Games Within Games
These in-world games offer more than just fun; they're opportunities for interaction, strategy, and even combat training. From Alyrian Chess to Capture the Flag, Fnargh, and many more, these mini-games provide a compelling distraction from the main quest and offer a chance to interact with other players. Read on to discover the rules and strategies for each game.
GAME
game - information on the games to play within Alyria
Alyrians love games! They've invented a number of games to play including hangman, Fnargh, chess, two kinds of solitaire, darts, blackjack, tag, and capture the flag. You can invite players to a game of tag simply by TAGGING another player. See HELP TAG for more information Hangman, Fnargh, and solitaire are handheld games that may be purchased from vendors around Alyria. See their respective helpfiles for more information on each of these games. Chess can be played from anywhere in Alyria with any other player anywhere in Alyria. Alyrian chess does not use standard rules. It is a modified version of Fischer960. More information about how to play chess can be found in the HELP CHESS helpfile. Players can also challenge each other to games of combat skill in the arena. Any player with the challenge setting on may be issued a challenge. HELP CHALLENGE for more information. The GAME channel is used for internally-run games like Capture the Flag. The game announcer is the only one who can send over this channel, and will do so to announce flag stealings, player deaths, and other interesting information. See HELP CHANNELS for more information.
CAPTURE THE FLAG
capture the flag - instructions on how to play
To promote the development and perfection of their Adventurers' combat
instincts and fighting prowess, the Council of Seven unanimously funded the
construction of a magnificent arena. The Capture The Flag Arena is not located
on the surface of Alyria, but held in an extraplanar realm reachable from the
Recall Points of New Rigel, Rune, Tellerium, Xaventry, Maldra's Keep, Vir and
Sigil.
In order to start or join a CTF team, Adventurers level 30+ may CTF START or
CTF JOIN a game that has already been started. The Red and Blue teams face off
in an moderately-sized field which separates two Keeps. There are multiple
ways to enter each keep, as well as multiple ways to traverse the winding
pathway. Within each keep is a Flag Chamber, which contains either the red
team's flag, or the blue team's flag. To score points you must take the
opposing team's flag from their Flag Chamber and drop it in your Flag Chamber.
The game will end after a team scores the predetermined number of points, or
when the time runs out.
In order to facilitate experimentation and risky tactics, the Council of Seven
has decreed that no PK stats will be collected from within the CTF arena.
STARTING A GAME
Start a game with CTF START <'RED'||'BLUE'>, indicating which team you wish to
be on. Setting up a game involves a series of options, after which players can
enroll in the game. Players will have to be in one of the aforementioned
Recall points to join, and will have 5 minutes to do so, or until all of the
team slots are filled. If the game is not at capacity after 5 minutes, the
game will be canceled.
JOINING A GAME
To join a CTF game, you must be in one of the Recall Points of New Rigel,
Rune, Tellerium, Xaventry, Maldra's Keep, Vir or Sigil. When the enrollment
period for the game begins, CTF JOIN <'RED'||'BLUE'> [<password>]' will join
the team, space permitting. If the game's starter has set an entry fee, that
gold will be taken from your inventory or default bank account. Once you join
a team, you will immediately be transported to the Gargoyle Gate to await the
game's start.
PLAYING THE GAME
The arena area of moderate size, about 100 rooms. The two sides are
approximately symmetrical, with two keeps at the west and east sides of a
field. Moats encircle the keeps, and provide access to a back entrance to
them. Portals and numerous paths link the two keeps together. A reagent shop
is located in each keep, and a Safe room with a mount shop is contained in the
center, where Adventurers will be held for a moment after respawning.
The arena is entirely LPK and Psychotic, which will help prevent one team
snowballing to victory, and some skills cannot be used in CTF to encourage
aggressiveness over turtling and hiding.
Some strategies are:
1. Post your most powerful player(s) in the Flag Room for your
keep, and send your fastest player(s) to capture the other
team's flag.
2. Listen to the Gargoyle who guards the back balcony to the
keep. He will inform you if he sees someone scaling the
wall.
3. Post hidden players along the path, to look for incoming
enemies and thus warn other team members.
ADDITIONAL COMMANDS
The following subcommands are available:
REQUEST <min level> <max level> - sends an automated message over the game
channel to anyone listening and notifies them of your desire to begin
a CTF game with players of <minimum level> to <maximum level>.
Minimum and maximum levels must be between 61 and 241.
START <red or blue> <minimum level> <maximum level> - set up a CTF game,
choosing from a set of options which dictate the game rules. Minimum
and maximum levels must be a number from 61 to 241.
CTF options are as follows:
Time limit - The maximum duration of the game, in Real minutes, 20-60.
Captures - The number of captures required to win, 1-12.
Players - The number of players each team must have, 2-9.
Cost - The amount of gold it will cost each player to play. The winners
will share the pot. 0-5M gold.
Password - Password-protect the game?
CANCEL - cancels a game which is in the enrollment phase and has not started.
JOIN <'RED'||'BLUE'> - join a CTF game during the enrollment period.
INFORMATION - See information about the current CTF game.
TALK <message> - Delivers a message to your team mates during an active CTF
game.ALYRIAN CHESS
alyrian chess - information on playing the Alyrian Chess game
Chess is a game of logic and skill between two players called 'White'
and 'Black'. Each player has sixteen pieces: A King and a Queen, two
Rooks, two Knights, two Bishops, and eight Pawns. These pieces face
each other in individual squares on opposing sides of the chess board,
which has sixty-four squares - eight across, eight down.
Alyrian chess is a modified version of Fischer960 chess- all non-pawn
pieces will start in a random location in their back row.
Each piece is moved according to its own rules. When a piece is allowed
to move onto a square occupied by an opposing piece, the piece is
considered 'taken' and is removed from play.
The King is considered in 'check' if he is in imminent danger of being
taken by an opposing piece.
The objective of the game is to get the opponent's King in 'checkmate';
which means that the King is trapped on all sides and cannot move and
no pieces on his side can come to his rescue. When a checkmate occurs,
the game is over.
It is possible to reach a stalemate in chess. This means that enough
pieces have been taken by both sides that there is no real way to get
the opposing player's King in check. When a stalemate occurs, the
game is considered a draw (neither side wins) and is ended.
COMMANDS
CHESS LIST - Lists all games and suspended Alyrian Chess games.
CHESS INFO [<#>] - If you are currently playing an Alyrian Chess game,
this will display information about that game (such as whose turn
it is). If a number is specified, it will display information about
that specific Alyrian Chess game. Numbers are displayed in CHESS LIST.
CHESS BOARD [<#>] {<'flip'] - If you are currently playing an Alyrian chess
game, this will display the current chess board visually (note that this
doesn't look good on clients that can't handle ANSI). If a number is
specified, it will display the board of that specific Alyrian Chess
game. Game numbers are displayed in CHESS LIST.
The 'flip' option shows you the board reversed from your current
view.
CHESS PIECES <#> - Displays the current chess coordinates of all pieces on
the specified board, making it more accessible than the CHESS BOARD
command.
CHESS HISTORY [<#>] - If you are currently playing an Alyrian chess game,
this will display the current chess board move history. If a number is
specified, it will display the move history of that specific Alyrian
Chess game. Game numbers are displayed in CHESS LIST.
CHESS START '<title>' [<password>] - Begins a new chess game. Titles
must adhere to normal public channel rules. If you do not specify
a password, the game will be considered 'open', which means anyone
can join. If you specify a password, only a player who knows the
password can join that game.
CHESS STOP - Stops the current chess game, if no other players have
joined. If other players have joined you must use the CHESS RESIGN
option.
CHESS RESIGN - Resigns you from the current Alyrian Chess game and
cancels it.
CHESS DRAW - Offers your opponent a draw. Your opponent, on his next move,
must issue a CHESS DRAW as well, or the match will continue. If you make
another move before the CHESS DRAW command is accepted, it will be
automatically cancelled.
To cancel/reject an offer of a draw, type CHESS DRAW CANCEL.
CHESS LOCK - Registers a chess game as being between the two players
that are currently playing it. This means that if one or both of
you quit, the game will be saved and only you and the other player
can rejoin it later.
Normally, if a character logs out of the game while playing an
Alyrian Chess game, another player can step in and pick up where
he left off. The CHESS LOCK command prevents that.
Alyrian Chess games will not be saved unless they are LOCKed.
CHESS MOVE <source> <destination> [<piece name>] - Moves a chess piece
as requested, based on the rules outlined below under 'PIECE
MOVEMENT'.
If your King falls in check, your next move must take him out of
check.
When a Pawn reaches the other end of the board, it must be
promoted - when moving the Pawn the last square, you must specify
the piece name to which you wish to promote the Pawn. The piece
to which the Pawn is promoted can be any of the chess pieces
of your color, with the exception of a King or another Pawn.
When it is your turn to move, a yellow [TURN] flag will appear
on your prompt, as an extra reminder to move.
CHESS CASTLE <'kingside', 'queenside'>
When your King and one of your Rooks have not been moved during
a game and there are no pieces inbetween them, you can 'castle'.
This means your King will be moved two spaces towards the
chosen Rook, and the Rook is moved to the opposite side of the
King.
Castling counts as one move.
PIECE MOVEMENT
Each piece is governed by its own rules, as follows:
Pawn - Can move only forward, never sideways or backwards. Pawns
can move forward diagonally only to capture an opposing
player's piece.
The first time a Pawn moves, it may move one or two
squares forward. After that, it can move once every turn.
If a Pawn reaches the opposite end of the chess board,
it must be promoted into another piece. Promotion means
the Pawn is removed and replaced by another piece of the
player's choosing - any piece except another Pawn or a
King.
Knight - The Knight moves in an 'L' shape - that is, one square
in any direction and then diagonally one square away
from its starting square. Knights can jump over any
piece in their path, so long as the square to which they
are moving is empty (or filled with an opponent's piece,
which would then be taken).
Rook - Rooks can move horizontally or vertically any number
of squares along their row or column. Rooks must have
a free path to move; that is, they cannot be blocked
by other pieces. If an opponent's piece is in the way,
the Rook stops on that piece's square and the piece
is considered taken.
Bishop - Bishops can only move diagonally. There is one Bishop on
each color square for each player. Bishops can move
diagonally any number of squares, and must have a free
path to move; that is, they cannot be blocked by other
pieces. If an opponent's piece is in the way, the Bishop
stops on that piece's square and the piece is considered
taken.
Queen - The Queen can move any number of squares diagonally or
horizontally, and must have a free path to move; that is,
they cannot be blocked by other pieces. If an opponent's
piece is in the way, the Queen stops on that piece's square
and the piece is considered taken. The Queen is considered
the most powerful piece on the chess board.
King - The King can move one square in any direction, horizontally
or diagonally. The King must have a free path to move; that
is, it cannot be blocked by other pieces of the same color.
If an opponent's piece is on the square to which the King
moves, that piece is considered taken.
SPECIAL MOVES
castling - When your King and a Rook have not been moved during a game
and there are no pieces in between them, you can 'castle'.
This means your King will be moved two spaces towards the
chosen Rook, and the Rook is moved to the opposite side of
the King.
en passant - A special capture of a pawn by another pawn which can only
be made immediately after the victim pawn moves two squares
forward. The capturing pawn captures by moving diagonally
as it would for a regular capture, but in this case, the
capturing pawn moves one square behind the victim pawn.
TIMEOUTS
If a chess game has not had a move made in three real life days, it is
considered defunct and is automatically removed from the list. Non-locked
chess games are cleared during reboots as well.
RESOURCES
How to Play Chess - Rules and Basics
http://www.chess.com/learn-how-to-play-chess
Learn to Play Chess
http://www.uschess.org/content/view/7324/28/FNARGH
Fnargh - the dice game of Fnargh!
The dice game of Fnargh can be played solo or in a group: the group version simply consists of each individual playing with their own game, with the highest score winning. Fnargh, like some other Alyrian games, implements system of rewards for players who achieve high scores. For details, see the item's shop description. A game of Fnargh lasts 13 rounds, in which the dice are rolled, with the option of rerolling dice a maximum of two times. The resultant collective die roll is placed into one of the 13 categories. Each die roll must be placed in a category, meaning that players might be forced to take a score of 0 in some categories. The game is over once all 13 categories have been filled, and can be restarted with fnargh restart. To roll the dice, fnargh roll. To reroll specific dice, fnargh reroll <Ordered number of the dice to reroll>. For example, if you were to roll a 6, 5, 3, 1, 1, and wished to reroll the 1s, you would fnargh reroll 4 5. After two rerolls, you must choose a category to place the dice roll into. To see possible categories and their explanations,fnargh categories or look categoriesfnargh. To see your current score, fnargh score self and to show others your current score, fnargh score room. BonusFnargh are a special category, that may only be scored after initial Fnarghs have been rolled. After the first 50 points available in the Fnargh category, the BonusFnargh category opens up, and each BonusFnargh rolled is worth 100 points. If a player takes a 0 for the Fnargh category, BonusFnargh are not available. An additional 35 bonus points are available if, at the completion of the upper section, more than 62 points have been scored in it: An average of 3 successful die faces per category. To see the current high score,fnargh highscore. To input a high score, simply finish the game, recording a score in every category, and fnargh score self or fnargh score room, and the high score shall be marked.
SOLITAIRE
solitaire - grab a pack of cards and play solitaire
Solitaire is one of the many games played throughout the world of Alyria.
Solitaire sets are produced by the followers of Uath and can be purchased
at your neighborhood REWARD UNIT shop.
Solitaire is a general term for a card game played by one person. There
are many variants. Currently Uath's Solitaire set can be used to only one
variant: Rakshasa Solitaire. More variants playable by the same set may
be offered as upgrades for purchase in the future.
Solitaire, like some other Alyrian games, implements system of rewards
for players who achieve high scores. For details, see the item's shop
description.
COMMANDS
The Solitaire set is operated via the USE command. You can issue a command
to the Solitaire set by typing USE SOLITAIRE <command>. It may be helpful
to create ALIASES for frequently used commands such as MOVE and VIEW. See
HELP ALIASES for more details.
The following commands are available for the Solitaire set:
SETVARIANT <variant>
SETTINGS
RULES
VIEW
SHOW <target>
RESIGN
HIGHSCORES [<type>]
HIGHSCORES 'rewards'
Additionally, the following settings are available:
SETDISPLAY <mode>
ANONYMOUS
SETCOLOR <suit> <color>
AUTOVIEW
SETVARIANT <variant>
Sets the variant of Solitaire.
RULES
Shows the rules for the currently selected variant.
VIEW
View the current game board.
SHOW <target>
Show the current game board to another person in the room.
RESIGN
Give up the current game. This records your current score.
HIGHSCORES [<type>]
Without specifying a type, this command shows your personal high score
and your rank in each of the supported high scores tables. You can
additionally specify the type of high score board, and the board will
be displayed. The available types are shown on the command menu of the
Solitaire set.
HIGHSCORES 'rewards'
The 'rewards' option lists all rewards granted by this item for the
currently selected variant. The command also lists all rewards granted
for the selected variant to the player who is issuing command.
SETDISPLAY <mode>
Sets the display mode. The available display modes depend on the
variant. The different display modes affect the size/width of
each card displayed. Players who have wide screens may prefer
a wider display mode.
ANONYMOUS
Toggles anonymous high score reporting. If Anonymous score reporting
is enabled, your scores high scores will still appear on the high score
tables and will still be associated with you. However, if anyone else
tries to view a score that has been reported anonymously, they will see
Anonymous in place of your name.
SETCOLOR <suit> <color>
Allows for changing the color code of each suit. Valid suits are: hearts,
diamonds, clubs, and spades. Almost any single character color code is
valid (e.g. W, c, etc.).
AUTOVIEW
Toggles the automatic displaying of the board after making a move.
Turning this off may reduce spam.DARTBOARD
dartboard - instructions on how to play darts
The game of darts is traditionally played in pubs across the world. Many variations of dart games abound, mostly differing due to region however they all share one thing in common and that is the use of a thrown dart to strike a dartboard for points. These games are generally ones of agility but luck still plays a small part. All dart games have their origins in the combative arts; however the darts used here are designed for accuracy to the exclusion of damage potential. Dartboard A dartboard is large circular board made of cork or wood that is divided into twenty wedges like a pie. Each wedge is numbered one through twenty representing their point value. In the very center is a small black dot surrounded by a slightly larger red circle known as the double bull's eye and bull's eye, respectively. The point value of a bull's eye is twenty-five and the double bull is fifty. The board also has two thin rings known as the doubles and the triples. The triples ring bisects all the wedges and has a point value equal to three times the number upon which it overlaps. The doubles ring circles the very outside of each wedge and is valued at two times the number over which it lay. Three games are recognized in some form or another around the world of Alyria. They are Cricket, 301, and 501. In all the games, players normally Cork to see who goes first and then alternate turns by throwing three darts per turn. Players then take as many turns as is necessary to finish the game. Corking Corking is used to determine who shoots first regardless of what game is going to be played. The winner of the cork is the one who gets the highest amount of points by throwing a single dart. The syntax is generally, 'Let us Cork.', 'You Cork.', 'I'll Cork.', or 'Who won the Cork?'. Cricket The game of Cricket is more time consuming than 301 or 501. In this game points do not matter. The object is to try to hit a particular number three times thus 'closing' it. The numbers we shoot for are normally 18, 19, 20 and the bull's eye. Doubles count as two strikes and triples as three. The first player to close all the target numbers and bull's eye wins. 301 301 is easier than Cricket and very similar to 501. The object of this game is to subtract the number of points you get each turn from 301. It is a simple race to zero but with one catch, to begin subtracting points you must first throw a double on any number and to finish the game you must throw another double. It is called 'double in, double out'. The first double thrown is subtracted from 301 to start the countdown. Once reaching zero points, or less, the next double thrown will finish the game. 501 Though 501 is different from Cricket, it is almost exactly the same as 301 except you do not have to double in. Each player starts with 501 points and race to zero by subtracting the number of points they get each turn. The first player to score a double on any number after reaching zero, or less, wins. As with any game, a player should take a few practice throws first to get a feel for it.
RAKSHASA SOLITAIRE
rakshasa solitaire - grab a pack of cards and play spider solitaire
Rakshasa Solitaire is one of the most popular variants of Solitaire card
games around. In some regions, it is also referred to as Spider Solitaire.
Fittingly, Alyria manufactures portable Solitaire sets which support this
variant. These sets can be purchased at your neighborhood REWARD UNIT shop.
For general information about Solitaire and the Solitaire Set, see
HELP SOLITAIRE.
RULES
The rules of Rakshasa Solitaire are simple. First, a game of solitaire can
either be played with 1, 2, or 4 different suits. The general rules are the
same in each case, but greater numbers of different suits make the game more
difficult.
The game begins by dealing ten stacks of cards face down. Four of these
stacks are dealt six cards, and the other six are dealt five cards. The top
card of each of these stacks is turned face up. Additionally, there remain
five sets of ten cards to be dealt in later.
The goal of the game is to create eight sets of cards of one suit, in
descending order. Specifically, a set must contain these cards in the this
descending order: King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five,
Four, Three, Two, Ace (Rakshasa). Once a set is created on the board, it is
devoured by the Rakshasa, and removed from play. The game continues until
all eight possible sets are created and the board becomes empty of cards.
During play, the player can do one of two things. The first option is to
move a card or run of cards from one stack to another. When moving a run of
cards, all cards in the run must be of the same suit and in descending order
of value (Aces/Rakshasas are low). A legal move must result the combination
of the run of cards moved and the top card of the destination stack to be in
descending order of value, however, the suits do not have to match. When
moving cards to an empty stack, the latter consideration is irrelevant.
The second option available to players at any point is to deal ten cards
from the remaining undealt cards. This can be done five times total during
a game, and can only be performed when there are no empty stacks on the
board, or if it is not possible to fill all empty stacks.
ALYRIAN VERSION FEATURES
The portable Alyrian version of Rakshasa solitaire includes configurable
game board display, the ability to share the status of your current game
board with others, and the recording of high scores.
COMMANDS
For general Solitaire Set commands, see HELP SOLITAIRE
The following commands are available for this variant of Solitaire:
SETSUITS <# of suits>
NEWGAME
MOVE <# of cards to move> <stack # to move from> <stack # to move to>
MOVE <hint #>
DEAL
UNDO
HINT
Additionally, the following settings are available:
SETHINTS <option> - options are OFF, LIST
SETSUITS <# of suits>
Rakshasa Solitaire can be played with 1, 2, or 4 suits. The more suits
there are, the harder the game becomes as it becomes more difficult to
match cards for a valid move.
NEWGAME
Starts a new game of Rakshasa Solitaire. You can
MOVE [<# of cards to move>] <stack # to move from> <stack # to move to>
As explained in the RULES above, a move consists of a run of cards
being transferred from one numbered card stack to another. When
viewing the game board, the row of numbers above the cards are the
the numbers of each of the 10 card stacks. An example of a move is
MOVE 1 2 3. This will move 1 card from stack 2 to stack 3. See the
RULES above for details about movement restrictions. If only the
from and to stack numbers are specified, then either the largest
run in the from stack will be moved, or only as many as it is legal
to move to the destination stack will be moved. There is always at
most one valid move between two stacks unless the destination stack
is empty.
MOVE <hint #>
If you have generated a numbered list of hints (either automatically,
using the SETHINTS LIST setting, or by using the HINT command), you
can specify the number of the hint to execute.
DEAL
Deals a set of 10 cards, one to each stack. See the RULES above for
details.
UNDO
Reverts the effect of the last move made. This can only be done for
one move in a row and is only valid for moves that do not complete a
set. Deals cannot be undone.
HINT
Shows a list of possible moves. This is the same as the list displayed
automatically with the game board when SETHINTS is set to LIST. There
is no scoring penalty for using hints. Note that moves of partial runs
onto a destination stack of the same suit are not shown and neither
are moves to empty stacks.
SETHINTS
Changes hint display. When set to LIST, a numbered list of possible
moves will be displayed whenever the game board is displayed. These
hints can then be executed directly using MOVE <hint #>.GAME of TAG
tag - begin or continue a game of tag with another player
By typing tag and a player's name you give them a useless and REALLY annoying red [TAG!] flag that they see on their prompt. To get rid of a tag simply tag someone else, (or yourself), but please... no tagbacks :)
CHALLENGE
challenge - challenge a player to one-on-one combat
Challenge allows one player to challenge another to a fight to the death in one of multiple, randomly-generated player-killing Arenas. Both players must be level 25 or greater. The player issuing the challenge can be pretty much anywhere in the world as long as they are in a SAFE room (except from within a player-killing arena); when the challenge is issued and accepted, both players will be transported to a random location within one of many randomly-generated arenas. Each arena has its own tricks and perils, not to mention actually having to fight the other player. From the moment of transfer into the arena, both players have fifteen real-time minutes to find each other and fight to the death. At the end of the time limit, the arena will be reset and all players within it will be returned to their previous locations (prior to the challenge acceptance). Arena combat can be forefited earlier by either combatant using the 'CHALLENGE QUIT' command. For players who wish to fight groups of people, several large player-killing arenas exist in major townes and cities; the most popular is the Player Killing arena under the Town Square in the city of Rune. Once a challenge is issued - regardless of acceptance by the other party - another challenge cannot be issued for twenty realtime minutes. There is no gold or experience loss for players slain in an arena. Slain players will be reincarnated instantly, minus some vital statistics. You cannot challenge Immortals to arena combat. CHALLENGE REQUEST <min level> <max level> lets you issue an announcement over the GAME channel that states you are looking for a sparring partner from <min level> to <max level>. If you are seeking someone of the same level, <min level> and <max level> can be identical. Only one challenge request can be issued worldwide by any player every 3 minutes, and players themselves can only issue one challenge request per player every 15 minutes, in order to prevent spam abuse.
BLACKJACK
blackjack - information on playing blackjack in Alyria
Alyrians love games of all kinds and that includes blackjack! Blackjack dealers can be found in numerous locations around Alyria including New Rigel, Sigil, Tellerium, Templeton, Arcane Archipelago, and Smuggler's Gulch. All you need to start playing is a voucher or any amount of gold! HOW TO PLAY Blackjack is a game played between you and the blackjack dealer (otherwise known as the "house"). The object of the game is to get as close as possible to 21 without going over or "bust". Once you have located a dealer, the game can be started by giving the dealer any amount of gold or any blackjack voucher. Blackjack vouchers are worth a predetermined amount of gold printed on the voucher and can be obtained as a reward from the tourism representatives located in major Alyrian cities. The dealer will deal 2 cards to the player and 2 cards to themselves. Both of the player's cards will be face-up but only one of the dealer's cards will be visible. The player can either 'hit', 'stay', or 'double down' by saying it to the dealer. Saying 'hit' will prompt the dealer to deal you one card. If you hit and go over 21, the game is over and you lose, forfeiting any gold you paid to begin the game. If you 'stay' or 'double down', the turn is passed to the dealer and the dealer then has the option to hit or stay. The dealer will always hit if his face up card value is under 17, The dealer will always 'stay' on 17 or higher unless he has an Ace. Choosing to 'double down' means that the player doubles their original bet, but receives only one more card and then stays. You may only 'double down' on the your initial turn. Once you have 'hit', you may only continue to 'hit' or 'stay'. When using a voucher, if the player chooses to 'double down' they will give dealer an amount of gold equal to the credit from the voucher, ie: 5000 additional gold for a voucher worth 5000g. Choosing to 'stay' means that the player does not want any more cards. Once the dealer has taken their turn, the player will again have the option to 'hit' or 'stay'. This process will repeat until the player goes 'bust' (their cards total more than 21 points) or chooses to 'stay'. Then the dealer will continue with their turn until the dealer chooses to 'stay'. When both the player and the dealer have chosen to 'stay', the dealer will flip over his remaining card and compare their score to the player's. If the dealer has the higher score, the player forfeits whatever gold they paid to play. PAYOUTS *If the player goes bust or the house wins, the player forfeits the gold they paid to begin the game. *If the player and the house tie, the player wins back the amount of gold they paid to begin the game. *A regular win yields 1:1 earnings, while on a double down, a win yields 2:1. *A blackjack yields 3.5:2. TIPS *If you have card values less than 10, you should hit, no matter what the dealer shows. *If you have card values 10 or 11 when the dealer shows 3-6, Double Down. The probability of the dealer busting is high, and the payout will be rewarding. *If you have card values 10 or 11 when the dealer shows a 10, you should hit, unless you are feeling lucky and hope to get another 10 or Jack. *If you have card values 13-16 when the dealer shows 13-16, you should stay. Chances are, the dealer will hit a card and bust. *If you have card values 12-16 when the dealer shows 7-10, you should hit and hope to not bust.