Pegs and Jokers is a board/card game which is clearly derived from the
much older Indian board game Pachisi (which, however uses dice instead
of cards to advance pegs around the game board). In Pegs and Jokers,
teams of players race to be the first team to get all that teams pegs (or
tokens) from the Start Area to the Home Area. This game is also sometimes referred to as Jokers and Pegs. The game is also commonly played under the name Marbles and Jokers or Jokers and Marbles, with the only real difference being that the
game board used for play is designed to hold colored marbles instead of pegs
which are thence advanced around the game board.
The rules first described are for the four player version, however there are also slightly modified versions of the game described below for 2, 6 and 8 players. The four player variant first described requires 3 decks of cards and a special board which includes pegs or tokens designed to fit within the slots or holes in that board. This board is commonly available through various online retailers but can also be created by someone with some woodworking skills. A quick, disposable, pen and paper version of the board can also be drafted or printed for use in the game. Each player should be provided five special pegs or tokens all of the same color, but which should be of a different color than those of every opponent. The four player variant of Pegs and Jokers requires three standard 52 card decks, with each deck including 2 Jokers, for 162 total cards.
Pegs and Jokers is a partnership game, thus the partnerships can be determined using a number of methods. A common method is for each player to draw a card from the shuffled deck with the players drawing the two highest cards playing as partners against the players drawing the two lowest ranked cards (Aces are considered low and Jokers high in this draw). If multiple players draw cards of the same rank, they should discard those cards and redraw a new card. Partners should sit directly across the table from each other, and the special board placed in the center of the table. The player drawing the highest card of all is set as the first dealer.
The Board: As mentioned above, this game makes use of a special board in which most of the action in the game occurs. The board design will be directly dependent on the number of participants. For this four player version which is to be described first, the board should be four-sided. Each side of the board contains exactly 19 spaces in a long row in which pegs can fit, to form a large rectangle or square. It should be noted that the leftmost and rightmost spaces or holes are shared with the player sitting on that side of the board. The pegs will travel in a clockwise direction around the board based on the rank of cards played.
In front of each player, along his row, are two special
sections of the board for his pegs, the Start section and the Home
section. Each player's Start section is a special section of the board
in which that players 5 pegs will begin the game. These pegs will enter
the board, as able, on the Start Hole, which is the space or hole
exactly nine spaces from the right-most hole on that player's side of
the board. The Home section is the location in which that player will
attempt to get his five pegs over the course of the game. This Home
section branches out from the main track exactly four spaces from the
rightmost hole. Each of these rows is often colored a specific color to correspond to the color of the player's pegs who is sitting at that location. In each player's Start section,
at the start of the game, should be five pegs all of the same color
which will be the pegs used by that player during the course of the game. We have also included a simple, printable version of the board which can thus be used to play the game.
The board is designed to be used with five tokens for each player, with
each of those tokens being of the same color. Click this link for the page from which this printable board can be found.
As mentioned, commercial versions of the board used for this game can also be purchased at a variety of Web sites and other locations. These are usually in the form of interlocking paddles which thus allows the game board to be configured based on the number of players participating (usually up to eight or even ten).
After the board has been set-up, with each players five pegs in his Start section, the designated dealer should thoroughly shuffle the deck and then deal five face-down cards to each player. After the cards have been dealt, the remainder of the deck is placed face down in a stack in the center of the board (to form the stock pile), and the players then pick up and examine their hands. The player to the immediate left of the dealer has the first turn and the turns continue in a clockwise direction around the table.
Play of the hand: A player's turn begins with him drawing one card from the top of the face-down stock pile. He next plays one of the five cards from his hand face-up to the center of the table on the top of the discard pile (the first card played by the first player will thus start this discard pile). Depending on the card played, that player may move one or more of his pegs around the board based on the rank of the card played. Pegs move in a clockwise direction around the table, starting in that player's Start Area of the board and attempting to traverse the board and eventually end up in that same player's Home Area of the board.
A peg may only enter a player's own Home Area and advance into the Home Area from the In Spot and may continue advancing to the next unfilled hole in that Home
Area on that or further turns. A peg may never advance past another Peg of the same color, on the main track or in that player's Home
Area. A player may also never land on a space which already contains a peg of the same color. A player may advance past a peg of any other color on the main track. If a player's move would place his Peg exactly on the same space as another player's Peg, that other peg is removed and the players peg placed in it's place. If the peg is any opponent's peg, that Peg is returned to that opponent player's Start
Area. If that Peg belongs to your partner, that Peg is advanced directly to that
player's In Spot, which is directly below his Home Area, unless that spot is already occupied by a Peg of that player's color. A player may never advance a Peg to land on another one of his own pegs. Once a Peg is in a player's Home
Area it can never move backwards out of that safe area, even if using a card that moves a Peg backwards along the track. If a peg that is moved cannot advance into a players Home
Area (due to there not being enough spaces in the Home Area to finish the move), he must continue advancing around the main track, starting another lap around the board for that peg.
In order to be a legal move, a player must use the entire count of moves associated to the card played. If a player has at least one legal move he can make on his turn (based on his cards in hand) he must make such a move, even if he would prefer not to make that move. The one exception to this rule is a player is never forced to player a Joker if he elects not to, but must make another legal move if he so has one. If a player has no legal moves he can make, he simply discards one card face-up to the table, ending his turn. Each card, as played, allows the following move:
| Card | Effect |
|---|---|
| Ace | Allows a player to move any Peg from a player's own Start Area to his Out Spot, or advance one of his own pegs one space along the main track. |
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10 | Allows a player to move one of his pegs an exact number of spaces on the board corresponding to the numerical rank of the card. |
| 7 | Playing a 7 allows a player to move one of his pegs forward exactly 7 spaces, or split the move amongst two of his pegs (for example he could move one of his pegs 3 spaces and another of his pegs 4 spaces). |
| 8 | Playing an 8, a player must move one of his pegs backwards exactly 8 spaces. Note that if a player manages to move backwards along the track in this way past his Out Spot, he may then, on later turns, advance into his Home space without needing to circle the entire board, which can provide a shortcut for that peg. |
| Jack, Queen, King | Playing one of these court cards allows a player to move one peg from his Start Area into the Out Spot or move one of his pegs along the board exactly ten spaces. |
| Joker | Playing a Joker entitles a player to move any of his Pegs (except one of his Pegs which is in the Home Area) directly into the hole occupied by another color peg which is at any location along the main track. If this is a peg which belonging to his partner, the peg landed on moves directly to that partner's In Spot. If the peg belongs to a member of the opposing team, that opponent's peg is returned to it's Start Area. If there are no pegs of another color found on the main track, the player may not play a Joker. Similarly, if there are only pegs belonging to his partner, and the partner already has a peg in his Out Spot, the Joker may not be legally played. |
Once a player manages to get all five of his pegs into his own Home Area, he continues playing, however, he then assists his partner by moving pegs of that partner's color around the board. The first partnership to get all pegs owned by that team legally into the Home Area is considered the winning partnership of the game. If the stock pile runs out during the course of play, the discard pile is turned over and shuffled to create a new stock pile and the game continues as before. Players should never reveal or hint at the cards they have in hand to any other player, including that player's partner.
Variations and Optional Rules
Two Player Pegs and Jokers: Pegs and Jokers can also be adapted for play by two participants. Obviously, in this variant each player plays for himself and there are no partnerships. The two player version uses the same four-sided board as that used in the four player variant. The two player also uses the same deck as used in the four player variant, however, most player prefer to remove the Jokers from this deck and set them aside, out of play. The two players should sit directly across from each other at the table with the game board in the middle. Each player would then select one set of pegs and place these in the Start Area in the area of the board directly in front of themselves. They would then, as in the standard game, attempt to advance these pegs into the corresponding Home Area on the same side of the board. In all other aspects the two player variant is played identically to the four player variant as described above.
Pegs and Jokers for Six or More:
Pegs and Jokers can also be played by six, eight or even ten players. For six players, the game would use a special six-sided board, with each player having a section of the track directly in front of himself. This variant would also use the same 162 card deck as used in the four player variant. The game would consist of two partnerships consisting of three players each who attempt to be the first team to get all the pegs associated to that team into the respective Home
Areas. The eight player variant would use a special octagonal board, again with each player having his own section of the board directly in front of himself. To accommodate the extra players, the eight player variant should expand the deck to consist of four standard decks, with each such deck containing two Jokers all shuffled together. This variant would consist of three partnerships consisting of two players each. Each partnership attempts to be the first to get all the pegs associated to that partnership into the respective Home Area.
The ten player variant used a special ten-sided board, with each player having his own section of the board directly in front of himself on the table. This variant should use a deck consisting of four standard decks (each containing two Jokers), all shuffled together to form one large deck. This variant is usually played with two large teams of five players each, with each team striving to be the first to get all the respective pegs for that team into the appropriate Home Areas of the board.
Although these variants are played almost identically to the standard four player game as described above, there are a few special rules that are slightly modified due to the number of participants:
- The players should be seated at the table in such a manner that each player has a member of an opposing partnership sitting to his right and left. Thus, each turn would alternate amongst members of different partnerships.
- Once a player manages to get all his own pegs into the Home Area, he may then begin assisting the next member of his partnership (who still has pegs in play) that is closest in a clockwise direction to himself.
Alternative Rules: There are quite a number of variants to be found for Pegs and Jokers. The following are some of the more popular differences or variant rules that are sometimes used by players of the game:
- End Draw: While the standard game, as described above, requires the player to draw a card at the start of his turn, some players prefer to have players draw at the completion of the turn. Thus, in this variant, a player begins his turn by playing a card from the hand, and then, at the end of his turn, he draws a card to replenish his hand to five cards.
- Special Nines: Another popular rule that is often added to the base game is the special rule for nines. In this variant rule, playing a nine allows a player to either move one of his pegs forward nine spaces, or alternatively to split the move amongst two of his pegs. However, with the nine, one of the pegs must move forward some number of spaces, and another peg backwards. For example, a player could move one peg forward 5 spaces, and another peg backward 4 spaces for a total of 9 spaces moved.
- Any Peg Moves: In this variant, a player, on his turn is allowed to move any peg from his partnership during his turn. Thus, he is not limited to just moves which would allow him to move his own pegs during his turn but may instead elect to move those of his partner around the board.
- Start Jokers: Some players modify the role of Jokers in the game. In this variant rule, in addition to the normal plays of the Jokers, a Joker can also be used to move a peg from a player's Start Area to his Out Spot.
- Forfeit the Turn: In most versions of the game, a player is required to make a move if he has at least one legal move, regardless of whether the player actually prefers to take that move. In some games, a player may elect to forfeit his turn instead of make a move on any particular turn. To do this, he simply discards a card and draw a replacement card to end the turn.
The game uses a very similar board to that used for Pegs and Jokers and also uses one standard 52 card deck (no Jokers included). Each player has four pegs, tokens or marbles which are designed to fit in the slots or holes in the board and move around the board, from the Start
Area to the Home Area before the opponents. Included with such boards are four differently colored tokens for each player for which that player will move around the board during his turn. The standard board for this game is designed for play by four players, with each usually playing independently. Each player would thus sit at one side of the board corresponding with his starting and finishing locations for his tokens.
As mentioned, this game uses a special board. This board can be readily purchased from a number of vendors but can also be created by someone with some woodworking skills and the appropriate tools. The board consists of a long track which traverses each side of the board, with exactly 19 spaces or holes for pegs on each side. The two holes at the extreme left and right ends of that trick are shared, the leftmost hole with the player to his right and the rightmost hole with the player at his right. The holes on each side are usually numbers from 1 to 18 from right to left, however the leftmost hole usually starts over with the number 1. Also, on each side of the board is a starting area branching off the main track as well as a divided off Start Area. Each player begins with his four tokens or pegs in his Start Area, and attempts, through the course of the game to move these tokens around the board in a clockwise direction, into his Home Area. The player to move all four of his tokens into his Home are is the winner of the game.
To begin, each player starts with his four pegs in his Start Area and is dealt five cards face down. The remainder of the deck is placed face-down in the middle of the table as the stock or draw pile. Each turn consists of a player playing one card from his hand (if he has a legal move) and then moving his token (or in some cases multiple tokens) around the board. If a player has no legal move he can make on that turn, he must discard all five of his cards to the discard pile and forfeit that turn, and must wait until a new batch of cards is dealt. Thus, each player has five turns to play the five cards in hand. After all players have played (or discarded) the last card from the hand, the dealer then deals a new hand of four cards to each player after which each player then has four turns to play, and the dealer then deals another four cards to each player and each player than has another four turns. If not player has yet won the game, all the discarded cards are shuffled together and turned over start additional rounds of play. As before, first five cards are dealt per player, after each player has had five turns and an opportunity to make five plays, the dealer deals a round of four, and then when those cards have all been played, another round of four. This continues for as long as needed until one player manages to win. If a player has a legal move on his turn, he must make that move, and if a player has no legal moves, he must discard the remainder of his current hand face-up on the table and pass his turn until the next round of cards is dealt.
Each specific card played allows certain movement of pegs on the board, as follows:
- Ace: Allows a player, who already has a peg on the track to move one space forward on that track. Alternatively, if a player still has any pegs in his Start Area, he may use this as a "Starter" card, moving one peg from that Home Area into his Start hole (numbered 18 on his side of the board).
- 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10: Allows a player to select any of his Pegs currently on the main track and move that peg the exact number of spaces equal to the number marked on the card.
- Jack: Allows a player to move one of his Pegs exactly 11 spaces forward on the track.
- Queen: Allows a player to move one of his Pegs exactly 12 spaces forward on the track.
- King: Allows a player to move one of his Pegs exactly 13 spaces forward on the track. In addition, if a player has any pegs remaining in his Start Area, he may also use the King as a starter card, placing one peg from his Start Area into his Start hole on the board.
The game continues until one player manages to advance all four of his pegs all the way around the board, and into his Home Area, after which that player is declared the winner. As in Pegs and Jokers, many players change the behavior of certain cards or modify the rules somewhat to suit their playing style. The following are some of these variant rules used:
- Reverse Four: Some players prefer to change the move that must be made in playing any card of rank four from the hand. Playing a 4 causes the player to move any one of his Pegs four pegs backwards (counterclockwise) around the main track. This can sometimes be an advantageous move, as a player could possibly move backwards from the Home Area and then advance forward into his Home Area without having to traverse the entire board.
- Ten Swap: In this variant, the effect of playing a 10 is changed drastically. Playing a 10 with this variant, allows the player to trade spaces with any other Peg on the board (either one of that players same color or that of any opponent), as long as the Peg is on the main track and not in that player's Start space, Home track or Start Area.
- Forced Five: Playing any five in this variant, allows the player to move any token on the board (of any player) that is on the main track forward exactly five spaces.
Partnership Tock: Although Tock is designed to be played by four players, each playing independently, the game can also be played as a partnership game. Each player should sit directly across the table from his partner. The game is played identically to the standard version of Tock, with the following differences:
- After a player has completed getting all his tokens into the Home space, he may then use his further turns to advance his partners tokens along the track to the Home space for that player. The first partnership to succeed in getting all tokens from each team member into the Start Area wins the game.
- After each round of cards is dealt (either 5 or 4 cards), each player selects any card in his hand and passes it face-down to his opponent. The player may not pick up the card passed by his partner until he has selected a card to pass to that partner..
Three Player Tock: Tock can also be played by three players, still using the same board as normally used by four players, however one start and Home Area will not be used during the course of the game.
One other difference is how the deals are dealt. As in the standard variant of the game, on the first round, five cards are dealt to each player. After these cards are exhausted by the players, a four card deal is performed, another four cards are dealt and finally a last batch of four cards is dealt to each player. Since the deck will still contain one more card, that card is simply discarded. If, after this fourth deal has completed, no player has yet won, the discard pile is picked up and shuffled and the series of deals begins again.
Carbles: Carbles is another game which is similar to Tock or Pegs and
Jokers. This variant of the game type is designed for two to six players. Like other,
similar games, the game is played on a special board in which each
player races to be the first to get all his markers (in this case four
colored marbles) around the board from a start or home location to his
designated goal location before his opponents. The format of the board
is specific to the number of players. For each active player the board
should include a special section of the board containing a start area
(called the Lot), Home hole and Goal area. If there are more
sections on the board then players, these additional special sections
are simply ignored and unused. In addition to the special board
the game requires four marbles all of the same color for each player
(which should match the color of one of the Lot areas on the board) and a standard deck of 52 cards with the addition of two Jokers.
The main difference of Carbles from Pegs and Jokers is that in Carbles each player has four such tokens (rather than the five in Pegs and Jokers) to move around the board. Because of this the design of the board used to play is also different, and is usually featured as an octagonal board.
Before the start of the game each player selects four marbles of the same color (different than that selected by each other player) and places these four marbles into the corresponding Home area for that color on the board. In addition, the deck should be thoroughly shuffled and then four face-down cards dealt to each player.
The player to the immediate left of the dealer has the first turn and the turns rotate around the table in a clockwise direction around the table from player to player. Each turn consists of a player playing one card from his hand and advancing, as able, his marbles around the board, towards his goal space. Normally, the players will move the marbles in a clockwise direction (to the left) around board, however a few special cards can be used to move marbles in a counter-clockwise direction instead (which may or may not be helpful to the player). If a player has at least one legal move that he can make, he must make that move, even if he would prefer not to make such a move. If a player has no legal move he simply places one card from his hand onto the discard pile (called burning a card). Once each player has played the last card from his hand, the dealer then distributes another four cards to each player, with the game continuing as before. If the deck becomes exhausted and the game is still in progress, the discard pile is shuffled and turned over to start a new deck.
Each card played requires the player to make some type of move, if legally able. The following are the legal moves for each card:
| Card | Card Action |
|---|---|
| Ace | Allows a player to move one marble from his Lot area onto that player's Home on the track. Alternatively, a player may move one of his own marbles one space forward. |
| 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 | Move one marble exactly the number of spaces as represented on the card forward along the track. |
| 4 | Player moves one of his marbles in a counter-clockwise (in reverse) direction around the board. Note that if a player manages to move one of his marbles backwards beyond his goal point, he may, on later turns simply advance into that goal, if able. |
| 7 | Any seven allows the player to make seven individual moves of exactly one space. This may be all for one specific marble or divided amongst multiples marbles for that player. |
| Jack | Allows player to either advance one marble 11 spaces forward, or swap the position of one marble with another marble, as long as the swapped marbles are not in the home area, the lot or goal points on the board. |
| Queen | Allows player to advance one marble forward exactly 12 spaces. |
| King | Allows player to either advance one marble forward exactly 13 spaces or move one marble from that player's lot are to the start hole. |
| Joker | Allows player to move one marble from the lot area to that player's Home space. |
Marbles may normally cross over other marbles during movement, however, if a marble lands on any other marble (of any color, including of the same color as the player whose turn it is) at the end of the move, the marble landed on is returned to the lot area of that same color. However a marble in the home spot cannot be advanced past or landed on by any player. It should also be noted that on a seven, the moves are considered seven individual moves of one space each, so any marbles landed on during that move are returned to the respective lot areas.
Marbles may advance along the track into the Goal area must use the full number of moves as per the played card to be advanced into the Goal area. Marbles of other colors can never be moved into a different color Goal area and marbles in Goal areas can never be advanced past or landed on. Marbles that cannot be advanced into the Goal area can be advanced past the Goal area and would therefore be required to do another complete circuit of the board (unless they can be moved backwards beyond the Goal area).
The first player to legally move all his marbles into this Goal area is considered the winner of the game.
Carbles Variants: There are several variants of Carbles that are sometimes played, using the same board and deck as used in the standard version.
- Partnership Carbles: If played by 4, 6, 8, or 12 players. Carbles is sometimes played in a partnership version of the game. In this version, the players are divided into multiple teams of two players each. A team wins when each of the two players in that team manages to move all four of his marbles into his respective Goal area. A player may not move his partners marbles on his turn unless he has first managed to get every one of his marbles into his Goal area. In addition, a Joker may be used by a player to move either a marble of his color or his opponents color from the Lot area to the corresponding Home space even if that player still have marbles on the board that are not yet in the Goal. In all other aspects the partnership version is played identically to the standard variant.
- Open Hand Carbles: This variant is played identically the standard variant with the sole exception being that each player keeps his hand cards face-up on the table in front of himself where it can be seen by all players.
Jackaroo: Jackaroo is a game played similarly to Tock but is commonly played in Kuwait and much of the surrounding area (such as Dubai, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates), particularly in
many coffee houses. It is thought that Jackaroo may have originated from Tock. The game is also sometimes spelled as Jackaro. Traditionally the game is played on a specially designed wooden board that folds down the center for convenience. However, due to the similarities in design, this game can be played on a four-player Tock board or a Carbles board if a traditional Jacaroo board is unavailable. In addition to the board, the game requires four marbles per player (with each of these four being of the same color) and one standard deck of 52 cards.
Jackaroo is specifically designed for play by four players, usually in two teams of two players each. Each player should sit across from each other in front of the board, controlling the marbles in the section of the board in the area directly in front of himself. Determination of these partners (as well as the first dealer) can be determined in a number of manners including draw for high cards (those drawing the two highest cards playing as partners against those drawing the two lowest). The dealer begins by dealing out four cards to each player, face-down and one-at-a-time, starting with the player at his right and continuing in a counter-clockwise direction. Before starting play, each player places his four marbles of his designated colors in the start area corresponding to his section of the board. Direction of play is also in a counter-clockwise direction around the table, with the player to the dealer's right having the first turn.
As in other games of this type, the object is for a player to get all his marbles from that player's designated start position to that same player's goal area by advancing his marbles in a clockwise direction around the board. On his turn, each player plays one card from his hand to the center of board, with different results based on the card played. The following are the effects of each card, as played:
| Card | Effects of Play |
|---|---|
| Ace | In playing an Ace, the player may opt to move one of his Marbles already on the board forward exactly one space or may move one marble from his Start section to his corresponding Start hole. |
| Two, Three, Six, Eight, Nine | A player may move one of his marbles exactly the number of spaces forward along the track as is marked on the card. A marble may jump over another marble during it's move (as long as that marble is of another color) but may not jump over a group of two or more consecutive marbles. A marble may also never be advanced beyond or land on, a Marble in the Base hole of it's own color. If a marble lands directly on another marble of any color, the marble that is landed on is returned to the player whose marble that is to be placed back in the Start area of that player. |
| Four | The player may move one of his marbles four spaces in reverse (counter-clockwise) around the board. As with forward movement, a player may never jump over two or more consecutive marbles and any marble directly landed upon is returned to the respective player's Start area. A marble may not be reversed into a player's own Goal, but may be reversed backwards beyond the entry point for the Goal and on a later turn advanced into that Goal. |
| Five | The player may move any marble (of his own or any another player's color) forward exactly five spaces. The same rules for forward movement apply to this forward movement. If a player moves a marble of an opponent, it may as part of the five space movement, advance past the Goal (which will require that marble to later reverse or be advanced completely around the table again), but if a player moves his own or a partners marble, it may be moved into the Goal if able. A player may not move another player's marble if that marble is in the Base hole corresponding to that player. |
| Seven | The player may move a total of seven spaces with his own marbles. He may move one of his marbles seven spaces or divide the move up amongst two or more of his marbles. The same rules for advancing a marble past other marbles and landing on other marbles apply in the play of a seven. |
| Ten | Playing a ten provides the player with two options. He may either move one of his marbles exactly 10 spaces forward along the track, or alternatively he may force the player directly to his right to discard any one card from his hand to the center of the board. The discarding player may choose which card to discard, and this counts as his next play, so that player must miss his next turn. |
| Red Jack - Jack of Diamonds (♦) or Hearts (♥) | A player may move one of his marbles exactly 11 spaces forward. Any normal restrictions on forward movement of a marble apply. |
| Black Jack - Jack of Spades (♠) or Clubs (♣) | A player may swap one of his marbles with any other marble on the board (except for a Marble in the Goal, Start area or Base hole) of any color. |
| Red Queen - Queen of Diamonds (♦) or Hearts (♥) | The player may randomly select one card from the current hand of player at his right, with this card simply placed in the center of the board, and that player missing his next turn. |
| Black Queen - Queen of Spades (♠) or Clubs(♣) | Allows a player to move any of his marbles exactly 12 steps forward, with the same restrictions on movement of that marbles as with other normal advancement of a marble. |
| King | Playing a King allows the player to either move one of his marbles into his Base hole from his Start area or allows him to move one of his marbles forward 13 spaces. All forward movement restrictions are still applied, however, any and all marbles passed over during the forward movement are replaced back into the corresponding player's Start area |
As noted in the chart, there are certain restrictions on movement of any marble. A marble in a Home hole of the same color may never be landed on or jumped over, a player may never advance (or reverse) a marble past one of it's same color, and a player may never move a marble past two marbles which are in consecutive spaces. If a marble, at the end of it's move lands on a marble of another color, the marble landed upon is them returned to the corresponding Start area of that color.
A player must use the full number of spaces as allowed in the card played (he may never use just a portion of the card spaces). If a player has no legal move he may simply play a card to the center (called burning a card) and make no move, skipping his turn. However, if the card played could result in a legal move for that player (even if he prefers not to make that move) he must make the allowable move. A player may also, at any time during the hand, discard all four of his cards to the center of the table, skipping the remainder of his turns until the next deal of cards. Once each player has played the last of his cards, the dealer then deals five cards to each player, continuing this each time the players have played all the cards from the hand. If the entire deck becomes exhausted with no winner, all cards played to the center should then be shuffled together and used to form a new deck which is used to deal additional cards to the players.
In order to win, both players in the partnership must have advanced all four of their marbles into the Home area. A player may thus use various cards, if able to advance the marble up and into the Home area, if the number as found on the card would make this move possible. Once a player has managed to advance all his marbles into the Goal area, he then continues playing, using his turn to then advance his partners marbles. Whichever partnership manages to get all eight marbles for that partnership into the respective Goal areas is declared the winning partnership of the game.
Although the partnership variant of the game is most popular, some players prefer the game in which each player plays independently. In this variant, the first player to successfully and legally advance all his marbles into his Goal area is declared the winner.