Evening Latte

Flip 7 is a round-based press your luck card game in which players try to gather points by collecting numbered cards and avoiding duplicates. It’s a really fun and accessible game with two versions.

Standard

Put simply, this version only counts up. The primary goal is to gather as many regular number cards as possible without busting, and bonus cards only add points. Busting within a round is the only way to “lose” points, and players can only affect other players with Freeze cards.

With a Vengeance

This version counts both up and down. The primary goal is still to gather regular number cards without busting, but bonus cards are very different: many cause a loss of points, and all can be given to other players. This makes the game more strategic because players can affect each other far more.

The Deck

This section contains a list of the cards chosen for the deck. For the reasoning behind the choices, see the section below.

Regular Number Cards

These are generally split between the decks with odd numbers having one more from the Vengeance Deck

• 1
  • Vengeance: 1
• 2
  • Standard: 1
  • Vengeance: 1
• 3
  • Standard: 1
  • Vengeance: 2
• 4
  • Standard: 2
  • Vengeance: 2
• 5
  • Standard: 2
  • Vengeance: 3
• 6
  • Standard: 3
  • Vengeance: 3
• 7
  • Standard: 3
  • Vengeance: 3
• 8
  • Standard: 4
  • Vengeance: 4
• 9
  • Standard: 4
  • Vengeance: 5
• 10
  • Standard: 5
  • Vengeance: 5
• 11
  • Standard: 5
  • Vengeance: 6
• 12
  • Standard: 6
  • Vengeance: 6
• 13
  • Vengeance: 12

Special Cards

• 1x The Zero (Vengeance)
• 1x Unlucky 7 (Vengeance)
• 1x Lucky 13 (Vengeance)
• 2x Flip Four (Vengeance)
• 2x Just One More (Vengeance)
• 2x Discard (Vengeance)
• 2x Steal (Vengeance)
• 2x Swap (Vengeance)
• 2x Second Chance (Standard)
• Positive Points (Standard)
  • +8
  • +10
  • x2
• Negative Points (Vengeance)
  • -2
  • -4
  • -6
  • -8
  • -10
  • ÷2

Reasoning

The “only count up” nature of the Standard version makes it very easy to learn (and play while drunk), but once a player builds a decent lead, they can usually play conservatively and cruise to a victory. On the other hand, the Vengeance version is so focused on negative outcomes that the strategy becomes more about punishing other players (often in coordination against the current points leader) than trying to win by amassing points. The goal of this deck is to mix those for a more fun game that has a risk/reward element in every decision.

Splitting the regular number cards fairly evenly between the decks reduces players’ ability to predict the next card based on its type (Standard and Vengeance have different coloring). The fact that many of the Vengeance special cards are good for the person to whom they’re dealt means the desirability of the cards is also not reliably predictable based on type.

The Zero special card (Vengeance) is used instead of the regular number 0 (Standard) because the mechanic of making someone hit until they bust or flip seven is fun.

Only six regular number 7 cards are included because the Unlucky 7 special card (Vengeance) is included. This forces the player to discard all their other cards.

Only twelve regular number 13 cards are included because the Lucky 13 (Vengeance) special card is included. This allows the player to have one more regular number 13 card in their hand without busting.

Just One More (Vengeance) special cards are used instead of Freeze special cards (Standard) because it’s fun to make someone with multiple high-number cards (significant risk of busting) take one more card before banking all those points. The Freeze special card can actually be more of a benefit to the target player because it eliminates their risk of busting.

All Discard/Steal/Swap special cards (Vengeance) are included because the strategy and chaos they cause are fun.

Second Chance (Standard) special cards are used because it’s fun to have some protection (causes players to hit in situations they normally wouldn’t), and they’re high value cards for Discard/Steal/Swap special card plays.

A subset of the highest positive point special cards (Standard) are used because they provide a small additional incentive to hit and are high value cards for Discard/Steal/Swap special card plays since they don’t increase the risk of busting. The possibility of the 2x card can give hope to players trying to catch up late in the game, and the swing of it being discarded/stolen/swapped is fun.

All the negative point special cards (Vengeance) are used because of their strategic value. An example is when a person has a significant lead, all other players can gang up and play all negative point cards on the leader.

My House Rules

• Flipping seven is worth 30 points instead of 15
  • 15 points doesn’t seem like enough of a reward for the risk involved in flipping seven, especially when adding a set of 13-point cards to the deck.
• The full deck is shuffled and used for each round
  • The intent is to make this a casual/approachable game that can be played in any social situation. Giving a competitive advantage to players who can count cards isn’t in that spirit.
  • This also makes every special card available during every round, which is fun.
• If a Second Chance card is used to prevent a bust, both regular number cards are forfeited.
  • This balances the Second Chance card with an element of risk. When using the official rules, there’s almost no risk involved when hitting with a Second Chance card.
• Special cards must be settled immediately with no exceptions
  • For example, if a Steal card is dealt as the second card of a Flip Four, that Steal must be settled before the third card in the Flip Four sequence is dealt.
  • It’s more fun this way because of the immediate payoff and potential cascading effects
• Special cards cannot be played in a way that causes another player to bust before receiving another card
  • Without this rule, every Swap card is used to bust someone, which is cheesy/not fun.
• If a Discard/Steal/Swap card is dealt as the first card of a round, the player holds the card. If they still have it after all other players have been dealt a card, they must play it before they receive their next card.
  • Special cards are fun, and losing that potential just because a card isn’t playable when it’s dealt seems dumb.
• No rounding for the ÷2 special card. Decimals are in play.