*Suitable for 3-6 players with a standard deck of playing cards. No experience with Poker required* > [!note] Changes > - Using poker terminology is completely optional. Describe your hand however you want as long as the tourist understands what you're describing. > - "Truth be told" can be said by a stranger to make communication less confusing. If they left the oven on, they can say this phrase first to guarantee that the next thing they say is the truth no matter what role they are. This cannot be used for the actual gameplay though, such as commenting on what another player has in their hand. > - (Maybe) instead of banking a card and refreshing, it's about putting your hand in the bank and refreshing. > - (Maybe) Harder than I thought to remember the last card you were dealt to determine your liar or truth-teller role. Could instead be what you have more of, face cards versus non-face. > - (Maybe) Instead of picking one stranger to accuse/trust, the tourist can go through all of them. > - (Concern) At the end of the game, it is really not fun to count out like 20 cards as the winner. Micro Poker is about playing with a relentless pack of liars and a few honest ones now and then. Players take turn navigating deception while seeking the rare winning strategy of following the facts and trusting the right person. Trusting the right people is the ultimate reward, but cynicism is steadily beneficial. # Initial Setup ![[IMG_0286.jpg]] *Starting setup with three players. Deck on the left, tourist in the front, and two strangers facing the tourist.* Each player starts with two cards drawn face-down from the shuffled deck. # The Three-Step Turn Players take turns being the active player, called the "tourist." The order can be determined randomly at the start. All the other players become the "strangers" for that turn. ## 1. The Declarations ![[IMG_0287.jpg]] *The start of the first turn from either stranger's point of view in which they can see their own and other strangers' hands.* Only the strangers draw one card from the deck but they must be able to see each other's hands without revealing to the tourist. Each stranger declares the best poker hand they can form with their three cards strictly truthfully or honestly. - If the last card they added to their hand is a face card, they must tell the truth. If it’s a Joker, they choose whether to lie or tell the truth. Otherwise, they must lie. - _King, Queen, Jack only. Ace is not considered a face card in Micro Poker._ Strangers are encouraged to **talk freely to the tourist about what they see in other strangers' hands** at any point in the game but they must lie about their observations if they are a liar and vice versa. ![[IMG_0287 1.jpg]] *In the above example, the top-left stranger is a liar because their last card (♠4) is not a face card, so they can say anything but may not say they have a pair (the two 4s).* *The top right stranger's last card (♣J) is a face card so they must announce they have a pair.* ## 2. Trust or Accusation > [!tip] Considering these changes (Nov 23, 2023) > > To make scoring easier to remember: **Cards are only added to banks when trusting is happening**. You add your hand to your bank if you trusted an honest stranger, or if you're wrong, the stranger adds their cards to their bank. > > That's right, no reward for successfully accusing a lying stranger but don't go accusing everyone because you lose your bank if you accuse an honest stranger. > > ||Tourist trusts|Tourist accuses| > |---|---|---| > |Honest Stranger|Stranger and Tourist put their hands in their banks|Tourist loses a bank card to the deck, potentially a friend too.| > |Lying Stranger|Stranger puts their hand in their bank|(Nothing, too easy)| After all the strangers have announced what their highest-ranking hand is, The tourist selects one stranger they want to either trust them as a truth teller or accuse them of being a liar. When the player is selected, they must show their hand to the tourist. ## 3. Rewards and Punishments Correctly identifying honesty has a significantly greater reward than correctly identifying lying. Trusting lies is a significantly larger punishment than accusing honesty. ### Trusting ![[IMG_0288 1.jpg]] ✅ **Honest Stranger**: *In the best case scenario, the tourist trusts honesty. The truthful stranger (top-right) has three cards so both the stranger and tourist get three cards. ![[IMG_0289 1.jpg]] ❌ **Lying Stranger**: *If the tourist trusts a lying stranger (top-left), the stranger puts their cards right into their bank and gains one more from the tourist or from the deck if the tourist's bank is empty.* ### Accusing ![[IMG_0291 3.jpg]] ✅ **Lying Stranger**: *If the tourist accurately accuses a liar (top-left), they get a card in their bank from the stranger or the deck if the stranger's bank is empty. ![[IMG_0292.jpg]] ❌ **Honest Stranger**: *If the tourist accuses an honest stranger (top-right) of dishonesty, that stranger takes one card out of the tourist's bank for their own bank, or from the deck if the tourist's bank is empty.* ### Gameplay continued Note that strangers who don't accurately identify their highest hands (even as liars) are penalized. Know what you're lying or telling the truth about. Before the next turn starts, the chosen stranger resets their hand by placing it in the deck and taking two new cards. - Play continues with each player taking turns as the tourist. After making a decision, players reset their hands as needed. - The game progresses until the deck runs out of cards. # Endgame and Winning - **Game End:** The game ends when there are no more cards left in the deck. - **Winning:** The player with the most cards in their bank at the end of the game is the winner. - **Tiebreakers:** If there is a tie, use predetermined tiebreaker rules, such as the highest value of cards or the most face cards.