Pymacco

Pymacco is a Python implementation the card game Tomacco (a variation of shithead).

Installation

In the future Pymacco will be installable using pip install.

Rules

Preparation:

• 1 deck for every 5 players
• Every player is dealt 9 cards. 6 cards go to their hand; 3 cards are placed face down in front of the player without being previewed.
• The rest of the deck are put in a pick-up pile
• Each player then selects 3 cards from their hand. Once all players have selected their 3 cards, the cards are placed face up above their 3 face down cards.

The Deck:

• 1 deck should be used for every 5 people added to the game. There is no theoretical maximum to the number of people who can play.
• Ace is high
• Once Ace is played the active pile is cleared and removed from play
• 3 or more of a kind: Clears the active pile and it is removed from play. When there is more than 1 deck in play, this moves to 4 of a kind to clear.
• Multiples of the same card can be played at any time. This is an optional strategy.

Wild Cards:

• Can be played on any turn, and do not have to be played sequentially.
• 2: Resets the active pile back down to 2.
• 10: Clears the active pile

Play:

• The person to the left of the dealer begins
• Each player must draw 1 card at each turn until no more cards remain in the pick-up pile
• The first player plays any card they wish from their hand.
• Each subsequent player must then play a card higher than the one laid down by the previous player. Any higher card can be played. This pile is called the ‘active pile’
• If a player cannot play a card higher than the last one played on the active pile, they must pick up the active pile.
• Once a player no longer has any cards in their hand, they may then play the face up cards.

Playing the Face Up Cards:

• When a player has no cards left in their hand, they then play the 3 face up cards following the same rules of play.
• The player may choose any of the face up cards to play. There is no order in which to play the face up cards.
• If multiples are in the face up cards, a player may, at their option, play the multiples.
• Once the face-up cards have been played, players are then permitted to play the face down cards.

Playing the Face Down Cards:

• Players can randomly choose any card from their 3 face down cards.
• The Player selects a cards and looks to see what it is without showing any other players.
• If the card is playable (higher than the last card played on the active pile), the Player may play the card.
• If the card is not playable, the Player must place the card face down again and pick-up the active pile. The Player must play out the cards in their hand before returning to the face down cards.
• If/when a player returns to the face down cards, they may select any face down card, whether is has been previously revealed or not.
• Peeking at the face-down cards is not permitted at any time.
• Multiples cannot be played from the face-down cards, even if 2 or more are known to be multiples.