| Designed by | P.D. Magnus |
| Players | 3-4 |
| Extra Material | None |
A trick taking game in which players bid to determine which suit cards will have.
In a hand of Chicane, each of the Decktet cards is treated as just having one suit. For the dual-suited number cards, only the top or bottom suit is active in a given hand. Players bid to determine which it will be.
Object of the game: To take as many tricks as possible.
Setup
The deck is dealt out evenly to the players. Any odd remaining cards are set aside.
The player on the dealer's left starts bidding. The player bids the number of tricks that they think they can take if they determine suits. Continuing around the table clockwise, players have the option of making a larger bid or passing. Bidding continues until a highest bid is unchallenged.
The high bidder then declares either top or bottom. In a top hand, the topmost of the two suit symbols determines the suit of a number card. In a bottom hand, the bottommost suit symbol does.
Example: In a top hand, the Betrayal is a Wyrm card. In a bottom hand, it is a Knot card.
The high bidder then selects any card from their hand to lead the first trick.
Game play
Clockwise around the table, each player plays a card that matches the suit of the card that was led. If you have no cards of the suit led, then you may play any card from your hand. The highest card that follows suit wins the trick. An Ace is below 2; a Crown is above 9.
The winner of the trick leads the next trick. Play continues until players have no cards remaining.
If the high bidder won fewer tricks than they bid, they score nothing; if they score exactly as many tricks as they bid, then they score their bid plus three bonus points; if they score more more tricks than they bid, then they score their bid minus one penalty point per overtrick.
Other players score one point for each trick they won, regardless of whatever they might have bid.
Strategy
When top is declared, there are 10 Moons, 7 Suns, 7 Waves, 5 Leaves, 5 Wyrms, and only 2 Knots. The Knot suit symbol is always printed second when it appears, so no number cards are counted as Knots in a top hand.
A bottom hand is the mirror image of this: 2 Moons, 5 Suns, 5 Waves, 7 Leaves, 7 Wyrms, and 10 Knots.
Variants
None yet.
Credits
Original design: P.D. Magnus
Playtesting: Cristyn Magnus, Maya Kiehl, Tom Kiehl, Jeff Warrender, Kevin Warrender, Chris DeLeo, Jason Mutford, Pete Murray, John Milanese
