Royale

Royale is a board game for 2, 3 or 4 players and a “game” consists of one “hand” per each player with a maximum of four hands per game. Scores for each hand are accumulated and the player with the highest grand total wins the game. Players can draw equal and it is possible for them to end a hand, or even a game, with a negative score.

Having been dealt a hand of twelve cards, players, in turn, move their marker round the board, discarding cards, picking up cards, scoring points, deducting points from other players, and from themselves. The maximum number of points a player can score in any hand is ‘50’ but they can score extra points if having “declared” (played all their numerical cards), they are left only with Kings, Queens, Jacks (Court Cards), provided these are ALL of the same suit.

Players move their marker and score points according to the value of the cards which they play. For example; a ‘1’ of any suit is worth one point and allows the player to move their marker forward one space; a ‘2’, two points and two spaces; a ‘3’ three points and three spaces, and so on, up to ‘10’. Players must always play a card of the suit matching the suit on the space which their marker is in.

Court Cards follow a different rule. Players move their marker forward for the number of spaces indicated by the value on the particular Court Card played but, they DO NOT score any points. Instead they DEDUCT from their score, points to the value of the Court Card played. Only when a player “declares” do Court Cards take on a positive value….

(The cards for this game are specialized: The “Ace” has been replaced with a ‘1’; the “King” has a caricature of Robert the Bruce; the “Queen” is Mary, Queen of Scots; the "Jack" is Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stewart), and the “Jokers” are Crowns. An extra Joker/Crown card has been added for a total of 55 cards per deck.)