Tryce (1968)

Overview

The game consists of two standard card decks including the jokers from each deck. In addition to the standard numbers and suits the cards also contain a letter of the alphabet.

The players are attempting to create "runs", "groups" and "words". A Run is four or more cards in the same suit in sequence. A Group is three or more of a kind. A Word is formed using the letters on the cards and can be any non-proper word found in a standard dictionary. A game consists of seven rounds, and in each round a player must form a specific number of Runs, Groups and Words.

Each player is dealt a number of cards, the exact number of which varies depending on the round in play. Each turn the player draws the top card from the deck or from the discard pile then plays as many cards as possible (either by forming new Runs, Groups or Words or by adding them onto cards which have already been played, either by themselves or by other players). Finally, they discard one of their remaining cards. The round ends when one player manages to empty their hand.

Players gain points by forming the number of Groups, Runs and Words specified for the round and for the cards in the melds they created. They lose points for cards left in their hand when the round ends. The player with the highest total after all seven rounds is the winner.

An interesting variation of Rummy, Tryce adds an element of strategy to that game.

Belongs to the 3M Gamette Series. It was also released in a "butterbox" or "butterdish" version.