Introduction
The game of Nerts is also known as Pounce, Racing Demon, Peanuts or Squeal. It is a competitive patience game for two or more players, using a pack of cards for each player (or team). The players race to get rid of the cards from their "Nerts piles" (also kown as "Pounce piles", etc. - depending on what you call the game) by building them from the ace up onto common foundations.
Players and Cards
There can be two or more players. It is a very good two-player game, a fun game for three or four. With five people playing as individuals it begins to get out of hand but with an even number of players from six upwards you can play a partnership version; partners sit next to each other and share a pack.
Each player or team needs a standard 52-card pack - the cards ranking A(low) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K(high). Each deck must have a different back design. There is a variation in which two jokers are added to each deck.
Initial Setup
Each player deals a Nerts Pile (Pounce pile) of thirteen cards in one pile, twelve cards face down and the thirteenth face up on top. Next to this pile, each player deals four cards face-up, side by side and not overlapping, to begin four work piles. The remainder of each player's cards are held face-down as a stock; these cards will be turned three at a time onto a face up stack, forming the player's waste pile.
Players need to arrange themselves and their tableaus in a triangle, box, circle, etc. around a common area that all players can access easily. The common area is where the foundations will be placed and built on.
Players play simultaneously as fast as they like, not taking turns, moving cards around their own tableau according to the rules given below, and where possible building on the foundations in the common area. The players' main objective is to eliminate their Nerts piles, by playing cards from them onto their work piles or onto foundations. A player whose Nerts / Pounce pile is exhausted may call "Nerts!" (or "Pounce!"), at which point the game immediately ends. Cards which were in the air being moved from one point to another may complete their move, but no further play is allowed.
Players are only allowed to use one hand at a time to move cards, but may hold their stock in their other hand. Only one card at a time may be moved, except when moving a block of cards from one work pile to another. You can only move cards within your own tableau and into the common area. You cannot touch another player's tableau or take cards out of the common area.If two or more players try to play to the same foundation at the same time, the first played card (generally the one which ends up lowest in the heap) stays there, and all other players must return the equivalent cards they had just tried to play on that same foundation pile to their previous positions.
When someone calls "Nerts!" (or "Pounce!") play ends and scoring takes place. Each player (team) scores one point for each of their own cards that they managed to play into the common area. To determine this, the foundation piles have to be sorted out according to the owners of the cards - this is why it is necessary that the decks have different backs. All players except the one who called Nerts then subtract two points for every card left in their Nerts pile when play ended. Thus calling Nerts does not guarantee the highest score, but more often than not it does result in a good score.
If all players get so stuck that no card in their stock will play, play stops and the score is calculated as usual. In this case everyone will have to subtract two points for each card that is left in their Nerts pile.
Further deals are played until one or more player's scores reach or pass an agreed target score (usually 100). At this point the player with the highest score wins from each other player in proportion to the difference between their scores.
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