Pastiche: The Birth of a Masterpiece

Pastiche: The Birth of a Masterpiece — first released as ラミネートラミー (Laminate Rummy) — is a rummy card game in which players need to publish dissertations, then have their work peer-reviewed in order to score...although sometimes the peer will be yourself!

In the deck of 49 cards, the cards are in seven suits with one suit going from 1-7, the next 2-8, and so on up to the final suit of 7-13. The game also includes dissertation cards that show various combinations of cards: numerical straights of length 5, 7, 9, and 11; three pairs; four pairs; three- or five-of-a-kind; and so on, with multiple copies of some dissertations. Players are dealt 3-5 cards based on player order, with everyone then discarding down to three cards in hand.

On a turn, take one of three possible actions:

• Research: Either draw two cards, add one to your hand, then discard the other; or add the top card of the discard pile to your hand. • Present a dissertation: Take cards from your hand that satisfy the requirements of a dissertation, then place those cards on display in front of you, placing the dissertation on top. You can claim a specific dissertation at most once. • Conduct a peer review: Select a published dissertation (from any player) that has two or more cards underneath it, then add one of the cards to your hand. If a dissertation has only one card underneath it, the paper has been accepted and (1) it is now worth points for its author and (2) it can be cited by future dissertations.

How do you cite an accepted dissertation? You present a new dissertation and pretend that the card under the accepted dissertation is one of the cards that you played; you can cite multiple cards in a dissertation, but you must play at least one card from your hand. For example, you can play two pairs of cards from your hand, say 3s and 8s, then "cite" a 6 from one of your accepted dissertations and a different 6 from another player's dissertation. You'd then claim the "three pairs" dissertation and place only the 3s and 8s underneath it. When you cite another player's dissertation, you must give them a card from your hand — ideally something useless! — as a thank you for their previous work.

Accepted dissertations are worth 1-9 points, and when a player has 15+ points, the end of the game is signaled. If this player has any cards in hand, they claim the "end flag" dissertation that's worth 1 point, then place one card from their hand underneath it. (If they have no cards, the game end is still triggered; they just miss out on the bonus point.) Continue play until each other player has completed two turns and the person who triggered the ending has completed one turn. The player with the most points from accepted dissertations wins; in the event of a tie, the tied player with the fewest accepted dissertations wins.