The Rules
Fast, fierce, and funny. Learn in minutes. Play for hours.
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OBJECTIVE
Be the first to get rid of all your cards.The last player is the Donk → "EE-AW!"
COMPONENTS
53‑card deck:- 1 × Joker
- 4 × Sweep
- 4 × each number 1–12
SETUP
- Shuffle and deal all cards face‑down clockwise.
- First game: the player with the orange DONK! card begins and must play it — as a single or as part of a set (pairs, trips, or quads of the same value).
- From the second game on: the Donk shuffles, deals, and starts with any card or set.
HOW A ROUND WORKS
- Always play a higher value than what’s on top of the pile: singles on singles, sets on sets.
- Can’t or don’t want to play? Say “Skip.” Place your cards facedown on the table and sit out until the pile is cleared.
- If everyone has skipped, clear the pile. The last player who successfully played starts the next round.
CARD ORDER (high → low)
Joker › Sweep › 12, 11, 10 … 3, 2, 1
POWER CARDS
- Joker — beats everything (including sets). Clears the pile and starts the new round.
- Sweep — beats everything (including sets) except the Joker. Clears the pile and starts the new round. Cannot be your last card. If it is, you’re the Donk.
SHOUT WHEN YOU PLAY
- 1 — DONK! → shout “Donk!”
- 5 — LOWER! → shout “Lower!”; only the next player must play a value under 5 (doesn’t apply to Joker or Sweep).
TITLES (finish order)
- First: Rey / Reina — You rule!
- Second: Príncipe / Princesa — So close!
- Second‑last: Bufón — Oops.
- Last: Donk — “EE-AW!”
CARD SWAP BEFORE THE NEXT GAME
- Rey ↔ Donk: swap your two worst for the two best.
- Príncipe ↔ Bufón: swap your one worst for the one best.
IMPORTANT: the Joker is never swapped.
Best cards: Sweep, 12, 11…
Worst cards: 1, 2, 3, etc.
THE FUN RULES
Spice it up with any (or all) of these.- The Donk: Whenever a DONK! card (the 1) is played, the Donk must shout “EE-AW!”. If the Donk plays it themselves, they shout “Donk!” then “EE-AW!”
- The Street: 3+ consecutive numbers force the next number in the sequence. Ex. 6,7,8 forces a 9, etc.
- Donk’s Delight: If someone is Donk 3 times in a row, no swapping between Donk and Rey/Reina this round.
- The Jester: If your last card is the Joker, tell a joke before the next game.
- Wealth Tax: If you’re dealt all four Sweeps, you must play them all on your first turn.
- The Furnace: If a triple of 6s is played, everyone must immediately put all Sweeps from their hand onto the discard pile.
EXAMPLE ROUND
- The player with the orange DONK! opens the first game with that card.
- Next player plays a 4.
- Next plays a 9.
- A Sweep is played — it would clear the pile, but…
- A Joker beats the Sweep and clears the pile; that player starts anew.
- They play a 1 but forget to shout “Donk!”. Another player calls it first → the 1 goes back to their hand and their turn is paused.
- Next play: pair of 7s.
- Then: pair of 10s; the remaining players skip.
- No one can beat it → the pair‑of‑10s player starts the next round.
QUICK GLOSSARY
- Round: until the pile is cleared.
- Pile: face‑up cards in the middle.
- Skip: pass and sit out until the next round.
- Set: pair, triple, quad.
SET REFERENCE
- Pair → two of the same value
- Triple → three of the same value
- Quad → four of the same value