Lost Ranks

LOST RANKS

Players: 2 or 4 (4-player: 2 vs. 2) · Time: 25–40 min · Components: 53-card deck (standard 52 + Joker), score pad

THE MISSION

The front moved. The lines shifted. And now your soldiers are out there — every rank, from the lowest rifleman to the spy who was never officially yours — cut off, unable to fight, waiting for someone to bring them home. The enemy wants them too. Every soldier you pull from the field is one they'll never see again. Bring your people home. That's the whole mission.

SETUP (4 PLAYERS)

1. Form Armies. Remove the four Aces, shuffle face-down, each player draws one. Red Ace = Red Army. Black Ace = Black Army. Partners sit across from each other. Return Aces to the deck.
2. Deal. Shuffle all 53 cards. Deal 13 to each player. Place the last card face-up in the center — this is the Trump Card.

3. Read the Battlefield. The Trump Card determines two things

• Trump suit — its suit beats all other suits this round.
• Active Lost Soldiers — its color determines which Jacks can be rescued.

Red Trump Card: J♥ and J♦ are Active. J♠ and J♣ are Inactive. The Spy is Red. Black Trump Card: J♠ and J♣ are Active. J♥ and J♦ are Inactive. The Spy is Black. Redeal if the Trump Card is a Jack or the Joker.

LOST SOLDIERS

The four Jacks and the Joker (the Spy) are Lost Soldiers. They belong to the army matching their suit color (Spy matches Trump Card color). Lost Soldiers follow suit but cannot win tricks. They are not combatants — they move with the battle but someone else must win the fight to bring them home. Active Lost Soldiers (color matches Trump Card) can be rescued for +2 points. Inactive Lost Soldiers (color doesn't match) score nothing this round.

GAMEPLAY

First lead: The holder of the Ace of Hearts leads with it. (If no one holds it, Ace of Diamonds leads instead.) After that, the winner of each trick leads the next.

Playing cards — clockwise, one card each

• Have cards of the led suit? You must play one.
• Have a Jack of the led suit AND other cards of that suit? Play a non-Jack card. The Jack stays protected.
• The Jack is your LAST card of the led suit? You must play it. No one left to shield it.
• Void in the led suit? Play anything — trump, off-suit, or the Spy.

The Spy has no suit. Play it only when void. It cannot lead a trick unless it is your very last card. It cannot win.

Resolving tricks

1. Set aside all Lost Soldiers — they cannot win.
2. Highest trump wins. No trump? Highest card of the led suit wins.
3. Off-suit non-trump never wins.
4. Winner captures all cards (including Lost Soldiers). Lead next trick.

No valid winner? If only Lost Soldiers and off-suit junk remain after setting aside Lost Soldiers, no one wins. All cards are discarded — those soldiers are lost to the battlefield. Lead passes clockwise. Card rank (high to low): A, K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Jacks are unranked — they cannot win.

SCORING

After all 13 tricks, score the round. Partners combine captured cards. Outcome

END OF GAME

First to 10 points wins. Check after each round.

• One army hits 10+: they win.
• Both hit 10+ same round: higher score wins. Tied? Tiebreaker round.
• After 7 rounds, no one at 10: higher score wins. Tied? Tiebreaker round.

Between rounds: Collect all cards, shuffle, deal passes clockwise, new Trump Card, new battlefield.

COMMAND OF TWO (2 PLAYERS)

Same mission. You're just alone — managing a second hand of soldiers you can't fully control. Deal: 17 cards to each player (real hand) + 9 cards face-down to each player (phantom deck). Last card = Trump Card. You may look at your phantom deck. Your opponent cannot. Tricks: Each trick is 2 cards. Leader plays from either real hand or phantom. Follower plays from whichever the leader didn't use. Draw-Two Procedure (phantom plays): Draw top 2 cards. If one or both follow suit, play a suited card. If neither follows, play either freely. Unplayed card goes face-up to the bottom of the phantom deck. Spy restrictions still apply. Phantom leads: Choose freely between the 2 drawn cards — no suit restriction on leads. The Spy cannot lead from phantom unless it's the last phantom card. Victory: Play 4 fixed rounds. Highest total score wins. Tied? Tiebreaker round — Spy capture breaks a second tie.

OPTIONAL: FORCE STRENGTH

Default: OFF. When enabled, after scoring Lost Soldiers each round, the army whose color has the majority among all captured non-Lost cards scores +1. Tied count = no bonus. Add this if rounds feel too low-scoring.

LONGER GAME

4-Player: First to 15 points, no round cap. 2-Player: 7 fixed rounds, highest total.

QUICK REFERENCE CARD

Active Jacks: Match Trump Card color → +2 when rescued by own army. Inactive Jacks: Don't match → +0 always. Spy: Always Active. Matches Trump color. +2 when captured. Play only when void. Can't lead (except last card). Can't win. Jack protection: Must play non-Jack of led suit first. Jack plays only as your last card of that suit. No valid winner: Discard all — lost to the battlefield. 4P Victory: First to 10 (7-round cap). 2P Victory: 4 rounds, highest total.