Cucumber (Card Game) - Quick Rules

Overview

• Players: 2 or more.
• Deck: Standard 52-card deck (no Jokers).
• Card Rank: Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, 10 down to 2 (low).
• Objective: Do not win the very last trick of a round.

Gameplay

Each player is dealt seven cards (fewer if more than seven players are participating). Play proceeds clockwise.

1. Playing a Trick: The lead player plays any card face up.
2. Following Play: Subsequent players must either:
   • Play a card of equal or higher value than the current highest card in the trick (suit does not matter).
   • Or, if they cannot or do not want to beat the high card, they must play their lowest card in hand.
3. Winning a Trick: The player who played the highest card wins the trick and leads the next one.
   • Ties: If there is a tie for the highest card, the person who played the card last wins the trick.

Round End & Scoring

The first six tricks are used to manage your hand for the final seventh trick.

• The player who wins the last (seventh) trick scores penalty points.
• Penalty points equal the value of the winning card (Ace = 14, King = 13, Queen = 12, Jack = 11, numeric cards at face value).
• Players are eliminated ("become a cucumber") once their total score exceeds 30 points.

Special Rules

• If a player leads with an Ace, every other player must play their lowest card regardless of their hand's power.