Game Objective

Go out first. Hope your partner goes out next.

Bacon is a fixed-partnerships climbing game that is all about going out early as a team. The only team that will score is the team that goes out first, but their score will depend on when the rest of the team goes out. If your team does NOT go out first, your job is simple: make the other team go out as late as possible. (The rules for 4 players are presented first).

Gameplay

Partners should sit across the table from one another, with one opponent on their left and the other opponent on their right.

A game of Bacon is played over several deals. For the first deal, select one of the players to be the dealer. Each player gets random 15 cards and 2 wild cards.

Each deal is played over a number of rounds. For the first deal, the player to the dealer’s left leads to start the first round by playing an opening card combination. This opening combination begins the card pile for the round; all subsequent combinations are played on top of this pile.

After leading a combination, play proceeds clockwise with each player having the option to play a higher-ranking combination or pass. Note that a player with a higher combination can choose to pass instead of playing it. A player without a higher combination must pass.

To be higher-ranking, the new combination must be of the exact same type, have the exact same number of cards, and have higher-ranking cards. So if a single card is led, only a higher single can be played; if a pair is led, only a higher pair can be played; a straight can only be beaten by a higher straight; and so on.

Bombs are the only exception to this rule. A bomb can be played, in turn order, to beat any combination except a bomb of the same or higher rank. After a bomb has been played, it may only be beaten by a higher-ranked bomb of the same type OR any bomb of a higher type (e.g., any Straight Flush beats a Quad). Bombs CAN be led.

Players continue in this manner, playing successively higher combinations of the same size and type or passing until a combination is played and all other players pass in succession. This ends the round.

A player goes out when they have played their last card. A round ends as soon as all players but one have passed in succession or all players on one team have gone out. A player that passes may still play a combination later in that same round.

When the round ends, whoever played the highest combination is the round winner. The card pile is cleared away and the round winner can EITHER lead to start the next round OR they can give the lead to their partner by saying “Partner, you lead.”.

If the round winner went out, they can give the lead to their partner or they can let the person to their left lead.

Ordinary Combinations

There are ten (10) types of ordinary combinations to play.

- Singles: One card played by itself

- Pairs: Two cards of the same rank

- Triples: Three cards of the same rank

- Runs: Three cards of consecutive rank

- Bobtails: Four cards of consecutive rank

- Straights: Five cards of consecutive rank

- Stretches: Six cards of consecutive rank

- Stairs: Two pairs of consecutive rank

- Tubes: Three pairs of consecutive rank

- Plates: Two triples of consecutive rank

Bombs

Bombs are a special type of combination. There are five types of bombs. In order, from lowest to highest they are…

1. Quads: Four cards of the same rank

2. Straight Flushes: Five cards of consecutive rank and all cards are in the same suit

3. Quints: Five cards of the same rank

4. Stretch Flushes: Six cards of consecutive rank and all cards are in the same suit

5. Hexes: Six cards of the same rank

Wild Cards

The Xs can be used as wild cards to represent any card from 1 to X (highest natural rank + 1) in any suit. Wild cards can be used to form ordinary combinations AND wild cards can be used to form bombs!

The person playing a combination should always name what the combination is meant to be.

ENDING THE ROUND

When all players on one team have gone out, the round and the deal are over. The round and the deal end as soon as the remaining partner plays their last card.

Score

The first player who runs out of cards wins the deal on behalf of their team. Play continues until the other member of the winning team also runs out of cards. If the second member of the winning team finishes second, it is a 1-2 win; if third, it is a 1-3 win; if fourth, it is a 1-4 win.

- A team that wins 1-2 scores 4 points;

- A team that wins 1-3 scores 2 points;

- A team that wins 1-4 scores 1 point.

CONTINUING PLAY

After all the scoring has been recorded, another deal begins and new hands are dealt.

The new dealer is the next player on the team with the most points in turn order from the previous dealer; if there is a tie, the new dealer is chosen, as described, from the team of the player that went out first.

The player to the left of the dealer leads.

Win

Play to 8 points or 8 deals (whichever happens first).

As soon as one team reaches the target score, that team wins immediately. You do not need to finish playing the hand.

If the final deal has been reached, and a team that is ahead–or tied–goes out first, that team wins immediately. You do not need to finish playing the hand.

If, after the final deal, there is a tie, play one additional deal until one player on one team goes out first. That team immediately wins.

Variant

SIX PLAYERS

APPLEWOOD

CHUNKY BACON