Split Court

Split Court is a two-player card game of constrained drafting and split-hand evaluation set using a standard playing card deck. Players compete to assemble the poker hands, using partial information and structured offers to influence both their own hand and their opponent’s options. Each round begins with both players drafting cards through a sequence of four distinct actions, similar in structure to Hanamikoji. On each turn, a player draws a card, then selects one unused action: reserving a card face down, discarding two cards, offering three cards for the opponent to choose one, or dividing four cards into two sets for the opponent to select from. Each action may be used only once per round, with card trackers marking which options remain available. These decisions create a mix of hidden information, forced choices, and indirect control over the opponent’s hand. After drafting, each player has eight cards and must divide them into a five-card hand and a three-card hand. The five-card hands are evaluated using standard poker rankings, while the three-card hands follow a condensed hierarchy adapted to the reduced deck. A Joker acts as a wild card, increasing flexibility when forming straights, flushes, or straight flushes. Success depends on reading the opponent’s intentions, managing imperfect information, and allocating cards effectively between the two hands. —description from the designer