.gif)
Wyatt Earp (card game)
Encyclopedia
Wyatt Earp is a rummy
-like card game
first released in 2001. The game is named after Wyatt Earp
, a famous lawman, and is set in the American Old West
. It is manufactured by Rio Grande Games
and was created by Mike Fitzgerald and Richard Borg
for Alea.
Each player tries to earn reward money by participating in the capture of seven outlaws during multiple rounds of play. Outlaws are captured through the accumulation of capture points, awarded to players who play sets or melds
of cards representing the outlaws, or who play cards which build on the melds of others. Cards almost always have reward amounts associated with them; playing a card adds to the reward for the outlaw associated with the play.
As in rummy or gin rummy
, a meld is three or more matching cards. In Wyatt Earp, card matches are not determined by suits
; instead, cards are matched based on a color marking associated with each of the seven outlaws.
A round starts with each player being dealt ten cards, with one of the remaining cards used to establish the discard pile (face up) and the rest of the deck serving as the card supply, face down.
Each player's turn consists of three steps:
A round usually ends when a player discards the last card from their hand. It can also end when the card supply is exhausted again (i.e. a second time) after having been restocked once from the discard pile. Or most rarely, it ends after a player discards a card as the third step of their turn and another player, as a result of play during that turn, is left with no cards.
Capture points are assessed and reward money is distributed at the end of a round. Players with the most capture points for a given outlaw get the largest share of the reward money for that outlaw; a player gets all of an outlaw's reward money if their capture point total for that outlaw is at least five points higher than any other player's total for that outlaw.
The game ends when one player has accumulated at least $25,000 in reward money.
Billy the Kid
,
Butch Cassidy
,
Bob Dalton
,
Wes Hardin
Jesse James
the Sundance Kid
,
and
Belle Starr
.
Outlaw cards are worth two capture points each. A meld of three must be played the first time any player lays down cards for a particular outlaw. After that, outlaw cards can be played individually, by any player, though rules encourage multiple cards to be played at a time. That's because playing a single outlaw card does not increase an outlaw's reward; playing two at a time add $1000 to the reward, playing three at a time adds $2000, and so on; in other words, the reward added for a play is (N − 1) × $1000, where
N is the number of outlaw cards being played together.
The remaining sheriff cards play other roles in the game:
A player is allowed but not required to use only one sheriff card per turn.
Based on card type, players are sometimes required to draw, or given the option of drawing, a card in order to successfully use a sheriff card. Such a draw is considered to be an attempt to "shoot" the outlaw. If a player draws an outlaw card (which are marked with a bullet hole for this purpose), the shot is successful, and the sheriff card is played. If another sheriff card is drawn, the shot failed, and the original sheriff card has no effect. Those cards for which attempting a shot is optional have greater value when the shot is attempted and successful than the value it has when no attempt is made.
Wyatt Earp won the 2001 Meeples' Choice Award
. It was a finalist for the 2002 Gamers Choice Award, in the category "Best Family Card Card Game", and was nominated for
the 2003 GAMES 100 Best Family Strategy game.
Rummy
Rummy is a group of card games notable for gameplay based on the matching of similar playing cards. The Mexican game of Conquian is considered by David Parlett to be ancestral to all rummy games, which itself is derived from a Chinese game called Khanhoo and, going even further back,...
-like card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
first released in 2001. The game is named after Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American gambler, investor, and law enforcement officer who served in several Western frontier towns. He was also at different times a farmer, teamster, bouncer, saloon-keeper, miner and boxing referee. However, he was never a drover or cowboy. He is most well known...
, a famous lawman, and is set in the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
. It is manufactured by Rio Grande Games
Rio Grande Games
Rio Grande Games is a board game publisher based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The company primarily imports and localizes foreign language German-style board games.-History:...
and was created by Mike Fitzgerald and Richard Borg
Richard Borg
Richard Borg is a game designer.Games Richard has designed or co-designed include:*2000 Battle Cry *2001 Wyatt Earp...
for Alea.
Rule summary
The following is a partial summary of the rules of play.Each player tries to earn reward money by participating in the capture of seven outlaws during multiple rounds of play. Outlaws are captured through the accumulation of capture points, awarded to players who play sets or melds
Meld (cards)
In card games, a meld is a set of matching cards, typically three or more, that earn a player points and/or allow him to deplete his hand. Melds typically come in sequences of ascending cards belonging to the same suit or groups of cards of identical rank .Melding is typical in games of the Rummy...
of cards representing the outlaws, or who play cards which build on the melds of others. Cards almost always have reward amounts associated with them; playing a card adds to the reward for the outlaw associated with the play.
As in rummy or gin rummy
Gin rummy
Gin rummy, or simply gin, is a two-player card game created in 1909 by Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker. According to John Scarne, Gin evolved from 18th-century Whiskey Poker and was created with the intention of being faster than standard rummy, but less spontaneous than knock...
, a meld is three or more matching cards. In Wyatt Earp, card matches are not determined by suits
Suit (cards)
In playing cards, a suit is one of several categories into which the cards of a deck are divided. Most often, each card bears one of several symbols showing to which suit it belongs; the suit may alternatively or in addition be indicated by the color printed on the card...
; instead, cards are matched based on a color marking associated with each of the seven outlaws.
A round starts with each player being dealt ten cards, with one of the remaining cards used to establish the discard pile (face up) and the rest of the deck serving as the card supply, face down.
Each player's turn consists of three steps:
- drawing either the top card from the discard pile or two cards from the card supply;
- optionally playing one or more cards from their hand; and
- discarding a card.
A round usually ends when a player discards the last card from their hand. It can also end when the card supply is exhausted again (i.e. a second time) after having been restocked once from the discard pile. Or most rarely, it ends after a player discards a card as the third step of their turn and another player, as a result of play during that turn, is left with no cards.
Capture points are assessed and reward money is distributed at the end of a round. Players with the most capture points for a given outlaw get the largest share of the reward money for that outlaw; a player gets all of an outlaw's reward money if their capture point total for that outlaw is at least five points higher than any other player's total for that outlaw.
The game ends when one player has accumulated at least $25,000 in reward money.
Outlaw cards
Of the 78 cards in the deck, 49 are outlaw cards, seven of each of seven outlaws:Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
William H. Bonney William H. Bonney William H. Bonney (born William Henry McCarty, Jr. est. November 23, 1859 – c. July 14, 1881, better known as Billy the Kid but also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier...
,
Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy
Robert LeRoy Parker , better known as Butch Cassidy, was a notorious American train robber, bank robber, and leader of the Wild Bunch Gang in the American Old West...
,
Bob Dalton
Bob Dalton (outlaw)
Robert Reddick Dalton , better known as Bob Dalton, was an American outlaw in the American Old West. He led the ill-fated Dalton Gang raid on two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas. Ambushed by town citizens Bob, Bill Power, Grat Dalton and Dick Broadwell were all killed.-Early life:The Dalton family...
,
Wes Hardin
John Wesley Hardin
John Wesley Hardin was an American outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk hero of the Old West. He was born in Bonham, Texas. Hardin found himself in trouble with the law at an early age, and spent the majority of his life being pursued by both local lawmen and federal troops of the...
Jesse James
the Sundance Kid
Harry Longabaugh
Harry Alonzo Longabaugh , better known as the Sundance Kid, was an outlaw and member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, in the American Old West. Longabaugh likely met Butch Cassidy after Parker was released from prison around 1896...
,
and
Belle Starr
Belle Starr
Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr , better known as Belle Starr, was a notorious American outlaw.-Early life:...
.
Outlaw cards are worth two capture points each. A meld of three must be played the first time any player lays down cards for a particular outlaw. After that, outlaw cards can be played individually, by any player, though rules encourage multiple cards to be played at a time. That's because playing a single outlaw card does not increase an outlaw's reward; playing two at a time add $1000 to the reward, playing three at a time adds $2000, and so on; in other words, the reward added for a play is (N − 1) × $1000, where
N is the number of outlaw cards being played together.
Sheriff cards
There are also 29 sheriff cards, which combine with the outlaw cards to form the 78-card deck used in the game. A bit more than half of the sheriff cards increase the capture points and rewards associated with an outlaw:- Four "Bank RobberyBank robberyBank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
" cards add two capture points and $1000 to the reward for an outlaw; - Two "StagecoachStagecoachA stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
Robbery" cards add one capture point and $3000 to a reward; - Three "Fastest Gun" cards establish an outlaw in that role (replacing any previous holder) and add three capture points and $1000 to the outlaw's reward; and
- Seven "Photo" cards, one for each outlaw, add four capture points and $1000 to their reward.
The remaining sheriff cards play other roles in the game:
- Three are "Most WantedMost Wanted*Lists used by law enforcement agencies to alert the public, such as:**FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives**FBI Most Wanted Terrorists**United States Secret Service Most Wanted Fugitives**U.S...
" cards, which let a player take a card from another player; - Three are "Hideout" cards, used to block the capture point value of a meld of another player; and
- Seven are "Wyatt Earp" cards, which are used to add to or exchange cards in a player's hand, or to remove a hideout.
A player is allowed but not required to use only one sheriff card per turn.
Based on card type, players are sometimes required to draw, or given the option of drawing, a card in order to successfully use a sheriff card. Such a draw is considered to be an attempt to "shoot" the outlaw. If a player draws an outlaw card (which are marked with a bullet hole for this purpose), the shot is successful, and the sheriff card is played. If another sheriff card is drawn, the shot failed, and the original sheriff card has no effect. Those cards for which attempting a shot is optional have greater value when the shot is attempted and successful than the value it has when no attempt is made.
History
The game was first conceived as the fourth in Mike Fitzgerald's "Mystery Rummy" series, until he decided to collaborate with Richard Borg and publish it through Alea.Wyatt Earp won the 2001 Meeples' Choice Award
Meeples' Choice Award
The Meeples' Choice Award is an award given for board games and card games. It is given by Spielfrieks, an internet discussion group about board and card games.- Past winners :...
. It was a finalist for the 2002 Gamers Choice Award, in the category "Best Family Card Card Game", and was nominated for
the 2003 GAMES 100 Best Family Strategy game.