Game Rules for sabai-sabai

Objective of the Game

The aim of the game is to have fun and collect as many victory points as possible.
At the end of each round, the player with the fewest card points receives one victory point.
Card points are calculated as the sum of the numbers on the cards.
No cards = 0 points. A joker has a value of −4 points (exception: see Ass Joker).

Game Setup

Each card set can be played by two to twelve people.
Each player receives four face-down cards, which must not be looked at, and places them in a row in front of them.
The remaining cards are placed face down in the middle as the draw pile.

How to Play

The game is played counterclockwise.
The player to the right of the person who dealt the cards starts.
On their turn, a player draws one card from the draw pile and looks at it.
After that, the player chooses between two options in order to keep their card points as low as possible:
• Play the card directly: The card is placed face up on the discard pile.
• Keep the card: The drawn card is exchanged for one of the player’s own face-down cards,
which is then placed face up on the discard pile.

Function Cards

Whoever plays a function card carries out its effect immediately:
• 11 peek: Look at one of your own face-down cards.
• 12 spy: Look at one face-down card of another person.
• 13 give: Give one of your own face-down cards to another person without them looking at it.
• 14 switch: Exchange one of your own face-down cards with a card from another person without looking at either card.

Ass Joker

The player who has the Ass Joker at the end of the round loses that round and has one victory point deducted.
Exception: However, anyone who finishes with all four jokers only
wins the round and is inducted into the
Hall of Fame!
The Ass Joker may neither be discarded directly nor exchanged for one of your own face-down cards.
If the Ass Joker is turned over unknowingly, the drawn card must be played.
The Ass Joker can only be:
• given away through the function of card 13 give,
• exchanged through the function of card 14 switch, or
• thrown onto another joker (“burned”) (see Throwing In).

Throwing In

A card identical to the last card played may always be placed on the discard pile,
even if it is not your turn.
Multiple identical cards may be placed at the same time.
The functions of function cards are carried out one after another and no one is skipped.
If a non-identical card is thrown in by mistake, it must be taken back and the player must draw one additional face-down card from the draw pile without looking at it (penalty card).
Another attempt is only allowed if someone else was able to throw in another identical card.

sabai-sabai Move

A player may throw in identical cards on behalf of other people,
as long as those people do not yet know their own cards or have forgotten them.
However, if the other person knows their card(s), they have the right of first refusal to throw them in themselves.
For each correctly thrown-in card, the player gives one of their own cards to the other person.
Penalty cards affect that player, and the functions of the function cards are carried out by them.

Ass Move

If a player has two 13 give or 14 switch cards,
they play the first card and slide the second one, together with its function, to another person.
From there, the player throws in the second card on behalf of the other person.
This allows the player to carry out the same function one more time and then give that person one of their cards.
Simplified way of playing: Other people’s cards may not be thrown in for them, only your own.

All Four Together

When all four identical cards are lying face up on top of each other,
everyone must touch their nose as quickly as possible.
The last person must draw one card from the draw pile without looking at it (penalty card).

End of the Round

A round ends in two cases:
• A player has discarded all their cards and all effects have been resolved.
That player has reached 0 card points.
• At any point during the game (even at the start), someone says sabai sabai and knocks twice on the table.
This announces the end of the round.
All players take one more turn, up to and including the player who last played.
All remaining face-down cards are revealed and card points are tallied.
Jokers can result in negative points!
The player who went first deals the cards for the next round.

End of the Game

The final round is played without the option of saying sabai sabai and ends when a player has discarded all their cards.
The player with the most victory points at the end of the game wins.

Have fun playing! ☺