Gamehelpchimera

Overview

Be the first to discard your entire hand

The Bid

First, players will take turns bidding points to be the Chimera

On your turn in a three player game, you may Pass or bid 20, 30, or 40 points. If other players have already bid this round, your bid must exceed the current highest bidder.

To prevent infinite bidding, 40 is the highest legal bid. If a player bids 40, the bidding automatically ends and that player becomes the Chimera.

Consecutive passes end the bid phase and the current highest bidder becomes the Chimera

Once you pass, you are allowed to bid when its your turn again as long as the bid phase hasn't ended (i.e. No player bid 40 and there was not consecutive passes).

Every round must have a Chimera. To prevent 'no bids', if everyone passes then the first player who passed automatically becomes the Chimera with a bid of 20.

The two players who do not win the bid for Chimera are known as Hunters

Partnerships

The two Hunters play as a partnership against the Chimera. If either Hunter plays their last card, the hand ends and the Chimera fails to make their bid.

The Chimera begins the round by drawing 3 cards to their hand

The two Hunters now exchange a number of cards determined by the value of the winning bid: 20 Chimera bid, no pass; 30 Chimera bid, pass 1 card; and 40 Chimera bid, pass 2 cards.

Turn

The Chimera leads the trick with any legal combination

Subsequent players have to play higher and in the same combination i.e. higher singles or higher pairs and so on

The exception to this is the Trap and Chimera Flight, which can be played outside of combination

The Trap is Four of a Kind

You are allowed to pass anytime, whether or not you have legal combinations in your hand

As long as the trick is still going, you may re-enter a trick with a legal combination after previously passing

When all players pass, the last player who played to the trick wins the cards into their Treasure pile

Legal Combinations to Lead With in 3-Player Games

• Single Card
• Pair
• Sequence of consecutive pairs (hunters can't be used)
• Sequence of consecutive triples (hunters can't be used)
• Triples with an attached single (does not have to be consecutive)
• Triples with an attached pair (does not have to be consecutive)
• Sequence of consecutive triples with an attached single (does not have to be consecutive)
• Sequence of consecutive triples with an attached pair (does not have to be consecutive)
• Sequence / run of 5 or more consecutive cards (of any suit)
• Four of a kind (trap / bomb)
• Four of a kind with attached single (does not have to be consecutive, not a trap / bomb)
• Four of a kind with attached pair (does not have to be consecutive, not a trap / bomb)
• Chimera Flight: Chimera + Pi Ya (highest trap / bomb)

End of Hand

The hand ends when any player empties their hand

Any cards still in players hands are ignored

If the Chimera went out first, they score double their bid, 25 points for traps, 25 points for Chimera Flight, 25 points for if at least 1 Hunter did not participate

If a Hunter went out first, ALL Hunters score 20 points, the Chimera loses points equal to their bid

Either way, all players gain points for their Treasure pile. 10 Points per Fortune Toad (2). 5 Points per Prosperity Cat (11). 10 Points per Messenger Bird (Q).

After which, check to see if the game ends, otherwise start a new round of bidding

End of Game

The game ends when a player passes 400 points, the player with the most points wins. If there is a tie, play additional rounds until the tie is broken.

If players wish, this limit can be changed to 300 or 500 for a short or long game respectively.