The Jammers!

Madison Hurst

Objective

Make the most valuable jam recipes by combining various fruits and spices before the deck runs out!

Materials Needed

1. Strawberry cards
2. Blueberry cards
3. Peach cards
4. Vanilla spice cards
5. Mint cards
6. Basil cards
7. Ginger cards
8. Special action cards 
9. Paper and pencil (to keep track of points)

Setup

1. Shuffle all the deck of cards 
2. Deal 5 cards to each player
3. Place the remaining deck in the center of the table (this will be the draw pile) 
4. Right next to the draw pile will be the discard pile
5. The person who was last to eat a piece of fruit recently will go first! (if you can remember the tallest will go)
6. The turns will go clockwise 

Play overview

1. A players turn will consist of three phases (draw phase, action phase, and cleanup phase

Turn Order

Draw Phase:

• Draw 1 card from the draw pile

 Action Phase:

• Choose one of the following actions:

1. Combine 1–3 Fruit Cards plus 1 Spice Card to create a Jam Recipe

• Place the recipe face-up in front of you
• Score it immediately (you can make only two recipes per turn)

2. Trade ingredients

• Trade up to 2 cards with another player
• Both players must agree to the trade (cannot trade a full ingredient)

3. Action card

• Play an action card then discard it 

4. Complete recipe

• If you have a Recipe Card and the required combo in hand (e.g., “Blueberry bliss” needs blueberry  + vanilla), you may play it for bonus points.
• Recipe Cards stay in front of you for final scoring.

Cleanup phase:

• Discard down to 7 cards if over.
• End your turn.
• Play passes clockwise.

Outside your turn:

• Counter Trade: Offer a trade before another player finalizes theirs (only once per round)
• Jam Bonus: When someone makes a jam with your favorite fruit, you may reveal the same fruit card from your hand to gain +1 point

End of game or round:

• A Round ends when all players have taken one turn.
• The Game ends immediately when the Draw Deck runs out and every player has had the same number of turns.

Then, each player adds up their points from completed recipes and any bonuses.

Recipe Key:

• Strawberry jam (strawberry + cinnamon) 3 points
• Blueberry bliss (blueberry +vanilla) 3 points
• Peach sunrise (peach + ginger) 4 points
• Mixed berry (strawberry + blueberry + mint) 6 points
• Perry jam (strawberry + peach + basil) 6 points
• Tri preserve (strawberry + peach + blueberry + any spice) 10 points 
• Berry sweet (two fruits + cinnamon) 5 points 
• Earthy herb (any fruit + basil) 4 points 

Action Cards:

• Bunny attack: choose a player and they have to discard one fruit
• Farmers market: draw two cards next turn instead of 1 
• Fruit poacher: steal 1 random card from another players hand
• Another man’s trash, is another man’s treasure: swap one fruit from your hand with one from the discard pile
• Jam Packed: make two recipes this turn if you have the cards for it

Win/Lose

The player with the most total points wins and becomes the Master Preserver.

Tiebreakers:

1. Most completed recipes
2. Most spices used overall
3. If still tied, both share the victory as co JAMMERS!!

How to get bonus points

• Add one point to your recipe if it includes blueberry in it!
• Strawberry counts as +2 more points  if you add cinnamon with it

*AI was used to help organize the instructions

Introduction

Quads is a fast-paced card game that blends the style of Poker with the mechanics of Spoons. Players pass cards between themselves, aiming to collect a winning hand to bet on. After a timed card-passing phase, players bet on their hands for the chance to win the pot.

What you will need:

• 3-6 players 
• 1 deck of cards that includes Jokers
• A 30 second timer
• Betting chips with least two different colors

Game Setup

1. Shuffle the deck of cards. Remember to include the jokers. 
2. Pass 1 card to each player. The player with the highest card becomes the “Passer”, who will cards from the deck during the Passing Phase. If two players tie, repeat this process between the players who tied until a tiebreaker is reached. If a joker is drawn, discard it and draw another card. 
3. The winner chooses the direction for passing cards: clockwise or counterclockwise. All players must pass cards in that chosen direction. (If you’d like, you can alter the direction of play after every round)
4. Deal a number of chips depending on the difficulty you choose to play the game:
   • Easy: Deal 5 green chips and 6 red chips to each player (21 points to start)
   • Normal: Deal 4 green chips and 3 red chips to each player (15 points to start) 
   • Hard: Deal 2 green chips and 6 red chips to each player (12 points to start)

Green chips will be counted as 3 points, and red chips will be counted as 1. Extra chips should be made accessible if players run out of certain chips, and wish to exchange for chips of an equivalent value. If new to the game, play the game with a Normal level of chips. 

Hand Rankings

This game borrows the hand ranking system from Poker, but removes some of the winning hands. Familiarize yourself with the ranking of hands below. Players with the highest ranking hand will claim the pot, or all chips in play. In the event of a tie, players must split the pot evenly, regardless of any extra cards (unless you are playing the Advanced Edition). When ready, start the passing phase. 

Here are some examples of the hands you should be looking for. 

1. Four-of-a-Kind (Quads) – 4 cards of the same number (all suits): (4♠,4♥,4♦,4♣)
2. Straight Flush – 4 sequential cards of the same suit: (2♠,3♠,4♠,5♠)
3. Three-of-a-Kind – 3 cards of the same number (regardless of suit): (3♣,3♥,3♠,1♥)
4. Two Pair – 2 pairs of cards with the same number (regardless of suit: (6♥,6♦,8♣,8♠)
5. Pair – A pair of cards that share the same number (regardless of suit): (7♦,7♠,2♦,6♦)

Passing phase

1. Shuffle the deck and deal 4 cards to each player. Place the remaining cards in an accessible place, this will become the draw pile. If a player receives a joker, reshuffle the joker back into the draw pile.
2. When ready, the Passer will begin by drawing a card and discarding a card in their chosen direction. The player who received the card from the passer must collect the card and discard a card in the direction of the passer.
3. When the last player in the cycle receives a card, they must discard a card in a pile adjacent to the draw pile. You should maintain a hand of 4 cards at all times.
4. At any point during this process, players can “lock-in” their hand by placing their cards face-down and announcing it to the table. Locked-in players can no longer receive or discard cards. Players must pass around the locked-in player, and can draw if the previous passer locks-in.
5. Continue this process until the first player locks in, or a Joker is drawn. If a Joker is drawn, the passing phase ends immediately.
6. The first player to lock-in starts a 30-second timer, in which all other players must lock-in their hands. When all but one player lock-in their hand, the passing phase ends immediately.
7. Players who are holding more than 4 cards by the end of the Passing Phase are disqualified from the betting phase. 

Betting Phase

Once the Passing Phase ends, all players (that are not disqualified) enter the betting phase. Given their current hand, players can choose to:

• Bet High – Place one green chip worth 3 points.
• Bet Low – Place one red chip worth 1 point
• Fold – Place your hand face down and disqualify yourself, making no bet.

The player who is locked-in first must start the betting phase, and the order of betting will follow the order of passing. After all decisions have been made, players enter the Reveal Phase. 

Reveal Phase

Once the Betting Phase ends, all betting players must reveal their hand to the table. The player with the highest ranking hand will take the entire pot, or chips in play. If two players tie, and no other hand outranks them, they must split the pot as evenly as possible. Exchange chips if needed. If all players but one fold, the winner can take the pot uncontested and do not need to reveal their cards (It would make the game funnier if they did though). Players who run out of chips are eliminated from the game.

Collect the cards, shuffle the deck, then restart the Passing Phase. Continue until a Win Condition is reached. 

Win conditions

Players can decide a winner using points, number of rounds, disqualification, or some mixture of the 3. Here’s some standard examples to provide a framework, but feel free to create your own:

1. After 5/10/15 rounds, count the value of the chips. The player with the highest number of points wins. 
2. Given the number of points each player starts with, set a winning number of points players must reach to win. 
3. The last player to be disqualified wins the game. 

Advanced Edition (Optional Rules): Read if you’ve played Quads enough

If you’ve played enough Quads to understand the game, and want more of a challenge, feel  free to add some bonus rules: 

• No betting limit: Players can bet as many or little points as desired (be sure to adjust the points/starting chips to account for this) 
• Add more winning hands to the game
  • Straight – Any hand of cards that progress in numerical order, regardless of suit
  • High Card – If two players tie with the same hand rank, the player with the highest unmatched card wins the pot.
• Add 1-2 more decks to the original to increase variety
• Expand the hand limit from 4 to 5
• Play with more players (alter time and decks for extra players)