Dalrymple: Cursed Diamonds

Rules overview

Dalrymple: Cursed Diamonds

A Scottish Trick-Taking Game

Score the most points across a series of trick-taking rounds. The revealing of the Nine of Diamonds from the center Tableau triggers the final round, where every captured Diamond costs you points as the blood price of Glencoe.

Game Constants

Card Ranking

Cards rank from Ace high to 2 low across all suits.

Trick Priority

• The highest card of the Trump suit wins the trick.
• If no Trump is played, the highest card of the Led Suit wins the trick.
• Cards of any other suit cannot win the trick.

Setup

• Extract the Curse: Remove the Nine of Diamonds from the deck and set it aside face-down.
• Build the Tableau (9 cards): Deal 8 cards face-down in a stack in the center of the table. Take 4 of those 8 cards at random and shuffle them face-down with the Nine of Diamonds. Place the remaining 4 unshuffled cards on top of that 5-card shuffled stack. The Nine of Diamonds is therefore hidden within the bottom 5 positions.
• Deal Hands: Shuffle the remaining cards thoroughly. Deal them face-down one at a time to each player in order until the deck cannot complete another full round of dealing. All players receive an equal number of cards.
• Create the Offering Pool: Place any un-dealt excess cards (one to four cards, depending on player count and deck size) face-up in the center of the table.
• Determine the First Dealer: Select a dealer by mutual agreement. Deal passes to the left after each round.

Round Structure

Step A — The Flip

The player to the right of the dealer flips the top card of the Tableau face-up beside the stack.

• Non-Nine of Diamonds: The card’s suit establishes Trump for the round. It remains visible as a reference and is not in play.
• Nine of Diamonds: The Massacre has fallen. The Curse Round begins immediately.

Step B — The Offering (Catch-Up Draft)

If face-up Offering cards remain from the deal, players draft in cumulative-score order, beginning with the player in last place and moving upward. Each trailing player chooses one option:

• Swap: Take one Offering card into hand, then discard one card from hand face-down into the out-of-play Burn Pile.
• Pass: Take one Offering card and place it directly face-down into the Burn Pile.

The player in first place never receives a swap or pass option. Discard any Offering cards still remaining face-down into the Burn Pile. When players are tied—including during Round 1—priority starts with the tied player furthest to the dealer’s right and proceeds counter-clockwise. The player closest to the dealer’s left among those tied for first does not receive an option.

Step C — Playing Tricks

• First lead: The player to the left of the dealer leads the first trick.
• Breaking Trump: A player may not lead Trump until Trump has been played on an earlier trick via a void, unless that player’s hand consists entirely of Trump cards.
• Following suit: Players must follow the led suit when able.
• Voiding and sluffing: A player who is void in the led suit may play any card, including Trump, and is never forced to trump.
• Winning and next lead: Resolve each trick using the Game Constants. The winner collects the cards and leads the next trick.

Step D — Standard Scoring

At the end of each non-Curse round, score +1 point for every captured Diamond in won tricks. Tricks containing no Diamonds score no points.

Step E — Round Reset & Growing Deck

• Collect all played cards, unrevealed excess burn cards, and the Flip Card used that round.
• Reshuffle them together to form the main deal pool for the next round. Adding each used Flip Card naturally increases hand sizes.
• Leave the center Tableau untouched.
• Deal fresh hands evenly for the next round. Deal passes to the left.

The Curse Round (The Finale)

When the Nine of Diamonds is flipped, Sir John Dalrymple’s orders have arrived. This final round changes the scoring entirely.

• No Trump: No Trump suit exists; all suits are plain cards.
• No positive points: Standard Diamond scoring is disabled.
• Must follow and sluffing: Standard must-follow rules apply. If void, a player may play any card freely, including dangerous Diamonds.
• The Blood Price: Every Diamond captured in a won trick costs −3 points .

End of Game & Victory

The game ends immediately after the Curse Round. The player with the highest cumulative score wins; scores may be positive, zero, or negative. If players are tied for the high score, the tied player who captured the fewest Diamonds during the Curse Round wins. If still tied, victory is shared.

Frequently asked questions

Questions and clarifications