Objective

Welcome to the twisted world of Schemers & Scammers, where the ultimate goal is to be the first player to a cumulative $200,000. Build your ill-gained fortune by playing questionable stockpile cards & sabotaging fellow players through the use of action cards.

Man in a Hawaiian shirt sitting on a red throne/chair with a pet tiger
Fortune Teller scam artist with a crystal ball and a deck of cards

Setup

Shuffle the deck & deal 6 cards to each player. It’s OK to see your own hand, but don’t show anyone else. The player to the left of the dealer starts.

How To Play

  • Play a stockpile card face down in front of you

  • Play an action card

  • Discard a card from your hand

During your turn, choose 1 of 3 actions:

All players involved draw back up to 6 cards at the end of the turn, unless a player was a victim of Phishing

A man in a blue suit trying to open a safe but can't

Ending a Round

Once the draw pile is empty & ANY player players their last card, the round ends. If the last card is an action card, any player may still play an Offer Declined Card. The round continues until all Offer Declined responses are resolved

Scoring

Add the value of your stockpile cards

Schemes: if you ended in a Scheme, then split the value 50/50

Bonus:

if neither schemer tried to Defraud their partner each partner adds $8,000 to their total point value

Penalty:

if a Defraud was unsuccessfully attempted, both schemers subtract $4,000 from their total point value

Uncrackable Safes: Only the safe’s owner keeps its value, even if in a Scheme

If no one reaches $200,000 at the end of the round, rotate dealers, shuffle, & play again! If 2+ players reach $200,000 in the same round, the higher score wins.

& Special Scenarios

Action Cards

Playing card that shows two guys scheming

Scheme

Choose another player to combine stockpiles with.

~Max of 2 players in one scheme

~Each player can only be in one Scheme at a time

~Partners share only stockpiles, not hand or turns

~Can only be broken by a Defraud card

~Ends when a round ends

Playing card that shows a fortune teller scam artist

Scam

Choose 1 other player to steal their entire stockpile.

~Steal any stockpile, even a shared stockpile

~If a shared stockpile is stolen, the Scheme remains intact

A playing card showing a trust fall gone wrong

Trust Buster

Choose 1 stockpile to redistribute to the entire group.

~Redistribute a stockpile 1 card at a time, starting with the player who played the Trust Buster, moving clock-wise

~Those in a Scheme each get a card

~If a shared stockpile is busted, the Scheme remains intact

A playing card showing a guy embezzling money in a suitcase

Embezzelment

Choose another player & randomly steal 1 card from their stockpile.

~The stolen card goes directly into your stockpile

A playing card showing a man in a pharaoh hat crowd surfing due to his pyramid scheme

Pyramid Scheme

Draw a random card from the stockpile of all other players.

~The stolen cards go directly into your stockpile

~For those in a Scheme, only a card is taken from the combined stockpile

~If Offer Declined is successfully used against Pyramid Scheme, all players are protected from Pyramid Scheme

A playing card showing a guy smuggling a monkey

Smuggle

Play up to 2 stockpile cards from your hand into your stockpile.

~No special scenarios

A playing card showing a guy in a blue Hawaiian shirt sitting on a beach with a suitcase of money hand cuffed to him

Offshore Assets

Place on top of your stockpile. All cards underneath cannot be stolen or Trust Busted

~New stockpile cards played after this card are placed on top of this card & can be stolen

~If played while not in a Scheme, & then enter into a Scheme later in the round, all cards underneath this card are not part of the combined stockpile

~In Schemes, the stockpile underneath this card cannot be stolen using Defraud. Value of the combined stockpile underneath this card is split 50/50 at the end of the round. Bonus & penalties still apply

A man phishing unsuspecting victims with a fishing pole

Phishing

Choose 1 player to view 3 of their cards in hand, & then choose 1 of those cards to steal.

~The stolen card is placed directly into your hand

~The individual who played Phishing chooses which 3 cards to view

~Your turn ends after stealing the card

~The victim draws up to 6 cards in hand at the end of their next turn

a playing card showing a guy trying to open a safe but can't

Uncrackable Safe

Choose a card from your stockpile or hand & put it under this card. It cannot be stolen.

~Each Uncrackable Safe can only hold one card

~The card under the safe must be a stockpile card, not an action card

a playing card of a guy with a rubber stamp to decline offers

Offer Declined

Play this at any time when an action card is played against any player.

~Can be used against other Offer Declined Cards

~At the end of the turn, draw back up to 6 cards in hand

a playing card showing a guy pick pocketing a victim

Defraud

If in an existing scheme, steal the shared stockpile. The Scheme then dissolves.

~Only playable by someone in a Scheme

~Does not steal an Uncrackable Safe nor its contents