Karma Rules
Also known as Palace, Idiot, or Shed. Be the first to shed every card — hand, face-up table cards, then face-down “blind” cards.
Objective
Empty your hand, then your three face-up table cards, then your three face-down blind cards. The first player to play their last blind card wins.
Players & Deck
•
Players: 2–6 (3–4 is usually best)
•
Deck: A standard 52-card deck. For five or six players this build uses two decks shuffled together so everyone still gets a full deal.
Setup
Each player receives:
1.
3 blind cards — dealt face down; you may not look at them
2.
3 face-up cards — one on top of each blind card (shown as a face-up row)
3.
3 hand cards — your starting hand
Remaining cards form the face-down draw pile.
Pre-Game Swap
Before play begins, look at your hand. Player 1 swaps first in the first game, and the opening seat moves to the next seat each game: Player 2 swaps first in the next game, and so on. You may swap hand cards with your face-up table cards (up to three swaps), then confirm you are ready.
Tip: keep high cards (Aces, Kings) and magic cards (2s, 10s) face up when you can.
When every player is ready, the player with the lowest card in hand (Ace high) starts. Ties go to the first tied seat counting clockwise from the game's opening seat (Player 1 in the first game).
Gameplay
Play proceeds clockwise.
Playing from your hand
On your turn you must play one rank from your hand onto the discard pile. All cards of that rank in your hand are played together.
•
The rank must be equal to or higher than the current discard top (Ace = 14, King = 13, …, 3 = 3), or
•
It must be a magic 2 or 10 (see below)
After a successful play, draw from the draw pile until you have at least 3 cards in hand (or the pile runs out).
If you cannot (or choose not to) play, pick up the entire discard pile into your hand. Your turn ends.
Magic cards
Playable on any card. Resets the pile — the next player may play any card.
Playable on any card. Burns the discard pile (removed from play) and you take another turn immediately.
Must still beat or match the top card. Skips the next player.
Four of a kind
If four cards of the same rank sit on top of the discard pile in a row (from one play or several), the pile is burned just like a 10, and the player who completed the four gets another turn.
Playing from the table
You may play table cards only when your hand is empty and the draw pile is empty.
1.
Face-up cards — play one card at a time under the same equal-or-higher / magic rules. If you cannot play, pick up the discard pile and choose one of your face-up cards to add to your hand. You must empty your hand again before returning to the table.
2.
Blind cards — once face-up cards are gone, flip one blind card. If it is legal (or magic), it is played. If not, take the discard pile and that flipped card into your hand.
Winning
The first player who successfully plays their last blind card wins.