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Brain Damage
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A fantastic game. Undoubtedly when you first explain this game,
people give blank stares and are confused, but after a quick round, everyone
usually gets the hang of things. You'll need a deck of cards with all 8s, 9s
and the red 10 tens removed, people, and the ever-important beer. The buzz
factor starts out low, but with lots of people, dealing last can be dangerous
at best.
The ranks of the cards are:
Face cards .5 points
Aces 1.0 point
2-7 face value
10s wild
The game is played just like BlackJack but to 7.5 points.
First, lay out all cards face down, everyone "cuts for deal".
Highest card deals first (10 would be 7.5, 7 is very good). Deal will go
from highest draw to lowest. Very important: you cannot leave the game
until after you have dealt. That's why dealing first is great, dealing last
has been known to result in "Brain Damage."
Dealer takes deck, deals one card face down to first player, one card
face down to self. Player looks at card, then bets any amount of beer, a large
shot glass is usually a good limit.
Player keeps first card face down, and can take as many hits as he
wants. If he goes over 7.5, he must announce that fact, and then drink the
bet. If not, when he stops, dealer turns over his card, and then hits until
he thinks he has the player beat. If dealer busts, he drinks the bet.
When the dealer is satisfied with his hand, the player turns over his
card. Lower total drinks. Ties mean player drinks. The dealer then goes to
the next player, repeating the process until the deck is exhausted.
If the player gets a "five card charlie" (5 cards, not busted), he wins
immediately, dealer cannot draw, dealer loses even with a 10 in hand. If player
draws to 7.5, dealer can of course try to tie (win).
If the dealer begins dealing begins with six or less cards, the penalty
is to deal again. WIth six or less cards, dealer lays them face down, the
player bets, they both draw a card, loser drinks (tie == player drinks)
Play continues until everyone has dealt.
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