Growing discard deck
Build future buying power by putting purchased cards into a recycling discard pile.
Logic & rule checking
- Players
- 2 players
- Time
- 20–25 minutes
- Materials
- Separate starting decks: six C1 and two blank cards each; shared twelve C2 and twelve S2 cards.
Prepare
Each shuffles a private eight-card deck containing six C1 coins and two blank cards. C1 supplies one buying coin when in hand; C2 supplies two. S2 has no buying value but scores two stars at the end. The shared supply contains twelve C2 costing 3 and twelve S2 costing 4; supply piles are public.
Play
Choose a first player, then alternate six turns each. Draw four cards. If the draw pile runs out mid-draw, shuffle your discard pile into a new draw pile and continue; never shuffle the current hand. Add the coin values in hand and buy at most one affordable card, placing it directly in your discard pile. Unspent buying coins disappear at turn end.
Worked example
A hand C1,C1,C1,blank buys a C2 for 3. The purchased C2 cannot add buying power immediately because it is in discard, not hand. Discard the whole hand after buying. A later C2,C1,C1,blank hand has 4 and may buy S2. If no purchase is affordable or desired, skip buying.
Finish and check
After each player’s sixth turn, count S2 cards across every private zone: draw pile, discard and any cards still being cleared. Each scores 2; coin cards score 0. Most stars wins, equal stars draw. Do not count an S2 again because it cycled through the deck twice.
Adaptation and limits
Keep draw, hand and discard physically separate. Cards may be handwritten on identical scraps, with an adult shuffling if needed. There is no debt, saved money or real purchase. The small fixed supply and six-turn session are our separately written kit, with no claim of optimal strategy or competitive balance.
Purpose, observation and provenance
Within this activity: Build future buying power by putting purchased cards into a recycling discard pile.
Explain one legal decision and check it against the written constraints; a single result does not measure lasting ability.
Our rules, examples and printable diagrams are separately prepared. The earliest inventor of the broader mechanism is not established here.
Free alternative: Copy the supplied grids, labels and cards onto reused paper. No specialist product is needed. Adults may prepare pieces or act as a scribe.
Printable materials
Preview at 100% scale, with browser headers and footers off. Cut with suitable help. Keep host keys separate. This is a manual tabletop kit, not an online opponent, automatic judge or solver.
Player materials · Growing discard deck
Per player: C1×6, blank×2. Shared: C2×12(price 3); S2×12(price 4).
Turn / hand / buying coins / purchase / stars owned.
Additional pieces / private cards
Player1 starting deck
Player2 starting deck
Shared supply
Player record · keep host key separate
| Turn | Coins in hand | Purchase | Discard size |
|---|---|---|---|
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
| ________ | ________ | ________ | ________ |
Host key · separate from players
C1×3+blank=3 buys C2 into discard. C2+C1+C1+blank=4 buys S2. Each owned S2 scores 2 once.
Run the round
Each shuffles a private eight-card deck containing six C1 coins and two blank cards. C1 supplies one buying coin when in hand; C2 supplies two. S2 has no buying value but scores two stars at the end. The shared supply contains twelve C2 costing 3 and twelve S2 costing 4; supply piles are public.
Choose a first player, then alternate six turns each. Draw four cards. If the draw pile runs out mid-draw, shuffle your discard pile into a new draw pile and continue; never shuffle the current hand. Add the coin values in hand and buy at most one affordable card, placing it directly in your discard pile. Unspent buying coins disappear at turn end.
A hand C1,C1,C1,blank buys a C2 for 3. The purchased C2 cannot add buying power immediately because it is in discard, not hand. Discard the whole hand after buying. A later C2,C1,C1,blank hand has 4 and may buy S2. If no purchase is affordable or desired, skip buying.
After each player’s sixth turn, count S2 cards across every private zone: draw pile, discard and any cards still being cleared. Each scores 2; coin cards score 0. Most stars wins, equal stars draw. Do not count an S2 again because it cycled through the deck twice.
Keep draw, hand and discard physically separate. Cards may be handwritten on identical scraps, with an adult shuffling if needed. There is no debt, saved money or real purchase. The small fixed supply and six-turn session are our separately written kit, with no claim of optimal strategy or competitive balance.
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Activity library · Pass and pick shapes: rules and printable materials