Equipment
You need a deck of playing cards, a score pad, and a pencil.
How to Begin
First, determine which player will be Red, and which will be Black. Each player "owns" one color of cards. There is no difference between the two colors. Next, shuffle the deck and deal a hand of five cards to each player. Turns will be simultaneous, so there is no need to determine who goes first.
On Each Turn
Both players choose one card from their hand and play it face down. After both cards are played, turn them over to reveal each player's action for the turn. After all actions have been resolved, both players draw a card.
Card Functions
Each card has a unique function, described below. Although they are played at the same time, cards always take effect from lowest to highest. Deuces are low, and Kings are high. (Aces are played differently, as explained later). If both cards are the same rank, then suit determines the order. Clubs are first, followed by Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades (alphabetical order).
Magic Tricks, 10–K
Tens and face cards are Magic Tricks. When you play a Magic Trick, it means you are practicing it for your next performance. If you play your opponent's color, he practices that trick. When you play a Magic Trick in your color, put it in your "Practice" pile, which is a set of cards face up on the table in front of you, spread out so that every card in the pile is visible. If you play a Magic Trick in your opponent's color, you put that card in your opponent's Practice pile.
Point Values and Times
A perfect show is 15 minutes long. Face cards add 5 minutes to your show. Jacks are worth 2 points, Queens are worth 4 points, and Kings are worth 6 points. Tens add 10 minutes to your show, and are worth 10 points.
Showtimes, 7:00pm and 9:00pm
Sevens and Nines are Showtimes. When you play a Showtime in your own color, you will perform your act, which means you discard your Practice pile and convert it into points. If you play a Showtime in your opponent's color, they perform their act. Obviously, you want to convert your own Practice pile when it is worth maximum points, and convert your opponent's pile when it is worthless. The exact scoring of the Practice pile is described later. After you perform, all the cards from your Practice pile and the Showtime card go into the discard pile.
Dinner Buffet, 8:00pm
Eights are Dinner Buffet cards. When you play an Eight in your color, you may perform (i.e., discard) one of the Magic Tricks in your Practice pile for half its value. For example, if you use an Eight to convert a King, you would score 3 points. You don't have to use your Dinner Buffet. You might play an Eight and then, seeing what your opponent has played, decide to ignore the buffet. Whether you use it or not, the Eight is discarded. If you play an opponent's Eight, he may convert one of his Magic Tricks or he may ignore it. You can't force your opponent to perform at the Dinner Buffet.
Rehearsal, 6:00pm
Sixes are Rehearsal cards. You can "rehearse" your act before performing it and double its final value. When you play a Six in your color, you add it to your Practice pile. If you play a Six in your opponent's color, it goes into his Practice pile. If you have two Sixes in your Practice pile, your show will be worth quadruple points!
Afternoon Nap, 5:00pm
Fives are "Afternoon Nap" cards.When you play a Five of any color, you will swap hands with your opponent. Discard the Five after you swap hands.
Mistakes, 2 through 4
Twos through Fours are Mistakes. These are a little like Magic Tricks but they are worth negative points. If you play a Mistake of your own color it will go into your Practice pile. If you play a Mistake of your opponent's color, it will go into his Practice pile. Mistakes don't always hurt you: if you perform a show composed entirely of Mistakes, it's called a "Comedy Act" and is worth nothing—which is better than negative points!
How to Score Your Shows
Now that we've described all the possible contents of a Practice pile (Magic Tricks, Rehearsals, and Mistakes) here is how to score the show.
First, evaluate the Magic Tricks by the length of the show. The perfect show is 15 minutes long. Face Cards add 5 minutes each and Tens add 10 minutes. If your show is the perfect length, you will score full value for all your Magic Tricks. If you run long or short by 5 minutes, you must cut the value of your biggest Trick (or one of your biggest Tricks, if you have two big Tricks of the same size) by half. If you run short or long by 10 minutes, you must cut all your Tricks by half. If you run 30 minutes or longer, you get no points at all for your Magic Tricks. However, if you run 0 minutes (you have no Magic Tricks at all) you are doing a Comedy Show, which is scored differently.
Second, subtract the values of your Mistakes. Twos are worth –2, Threes are worth –3, and Fours are worth –4. Mistakes do not add time to your act, and you always score full value for these cards unless you are doing a Comedy Show. Mistakes can easily result in a negative value for your show.
Last, apply the Rehearsal cards. If you have a Six in your Practice pile, double the value. If you have two Sixes, you double it twice.
Comedy Show
If your act has no Magic Tricks in it, it is always worth exactly 0 points. This is true regardless of the number of Mistakes and Rehearsals in your pile.
An Example of Scoring a Show
A Practice Pile has the following cards in it: King, King, Ten, Six, Four, Three, Two. The Show is 5 minutes too long (5 + 5 + 10 = 20), so the highest Magic Trick, the Ten, will be worth only half value. The base value of the show is therefore 6 + 6 + 5, or 17 points. The Mistakes are worth 4 + 3 + 2, or 9. These are deducted from 17, leaving 8 points. Finally, the show is doubled, making for a final value of 16 points.
Stop Cards, the Aces
Aces are not played like other cards. They are not color-specific and they always work for the player who uses them. You can play an Ace from your hand to cancel the effect of any other card immediately before it is resolved. In other words, once the cards are revealed, and just before executing a particular card, either player may use an Ace to stop that card from happening. When you play the Ace, you pick up the card you canceled and put it in your hand. You also discard the Ace. You cannot use one Ace to cancel another.
An Example of Playing an Ace
Red has played a Red Five, and Black has played a Red Ten. Black holds an Ace. Before the Five swaps both players' hands, Black has the opportunity to play his Ace, but he chooses not to. The Five is discarded, and the players swap hands. Now Red holds the Ace, and he can play it to cancel the Red Ten. He discards the Ace, and puts the Red Ten into his hand. (Red has canceled the Ten because it would have made his act too long. He plans to use the Ten in his next act.)
Ending the Turn
At the end of the turn, each player draws one card.Once there are no more cards to draw, players still continue to play cards until their hands are empty, or until one player can no longer play cards because he holds nothing but Aces.
Ending the Game
The game ends when both players' hands are empty, or when one player holds nothing but Aces. At this point, each player gets one "Farewell Show" in which he scores the cards remaining in his Practice pile. The Farewell Show is not optional: you can lose a lot of points in this show if you're not careful. After the farewell show, the player with the most points wins.