Ben Cheung

GAME CONCEPT

Tricks of the Trade adds a unique twist to the classic concept of a Trick taking game through negotiation and trading. True to its name, players negotiate and exchange cards with each other to try to find an advantage before the Tricks Phase of the game. The unique Tech Deck game effects on cards give players different asymmetric 1-time use abilities through the game making every game fresh and exciting.

GAME SETUP

The following diagram shows the steps in Game Setup:

GOAL CARDS - Take out the value-1 cards (Aces) of Each Suit from the deck. These are goal cards. Deal a goal card face-up to each player. The Goal card of a player is considered to be player controlled. Expel (remove from the game) the Wild Cards.
TRUMP DECK - Take out the value-2 cards of each domain to form a Trump domain deck. Shuffle.
DRAW CARDS - Shuffle the rest of the cards including unused goal cards to form the draw deck. Shuffle set to the side of the play area.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE GAME PLAY OVERVIEW

Tricks of the Trade is played in 3 rounds. Each game round has the following phases:

DRAW CARDS PHASE - At the start of each round, deal 10 cards to each player from the draw deck.
TRUMP DOMAIN PHASE Reveal the top card of the Trump Domain deck to be the Trump domain for this round. If the Trump domain card is exchanged during game play, the domain of the new card is the Trump domain this round.
TRADING PHASE - Going around the table starting with the player whose goal card matches the Trump domain card, each player may perform one trade with one other player. If there is no goal card match use the Domain rank (knowledge, science, technology, service). In a 2-player game, you may also trade with the top card of the deck or the revealed Trump card. Players may trade up to two cards during one trade. You may only trade one card with the deck or the Trump card and are those trades are automatically accepted. Players must mutually agree on what to exchange. Player trades are binding once agreed upon. Exchanges may include cards that are not revealed to anyone, it is a face-down card that is part of a trade. Players must trade truthfully based on what is negotiated and promised to be traded. Players are allowed to fish for information. The trading time for any individual player has a 5-minute time limit.
BIDDING PHASE - Each player simultaneously makes a secret bid for the number of tricks they think they will take this game round. Then, the bids from all players are revealed simultaneously. The person who made the highest bid is the first player.
GAME EFFECTS PHASE - Starting with first player, game effects from one card (in hand) can be played before the Tricks Phase. Card effects can only draw from the draw deck and discard. You may not draw from the Trump deck or interact with the Trump discard pile via game effects. However, the trump deck card is considered a neutral card and can be affected by game effects. Game effects may change, copy or affect the Trump card of the round.
TRICKS PHASE - The Tricks phase in each round has 6 hands of play for a total of 6 tricks to be won. The first player leads with any card. Then, subsequent players must follow with a card that matches the domain (suit) of the led card. Otherwise, they may play any card from their hand. The person who played the highest value card of the led domain wins the trick. A value 1 card (Ace) counts as value 1. A value 13 card (King) counts as value 13. A trump domain card has a higher worth than other non-trump cards played. If more than one trump domain card is played, the highest value trump card wins the trick. The player who won the trick will lead the next trick.
SCORING PHASE - A player scores 1 base point per trick they win. A player winning at least their bid scores +1 point. A player exactly making their bid scores +3 points. A player scores +1 point for every trick that has a card matching the domain of their goal card. A player who wins all 6 or none of the tricks in the round scores +2 points.
END OF ROUND CLEANUP - Reset the Trump Domain deck and expel (remove from the game) the value-2 card matching the domain that was trump in this past round. Then, shuffle the remaining cards in the Trump Domain deck. Gather all the remaining non-goal cards. Shuffle those to form a new draw deck. Note: Players keep their individual Goal card dealt to them at the start of the game.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE TRADING EXAMPLE

TRICKS OF THE TRADE TRADING EXAMPLE

NEGOTIATION Player #1 and Player #2 strike a deal. Player #1 says "I am looking for a Service domain (suit) card." Player #2 says "I have a 4-value card but that's the trump domain so it should be worth a little more". Player #1 says "ok, understood, I have 7 of Technology I can trade; and I'll throw in an extra blind (face down) card since Service is current trump domain". Cards promised from hand are not revealed until the actual exchange, however players must truthfully negotiate. You may NOT lie about the card in your hand. You ARE allowed to fish for information.
COMMITMENT Player #1 solicits commitment. "Do we agree to this trade?" Player #2 agrees. Once an agreement is reached, the trade is binding.
CARDS EXCHANGE The promised cards from the trade are exchanged.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE TRICKS PHASE EXAMPLE

TRICKS OF THE TRADE TRICKS PHASE EXAMPLE

LEADING LEADING: The Tricks phase in each round has 6 hands of play for a total of 6 tricks to be won. Player #1 bid 3, so she is the first player. She leads with any card and chooses the 7-Technology.
FOLLOWING FOLLOWING: Subsequent players must play a Technology domain (suit) card to match the domain of the led card. Since neither have any, they decide to play a Service domain card instead. So, Player #2 plays the 4-Service. Player #3 plays the 10-Service.
WINNING THE TRICK WINNING THE TRICK: The Service domain is the trump domain card in this round. So, the 4 and 10 have a higher worth than other non-trump cards. Because more than one trump domain card was played, the highest value trump card wins the trick. So, Player #3 will win the trick. Player #3 will lead the next trick since she won the current trick.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE SCORING EXAMPLE

TRICKS OF THE TRADE SCORING EXAMPLE

SCORING RULES A player scores 1 base point per trick they win. A player winning at least their bid scores +1 point. A player exactly making their bid scores +3 points. A player scores +1 point for every trick that has a card matching the domain of their goal card. A player who wins all 6 or none of the tricks in the round scores +2 points.
SCORING Player #1 has won two out of the 6 tricks in a 3-player game. She bid that 2 indicating that she think she would take 2 tricks out of the 6. Her bid was spot on. She scores 2 base points, 1 per trick taken. She gets a bonus point because she won at least her bid in number of tricks won. She gets an additional 3 bonus points for making her bid exactly. Finally, she gets 2 more bonus points because she won 2 tricks containing a card with a domain matching her goal card's domain.

DOWNLOAD THE RULES

Tricks of the Trade Full Rules: Tricks of the Trade Rules Full
Tricks of the Trade Compact Rules: Tricks of the Trade Rules Compact

INTRODUCTION VIDEO

Watch a video on the introduction of Tricks of the Trade. The introduction video describes the basic concepts, objectives and an introduction to the Tech Deck.

PLAY GUIDE VIDEO

Watch a play guide video for Tricks of the Trade. The play guide video is an in depth video on how to setup the game, and all the steps involved in playing the game.

ENTRY ON BOARD GAME GEEK

You can read and explore the BoardGameGeek entry for Tricks of the Trade.

PUBLICATION INFORMATION
· Published: July 6, 2023
· Format: Card Game
· Elements: 54 Cards
· Size: 3.75" x 2.8751" x .875"

ORDERING TRICKS OF THE TRADE
· To purchase the Tech Deck: Contact Me