What is Warren
Warren is a friendly card game designed by Warren Woodhouse.
- Each player receives the same deck to make the game as fair as possible.
Players and Cards
Warren is a two-player or seven-player game using one standard British decks of 52 cards with 6 jokers removed, a set of 4 cards for each player to begin with.
Player 1
Player 2
Player 3
Player 4
Player 5
Player 6
Player 7
Objective
Each hand has 4 cards per player with no jokers and no jacks in the deck at all (2 jokers and 4 jacks removed). The objective is to get a total numerical value of 43 in order to win the round with 4 rounds in the game.
Opening Round
To start, each player receives 4 cards from the shuffled deck, this forms their initial hand. The objective is to get a total numerical value of 43. Any number above 43 is bust. A player with 43 must shout out “Warren” to win the round.
Game Play
After the opening round play continues with players taking turns. On each turn, you must do one of the following:
- If you don’t have a total numerical value of 43 to begin with, the dealer must ask if you want a card to be drawn from the deck and added to your current hand. You can pass your turn by saying “Pass”.
- You can split your hand to form two separate hands. This follows the same rule which implies that 43 is the total value to win the given round. This can be effective if you decide to create a set of 20 and a set of 23, equally adding up to 43. If you go bust on one hand, both hands become bust and you lose the round.
- Trade in your current set of dealt 4 cards for a new set. This can only be done at the start of the round and not halfway through.
Any hands that are discarded from play need to be added to the discard pile. These cards can't be recovered.
Playing Number Cards
(Ace=10, King=10, Queen=10, Jack=0, Joker=0)
Number and Face cards in each hand are played.
- If Ace is in the playing hand: King & Queen are considered as 1
- If King is in the playing hand: Queen & Ace are considered as 1
- If Queen is in the playing hand: Ace & King are considered as 1
Winning
To score you simply add the total sum of number and face cards that you have. Total value of the hand is 43 to win. Over 43 is bust.
1=1
2=2
3=3
4=4
5=5
6=6
7=7
8=8
9=9
Ace=10
King=10
Queen=10
Jack=0
Joker=0
Deck and Hand Construction
You must have a minimum of 30 cards to play with in your deck - the rules mention a maximum number of 4 cards allowed in your hand. You may use more than one set of traditional playing cards and have any number of cards of any type provided they don't include any two cards that are precisely the same (face and back). In practice, deck construction doesn't matter. So long as you're playing with at least 30 cards and don't have two of the same card from identical decks, then you are playing by the rules. A full 54-card deck with Jokers for each player is ideal for even, fair game play. Both players have the same cards and the same advantage. 54 cards is also enough for what could be a battle, should the game go on for that long.
Running Out of Cards
If you run out of cards, you automatically lose and the opponent(s) win the round.
