Why I Create Games (Introducing STACKED!)

I’ve always loved games.

Not video games. While they have their place, I prefer board games. Card games. And dice games. Even role-playing games.

Games are not only fun to play, they’re also great creativity exercises. Playing games allows us to develop practical skills that we can use in other areas of life. Creating games is even better.

Because I enjoy playing games, I also enjoy creating games. Doing so allows me to exercise my creative writing muscles in new ways.

Over the years, I’ve created many different types of games. I’ve taken none of them to market. That wasn’t why I created them. It was mostly out of personal enjoyment, which was the same reason I started writing fiction and poetry many years ago. Some games I’ve created over the years include:

• A 4-player variation of chess
• A mischievous game of competition centered around a garden-gnome theme
• A role-playing game system
• And a few different card games (including a solitaire-type game where the player simulates a baseball game)

My latest? A card game called STACKED!

STACKED!: What It Is and How to Play It

STACKED! is a simple-but-competitive card game for 4 players. The objective is to be the first player to complete a full suit stack of cards from Ace through King, in sequence.

Game Components:

Here’s what you need to play:

• 3 standard 52-card decks (no jokers)
• 4 players (I’m working on a 2-player version)
• Shared face-up discard pile
• Each player starts with 10 cards

Game Start:

Deal each player 10 cards and put the deck in the middle of the table for all players to reach. Flip the top card face up to start the discard pile.

Play Sequence:

1. Draw Phase (Start of Turn)

At the start of your turn, draw at least 1 card.

• If your hand has fewer than 5 cards, draw from the deck until you have 7.
• If your hand has 5 or more cards, draw 1 card (either from the deck or the discard pile).

NOTE: If you have fewer than 5 cards, you MUST draw from the deck until you have 7 cards. You may not draw from the discard pile. And you can only draw from the discard pile if you can play that card on this turn.

2. Play Phase

During this phase, you may:

• Play as many cards as will play on your active stack, in sequence and by suit.
• OR block one opponent by playing the next sequential card of their stack’s suit sideways on their stack. (If you block, you may not play on your stack that turn.)

3. Discard Phase

• Discard 1 card face up to the discard pile.
• You may not end your turn with more than 10 cards in hand.

Example:

On your first turn, you draw a 2 of Spades from the deck. You already have an A of Spades and a 3 of Spades. You start a stack of spades by placing the A of Spades on the table in front of you. Then you play the 2 of Spades on top of it and the 3 of Spades on top of that. You discard the 5 of Hearts. That leaves you with 7 cards (10 + 1 - 3 you played and - 1 you discarded).

Stacking Rules

Each player may only have one active stack at a time. If your stack is blocked, you may either:

• Play the next two cards in sequence to unblock it, or
• Start a new stack of a different suit.

Once you start a new stack, it becomes your active stack and must be played until:

• It is blocked,
• It is completed and you win the game, or
• The game ends because another player won.

You may unblock any of your stacks at any time, but you may never have more than one active stack.

Example:

On Sue’s first turn, she draws an A of Diamonds. She has in her hand a 4 of Spades. Instead of playing her A of Diamonds to start a stack, she puts her 4 of Spades sideways on your stack and blocks you.

When it’s your turn again, you draw a 4 of Spades. You cannot play that 4 of Spades until you have a 5 of Spades to go with it. Then, you can play both the 4 of Spades and 5 of Spades on your Spades stack to unblock it. However, you currently have an A of Clubs. Instead of unblocking your Spades stack, you start a new stack by playing the A of Clubs next to your Spades stack. That now becomes your new active stack, and the Spades stack becomes inactive.

In this scenario, you must continue playing on the Clubs stack until it is blocked or you win the game. If it is blocked, you can start a new stack (Hearts or Diamonds) or choose to unblock your Spades or Clubs stack. That stack then becomes your new active stack.

Stack Limit

If you want to start a new stack with a suit and already have a stack of that suit on the table, you must kill the first stack before starting the new stack.

Example:

Let’s say, after a few hands into the game, that you have an active Clubs stack and an inactive Spades stack. Sue blocks your Clubs stack. You decide to start a new Clubs stack. You can’t do that unless you kill the old Clubs stack. You take that stack and move it to the side, taking it out of the game. All of the cards in that stack (A through 7) are now out of play. But you start a new Clubs stack with the A of Clubs to replace the one you’ve killed.

Why would you do this?

Stack killing can become a strategic part of play. Since there are only 3 decks, there can only be 3 stacks of any suit (either active or inactive) at any time. If you have a stack of Clubs (blocked) and Sue has a stack of Clubs, if you kill one and start another one, no one else can have a stack of Clubs, which could limit their options.

Fiendish Strategy: Another way you can use that to your advantage is to start a new suit stack to effectively block another player from playing on their active stack. For instance, you and Sue both have a stack of Hearts. Yours is blocked at the 10 of Hearts. Hers is blocked at the 3 of Hearts. In your hand, you hold an A, 2, and 3 of Hearts. You kill your blocked Hearts stack and play the A, 2, and 3 of Hearts from your hand. Since Sue needs a 3 of Hearts to unblock her Hearts stack, she can’t do it (because you’ve got a 3 of Hearts on the table, one is blocking her stack, and one is out of play). You’ve effectively forced her to start a new stack.

Stealth Win:

Remember, if you have a blocked stack, you must play two cards to unblock it. But what happens if you have a Queen on the top of a stack and it is blocked (another player plays a King on top of it)? There is only one card that plays in that scenario (the King of the same suit). If that happens, you can claim a stealth win by playing the King immediately when you get it into your hand (no need to play two cards to unblock your stack).

Reshuffling the Deck

If the deck gets down to no cards, reshuffle the discard pile and any killed stacks that are now out of play. Start a new draw deck. Be sure to turn the top card face up to start a new discard pile.

Winning the Game

The first player to complete an Ace-to-King stack of any suit wins the game.

Would You Like to Play STACKED!?

How about it? Would you like to play STACKED!? It’s an open-source game. Go ahead and get with three friends, grab yourself three decks of cards, and play the game. Let me know how it turns out.

I’m Allen Taylor. Learn more about me and my books at my author website.

Disclaimer: I have not playtested this, but I did run the game mechanics by ChatGPT, which says it all checks out and looks like it would be “fun as hell” to play.

Image created by Whisk.

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