Game Play:
Setup: Shuffle the deck, then divide into two even piles. These piles are called “pens.” The youngest player gets to pick their pen first. Without looking each player places the top 3 cards from their pen FACE DOWN next to the pen-this is called the "Yard".
Battle: Each player flips over the top card from their Pen. The player with the higher card wins and the cards are taken and placed to the side, face down-this is their "Field". If at any point a player runs out of cards in their Pen they pick up their Field and continue playing.
A Skirmish occurs if players play cards with equal values. In a skirmish, each player chooses one card from their Yard to play. The player with the higher card wins, places THEIR card back face down in their Yard and the lower value cards in his/her field. The losing player must refill their empty Yard spot using the top card from their pen. If there is another tie this is repeated until all of the Yard cards are used. If at this point there is still no winner each player places all of their cards in the Field and replenishes their Pen.
The Scape Goat: If a Scape Goat card is played (either in a battle or skirmish) the OTHER player gets to pick a new card from the original player’s Pen or Yard to play. The Scape Goat must ALWAYS be placed in the field after being played.
How does the game end? The first player to have no cards left in their Yard or Field loses the game. Note: There still may be cards left in the Pen at the end of the game.
