CrossCards is a unique combination of two very familiar games — Scrabble™ and Poker — so it's quite easy to learn.
Getting Started
Use the "Choose Players" item in the File menu to select any combination of human or computer players. Choose a skill level for each computer player, ranging from 0 (novice) up to 9 (expert). When you click on the New Game button, CrossCards will select a random set of cards for each player and begin a new game. The starting player is also chosen at random.
Each player has a rack containing up to 8 cards. Every card has a certain value (with Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13 and Ace = 14). Jokers only have a value of 0 but can represent any other card. Players take turns to place up to 5 cards on the board to make one or more Poker hands:
- 2, 3, 4 or 5 cards with the same value.
- Two pairs.
- Full house (pair plus triple, or triple plus pair).
- Flush (5 cards in one suit).
- Straight (5 cards in increasing or decreasing order).
A computer player is indicated by a digit at the end of their name (their skill level). If the "Tell Computer to Move" option is ticked then a computer player will only make a move after you click on the MOVE button or hit the enter key.
If you are the current player then move your cards one at a time from the rack to the board by clicking and dragging with the mouse (see the Helpful Hints topic for how to move many cards at once). As cards are added to the board, CrossCards calculates and shows the potential score. "?" is displayed if the move is illegal.
Legal moves are made by placing cards on the board in a horizontal or vertical line with no intervening empty squares. The very first move must cover the indicated starting square. For all other moves, at least one card must be placed next to a card from a previous move. When you have finished, click on the DONE button or hit the enter key. At that point you will be asked to specify a card for each joker used.
CrossCards will warn you if you attempt to make an illegal move. Note that you can select "Return to Rack" from the Cards menu to return all cards to your rack (or just hit the return key).
Scoring
CrossCards automatically calculates each player's score, so you only need to know the following information if you are learning the game and want to know how to make high-scoring moves.
• The score for a move is the sum of all card values in each hand formed or modified by the move, plus extra points resulting from any cards placed on multiplier squares:
n BY CARD = n times the card value.
n BY HAND = n times the sum of all cards in that hand.
Card multiplication is done before hand multiplication.
Once covered, a multiplier square has no effect on future moves.
• If two or more hands are formed in the same move then each hand score is added up. The common card is counted (along with any multiplication) in the score for each hand.
• If 5 cards are used then bonus points are added to the score.
Bonus Points:
Royal flush 100 (A,K,Q,J,10 in one suit)
Straight flush 70 (any 5-card sequence in one suit)
Five of a kind 50 (all 5 cards with same value)
Straight 40 (5-card sequence)
Flush 30 ( all 5 cards in one suit)
Full house 20 (2 of a kind plus 3 of a kind)
• At the end of a game, each player's score is reduced by the total value of any cards left in their rack. If a player empties their rack to finish the game then their score is increased by the total value of cards left in ALL other racks.
Replacing cards
If you cannot make a hand (or if you prefer not to make one) then you can replace one or more cards, but only if there are 8 or more cards remaining. The score for such a move is 0.
To throw back ALL your cards, select "Throw All Back" from the Cards menu. This also ends your move.
If you only want to throw back a few cards then simply drop them in the "Cards remaining" box — it will show the cards to be replaced. If you change your mind, just click in the box to put the last card back in your rack. Click on the DONE button when you have finished.
Passing
If you cannot make a hand and there aren't enough cards left to throw any back then you will have to pass. Simply click on the DONE button or hit the enter key. The score for a pass is 0.
The end of the game
Play continues until there are no cards left and one player has used all of their cards, or until all players have passed. The winner is the player (or players) with the highest total score.
A more complete set of rules and valuable shortcuts are available in the game itself under the "HELP" menu.
