Fun Game for the Whole Family!!

If you family wants to have some fun this Christmas Season (and throughout the rest of the year), you ought to seriously consider getting the card game called "The Great Dalmuti".

We first played it with a bunch of couples on a FamilyLife Leadership Training event in January of 2008. It as so much fun to play, especially once you "caught on" and began to understand some of the so-called strategy involved. The fun thing is that the game is different every time - it all depends on the cards you get and how everyone else plays them! So much for "strategy"!!

We just played it on last night with a friend of ours from Houston, Troy Meinen. He enjoyed it and the kids had a lot of fun joking with him about becoming the "lesser peon"! We even make it more fun (than the rules state below) by getting a big comfy chair for the Greater Dalmuti and make the Lesser Peasant sit on the floor or on a stool. The Lesser Peasant also has to deal all the cards and take away the cards as they are played!

You can order it online from a number of places on the web. If you enjoy card games, go out on the web and find it an order a deck today. You will have hours and hours of fun with it!

Details on the Game:

The game plays best with 5 to 8 players, though more is possible. The goal is to get rid of your cards by playing grouping of the same rank, such as three 4s. The higher the rank of the card, the worse it is, with the Jester ranked as a 13 (unless played as a wildcard). You can only play a lower rank of the same number of cards as the previous player or you must pass.

The rank of the players is also important. The player in the lead after a particular hand is "The Greater Dalmuti," and the player to his or her left is "The Lesser Dalmuti." The player to the Greater Dalmuti's right is "The Peasant" and the player to that player's right is "The Lesser Peasant." At "taxation" time before each round, the Greater Dalmuti forces an exchange of two cards from his hand with the Lesser Peasant's two best cards (lowest numbered cards, always counting the Jester as 13 for this purpose), and the Lesser Dalmuti swaps one card with the Peasant in a like manner. These ranks are also enforced for other aspects, such as clearing the cards after a round and sometimes getting drinks or other social aspects. The rank can change every hand, so being particularly mean to your lessers can come back to haunt you.

If a Player gets both Jesters, he or she may call for an end to taxation (called a "revolution"). Some players play that a revolution can be called by either peon with a single Jester. If the Lesser Peasant has both Jesters, he/she may call a "greater revolution" which results in all seats being swapped (so the Lesser Peasant becomes the Greater Dalmuti, the Peasant becomes the Lesser Dalmuti, etc.).