Honor System

HandsDown

For 3 or 4 Players

OBJECT:

Play the most card pairs by slapping your Slam-O-Matic® hand.

GAME SETUP

1. Apply the 4 rubber feet to the raised squares on the underside of the game unit.

2. Place the unit in the center of the play area, and take a seat in front of one of the colored hands. All players do the same. Caution: Do not place the unit directly on wood or other surfaces that could become damaged during play.

3. Remove the blank card from the deck and set it aside. If necessary, use it later to replace a lost or damaged card.

4. Choose a player to deal. The dealer shuffles the card deck, then deals one card facedown to each player, until all players have four cards. Place the remaining cards facedown near the game unit to form a drawpile.

5. Pick up your cards and look at them, but don’t show them to anyone else! All players do the same.

GAME PLAY

The player to the left of the dealer takes the first turn. Play then continues to the left.

MAKING A MATCH

Start your turn by drawing the top card from the drawpile and adding it to your hand. Then look at the cards in your hand to see if you have any matching card pairs to play.

Any two cards that show the same number make a match. For example, two 3’s make a match, or two 10’s make a match. Only two matching cards make a pair - never three of a kind, or four of a kind (that’s two pairs!).

The Joker: The Joker does not match any other card - it stays in play until the end of the game, and counts as a bonus.

HANDS DOWN!

If you have a matching pair of cards in your hand, slap your colored hand to play the pair. This is called a Hands Down. Add some fun, if you wish, by calling out: "HANDS DOWN!" as you slap.

As soon as you slap your colored hand, all other players must immediately slap their own colored hands as fast as they can! Note: Players with no cards in their hands cannot participate in a Hands Down.

The player who slaps last loses the Hands Down. Find out who lost by looking at the paddles in the center of the Slam-0-Matic. The loser’s color paddle will be on top.

NOTE: If the colored paddles clump together so that you can’t tell which one is on top, the Hands Down doesn’t count. It’s still your turn, however - so if you want to play that pair, just slap your colored hand again!

After the Hands Down, place your pair faceup in front of you. Then take one card at random from the loser’s hand, and add it to your own hand. If you have another pair to play, slap your hand for another Hands Down!

Play as many pairs as you can on your turn. The more pairs you play, the better your chance to win!

PASSING

Always say "PASS" to end your turn. You must PASS if you only have one card in your hand, or have no pairs and do not wish to fake a Hands Down. See Faking A Hands Down, below.

FAKING A HANDS DOWN

At any time during your turn, you may fake a Hands Down, whether you have a matching pair to play or not. You can fake a Hands Down as often as you like during your turn.

To fake, pretend you’re going to slap your colored hand for a Hands Down - but don’t slap it or even touch it! All players who slap or even touch their colored hands lose one card. Take one card at random from each of these players’ hands.

Fouls

On your turn, you pay a penalty if you don’t slap your colored hand all the way down in a Hands Down, or if you touch your colored hand when faking a Hands Down. End your turn immediately whether or not you have any pairs!

On your turn, any other player who touches his or her colored hand before you slap your own in a Hands Down, must pay a penalty. Take one card at random from that player’s hand, add it to your own, then continue your turn.

WHEN THE DRAWPILE RUNS OUT

Eventually, the drawpile will run out of cards. When this happens, start each turn by taking one card at random from any other player’s hand.

STARTING YOUR TURN WITHOUT CARDS IN YOUR HAND

Whenever this happens, draw two cards from the drawpile instead of one. If the drawpile has run out, you may take two cards from one player, or one card from two players.

ENDING THE GAME

When all of the card pairs have been played, the player holding the Joker places it faceup beside his or her card pairs, and the game ends.

SCORING

Each player counts his or her pairs. Each pair counts as one point; the Joker counts as two points.

HOW TO WIN

The player with the most points wins the game!

In case of a tie, players count up the numerical value of each of their pairs. (For example, one pair of 5's counts as 5 points.) The Joker counts as 20 points. The player with the highest total wins!