Tricks and the Phantom
is a simple deduction game using only ten (or eleven) cards with a
little bluffing element. Deduce the culprit from among the four persons.
However, there may be a “phantom” who attempts to confuse you.
In the base game, ten cards are dealt to four players, so players
have hands of only two or three cards. As in a trick-taking game, each
player plays one card face down in turn order. While doing this, each
player forecasts who has the highest card (that is, the culprit). Each
card has a color (suit), and you have to show that color when you play
the card; this allows opponents to narrow down the number of your card,
but some cards have a special effect, so big numbers don’t win
automatically. Points are awarded to whoever played the highest card
(the culprit) and to whoever correctly forecasted that player winning.
Tricks and the Phantom is not just card luck. It is a strategy inference game that requires you to read each other’s psychology.
