BACON

Play
Each deal is played over a number of rounds. For the first
deal, the player to the dealer’s left leads to start the first round
by playing an opening card combination. This opening
combination begins the card pile for the round; all subsequent
combinations are played on top of this pile.

ORDINARY COMBINATIONS
There are ten (10) types of ordinary combinations to play.

● Singles: One card played by itself

● Pairs: Two cards of the same rank

● Triples: Three cards of the same rank

● Runs: Three cards of consecutive rank

● Bobtails: Four cards of consecutive rank

● Straights: Five cards of consecutive rank

GAME OBJECTIVE ● Stretches: Six cards of consecutive rank
Go out first. Hope your partner goes out next.
PLAYERS ● Stairs: Two pairs of consecutive rank
4 or 6
EQUIPMENT ● Tubes: Three pairs of consecutive rank
2 packs of standard playing cards
RANKING ● Plates: Two triples of consecutive rank
(low) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 X (high)

Introduction BOMBS
Bacon is a fixed-partnerships climbing game that is all about Bombs are a special type of combination. There are five types
going out early as a team. The only team that will score is the of bombs. In order, from lowest to highest they are…
team that goes out first, but their score will depend on when
the rest of the team goes out. If your team does NOT go out 1. Quads: Four cards of the same rank
first, your job is simple: make the other team go out as late as
possible. 2. Straight Flushes: Five cards of consecutive rank and
all cards are in the same suit
Materials 3. Quints: Five cards of the same rank
You will need two copies of each rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 in
three suits (60 cards). You will also need 8 wild cards (X). 4. Stretch Flushes: Six cards of consecutive rank and
(You can use face cards for this–Jacks, for instance.) all cards are in the same suit

5. Hexes: Six cards of the same rank

Setup
Players choose partners. These partnerships remained fixed for
the entire game. Partners should sit across the table from one
another, with one opponent on their left and the other WILD CARDS
opponent on their right. The Xs can be used as wild cards to represent any card from 1
to X (highest natural rank + 1) in any suit. Wild cards can be
A game of Bacon is played over several deals. For the first used to form ordinary combinations AND wild cards can be
deal, select one of the players to be the dealer. Give 2 wild used to form bombs!
cards to each player. Shuffle the remaining cards. Deal 15
cards, face-down, to each player. Players can hold their wild The person playing a combination should always name what
cards or leave them on the table in front of themselves the combination is meant to be.
(whichever they prefer).
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PLAYING THE ROUND ● A team that wins 1-2 scores 4 points;
After leading a combination, play proceeds clockwise with ● A team that wins 1-3 scores 2 points;
each player having the option to play a higher-ranking ● A team that wins 1-4 scores 1 point.
combination or pass. Note that a player with a higher
combination can choose to pass instead of playing it. A player CONTINUING PLAY
without a higher combination must pass. After all the scoring has been recorded, another deal begins
and new hands are dealt.
To be higher-ranking, the new combination must be of the
exact same type, have the exact same number of cards, and The new dealer is the next player on the team with the most
have higher-ranking cards. So if a single card is led, only a points in turn order from the previous dealer; if there is a tie,
higher single can be played; if a pair is led, only a higher pair the new dealer is chosen, as described, from the team of the
can be played; a straight can only be beaten by a higher player that went out first.
straight; and so on.
The player to the left of the dealer leads.
Bombs are the only exception to this rule. A bomb can be
played, in turn order, to beat any combination except a bomb
Win
of the same or higher rank. After a bomb has been played, it
Play to 8 points or 8 deals (whichever happens first).
may only be beaten by a higher-ranked bomb of the same type
OR any bomb of a higher type (e.g., any Straight Flush beats a
As soon as one team reaches the target score, that team wins
Quad). Bombs CAN be led.
immediately. You do not need to finish playing the hand.
Players continue in this manner, playing successively higher
If the final deal has been reached, and a team that is ahead–or
combinations of the same size and type or passing until a
tied–goes out first, that team wins immediately. You do not
combination is played and all other players pass in succession.
need to finish playing the hand.
This ends the round.
If, after the final deal, there is a tie, play one additional deal
A player goes out when they have played their last card. A
until one player on one team goes out first. That team
round ends as soon as all players but one have passed in
immediately wins.
succession or all players on one team have gone out. A player
that passes may still play a combination later in that same
round.
SIX PLAYERS
When the round ends, whoever played the highest Use two copies of each rank 1-9 in four suits. Deal 12 cards to
combination is the round winner. The card pile is cleared away each player. Give each player 2 wild cards.
and the round winner can EITHER lead to start the next
round OR they can give the lead to their partner by saying The game is played in two teams, 3 vs 3. The team score is
“Partner, you lead.”. based on when the 2nd and 3rd players on your team go out:

If the round winner went out, they can give the lead to their Out Score
partner or they can let the person to their left lead. 1 -
2 8
Partners can NOT discuss who should lead. The choice is 3 4
the round winner’s to make on their own. It cannot be 4 2
refused by the partner. 5 1
6 0
ENDING THE ROUND
When all players on one team have gone out, the round and For example: If your team goes out 1-3-5 you score 4+1=5
the deal are over. The round and the deal end as soon as the points.
remaining partner plays their last card.
Play to 24 points or 6 deals, whichever happens first

Score SIX PLAYER ONLY

The first player who runs out of cards wins the deal on behalf The player that won a trick can ask just one of their partners,
of their team. Play continues until the other member of the “Do you want the lead?” to which that partner can respond
winning team also runs out of cards. If the second member of only “Yes” or “No.” If the round winner has gone out, and two
the winning team finishes second, it is a 1-2 win; if third, it is partners remain, the round winner can still ask this question.
a 1-3 win; if fourth, it is a 1-4 win. If only one partner remains, the round winner cannot ask this
question.

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 APPLEWOOD CHUNKY BACON
Variant Variant
PLAYERS PLAYERS
3 to 6 4 or 6

Applewood is the no-partnerships version of Bacon. There are You can also use the Applewood scoring to play the Bacon
no teams; it’s every person for themselves. Your score will partnership game by combining the individual scores for each
depend solely on the position you go out, so go out early. team member. End the hand once one team has gone out (no
points are scored by the remaining players).
Each deal is played until only one player is left holding cards.
4P is better if you use 4, 2, 1, 0.
3P For 4P play to 20 points. For 6P play to 40 points. Finish the
Use 3 suits doubled, ranks 1-8 plus 6 wild cards for 54 cards.
hand and the team with the higher score wins.
Deal 16 cards to each player. Give each player 2 wilds.

The first player out scores 2 points. The Team

The second player out scores 1 point. Designer: Sean Ross
The third player scores 0 points. Playtesters: Adley, Ben B, Robert B, Sai Beppu, Shreesh
Bhat, Emmy Caldwell, Ryan Campbell, Martin Griffiths,
The dealer is the player with the highest score. If there’s a tie, Daniel Kenel, Adam Kramer, Carol LaGrow, Jinpil Lee, Tara
break in favour of the first tied player to the left of the McFadden, John Owen, Lucinda Owen, Piper Owen,
Susannah Owen, Ozaki, Ivy Thurston, Jason Thurston, Bert
previous dealer.
Trobaugh, Steven Ungaro, Daniel G. Vieu, Peter Winckles.

The starter for the next round is the player with the lowest
score. If there’s a tie, break in favour of the first tied player to Bacon v1.2.0
Last Updated 18/04/2023
the left of the dealer. Originally Published 20/06/2022

The game is played to 6 points. If there is a tie, either share

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
the victory or continue playing until there is a winner. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

4P Image Credit: Fanghong

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/1/1d/20181223082232%21
The deck and deal are the same as in Bacon. Chinese_paper_cutting-Pig.jpg

The scoring is 3, 2, 1, 0.
Patreon
Play to 8 points. If you would like to support the designer for this or future
designs, please consider becoming a patron:
5P
Use 3 suits doubled, ranks 1-10 plus 10 wilds for 70 cards. https://www.patreon.com/seandavidross

Deal 12 cards to each player. Give each player 2 wilds.

The scoring is 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.

Play to 10 points.

6P
The deck and deal are the same as in Bacon.

The scoring is 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0.

Play to 12 points.
3