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| Updated 6/15/06 |
| Note: The rules on this
page reflect the most current version available,
and may differ slightly from previously printed rules. |
What’s in the Box
- 52 Pepper® Cards, five colors: blue, green,
orange, purple, and yellow
Each color set contains two cards of each number:
1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Each blue and orange color set also contains one
card for the number 6.
- FAQ Card
- Embossed Tin
- Quick Play Rules
The Object of Pepper
Play the last card from your hand to a player who
is unable to play a card without picking up cards.
Setting Up
- Choose a player to be the dealer. The dealer shuffles
all 52 Pepper Cards and deals 5 cards, face down,
to each player.
- Players pick up the cards they have been dealt
and form a hand.
- Set aside the remaining cards. They will not be
used in this game.
Playing the Game
In Pepper, the cards represent balls being thrown
from player to player. The direction a ball is thrown
determines who takes the next turn. Each ball has both
a number and a color. The number on the card represents
speed—the higher the number, the faster the ball.
-
The dealer starts the game by playing one card
from his or her hand, face-up, in front of any
other player. As the game progresses, each player
will accumulate a pile of cards on the table.
-
The person who received the card takes the next
turn by playing a card, face-up, in front of any
player, using either Option A or B.
Option A: Play
The player leaves the card just received on the table
and takes a card with a higher number or the same color,
from his or her hand, and places it in front of any
player. The person who receives this card takes the
next turn.
Even if a player has a card in hand with a higher
number or the same color as the card just received,
he or she may choose Option B, to pick up and play,
instead of Option A.
Option A–Example 1:
Play a higher number. The card placed in front
of a player is a Blue 2. That player takes an
Orange 4 from her hand and places it in front
of any player. It is a higher number, so the
color doesn’t matter. |
 |
Option A–Example 2:
Play the same color. The card placed in front of
a player is an Orange 4. That player takes an
Orange 1 from his hand and places it in front
of any player. It is the same color, so the number
doesn’t matter. |
 |
Option B: Pick Up and Play
The player who just received the card, picks it up,
along with all other cards that have accumulated in
front of that player, and puts them in hand. He or
she then selects any card from his or her hand and
places it in front of any player. The person who receives
this card takes the next turn.
Option B–Example:
The player receives a Green 3 and picks it up,
along with an Orange 3 and Blue 4 that have accumulated
in front of her. All three cards are added to
her hand. She then selects a Purple 2 from her
hand to place in front of any player. |
 |
Note: A player may not play a
card to him or herself in either Option A or Option
B.
Winning the Game
The first player to play the last card from his or
her hand to a player who is unable to play, without
picking up cards, wins Pepper.
If a player with only one card in his or her
hand chooses to place his or her last card in
front of a player who also has only one card
in hand, one of those two players will win the
game.
If the receiving player can play
a card from his or hand, he or she wins the
game by placing his or her last card in front
of the previous player, who will have no cards
in hand and will not be able to respond.
If the receiving player cannot play
a card from his or her hand without picking up
cards, then the player who placed the last card
wins the game. |
Strategy tips:
-
Dump low numbers.
Try to play your low numbered cards as early as
possible.
-
Pick up high numbers.
There are times you may choose to pick up the cards
in front of you— even if there are higher
numbered or same color cards in your hand. This
will allow you to play the lowest numbered cards
in your hand.
-
Pay attention.
When you are down to your last card you are close
to winning, but the stakes are high. You need
to figure out who will most likely not be able
to play without picking up cards
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