Simple Memulation
A Card Game for Two
The First Deal
Shuffle a deck of cards and deal the top 26 cards face down into two hands of 13 each. The 27th card, called The Pritticut, is turned face up upon the Undealt to determine both the Trump suit and Wild Card.
The Examination
Each player is allowed to examine (and or sort) each hand for a brief but specific period of time—say 30 seconds. Lucky Duck—decided by a cut by both players of the Undealt with high card becoming Lucky Duck and low card becoming Lame Duck—chooses which hand Lucky Duck will play and which, by consequence, is consigned to Lame Duck.
The Play
Following the general rules of play for Bridge, Whist, Euchre and other trick-taking games, Lame Duck begins the play with a card of choice, Lucky Duck following suit if possible. The two-card trick is won by the player of the high card, with tricks aligned face-down in front of the players as collected. The trick taker leads to the next trick.
The Trump Suit
When players can no longer follow suit, being void in the led suit, they may either trump (using the suit of The Pritticut) or sluff a card of choice.
The Wild Card
If players have in their hands any Wild Card of any suit (the denomination of The Pritticut) they may play it at will, regardless of suit led. Wild Card trumps all other cards, including trump, winning the trick.
The Score
After all 13 tricks have been collected, they are counted and registered for each player, each trick being one point.
The Old Deal
The Old Deal is left in place for the moment as it plays an important role in the New Deal.
The New Deal and ‘Stragedy
The Old Pritticut is buried in the Undealt which is now dealt into two hands of 13 each. Both players examine both hands, as before, and Lucky Duck again has first choice of hand. However, Lame Duck now has the benefit of ‘Stragedy and may choose one card from the face-down collected tricks of either hand of the Old Deal as The Pritticut for the New Deal, thereby determing the new trump suit and Wild Card, which might dramatically change the relative power of each hand, providing as well another important challenge to Memory Stimulation.
Play and scoring continues with the New Deal, as above, and now the tricks of the Old Deal may be compiled, having served their purpose until the Next Deal of 52 is shuffled and dealt.
Strategies of Memulation
The more you play Memulation the better your own personal strategies will fix themselves in your head: when to lead your long suit, when to lead your short suit, when to trump, and expecially when best to use your Wild Card. Lame Duck's memorization of not only all the tricks taken, but the placement of the cards within each trick is particularly important at Lame Duck's moment of 'Stragedy (which means literally "God's Tragedy", meaning Lucky Duck's Tragedy. Although Lucky Duck has first choice of the hand in the New Deal, Lame Duck may use memory to turn the tables in high fashion and make Lame Duck's hand by far the stronger with a long trump suit and/or a very beneficial Wild Card. This kind of memorization is not easy to develop, but that, after all, is the great challenge and fun of Memulation!
MultivarioMemulation
Memulation is easily adaptable, as can be easily imagined, to multivarious groups for multivarious purposes, be they memory-remedial or merely fun. Some suggested alternative rules can be found in the Reading Room for Older Kids on the Robert Locke/Clayton Bess home page. Check them out when you're feeling comfortable with Simple Memulation.
Contact: Robert Locke
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