Karriere Poker - Career Poker
Contents:
104 cards (8 x 1 through 13)
4 Jokers
8 work status symbols
8 symbol stands
rules
Game Origin
Game Description
Career Poker offers each player a job at the firm of Crazy & Co. The positions within the company are constantly changing. So the boss’s chair can start wobbling, and before you know it the journeyman is calling the shots. But beware! The last one left sitting on their cards gets stuck with the dirty work and is the dishwasher.
Card Values
There are 8 sets of cards valued 1 through 13. The Jokers are the most valuable, scoring above the number13 card.
The Joker(s) can be played with any number card and take on that value. When you play the Joker(s) by themselves, you determine their value above 13. That could be 15 or 1,234,276 or whatever your heart desires. The next Joker(s) played, though, are always ranked higher, i.e., 16 or 3,765,814.
Game Preparation
Per player, you will need one set of cards valued 1 through 13. The remaining cards are set aside, since they are not needed. Additionally, you add Jokers depending on the number of players:
4 and 5 players: 2 Jokers
6 and 7 players: 3 Jokers
8 players: 4 Jokers
Finally, the status symbols -- also corresponding to the number of players -- are placed so they’re readily available. With less than eight players, it is your choice which positions you want to remove -- except for the boss and dishwasher, who are always part of the game.
Rank of Position
1. Boss (Boss)
2. Managing Director (Geschäftsführer)
3. Manager (Manager)
4. Department Head (Abt. Leiter)
5. Supervisor (Meister)
6. Journeyman or -woman (Geselle)
7. Trainee (Azubi)
8. Dishwasher (Tellerwäscher)
When positions are removed based on the number of players, the remaining positions move up in rank accordingly.
The First Round
The first round of the game determines the status of the players. That’s why there are special rules that only apply to the first round:
1. A dealer is chosen. S/he shuffles the cards and deals everybody 13 cards. The few leftover cards are put aside for now, but are used in the following rounds.
2. Each player collects the tricks they win.
Assignment of Positions
The first player to get rid of all their cards will be the boss in the next round. As each player gets rid of their cards, they are assigned the appropriate position, following the hierarchy listed above. The last person still holding cards will be the dishwasher.
Seating Arrangement
There is a basic seating order that is followed as soon as positions are assigned. According to their status, the players take their places around the table. The boss may remain in the seat s/he occupied before. The other players take their places relative to the boss, starting to his/her left. First is the immediate subordinate; in a game with 8 players, that is the managing director. To the managing director’s left is the manager, and so on, until the last person (sitting next to the trainee) is the dishwasher. Since the circle is completed at this point, the dishwasher sits to the right of the boss.
After some bustling about, the hierarchical order is established. Now the dishwasher takes the stage. S/he has to shuffle the huge stack of cards and deal each player 13 of them. The dishwasher shouldn’t be too surprised that the few extra cards will be his or hers.
Adding insult to injury: The dishwasher has to clean up by collecting the tricks and arranging them in one pile on the side.
Class Privilege
Before each game there is an outrageous injustice. Management gets to pick on lower level workers.
Basically, the higher positions get the highest valued cards from the lower positions. Lower positions get the lowest valued cards from the higher positions.
These are the exchanges in a game with 8 players (position 1 is always the boss):
Positions 1 and 8 exchange 4 cards
Positions 2 and 7 exchange 3 cards
Positions 3 and 6 exchange 2 cards
Positions 4 and 5 exchange 1 card
The exchanges with 6 or 7 players are:
Positions 1 and 6 (or 7) exchange 3 cards
Positions 2 and 5 (or 6) exchange 2 cards
Positions 3 and 4 (or 5) exchange 1 card
The exchanges with 4 or 5 players are:
Positions 1 and 4 (or 5) exchange 2 cards
Positions 2 and 3 (or 4) exchange 1 card
In a game with 5 players, position 3 does not exchange any cards; the same thing happens to position 4 in a game with 7 players.
The Game
The boss always starts the game, and other players follow in clockwise order. The round ends when no other player wants to play any more cards.
The player who played the last card(s) after everyone else passed leads the next round. That player may play a set of one or more cards with the same numerical value (same color).
Example:
Three cards with the numerical value of 7, or 4 cards with the numerical value of 2, and so on.
Two conditions must be met in subsequent play:
1. The new set of card(s) have to outrank what’s already on the table.
2. When sets of one or more cards of the same rank have been played, subsequent players have to play a set of the same number of cards -- doubles on doubles, triples on triples, and so on.
You can pass any time and play no cards. You are still able to play later on in the same round.
Example (5 players):
Player “A” plays 3 cards with the value of 2. The next player “B” tops with 3 sevens. Player “C” has no three-card set and passes. Player “D” plays 3 elevens. Player “E” has 4 twelves but does not want to break up this four card set because “E” is only allowed to play three cards, so “E” passes. The round is over. Player “D” played the highest cards and starts the next round. If a player got the trick with the last card(s) from their hand, the following special rules apply:
1. The person ranked immediately above that player leads the next round. Note: the boss has no superiors.
2. If the immediate superior has no cards in their hand anymore, the lead goes to the subordinate.
3. If both the superior and the subordinate are out of cards, the player with the highest rank still in the game starts the next round.
End of Game
You can either put a time limit on the game or agree beforehand on how many rounds will be played.
Goal of Game
Not ending up as the dishwasher at the end of the evening. The winner can be determined by assigning numbers to the various positions and keeping score.
Extreme Variant
Assorted seating with various comfort levels can be supplied for the different positions in an especially mean game -- from a comfy chair for the boss to a crate for the dishwasher. The players can command according to their status. The boss can send the journeyman into the kitchen to get a fresh supply of drinks. And the journeyman can delegate this unpleasant job to the dishwasher. But don’t get carried away, Career Poker is only a game!