Swipe

SWIPE is a card game for 2 to 6 players that blends skill and luck. Played with three custom 56-card SWIPE decks (168 cards total), each player begins a hand with 20 cards: 4 face-down table cards, 4 face-up cards placed on top of them, and 12 cards held in hand. Players can only see the face values of their hand-held cards and the face-up table cards, adding a layer of hidden information to every decision. Two-player games are fast and intense, while games with four or more players take on a more social dynamic. On their turn, the lead player plays 1 to 4 cards of equal value onto a central play pile. Subsequent players may play cards of equal or lower value, declaring the count of like cards and ending their turn. Playing higher cards is a risky move — those higher cards remain on the pile and the player who laid them must pick up all other cards from the pile into their hand. Two special plays change the flow: playing a SWIPE card clears the entire central pile to the discard pile and earns the player another turn, while completing "4 of a Kind" — bringing any value to exactly four cards in the pile — also clears the pile and grants another turn. Face-down table cards are played blind and can only be used once the face-up card above them has been played. The goal is to be the first player to play all 20 of your cards. When any player plays their last card, the hand ends and all remaining players count penalty points for their unplayed cards — the SWIPE card counts 20 points, face cards count 10, numbered cards count face value, and aces count 1. The game continues for multiple hands until a pre-agreed point limit (such as 100 or 200 points) is reached or a set number of hands have been played. The player with the fewest accumulated penalty points at the end of the game wins.