Kids Books by Marvin

WELCOME!  And thank you for buying the card game, Case of the Stolen Stash!  We hope you have fun playing any of the variations of this game using these unique cards intended to acquaint the players with different species of birds commonly found in eastern Texas.  Below are the rules created for three different games, but feel free to invent your own games. 

Game 1: Take Off!  (c)

Object of the game: To accumulate the most points.

Players: 2, 3, or 4

Game: Each bird photograph card has a number (value) from 1 to 5. There are 2 complete sets of 25 cards (50 cards in all.) Each card in the set shows a bird’s picture. On the corners of each card is a number indicating that card’s point value. There also are 2 “Wild” cards and 2 instructional cards, bringing the total count to 54 cards. FOR THIS GAME, REMOVE ALL FOUR of these extra CARDS BEFORE DEALING. Each player is dealt 7 cards. The rest of the deck is placed face down between the players. Each player examines his 7 cards to see if he has two of the exact same card.  All matching pairs (called a “trick”) are placed face up in front of the player who owns them. The player to the left of the dealer begins play by asking another specific player to give him a specific card. The card he is seeking is the mate to one of the cards in his hand. If the player being asked has the card in his/her hand, he/she must give it to the player asking for it. That player then places his/her newly acquired “trick” on the table, He/she then gets a second turn. If the player does not have the card asked for, he/she tells the requesting player to “Take Off!”  The requesting player then draws a card from the deck of remaining cards placed face down between them. If the requesting player draws the requested card, his/her turn continues.  Otherwise, the player to his/her left becomes the requester. The game ends when all of the cards have been paired and placed in front of each player as a “trick.”  Player with most points in the combined total of all his/her “tricks” is the winner.   

Game 2: Take Off!  (c) (2 Wild cards included)

Object of the game: To accumulate the most points.

Players: 2, 3, or 4

Game: Each card has a bird photograph  and a number (value) from 1 to 5. There are 2 cards with the same picture and card value in each set of 25 cards.  There are also 2 “wild” cards, 1 with a (+) and 1 with a minor (–) point value, and 2 instructional cards. REMOVE THE 2 INSTRUCTIONAL CARDS BEFORE CONTINUING. Each player is dealt 10 cards, the remainder being placed face down between the players.  Each player examines his cards to see if he has two of the exact same card.  All matching pairs (called a “trick”) are placed face up in front of the player who owns them. The player to the left of the dealer begins play by choosing ONE (1) card from the opponent of his/her choice. The card he/she is seeking is the mate to one of the cards in his/her hand. If the player draws a card that matches a card in his/her hand, he/she places the “trick” face up on the table in front of him/her. He/she then repeats the process until he/she fails to draw a matching card. Play continues with the next player to the LEFT drawing a card from the hand of one of the other players. If the drawing player does not get a match, the card he/she draws becomes part of his/her hand.  If a player matches enough sets so that his/her hand diminishes to 4 cards of less, he/she draws 4 more cards from the deck. Play continues in a clockwise direction (the player to the left is next) until all pairs have been matched and placed as tricks in front of the players.

Wild Cards.  Two wild cards are included in the deck of 52 cards.  Two instructional cards also are included, bringing to 54 the total number of cards in each box. One “wild” card has a positive (+) value and one has a negative (-) value. REMOVE BOTH INSTRUCTIONAL CARDS BEFORE CONTINUNG.  The player holding the positive wild card adds 10 points to his/her score.  The player holding the negative (-) wild card, subtracts15 points from his/her score. Player with most points in the combined total of all his/her “tricks”, including any “wild cards” he/she holds at the end of the game is the winner.

Game 3: Find the Seed Lover  (c)

Object of the game: To find the “wild” card bearing a picture of Sammy Squirrel

Players: 1 to 4

Game: Using just half (25) of the bird picture cards, plus 2 “wild” cards, the dealer turns two (2) cards face up.  If either card is the “wild” card showing a picture of Sammy Squirrel, both cards will be returned to the deck and the 27 cards will be reshuffled.  The dealer then turns 2 cards face up. If neither is the Sammy Squirrel card, the rest of the cards will be dealt face down into (5) five rows of 5 (five) cards each.  The first card dealt determines the point value available to be won in that round. The 2nd card indicates the number of chances each player will have to uncover the Sammy Squirrel wild card.  For example, if the 1st card has a 4 on it, the winner will receive 4 points. If the 2nd card has a 2 value, the first player will have 2 attempts to find the Sammy Squirrel card, then if unsuccessful, the next player will have 2 attempts, and so on until the Sammy Squirrel card is found. If a player turns over the other “wild” card, he/she can hold onto that card, and if he/she subsequently discovers the Sammy Squirrel card, he/she will be awarded twice the points indicated by the 1st card. In the example used above, a player finding the wild card and subsequently finding the Sammy Squirrel card would earn 8 points.  After the Sammy Squirrel card is found and the player receives his/her points, the cards are shuffled and the next player will deal them as above. The game continues until someone collects 15 points.

If the 1^st card is the Cat “wild” card, the points available for the winner of the current round will be twice the value of points indicated in the previous round.  If the 2^nd card is the cat “wild” card, each player will have six (6) attempts to locate the Sammy Squirrel card. With the exception of the wild cards, after a player turns over a card and sees it is not one of the wild cards, it is again turned face down exactly as it was before the player turned it face up.

Game 4: Find the Seed Lover  (c) (Advanced)

Object of the game: To find the card bearing a picture of Sammy Squirrel.

Players: 1 to 4

Game: Using just half (25) of the bird picture cards, plus 2 “wild” cards, the dealer turns two (2) cards face up.  If either card is the “wild” card showing Sammy Squirrel, both cards will be returned to the deck and the 27 cards will be reshuffled.  The dealer then turns 2 cards face up. If neither is the Sammy Squirrel card, the rest of the cards will be dealt face down into two (2) circles, the outer circle containing 13 cards and the inner circle containing 12 cards.  The first card dealt determines the point value available to be won in that round. The 2nd card indicates the number of chances each player will have to uncover the Squirrel (wild card.)  For example, if the 1st card has a 4 on it, the winner will receive 4 points. If the 2nd card has a 2 value, the first player will have 2 attempts to find the Squirrel card, then if unsuccessful, the next player will have 2 attempts, and so on until the Squirrel card is found. If a player turns over the CAT  “wild” card, he/she can hold onto that card, and if he/she subsequently discovers the Sammy Squirrel card, he/she will be awarded twice the points indicated by the 1st card. In the example used above, a player finding the CAT wild card and subsequently finding the Sammy Squirrel card would earn 8 points.  After the Sammy Squirrel card is found and the player receives his/her points, the cards are shuffled and the next player will deal them as above. The game continues until someone collects 15 points.

If the 1^st card is the CAT “wild” card, the points available for the winner of the current round will be twice the value of points indicated in the previous round.  If the 2^nd card is the CAT “wild” card, each player will have six (6) attempts to locate the Sammy Squirrel card. With the exception of the wild cards, after a player turns over a card and sees it is not one of the wild cards, it is again turned face down exactly as it was before the player turned it face up.

THIS DECK OF CARDS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN PRODUCED WERE IT NOT FOR THE GENEROSITY OF THE PEOPLE NAMED BELOW.  EACH OF THEM IS A PHOTOGRAPHER, AND EACH HAS ALLOWED ME TO USE THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE “FACE” OF THIS DECK OF PLAYING CARDS.  THE BIRD PHOTOGRAPHS YOU SEE ARE COURTESY OF:

               MARTIN DAVIS

               BILL KELLDORF

               ROBERT STEFFENS

               JOE MARSEY

               STEVE CREEK

             MIKE BLOODSWORTH

             ROB HYNER