Live Grenade

Live Grenade is a luck and strategy based playing card game for 2-5 players. The game is played with 51 of a standard 52 card playing deck. The object of the game is to draw cards each turn and avoid drawing the Live Grenade. There are several key cards that can be played to keep the player being eliminated by drawing the Live Grenade. The game is very similar to Exploding Kittens, but has a simplified rule set and a slightly faster method of play.

Backstory

This brutal unforgiving game is modeled after Exploding Kittens, but played with playing cards. It's meant to be a simpler form of the game with less complicated rules that can reach all audiences. The idea is that a Live Grenade can end your life, but a Best Friend will save you by jumping on that Live Grenade. You lose your best friend, but hey; you get to live. Along your journey through the deck you will be blessed with the ability to steal from your enemies, force them to face their fate, reverse the order of fate and even cancel their abilities. This game is not for the feint of heart and has been known to ruin friendships. Play at your own risk!

Setting Up The Game

Start by removing the 3 of Spades and both Jokers from the game. They will not be used to play. Remove all four Aces, four 2's and the 3 of Hearts from the deck and set them aside for now. At all times there should only be 1 less Ace than the number of players. So if there are only 4 people playing you should remove one of the Aces from the game. The four 2's and the 3 of Hearts represent the number of players playing. If there are less than 5 players playing than remove 2's until these cards match the number of players playing. Distribute the 3 of Hearts or one of the remaining 2's to each player. With the four Aces removed from the deck, shuffle the deck and distribute two additional cards to each player. Now shuffle the Aces into the deck and set the deck at the center of a surface so that all players can reach it. Place any cards played in a discard pile next to the deck.

Rules

• Everyone starts the game with a Best Friend and two additional cards. The additional cards cannot be Live Grenades. You can never have a Live Grenade in your hand.
• The person to the left of the dealer starts the game. If a game was played previously, than the winner of the game determines who goes first. The winner can choose themselves.
• Turns are ordered clockwise in the beginning of the game; always to the left of the last player who completed a turn until a Reverse is played.
• If you have any cards that you want to play you may do so only before you draw a card. Drawing a card from the deck ends your turn. You may play as many cards as you like until your turn ends. The Cancel is the only exception to this rule, but the Cancel can only be played when another player plays a card.
• If you play a card, the card you played goes to the discard pile.
• If you draw any of the Aces you must show it to all players. You cannot keep an Ace in your hand. If you draw a card that is not an Ace, you must keep it in your hand. The Aces are the Live Grenades.
• If you draw a Live Grenade you lose the game and the Live Grenade that was drawn is placed in the discard pile unless you have a Best Friend. If you draw a Live Grenade with at least one Best Friend in your hand you must place one Best Friend in the discard pile and then reshuffle the Live Grenade back into the deck. There must always be one less Live Grenade than the number of players playing in the deck at all times. Best Friends are the 2's and 3's.
• If you have a matching pair of any cards from 4-9 you may play them at the start of your turn in order to steal one card from another player's hand. You may choose what player you can steal from, but that player does not have to show you their hand. You will have to choose a random card from their hand. If you play a pair you are still required to draw from the deck in order to end your turn.
• If you have a 10 you can play the 10 to steal one card similarly to a pair with the only difference being that each 10 is a steal; you don't play them in pairs. You are still required to draw after you play a Steal.
• If you have a Jack you can play it to skip your turn. If you play a Skip your turn ends immediately and you are not allowed to draw.
• If you have a Queen you can play it to skip your turn and reverse the order of play. For example, if the next player is to the left of you, but you played a Reverse, then your turn ends and the player to the right of you begins their turn and the game continues to be played toward the right (counter-clockwise) until another player plays a Reverse.
• A King can be played to Cancel a Pair, a Steal, a Skip, a Reverse or another Cancel. You cannot Cancel a Live Grenade or a Best Friend. You cannot play a Cancel unless another player plays a card. You can Cancel the action of any player even if that action isn't directed towards you.
• If you have no cards in your hand because you played them all and/or they have been stolen from you the game is not over for you. You must continue to draw. The game will only end when you draw a Live Grenade and you do not have a Best Friend.
• If their is a waiting list to play then the top 3 players can continue to play while the first two to lose must be rotated out.

Important Cards

Live Grenades

Aces act as the Live Grenades. You should only have one Live Grenade less than the number of players playing in the deck at all times. If these cards are drawn from the deck the player must immediately show all other players the Ace. You cannot keep a Live Grenade in your hand. If you draw a Live Grenade and you don't have a Best Friend you lose the game. If a player loses the game the Ace is discarded. If a player uses their Best Friend the Ace is shuffled back into the deck.

Best Friends

Best Friends are the 2's and 3's. There should be 3+ the number of players playing of these cards. Best Friends cancel the drawing of a Live Grenade and allow you to remain in the game; but the Live Grenade you drew will also remain in the game and be shuffled back into the deck. Best Friends are the most valuable card and therefore you should strive to steal other player's best friends and hope that you draw these cards from the deck. Generally, the player with the most Best Friends will win the game; but not always. Sometimes, that player can run into a series of unfortunate events.

Pairs

Cards marked from 4 through 9 can be played in matching pairs. A matching pair is a pair of cards with the same number; the suit is not important. All of these cards are used in the deck when playing the game. When you play a pair you can steal one card from any player. The player does not have to show you their hand when stealing. It is not a good idea to play a pair at the start of the game as it reduces the size of your hand which can make you a target for stealing since their is a higher probability that they can steal your best friend.

Steals

A 10 is a Steal card and all four are used in the deck to play the game, but you only need one for the effect. Steals are different from pairs because you can steal one card for every Steal card in your hand; they don't form pairs. Steal cards are best played early in the game where you can maintain the size of your hand and increase the odds of stealing a Best Friend.

Skips

A Jack is a Skip card and all four are used in the deck to play the game, but you only need one for the effect. When you play a Skip your turn ends immediately without you having to draw. These are best played when you know or truly feel that you are about to draw a Live Grenade.

Reverses

A Queen is a Reverse card and all four are used in the deck to play the game, but you only need one for the effect. When you play a Reverse your turn ends immediately without you having to draw similar to the skip. The difference between a Skip and a Reverse is that a Reverse also reverses the direction of play. So if the turn order is clockwise, then the new turn order would be counterclockwise. These cards are effective at removing the player that takes a turn before you. Since it also behaves like a Skip it has the added bonus of avoiding the draw of a Live Grenade. If there are only two players in the game, then the Reverse and the Skip are essentially the same card.

Cancels

A King is a Cancel card and all four are used in the deck to play the game, but you only need one for the effect. You can only play a Cancel when another player plays a card. You cannot play a Cancel when you draw the Live Grenade or when any player plays a Best Friend. The Cancel card can only be played against Pairs, Steals, Skips, Reverses and other Cancels. The Cancel card can be played even if the action played isn't directed towards you. Cancels allow you to control the flow of the game and it is best to save these cards for the very end or use them early when you have little cards in your hand and are afraid of another player stealing your Best Friend.

Other Ways To Play

Alternate Elimination Rules

You can alter the elimination rules based on the number of players waiting to play. If there are many players that are waiting to play the game you can enhance the Elimination Rule by eliminating everyone except the winner. This way you can rotate four players every match.

Multiple Decks

You can play with more players by adding additional decks. For example, if you add another deck of 51 cards than you can play with up to 9 players. You can only have one more player than the number of Live Grenades. You don't have to add an entire additional deck to increase the number of players playing. Following the standard rules of 1 Live Grenade less than the number of players playing and 3+ the number of players playing number of best friends works best for the flow of the game, but you aren't limited to playing with the standard rules. When playing with 9 players you may want to add 6+ the number of players playing to the deck to ensure that the majority of players won't get eliminated quickly. You may also want to increase the number of cards dealt to each player to four.

Two-Three Player Format

If you are playing with two or three players, playing with 51 cards may drag the game to be longer than usual. It's a good idea to remove a set of pairs to reduce the size of the deck in addition to removing the Aces and Best Friends. When playing with three players remove one set of pairs to make the flow of the game go by a little more quickly. When playing with two players remove two sets of pairs and one of the additional best friends so that their are only 2 Best Friends in the deck in addition to the Best Friend held by each player at the start of the game. These adjustments will help balance and increase the speed of the game.

References

1. https://explodingkittens.com/

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