Game of Nancy



The Game of Nancy is a card game that is played by people in the world of Dishonored.

Description
It can be played with the Dishonored Tarot Deck, which is included as one of the pre-order bonuses for the Special Edition of Dishonored, and it comes with a rulebook and manual, but it may also be played with any standard 78-card Tarot Deck.

How to Play
The Game of Nancy is a turn-based game in which players change teams from round to round. It is commonly played by 4 players, but can be played by groups of 2 to 6.

The Deal

The first Dealer is chosen at random, each round the deal passes to the old Dealer's right. The player opposite the Dealer shuffles, and the player to the left of the Dealer cuts the cards.

Each round, 18 cards are dealt to each player, 3 at a time. The first 6 cards per player are dealt face-up, the rest face-down. These cards form the player's hand. During the deal, the Dealer deals 6 random individual cards into the center, face-down, to form The Hound. No card from the Hound may be dealt from among the first 3 or last 3 cards. The cards are dealt singly at any time during the deal, at the choice of the dealer.

The Taker & the 9 Objectives

In each round, The Taker plays against the others, who form a team against them. At the beginning of each round, the Taker is chosen by bidding on how many individual objectives each player thinks they can meet during the round. The highest Bid becomes the Taker.

There are 9 Objectives the Taker can try to complete by adding certain card combinations to a special pile, called the Nancy. Each round, the other players must do their best to prevent the Taker from succeeding. Scoring is tallied at the end of each round.

The 9 Objectives are as follows The winning bidder becomes the Taker, and immediately picks up the Hound and adds them to their hand; they then discards 6 cards, face down, to become the ''Nancy. ''During this discard phase, no Trumps, Kings, or the Outsider may be discarded. In the rare case that the Taker can not discard 6 cards without breaking this rule, they may discard any trump between II and XX, provided that they declare that they cannot discard other cards, and shows the discarded Trump. As the game progresses, all tricks won by the Taker are added to the Nancy as they attempt to complete their set number of Objectives.
 * 1) Heir's Bodyguard - Both the Death and Judgement cards (XXI and I) are in the Nancy.
 * 2) Empire of Rats - All 14 cards of the Rats Suit are in the Nancy.
 * 3) Empire of Swords - All 14 cards of the Swords Suit are in the Nancy.
 * 4) Empire of Skulls - All 14 cards of the Skulls Suit are in the Nancy.
 * 5) Empire of Pistols - All 14 cards of the Pistols Suit are in the Nancy.
 * 6) Royal Executioner - 8 or more Face Cards (King, Queen, Commoner, or Jack) are in the Nancy.
 * 7) Master of the Arcane - The sum total of all Trumps (I to XXI) in the Nancy equals 22.
 * 8) Fat Nancy - The Taker wins all tricks played in the round.
 * 9) Chosen by the Outsider - Steal a Face Card from an opponent. This Objective is completed when a player, other than the Taker, plays the Outsider and the Taker then wins the trick. The Taker then takes a card, at random, from the opponent's Trick Pile. If the stolen card is a Face Card, this Objective is Complete. (more information covered in Playing the Outsider)

Playing the Game

Once the Taker has completed the Nancy, the player to the Dealer's right leads the first trick by playing one card face-up on the table, establishing the suit. This card may played from the Hand, or taken from any of the face up cards dealt to them. Each player follows,counter-clockwise, playing a single card from the same suit, if available.

Cards must be played in the following order in an individual trick: Playing the Outsider
 * 1) A card from the same suit as the originating card.
 * 2) A Trump Card higher than any previously played Trump in the trick.
 * 3) Any other Trump Card
 * 4) Any other suited card.

The Outsider is a special exception to the above play rules. If a player holds the Outsider, they may play it on any trick they choose, even if other valid play options are available. The Outsider is valueless, and may never win the trick.

It is legal to lead with the Outsider, the suit becoming established by the player to their right.

If the Outsider is played before the last trick, the team that played it keeps it in their trick pile, regardless of the winner of the trick. If the opposing team wins the trick, the Outsider card is replaced by a card at random drawn from the opponent's trick pile. If the losing opponent has no trick pile, the winner of the trick may choose any one card won by the team who played the Outsider on a future trick.

If the Outsider is played on the Last trick, the highest card on that trick instantly wins the Round.

Scoring

After the last trick is played, the Taker looks at the Nancy, including the discarded cards and their trick pile, and checks how many Objectives were completed. Each Round, the player's score is determined using the following rules Calculated points are then won by the Taker from each of their opponents or lost by the Taker to each of the opponents. Opponents always win or lose equally.
 * If the Outsider was played last by the Taker, they lose the Round
 * If the Outsider was played last by an Opponent, and the Taker wins the trick, they win the Round
 * If the Outsider was played last by an Opponent, and another opponent wins the trick, they lose the Round.
 * If the Taker managed to complete as many Objectives as they bid, or higher, they wins the Round
 * If the Taker did not complete their Bid, they lose the Round.
 * If the Taker fails to complete a single Objective, they lose with a Skinny Nancy
 * +5 points if the Taker wins the Round
 * +2 points for each Objective the Taker completed
 * -3 points for each Objective the Taker bid, but did not complete.
 * -5 points if the Taker loses the Round.
 * -10 points if the Taker scores a Skinny Nancy

Scoring Examples (Including extrapolations for the Outsider Rule, indicated with EX Rule)

'''Taker loses, completing 2 objectives out of 3 bid. - '''Player is awarded ((2+2)-3-5)*3= -12 points, with 4 points given to each of 3 opponents.

Taker wins, completing 4 objectives out of 3 bid - Player is awarded ((4*2)+5)*3= 39 points, with 13 points coming from each of his opponents.

Taker loses, completing 0 objectives out of 2 bid (Skinny Nancy) - Player is awarded ((-3*2)-5-10)*3= -63 points, with 21 points given to each of his opponents.

EX Rule - Taker loses due to Outsider, but makes 3 objectives out of 2 bid - Player is awarded ((2*3)-5)*3= 3 points, with 1 point coming from each of his opponents.

EX Rule - Taker wins due to Outsider, but makes 0 objective out of 2 bid - Player is awarded ((-3*2)+5-10)*3= -33 points, with 11 points going to each opponents.

Variant Rules for Different Numbers of Players

2 Player 3 Player 5 Player 6 Player
 * Cards are dealt 4 at a time
 * Players are dealt 36 cards total, 20 cards in hand, 16 on the table in 8 piles of 2 (bottom 8 cards face-down)
 * If a Player uses a face-up card from the table, the face-down card underneath it is flipped over after that trick.
 * Cards dealt 3 at a time
 * Players are dealt 24 cards, 18 in hand, and 6 on the table.
 * Cards are dealt 3 at a time
 * 3 cards go into the Hound and the Nancy
 * After dealing the hand, but before revealing the Hound, the Taker names one of the Queens (or one of the Jacks if they hold all 4 Queens). The holder of this card is the Taker's Partner.
 * The Partner may not reveal themself as the Partner during the game, except by playing the Named Card. Other players are allowed to suspect them, as their plays will generally help the Taker
 * EX Rule - Partner's won tricks go to opponents' trick pile, even if they are suspected or revealed.
 * EX Rule - Scoring is multiplied by the number of Opponents AND the number on the Taker's Team, 2*3 if there is a Partner, 4*1 if there is not.
 * Cards are dealt 3 at a time
 * 6 cards go into the Hound and Nancy
 * After dealing the hand, but before revealing the Hound, the Taker names one of the Queens (or one of the Jacks if they hold all 4 Queens). The holder of this card is the Taker's Partner.
 * The Partner may not reveal themself as the Partner during the game, except by playing the Named Card. Other players are allowed to suspect them, as their plays will generally help the Taker
 * EX Rule - Partner's won tricks go to opponents' trick pile, even if they are suspected or revealed.
 * EX Rule - Scoring is multiplied by the number of Opponents AND the number on the Taker's Team, 2*4 if there is a Partner, 5*1 if there is not.

Trivia

 * In-universe, the game is played with a modified version of the Dishonored Tarot Deck called the "Game of Nancy Tarot Deck".
 * In the Dishonored universe, the Game of Nancy is a popular card game among gangs, such as the Bottle Street Gang and the Hatters.
 * Craxton and another member of the Bottle Street Gang can be encountered finishing a game of Nancy in front of the Dunwall Whiskey Distillery during the mission High Overseer Campbell.
 * The Game of Nancy is part of Granny Rags' "recipe" found during the mission Eminent Domain of The Knife of Dunwall, which tasks its reader to draw the World. Other cards can be randomly drawn when the recipe has not been read yet: the Outsider, the Queen of Rats, the King of Pistols, the 1 of Skulls, Death, the Jack of Swords, Regret, the Lady, the 9 of Rats, the 4 of Swords, the 8 of Skulls, the Commoner of Rats, the 7 of Skulls, the 5 of Swords, the 2 of Rats, the Commoner of Pistols, the 10 of Skulls, the Boatman, Cruelty, and the Jack of Skulls.
 * An unfinished game can be found in an improvised gambling den for the guards in one of the cells of Coldridge Prison, during the mission A Stay of Execution for Lizzy of The Brigmore Witches.
 * A known player of the Game of Nancy is Skinflint, a Hatter encountered during the mission The Dead Eels of The Brigmore Witches.