Ridgeline
Climb a route of camps. The table that clears the route with the lowest fatigue takes the ridge.
Players
Two to six. Four is the usual table. Seat 1 deals the first hand, then the deal passes to the left. The seat on the dealer's left leads.
The deck
One hundred trail cards: five colours (Glacier, Pine, Ember, Dusk, Sunstone), ranks 1 through 10, two of each. Six Ropes. Five Whiteouts.
The route
A camp is two requirements, except camp 7, which is three. Clear a camp by pitching every requirement in one turn, then discarding. You climb one camp per hand, and only if you pitched.
Colour group of 4, and a run of 3
Set of 3, and a spread of 5
Tally of 20, and a set of 3
Colour run of 4, and a set of 3
Spread of 5, and a colour group of 5
Run of 6, and a tally of 15
Colour run of 5, and a spread of 5
Summit: colour run of 6, and a set of 4
Ridge (the default) is all ten camps. Sprint, chosen in the lobby, is five: camps 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9 of the full route.
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A run is consecutive ranks inside 1–10, with no gaps and no duplicates. It may be longer than the minimum.
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A colour group is one colour. It may be longer than the minimum.
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A colour run is both: one colour, and a run.
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A spread is exactly five cards, one of each colour. It cannot grow, and nothing can be laid off onto it.
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A tally is three or more cards whose ranks sum to the target exactly. It cannot grow, and nothing can be laid off onto it.
Every requirement needs at least one real trail card. A group of only Ropes does not count.
A hand
The first hand deals ten cards to each seat and turns one card to start the discard. From the second hand on (Trail Aid), the deal is eleven.
If the turned card is a Whiteout, it is spent, the seat that would have led misses a turn, and the next card is turned. This continues until a trail card shows, or only one seat is left unskipped. A Whiteout can therefore remain on the discard when nobody else can be skipped. Hands are not redealt.
A turn
1.
Draw one card, from the stock or from the discard. A Whiteout on the discard cannot be drawn. If nothing legal is available, skip the draw.
2.
Pitch, or lay off, or do neither.
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To pitch, stage each requirement, then press Pitch. You must keep one card back to discard. You cannot pitch the last card in your hand.
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A Rope is declared as you stage it: pick a rank from 1 to 10 and a colour. It then counts as that trail card.
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After you have pitched, you may lay a trail card or a declared Rope onto a set, run, colour group, or colour run — yours or someone else's — as long as the group stays legal. Spreads and tallies take nothing more.
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Press Done when you are finished with the play step. Unstaged cards return to your hand.
3.
Discard one card. Discarding your last trail card or Rope goes out and ends the hand. A Whiteout cannot be that last discard.
Whiteouts
A Whiteout is not a trail card. In hand it is worth 10 fatigue.
On your discard step, with at least one other card in hand, you may spend a Whiteout to name another seat. That seat misses their next turn. If every other seat is already skipping, the Whiteout is spent and nobody is skipped.
If a Whiteout is your only card, you cannot go out on it. Keep it and pass the turn. You are still holding it.
Fatigue
Fatigue is the cost of the latest hand, not a running total. It is scored when somebody goes out, after camps advance:
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Each trail card left in hand counts its rank.
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Each Whiteout left in hand counts 10.
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Each Rope left in hand counts 20.
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Each camp you have not cleared counts 25.
The seat who went out has an empty hand, so their card fatigue is 0. They still pay 25 for each camp still ahead.
Winning
The hand that ends with anyone on the summit ends the game. A sole summit-clearer wins outright. If several seats cleared the route on that hand, the lowest fatigue among them takes the ridge. Everyone else, however low their fatigue, has not finished the climb.
How to play at the table
Press a card, then the slot it belongs in. For a Rope, also press a rank and a colour. Press Pitch when every requirement is staged, or Done to move on. Then discard.