Introduction

Marbles and Jokers is a North American race game for four, six or eight players,

using playing-cards to move marbles around a board. It is also sometimes known

as Jokers and Marbles. Some board designs use marbles instead of marbles as the

playing pieces in which case it may be called Marbles and Jokers or Jokers and

Marbles.

Marbles and Jokers is a partnership game played with standard playing-cards on

The players are divided into two teams - two against two, three against three or four

against four. They sit alternately - each player seated between two opponents.

Standard decks of cards are used, with two jokers in each deck. Three decks (162

cards including 6 jokers) may be enough for up to six players: eight players should

use four decks (216 cards including 8 jokers).

Four players use a four-sided board; six players use a six-sided board; eight players

use an eight-sided board - one side for each player, each associated with a different

color. Each player has five marbles in the color that corresponds to the side of the

board nearest to them. Each side of the board has a straight section of track 18 units

marbles end their journey. The diagram below shows one side of the board.

Basic Game

Deal and play of cards

Seven cards are dealt to each player, and the remaining cards are stacked face down.

As usual players hold their cards so that they can see their faces but no one else can.

Played cards form a face up pile on the table. Players take turns in clockwise order.

At your turn you do the following:

If you have any card (except a joker) that allows you to move a marble, you must

play such a card, even if the move is disadvantageous. However, if you have no cards

(except jokers) that enable you to move you may discard one card of your choice

without moving and draw a card to replace it. This ends your turn. Discarding

without moving normally happens only at the start of the game, when a player has

no aces or pictures to move any marble out of the start area.

A player is never forced to play a joker: if you have no other move you may keep the

own "in-spot" a marble may take the branch into its safe "home" track. No marble

may ever move into any start or home area other than its own.

In the basic game, except in special circumstances described below, you may only

move your own marbles.

You may never land on or pass over a hole occupied by one of your own marbles,

but you may pass over or land on other player's marbles. Passing over a marble of a

different color has no effect on it, but landing exactly in the hole occupied by a

immediately moved to its "in-spot", provided the partner does not already

have a marble there. It is illegal to land on your partner's marble if that

partner already has a marble on his or her own in-spot.

Movement of marbles - effects of individual cards

In order to move your marble out of your start area, you must play a double, jack,

queen, king, ace (to move it to its "come out" hole) or a joker (to move it to the hole

occupied by a marble of a different color anywhere on the main track).

When playing a jack (11), queen (12) or king (13) you may either move one of

your marbles from your start area to your "come out" hole, or move one of your

marbles forward 10 holes.

When playing an 8, you must move one of your marbles backwards 8 holes.

When playing a 7, you may either move one of your marbles forward 7 holes,

or split the 7 between two of your marbles, moving them 1 and 6, 2 and 5 or 3 and 4

holes forwards. Of course the split move can only be made if you have at least two

marbles in play.

track a joker cannot be played.

You must always use the full value of the card played.

Endgame

For a team to win the game, all its marbles must be in their respective home areas.

Marbles move along the home tracks in the usual way. Since they cannot land on or

their home areas are not allowed to move backwards.

However, it is legal to use a backward move on the main track as a means to get

from start to home. For example: you could use a picture to move from the start area

to "come-out"; use an 8 to move back 8 spaces to the corner (NOT into the home

track); use a 4, 5, 6 or 7 to move forward into your home track.

When, and only when, all five of your marbles are in the home (safe) position,

occupying the five holes of your home track, you use your turn to move the marbles

of any of your partners.