Two Ops

Description

Create two math operations, using number and operator cards and color patterns, to achieve the lowest or highest value of the operations' sum or difference.

(Very mathy and conditional. Inspired the easier game Math Arena.)

Setup

This game uses a standard French-suited card deck (52 cards, no Jokers).

Extract the 12 court cards from the deck and set them aside for later. These are operators.

Shuffle the rest of the deck, which contains just the pip cards. Deal 6 to each player. These are numbers.

Rules of Play

Each player will end up with a final hand of 4 number cards and 2 operator cards, which form 2 groups of 3-card operations: number, operator, number.

Number card values are their pip count; Ace is worth 1.

Operator cards' functions depend on how they match the color of their two associated number cards:

• When the operator's color matches neither number's color (that is, operator is red and both numbers are black, or vice versa)
• K: average — half the sum *
• Q: maximum — the greater of the two
• J: minimum — the lesser of the two
• When the operator's color matches both numbers' color (that is, all three are red, or all three are black)
• K: full sum
• Q: (max + 5)
• J: (min - 5) *
• When the operator's color matches only one number's color (that is, the operator and one card are red, the other is black, or vice versa)
• K: off-color minus on-color *
• Q: off-color modulo on-color — the remainder by integer division
• J: off-color value ignored

* Fractional and negative totals will occur; these are fine.

Playing

Each player considers the 6 number cards they were dealt, and discards 1.

Dealer then shuffles the operator stock and deals 2 to each player, setting aside any remainder.

Next, the dealer reveals the top card of the remaining number stock.

The card's attributes determine the players' goal for the round.

• If the number shown is even and red, the goal is the lowest sum of both operations.
• If the number shown is even and black, the goal is the highest sum of both operations.
• If the number shown is odd and red, the goal is the least absolute difference between both operations.
• If the number shown is odd and black, the goal is the most absolute difference between both operations.

Once the goal has been determined, players go about making the best possible pair of 3-card operation groups, using their two operator cards and 4 of their 5 pip cards.

A player signals that they're done by laying face-down their unused 5th pip card as a marker.

When all players have signaled that they're done, gather the markers.

Then, starting with the player following the dealer, each player shows their two groups of cards, describing the operations they form, and stating the sum or difference of the values of the two.

Winning & Scoring

Whoever meets the goal condition wins. Ties are fine.

Score 2 points for the winner(s), and 1 point for anyone in second place.

Play to an agreed-upon number of points, such as 10.

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