Round-Up! The Official Card Game of the Riverdill Sheriff Force

Aim of the Game:

Get the two cards in your hand to add up to exactly 20 (the Perfect Score!), or get as close to 20 as you can without going over!

Setup:

  1. Find Two Decks: Grab two regular decks of cards that have different colored backs (for example, one blue deck and one red deck).

  2. Sort the Cards: Pick your two favorite suits—let's say, Spades and Hearts! From the blue deck, pull out all the Spades and Hearts from Ace through 10 (leave the Jacks, Queens, and Kings in the box). That will give you 20 cards. Do the exact same thing with the red deck. (Remember, Aces equal 1 point!)

  3. Combine and Shuffle: Mix your 20 blue-backed cards and your 20 red-backed cards together. You now have a perfect, fast-playing Riverdill deck of 40 cards!

  4. Deal: Deal 2 cards to each player. Keep your cards a secret!

  5. The Piles: Put the rest of the cards face-down in the middle of the table. This is the Draw Pile. Flip the top card over and place it next to the Draw Pile. This is the Discard Pile.

How to Play:

The player with the fluffiest hair (or the youngest) goes first! Players take turns going clockwise around the table. 

On your turn, you must choose to do ONE of the following:

  • Action 1: Draw and Discard –

    • Draw: Take one card from the top of one of the two Draw Piles OR take the top face-up card from one of the Discard Piles. Now you have 3 cards.

    • Discard: Choose one card from your hand that matches the same color and put it face-up on the Discard Pile. You are allowed to discard the card you just drew! You must end your turn with only 2 cards in your hand.

OR

  • Action 2: Call "Round-Up!"

    • If you look at your two cards and think your score is high enough to win, you don't have to draw or discard at all! Instead, you can loudly declare, "Round-Up!" This means you are locking in your hand. You are not allowed 

Ending the Game (The Round-Up Reveal!):

When a player calls "Round-Up!", or you have either gone through three turns in one game the game is over.

  1. The Round-Up Rule: Every other player gets exactly one more turn to draw and discard to try and beat the player who called Round-Up.

  2. The Reveal: After those final turns are taken, it’s time for the reveal! On the count of three, everyone flips their 2 cards face-up at the exact same time.

  3. The Winner: Add your two cards together. The player with the highest total (up to 20) wins the round! 

Special Riverdill Rules:

  • The Sheriff's Pair: If two players tie with the same total score, but one player has a pair of the same number (like two 9s to make 18), the pair wins!

  • The Winner’s Chore: In the Riverdill Lands, the player with the highest score has to do a small favor for the losers—like shuffling the deck for the next round, or fetching them a glass of water!

Tips for Younger Deputies (Ages 4-6):

  • Play Face-Up: For the first few games, leave everyone's cards face-up on the table so parents or older siblings can help with the math.

  • Lower the Score: Take out the 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s from both colored decks. Make the "Perfect Score" exactly 10 instead of 20!