Published card games
Papayoo
Collect as few points as possible: here, everything you take costs you.
- players
- 3–8
- minutes
- 30
You’ll need the game box. Marquoir sums up the rules and keeps score.
Setup
- Three to eight players. A 60-card deck: four classic suits from 1 to 10, plus twenty payoos numbered 1 to 20.
- All the cards are dealt out equally; a few low cards are removed when the count does not divide evenly.
- A suit is drawn at random each round: its 7 becomes the papayoo.
How to play
- Each player passes an agreed number of cards to their neighbour, before looking at the ones they receive.
- Tricks are then played, following the suit led when you can.
- Payoos form a fifth suit: you can only play them when you cannot follow the suit led, or when a payoo was led.
- The trick goes to the highest card of the suit led.
Scoring
- Each payoo taken costs its value, from 1 to 20: that makes 210 points in play.
- The papayoo, that is the 7 of the suit drawn at random, costs 40.
- The other cards cost nothing.
- A round therefore hands out 250 penalty points.
End of the game
- Play the agreed number of rounds, often five, or until a player passes a threshold set in advance.
- The lowest total wins.
House rules and pitfalls
- The papayoo changes suit every round: the card that costs forty points is never the same twice in a row.
- A payoo cannot be led while you hold the suit led — otherwise getting rid of them would be too easy.
Frequently asked questions
What is the goal?
Avoid collecting penalty points: it is an avoidance game where the lowest total wins, like Hearts.
Which cards cost points?
All cards of the "payoo" suit cost their face value in penalties, and the Papayoo (the 7 of the special suit) alone is worth 40 points. The other cards cost nothing.
How does a round go?
A simple trick-taking game: follow the suit led, the highest card wins, and the trick winner takes it — and so collects the penalties it contains.
Do you have to follow suit?
Yes. Without the suit led, discard whatever you like: a chance to pass your payoo cards to someone else.
How does the game end?
Penalties add up over several rounds, up to an agreed total. The player with the lowest score wins.
The box
- Released
- 2010
- Age
- Ages 7+
- Artwork
- Agence Bravo
- Publisher
- Gigamic
- Mechanics
- Plis
- Contents
- 60 cartes : 4 couleurs de 1 à 10 et 20 Payoo
- 1 dé
Where to find it
Specialist French shops. Marquoir earns nothing from these links.