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Introduction:Daupun (from Welsh: dau ddeg pump, meaning "25") is a two-player card game played with a French deck of 40 cards, excluding the 8s, 9s, and 10s, which can be replaced by J, Q, and K; and stones to place bets. This game began to be created in 2019 by Saïd Galdseid, but it took until 2024 to perfect its rules.



Definitions:– The field is the set of five cards held by each player.
– The reserve is the set of up to five cards discarded by each player during the discard phase.
– A trick is a pair of faced-off cards from both players in the trick phase.
– The trick position is the value assigned to each trick based on the order in which it is played. The first trick is worth 5 points, the second 4, and so on, down to the fifth, which is worth 1 point.
– The trick distance is the difference in value between the faced-off cards in each trick.
– The trick value is the sum of the position and the distance, multiplied by the number of tricks won. The total score determines the final game value.
– The bonus is an additional score awarded to the round winner if the combined values in their field are 25 points or more. The bonus is calculated according to a triangular sequence: 25 points (1 stone), 26 points (3 stones), 27 points (6 stones), 28 points (10 stones), 29 points (15 stones), 30 points (21 stones), and so on, adding consecutive values of the triangular sequence. This bonus is only applied if the player wins more tricks than their opponent in the round.
– A stone is a token representing accumulated points; it can be white (worth 1 point) or black (worth 5 points).
– A cantro is a unit of victory equivalent to 50 stones. The game ends when one player wins the agreed number of cantros before the start, which can be one, two, or three cantros.



Card values:The cards J, Q, and K have values of 8, 9, and 10 respectively. Alternatively, they can be replaced by the 8, 9, and 10 if numbers are preferred over face cards. Aces are worth 1, and the rest of the cards are worth their face value.



Initial distribution:In each round, a player is randomly selected to be the dealer and another to be the cutter. The player who cuts starts the round. Each player receives five cards, forming their initial field. The remaining deck is placed in the center of the table as the draw pile.



Discard phase:On your turn, starting with the cutter, you can take one of the following actions:

– Place a bet with stones, following the betting section. If you place a bet, you must then discard or exchange cards.
– Discard one or more cards from your field and draw the same number from the draw pile to have five cards again. Discarded cards are placed face up in your reserve.
– Exchange a card from your field with a card from the reserve. You can make up to three exchanges in your turn, but if you make an exchange, you cannot draw additional cards during the entire phase.

When a player reaches a minimum value of 25 points in their field, they can say "I stay" to declare himself ready and stop his discards. The opponent can then choose "I stay" to play, "I leave" to lose the round, or continue playing until reaching the minimum of 25 points.



Trick phase:Once both players have decided to play, the player who cut starts the trick phase by placing the lowest card from their field face up. Their opponent responds by placing their lowest card in front of the first player\'s card. The turn in the following tricks is initiated by the player who won the previous trick; in case of a tie, the turn is determined by the suit of the card (spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts, in that order of priority). This process continues until five tricks are completed.

Two tricks are always annulled to leave only three. The two tricks with the lowest value are annulled, and in case of a tie, the tied tricks have priority for annulment. If only two tricks remain, one additional trick (the lowest) is removed to ensure that there is always an odd number of tricks. The player who wins two of the three remaining tricks wins the bet.



Betting:During your turn, either in the discard phase (before discarding and drawing) or in the trick phase (before any of the first three tricks), a player may place a bet.

– Saying "I bet" is equivalent to wagering two stones.
– Saying "I bet" followed by a number specifies a certain number of stones.

The opponent may respond as follows:

– Saying "I accept" is agreeing to the bet.
– Saying "I fold" declines the bet and loses the round.
– Saying "I raise to" followed by a number increases the bet on their turn.



End of the game:The game ends when one of the players wins the agreed number of cantros before the start. A cantro is achieved by accumulating 50 stones. The player who wins the previously established number of cantros wins the game.



Notes:The word cantro is a neologism that I took from the Welsh "cantref", which represents the division of territory in the Middle Ages.

—description from the designer