A Simple Guide for First-Time Players

Overview

Dead Man’s Deck is a memory-based strategy card game with a twist of deduction and risk-taking. The goal is simple... end the game with the lowest score possible!

Card Types

There are three types of cards in the deck:

• Phase Cards (Green number cards): Carry points as written

• Power Cards (Red cards): Carry zero points but have special abilities

• Challenge Cards (Black cards): Optional. Use them when you're in the mood for a drinking or party game. Otherwise, remove them from the deck

Setup

• Shuffle the deck

• Deal 4 cards face down to each player

• Each player can secretly view any two of their cards and must try to remember them

Basic Rules

What happens on your turn: Pick One, Discard One

• Pick one card, either from the deck or the top of the discard pile

• Then discard any one card from your hand face up into the discard pile

Simple rule: Always pick one and throw one.

Actions you can do anytime (If you’re fast enough)

These actions can happen at any moment, not just during your turn. But speed is everything

• Self Discard (Memory Match): If someone discards a card and you have the exact same card, you can quickly discard your matching card to reduce your hand size

  • Good memory and quick reflexes = smaller hand = better score

  • But be careful
    • If you throw the wrong card, you must place it back in its original position
    • Plus, take a penalty of 2 cards from the deck (face down, without looking) and add them to your pile
• Opponent Discard (Snatch and swap): If someone discards a card and you remember another player has the same card
  • Discard their copy of that card
  • Pass one of your own cards (your choice) to that player; basically reducing your own hand size and adding in theirs
  • Wrong memory? Same penalty, put the card back and draw 2 penalty cards (face down, without looking)

Important: Speed Matters

In both actions above:

• Only the first player to act gets to make the move

• If you’re late, your move doesn’t count, and you must put your card back exactly where it came from

• Worse, now everyone may have seen it

How the game ends

There are two ways the game can end. Both bring excitement, but one carries a big risk

• All cards discarded: If any player manages to discard all their cards, the game ends immediately
  • That player is rewarded with -5 points as a bonus 

  • All players reveal their cards and calculate their final scores

• “No More a Zombie” declaration: At the start of their turn, a player may claim this

  • The player reveals their cards. All other players get one final turn. Then everyone reveals their cards and scores are calculated

  • If the claim is correct (they do have the lowest score): They receive a -5 point bonus

  • If the claim is wrong (someone else has an equal or lower score): They get punished with the highest score on the table

Scoring

Once the game ends, each player calculates their score using this simple formula:
Total Score = (Sum of all card values in your hand) × (Number of cards left in your hand)

Card values:

• 🟩 Phase Cards = Face value (what’s written on the card)

• 🟥 Power Cards = 0 points

• ⬛ Challenge Cards = 5 points (if used in your game)

Example:
You have 3 cards: 4 (Phase), Power Card, and a Challenge Card
Your score = (4 + 0 + 5) × 3 = 27

 

Related reads

• Dead Man’s Deck FAQs – Gameplay Questions Answered

• Creative Ways to Play Dead Man’s Deck

• Power Cards in Dead Man’s Deck – What they mean and How they work

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