Lockpick Solitaire

 Happy Bonfire Night! To celebrate this most Graverobbers of holidays, here’s an in-world card game I’ve been working on. Like all card games in Lanton (you can get the rules to Pauper’s Crown as part of the starter adventure The Bell of Blackside, and I’m tinkering with a third game called Third Eye’s Folly) it uses a single suit of cards. I like the feeling playing with one suit gives you - the more predictable range gives the average player gets a taste of being a suave, card-counting gambler

(I’m also working on new rules for Graverobbers itself that supplant the standard mechanics of deck, dice and coins with just a suit of cards - it’s fun but I do think it loses something from the Bare Bones so will only ever be released as a variant rather than any kind of second edition. Characters from each version will work with the other, too.)

Anyway, the plan was to have a big update to A Pocket Guide to Smocklehythe out today, but I’ve had to shelve those plans for now. Still, if you download it now you’ll receive the current version of the rules with some lovely art and a nice character sheet, and you’ll get the full Guide as a free update when that does finally emerge.

(The last couple of posts on this blog are free adventures that go perfectly with the Smocklehythe rules, if you’re looking for a fun, seasonal one-shot heist!)

For now, though, here’s Lockpick Solitaire. I’ve caught myself playing a few hands now and then when i should be working, hope you enjoy.

Lockpick Solitaire

 

A game to while away the hours or practice one’s numbers. For one player with one suit of cards.

 

Cards are played directly from the top of the face-down deck into face up positions. First, the player plays two cards side by side in a “lock”. Then, the player must make a choice to “pick the lock” or move on.

 

To “pick the lock”, the player plays the next card in between the two played cards. If the value of the third card lies between those of the first two, the lock is picked and the player scores a point.

 

Alternatively, if the two cards played are subsequent in value, the lock is picked if the third card is either the next or previous in sequence.

 

To move on, the player continues by playing the next two cards to create a new lock.

 

Play ends when the player plays a card incorrectly, or when the entire suit is played without any locks having been successfully picked. If the entire suit is played and play has not yet ended, or if at any point there are not enough cards in the suit to continue play, played cards are collected and reshuffled and play continues.