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By Root 1597 0

must make the best five-card hand to win. The game has existed for centuries, since before the fall of the monarchy: the first recorded mention was as far back as 87/29 (UY3069). For most of that time it was confined to the peasantry and was viewed as a rather vulgar pastime by the rich. It was popularized in Vardia during the First Aerium War, when the mingling of conscripted troops allowed the game to spread. Soon, even the aristocrats who commanded them had caught on, and Rake passed from the taverns and dens into the drawing rooms of the wealthy. Since then it has become the most popular card game in Vardia.

THE DECK

Rake is played with a standard fifty-two-card Vardic deck, comprising thirteen cards of each of the four suits: Skulls, Wings, Fangs, and Crosses. Each suit comprises (in order of value) the numbers two through ten, followed by the face cards: Priest, Lady, Duke, Ace. The Ace, the highest card, also functions as the number one for the purpose of runs.

SCORING

The object of a hand of Rake is to achieve the best possible combination of five cards. These combinations are scored below, in order of rank. Two pair beats three of a kind, Suits Full beats a run, etc.

HIGH CARD

In this case, with no combination possible, only the highest card in the hand is counted. Therefore, a player whose highest card is an Ace beats one whose highest card is only a Priest.

PAIR

Two cards of the same value. In the above example, the player has two tens. A higher pair, such as Ladies, will beat him. The remaining cards are disregarded, unless two players have identical pairs, in which case the one with the highest value remaining card wins.

TWO PAIR

Two pairs of the same value. If two players should have two pairs, then the player with the highest pair wins. If both players have the same high pair, the player with the next highest pair wins. In the unlikely event that both have the same two pairs, the remaining card comes into play: again, the player with the highest card wins.

THREE OF A KIND

Three cards of the same value. If two or more players have three of a kind, the highest triplet wins. The above hand would be referred to as Three Dukes.

RUN

Five cards of sequential value but different suits. An Ace in this case can count as either a one or an Ace. If two or more players have a Run, the one incorporating the highest card wins.

SUITS FULL

Five cards of the same suit. They are referred to as Wings Full, Crosses Full, and so on. As in a Run, in the case of two players holding Suits Full, the one whose hand incorporates the highest card wins. If it is the same, they go to the next highest, etc., until the hand is resolved.

FULL PACK

A Full Pack is three of a kind of one value and a pair of another. In the case of two players holding it, the higher value three of a kind wins.

QUADS

Four cards of the same value. The last card is disregarded. The above hand would be referred to as Four Ladies or Quad Ladies.

RAKE

Five cards of the same suit in sequential order. This is the highest-scoring hand in Rake. If two people should have it, the one incorporating the highest card wins.

THE ACE OF SKULLS

The Ace of Skulls is the most dangerous card in the game of Rake, both for the player who holds it and their opponents. A player who holds the Ace of Skulls must incorporate that card into a scoring hand of three of a kind or higher, or they will automatically lose the hand. The Ace of Skulls must be part of the scoring combination (e.g., one of the three cards that forms the three of a kind)—it cannot be a redundant card in the hand, or the player loses. Similarly, if the player cannot manage better than high card, pair, or two pair—whether the Ace of Skulls is involved or not—the player loses. However, should the player manage to incorporate the Ace of Skulls into a scoring hand of three of a kind or higher, they automatically win the hand, regardless of what their opponents are holding.

PROGRESSION OF PLAY

Rake is played with two to eight players, though six at a table is considered optimum.