The Objective: Play out all cards on your hand, then your Upper Palace, then your Secret Palace. Player who first empties out all his/her cards wins
Each player gets:
3 Cards in his/her Secret Palace -> Random at start 3 Cards in his/her Upper Palace ^ Random at start, can be swapped with cards on hand.
3 Cards for his/her hand ^
The Rest goes in a central deck.
Every turn, players put one or more cards of the same value into a pile beside the center, draw cards if possible until 3 on hand.
On the first turn, players can swap out their Upper Palace cards with cards they have in their hand.
From weakest to strongest, cards go 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, J, Q, K, Ace, [Magic Cards]
If you play a card too weak or are unable to play, you must forfeit and pick up the pile into your hand.
Magic Cards can be played over any card, even other Magic Cards. It is often a good idea to always save one on your hand to prevent getting wiped by an enemy Ace or Magic Card.
2 - Must be immediately followed up by the player with another card (Magics are OK too), unless it is the last card played by the player before a win.
7 - Next Player must follow up with a card with a weaker value than 7. (3,4,5, or 6. Magics are OK too).
8 - Functions similar to a 2 but must be followed up by the player with a card greater than 8 (Magics are OK too). NOTE: If you can't beat your own 8, you forfeit.
10 - "Blows up" the pile. Removes itself and all cards below from play so players who forfeit thereafter don't end up with a huge hand.
Play out your weakest cards first. Save your good cards (Ace or Magic cards) so you won't have to forfeit.
8's are good in that they allow multiple card plays. but not great because they can backfire if you have no stronger cards.
Try to swap in strong cards for your Upper Palace. Everyone knows what's on your Upper Palace, and a weak Upper Palace can cause you to forfeit if a strong card is played.
Pay attention to the cards your opponents play, you might figure out if they have no weak cards (and thus are vulnerable to a 7.)
You can play cards on your Upper Palace as long as you end up with no cards in hand. For example, if you have a King on hand, and 2 Kings on your Upp. Palace, you can play all 3 Kings at once.
You can forfeit on purpose if you know the cards in the pile can help you. Don't get greedy though.
Have fun :)