SUMMARY
COVERTA is a card game where each player follows their own secret matching rule. The goal is to be the first to discard all of their cards. The key to victory is deducing the rules of the opponents (in order to play your own cards in their stead) without revealing your own.
Number of players: 2 to 6
Age: from 9 years old
Skills: observation, deduction, risk assessment (and, depending on the version played, speed)
Mechanisms: Outplay (matching game), Shedding
Author: Carlos Martin
Equipment
40 numeric cards, characterized by:
The number (from 1 to 10): 4 cards of each number, 20 even cards + 20 odd cards
The suit (♠/♥/♣/♦): 10 cards of each suit, 20 black cards + 20 red cards
The type of shape containing the number: 20 squares + 20 circles
The color of the shape: 20 blue + 20 orange
The type of shape filling: 20 solid + 20 hollow
The color of the number: 20 black + 20 white
12 instruction cards, each indicating a rule that the new card must respect in relation to the last card played. The rules concern the 6 binary characteristics of the cards (even/odd, red/black, square/circle, blue/orange, solid/hollow, black/white). For each characteristic, an instruction card imposes alternation at the level of the 2 values of this characteristic (example: play even after odd and vice versa) and another card, the maintenance of the current value (example: play even after even and odd after odd).
Cheat sheet cards, reminding the different possible instructions.
Preparation
Place on the table, in view of all players, the cheat sheet card listing the different binary characteristics.
Each player receives 2 secret pairing rules that he must respect when playing the cards from his hand. These rules are determined by “instruction cards”, which are distributed as follows:
For 2 to 4 players: Shuffle the 12 instruction cards and distribute 3 to each player, face down. After looking at them, each player chooses 2 and puts the third aside, face down.
For 5 to 6 players, or if you want to make it easier to deduce the instructions of the opponents: Separate the 12 instruction cards into 2 groups, then distribute one card from each group to each player, face down.
Group 1 (clubs and diamonds): instructions concerning the shape in which the number is inscribed (blue/orange color, square/circle, solid/hollow filling)
Group 2 (spades and hearts): instructions concerning the number (even/odd, white/black) or the suit of the card (red/black color)
Players place their “instruction cards” on the table in front of them, face down, and can consult them at any time.
Each player is dealt a certain number of numeric cards, which will make up their hand. The number of cards dealt depends on the number of players:
2 players: 7 cards
3 players: 6 cards
4 or 5 players: 5 cards
6 players: 4 cards
The rest of the numeric cards are placed face down in a pile in the center of the table, this will be the draw pile. The top card of the draw pile is turned over and the person to the left of the dealer begins to play, the game continuing in a clockwise direction.
gameplay
Playing your own cards
Each player in turn tries to place one of the cards from their hand following the last card placed, respecting their 2 secret matching rules.
To determine which card has been played by each player at each moment, the cards are arranged in rows and columns, like a table: each player places all their cards on their own row, and a new column is started at each complete turn. Here is an example of a layout for 3 players:
Playing in someone else’s place
If a player cannot or does not want to play a card, they must draw a card. Then:
The player to their left has the first chance to play one of their cards in their place. If they seize their chance, they must play their card immediately, otherwise the opportunity passes to the next player, clockwise.
If no player seizes their opportunity and the turn returns to the initial player, the latter has the right to play the card they had drawn, provided it respects their secret rules.
To play in someone else’s place, you must have deduced their secret instructions, because the card we place must respect them. If we play in someone else’s place a card that does not respect one of their matching rules, they will show us in secret the instruction card not respected. We will then have to take back 2 cards from their hand, in addition to the card we had played, and we will no longer be able to play in their place.
Exception: if the error is due to the fact that the opponent has previously played one or more of their cards without respecting their own instructions, it is the opponent who retrieves the last card placed in their hand. The opponent also suffers the penalties associated with not respecting their own instructions (see below).
Non-compliance with one's own instructions
At certain points in the game, a player must reveal one or all of their instructions to one or more players. On this occasion, if someone points out a card that does not comply with the revealed instruction and this error had not yet been pointed out:
The player who detected the problem gives 2 cards from their hand to the offending player.
The offending player must keep the instruction card they did not comply with face up.
The pointed out card is marked with a token to prevent it from incurring new penalties.
End of the game
When a player places the last card from their hand, they reveal their 2 instructions. The opponents then check that all the cards placed by the player and not marked by a token comply with the 2 instructions.
If this is the case, they win the game.
If unmarked cards are found that do not comply with the 2 instructions, the penalties associated with non-compliance with one's own instructions are applied and the game continues.
If the draw pile is exhausted and no player can place any more cards, the game ends and the player who, having complied with their instructions on all unmarked cards, has the smallest number of cards in hand wins.
Variant: "stealing" the turn from opponents
In this variant, it is possible to play in place of an opponent whose pairing rules have been deduced before they admit they are unable to play and draw a card. Cards can be played from the moment the previous player has placed a card on the table or has drawn a card from the draw pile and as long as the opponent has not played a card or drawn a card from the draw pile. If several people want to play in place of an opponent, it is the first card placed on the table in the correct location that will be played, the rest of the cards must be arranged in the hands of those who took them out.
Adaptation to Traditional Cards
What you see here is a prototype. The special cards of COVERTA, necessary to play in its original form, are not yet available for purchase. That’s why I’ve adapted this prototype to be playable with traditional cards. You can now discover and appreciate the potential of COVERTA without the constraints of production.