Royal Dealer [Model 5303]

Royal Dealer © 1981 Mattel Electronics.

Pull up a chair and join the party! Your computer-controlled opponents are ready to take you on, in four card game classics -- Crazy Eights, Rummy, Gin Rummy and Hearts. Computer shuffles the deck and deals. Your choice of 1, 2 or 3 poker-faced ladies play the opposing hands. You provide the peanuts and chatter. The computer provides the challenge.

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CRAZY EIGHTS
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Each player is dealt 5 cards (7 cards if playing against only one opponent). The remainder of the deck is placed face-down on the table, with the top card FACE-UP beside it. This is called the UP CARD.

On your turn, you may discard 1 card from your hand, IF YOU CAN MATCH THE UP CARD IN EITHER SUIT OR RANK. Example: if the up card is the 6 of Diamonds, you may discard any 6 or any Diamond. Your discard becomes the new up card.

EIGHTS ARE WILD and may be used to match any card. If you play an 8, you must declare which suit you want the 8 to represent. Example: you may discard the 8 of Hearts and declare it the 8 of Clubs. The next player must match the suit of Clubs or play another 8.

IF YOU CANNOT MATCH THE CURRENT UP CARD YOU MUST DRAW FROM THE DECK, until you receive a matching card. If you have 15 cards in your hand and still cannot discard, you may PASS.

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RUMMY
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Each player is dealt 7 cards. The remainder of the deck is placed face-down on the table, with the top card FACE-UP beside it. This is called the UP CARD. When there is more than 1 card in the up card stack, only the TOP card is considered the up card.

When it is your turn, you may either draw from the deck or take the up card. You may not draw any card below the up card. You may only draw 1 card per turn.

To complete your turn, you must discard 1 card from your hand. You must always have 7 cards in your hand.

When you believe you have a winning hand, select a final discard and DECLARE GIN.

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GIN RUMMY
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The entire deck is dealt, so the number of cards each player receives depends on the number of players.

At the start of each hand, you MAY be instructed to pass 3 cards to the player on your left, on your right or across from you. When you pass 3 cards, you automatically receive 3 cards from another player.

Each hand consists of a series of TRICKS. To form a trick, each player lays down (plays) one card. In a 3-player game, the 3 of Clubs automatically leads off the first trick. In a 4-player game, the 2 of Clubs leads off. The player to the left must then play a card of the same suit, if possible. If this is not possible, any non-point card may be played. (You cannot play a point card on the first trick, even if you have no cards in the opening suit.) Highest ranking card of the SUIT LED takes the trick. Player taking the trick gets the points for any point cards in the trick.

The player who takes a trick leads off the next trick with any card from his hand. A hand continues until all cards have been played. You cannot LEAD Hearts until they are broken. (That is, until someone plays a Heart or the Queen of Spades on a trick in which another suit has been led.) The only exception to this rule occurs if you have ONLY hearts in your hand, no points have been taken in the game, and it is your lead.