to get rid of one's cards as quickly as possible.

The game can be played by any number people from two up, without partnerships. A version for four people will be described first, followed by simple adaptations for other numbers of players.

Needed is an ordinary pack of 52 playing cards. Pencil and paper will suffice for recording scores. Cards rank, from high to low,

§2 Overview.

At any time during the game, each card will be in one of these locations:

• the account pile, a stack of cards face up near the middle of the table;
• the trash pile, a stack of cards face down near the middle of the table;
• the hand of some player.

The account pile is kept squared up so that only the top card is visible. Its color, red or black, is important; but its exact suit is not.

Cards can move:

• from a player's hand to the top of the account pile (a deposit);
• from the account pile to a player's hand (a withdrawal);
• from the account pile to the trash pile.

A deposit consists of one or more cards of the same rank. They can be any combination of suits.

As the game progresses:

• the account pile will repeatedly grow and be emptied;
• players' hands will shrink in the long run, but will grow and shrink along the way;
• the trash pile will grow.

§3 Procedure.

Select a dealer by any agreed means. Deal 13 cards to each of the 4 players, with none left over. The account and trash piles will be empty.

Starting with the player on dealer's left, and moving around the table clockwise, each player takes a turn:

• 1. If the account pile is empty, he makes a deposit of any desired rank.
• 2. If the account pile is not empty:
  • 2a. If the top card is of a black suit, he may make a deposit of any rank higher than that of the top card, if he has it.
  • 2b. If the top card is of a red suit, he may make a deposit of any rank lower than that of the top card, if he has it.
  • 2c. No matter the color of the top card, he may make a withdrawal, moving the top card of the account pile into the trash pile, and taking any remaining cards from the account pile into his hand.

The color of the top card of the account pile does not restrict what color of card(s) the next player may deposit.

A player must take one the four actions listed above, and may not pass. There is never a need to pass, because:

• If the account pile is empty, then option 1 is certainly available.
• If the account pile is not empty, option 2c is certainly available.

§4 Scoring; end of game.

When a player deposits all his remaining cards, there is a pause while his score is calculated. Each of the other players announces the number of cards still in his own hand. The depositor's score is simply the sum of those numbers, and is recorded. The depositor then retires from play, and other players continue.

Each successive retiree necessarily gets a lower score than the previous.

When only one player remains, the game ends, and that final player gets a score of zero.

§5 Comments.

If the top card of the account pile is a black King or red Ace, the next player has no choice but to withdraw. Hence, these are the most forceful cards. Black Queens and red Twos are nearly as forceful. By contrast, black Aces and red Kings are of almost no force at all.

Because the most forceful cards are among the first to be put into the trash pile, cards that were originally of low force see an increase in their effective forcefulness. For example, once both red Aces are in the trash pile, the red Twos go from high forcefulness to maximal.

Sevens are the middlemost rank in the pack, with six ranks above and six below.

Some players may see tactical advantage in choosing either of these two forms of sinking:

• A player may withdraw, even if he holds cards suitable for a deposit.
• When depositing a rank of which he holds multiple cards, he may keep some of them in his hand, as long as he deposits at least one.

A player who is depositing multiple cards of different colors has a choice about which color to leave on top of the account pile. For instance, when a player deposits a red Two (high force) and a black Two (low force), leaving the red Two on top will greatly restrict the next player, as only Ace(s) can then be deposited.

By contrast, leaving the black Two on top is minimally restrictive, as any rank from Three up can be deposited by the next player. However, this is permitted because the depositor might see a strategic or tactical advantage in this choice.

The purpose of gradually moving cards to the trash pile is to ensure that the game will eventually end. As consecutive players add cards to the account pile, their hands will get smaller. Eventually, someone will be unable to make a deposit and hence will have to make a withdrawal, moving one card to the trash pile. Once a card is in the trash pile, it stays there.

Because a player's choices of deposits have great effect on his left-hand opponent, it is advisable in a long session to rearrange the seating at the table from time to time. With four players for instance, there are six sequences of play:

• A → B → C → D → A
• A → B → D → C → A
• A → C → B → D → A
• A → C → D → B → A
• A → D → B → C → A
• A → D → C → B → A

§6 Variants — players and packs.

For other than four players:

• Three: deal sixteen cards to each player, and to place the leftover card in the trash pile.
• Five: ten cards to each player, and to place the two leftover cards in the trash pile.
• Six: use a double pack, deal sixteen cards to each player, and place the two leftover cards in the trash pile. The double pack means that the largest possible deposit would contain eight cards.
• Seven: use a double pack, deal fourteen cards to each player, and place the six leftover cards in the trash pile.

Because colors matter but suits do not, a pack-and-a-half (78 cards) can be employed. This would be one regular pack of 52, plus one black suit and one red suit from another pack, preferably of the same back design.

Players who prefer a shorter game may remove several complete ranks of cards. Perhaps surprisingly, the choice of which ranks does not affect the strategy or tactics. Also usable are a twelve- or ten-rank Spanish or Italian pack; an eight-rank German or French pack; or, in the other direction, the fourteen-rank Rook pack.

ACCOUNT can in fact be played with a Pinochle pack of 48 cards. It has the usual four suits, but there are only six ranks of cards, which for authenticity ought to be ranked, from high to low, Ace-Ten-King-Queen-Jack-Nine. Each of the 24 different cards appears twice.

§7 Other variants.

ACCOUNT can be played with wild cards. One option is to include a Joker in the pack, and allow a player who holds it to deposit it on any turn, without regard to the state of the account pile. The next player regards the Joker as transparent:

• If the Joker is the only card in the account pile, he plays as if the account pile is empty, and must make a deposit.
• Otherwise, his play is governed by the first card underneath the Joker, and he will deposit or withdraw accordingly.

When seven play, adding one Joker to the pack is helpful, because it brings the total number of cards in the pack to 105, which is a multiple of 7.

Players can decide whether a Joker may be added to a deposit of non-Jokers; or whether multiple Jokers may be deposited together.

More options:

• Multiple-card deposits: If a player deposits two cards of the same rank, the next player loses his turn; three cards of the same rank, the next two players lose their turns; four cards, three players. With a double pack, this is extended.
• Eights: If the top two cards of the account pile are both Eights, the next player must either withdraw or deposit a Joker.
• Sevens: A player who deposits two Sevens may optionally include one card of any rank with them; three Sevens, include two cards; and so forth. As always, the depositor chooses which card to leave on top of the deposit pile.
• Sixes:
  • If the top card of the account pile is a red Six, the direction of play reverses, going from clockwise to counter-clockwise, or vice versa.
  • If the top card of the account pile is a Six Seven, the next player misses a turn.
  • If the top two cards of the account pile are Sixes of different colors, both rules apply: the direction of play reverses, and the player who would have been next (under the new direction) misses a turn.

Some rules of the kind found in the Mau-Mau family can be incorporated in ACCOUNT, but not those pertaining to drawing from the stock, as ACCOUNT has no stock.