The Lost Pueblo of Doctor Green

A free little Cheapass Game.

Someone has stolen the Pueblo! Can you guess who it is? The Lost Pueblo of Doctor Green is a simple card-passing game with a strong bluffing element.

You Need: Four to ten players, and a deck of playing cards.

To Begin: Build a small deck which includes three cards for each player, one of which is the Ace of Spades. Now shuffle the deck and deal it out, three cards face down to each player. Players look at their own cards.

Whoever is dealt the Ace of Spades is the Thief, and knows the hidden location of Doctor Green's stolen Pueblo. The Thief must keep his identity a secret from the other players, and try to escape; if he is discovered, he loses!

How Play Proceeds:

Starting with the Dealer, players take turns. On your turn, you must do exactly one of the following three things:

1: Hand a card to another player. You can't hand away the Ace of Spades unless it is your last card.

2: Ask another player to hand you a card. Again, they cannot hand you the Ace of Spades unless it is their last card.

3: Accuse another player of being the Thief. If you find the Thief, you win! However, if you are wrong, you must hand that player two cards. Again, you can't hand away the Ace of Spades unless it is your last card.

Dropping Out: If any player other than the Thief runs out of cards, they lose, and drop out of the game.

How to Win: If you are not the Thief, you can win in one of two ways. You can win by finding the Thief, or you can win by collecting six cards.

If you are the Thief, you can only win by running out of cards. When you hand away your last card, the Ace of Spades, you have escaped, and the stolen Pueblo remains lost! Whatever that means.

Note: If two players achieve their victory conditions at the same time, it's because the Thief handed his last card to someone else, who now has six cards (or more). In this case, the Thief wins.

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