Matchstick Tycoon (2025)

Overview

In マッチ売りの大富豪 (Matchstick Tycoon), you want to be the first player to ditch your cards and your matchsticks.

Each player starts with one matchstick and a hand of cards, with cards going from 0 (low) to 8, then from A to F (high). The first player in a round plays one or more cards of the same strength, and each player in turn either plays the same number of cards of a higher strength or passes; when a player passes, they take a matchstick from the reserve, but they can play again if the round doesn't end before their next turn. When all players pass in turn, clear the cards, then whoever played last starts a new round.

You can use matchsticks to modify the value of your cards, and you can play cards with either end up, so a 6 can become an 8 by adding one matchstick to it, a 6 can become a 9 by flipping it, and a 1 can become an F by flipping it and adding two matchsticks.

If a player plays five cards of the same suit, a revolution takes place, and F is immediately the lowest value and 0 the highest.

When a player has no cards and no matchsticks remaining, they win. (If a player ditches all their cards but still has matchsticks, on each of their subsequent turns, they discard one matchstick.) Keep playing to determine all players' ranks.