The Great Dalmuti
Encyclopedia
The Great Dalmuti is a card game
designed by Richard Garfield
, illustrated by Margaret Organ-Kean, and published in 1995 by Wizards of the Coast
. It is a variant of the public domain game Asshole
, dating back to late Middle-Ages. The game was Awarded Best New Mind Game 1995 by Mensa
, and was in Games Magazine
's 1996 Games 100. The game fell out of print, but was re-released in 2005.
Though based on a public domain game, the Dalmuti deck is non-standard. There is a number of each rank of cards (1 through 12) equal to that rank, so twelve 12s, eleven 11s, and so on. There are also two Jesters, which are wild card
s.
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 Greater Peon" and the player to that player's right is "The Lesser Peon." At "taxation" time before each round, the Greater Dalmuti forces an exchange of two cards from his hand with the Greater Peon two best cards (lowest numbered cards, always counting the Jester as 13 for this purpose), and the Lesser Dalmuti swaps one card with the Lesser Peon 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 Greater Peon has both Jesters, he/she may call a "greater revolution" which results in all seats being swapped (so the Greater Peon becomes the Greater Dalmuti, the Lesser Peon becomes the Lesser Dalmuti, etc.).
Dilbert
. Corporate Shuffle used the same mechanic, but set it in Dilbert's cubicle hell. The Dalmuti and Peon ranks were replaced by the Big Boss, Little Boss, Senior Intern, and Junior Intern. Taxation became Executive Bonuses, and Revolution became Corporate Takeover.
The cards have ranks 10 through 1 in those frequencies, plus two Dogbert
wild cards that rank higher than all others. Corporate Shuffle also adds several special cards to the mix:
When executive bonuses are granted to the bosses, wilds are given first, then the 0, then the numerical cards in order from smallest to largest.
. The restaurant at the flagship center was called Dalmuti's.
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
designed by Richard Garfield
Richard Garfield
Richard Channing Garfield is a mathematics professor and game designer who created the card games Magic: The Gathering, Netrunner, BattleTech CCG, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle , The Great Dalmuti, Star Wars Trading Card Game, and the board game RoboRally...
, illustrated by Margaret Organ-Kean, and published in 1995 by Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. It is a variant of the public domain game Asshole
Asshole (card game)
Asshole , an Americanized version of Dai Hin Min, is a card game for three or more in which players race to get rid of all of the cards in their hands in order to become President in the following round...
, dating back to late Middle-Ages. The game was Awarded Best New Mind Game 1995 by Mensa
Mensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
, and was in Games Magazine
GAMES Magazine
Games magazine is a United States magazine devoted to games and puzzles, and is published by Games Publications, a division of Kappa Publishing Group.-History:...
's 1996 Games 100. The game fell out of print, but was re-released in 2005.
Though based on a public domain game, the Dalmuti deck is non-standard. There is a number of each rank of cards (1 through 12) equal to that rank, so twelve 12s, eleven 11s, and so on. There are also two Jesters, which are wild card
Wild card (poker)
Card games, particularly poker games, may contain one or more cards designated as wild. These may be jokers, or they may be normal ranked and suited cards pressed into wild card duty . In most cases, the wild card or cards must be agreed upon by all players before the cards are dealt and play...
s.
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 Greater Peon" and the player to that player's right is "The Lesser Peon." At "taxation" time before each round, the Greater Dalmuti forces an exchange of two cards from his hand with the Greater Peon two best cards (lowest numbered cards, always counting the Jester as 13 for this purpose), and the Lesser Dalmuti swaps one card with the Lesser Peon 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 Greater Peon has both Jesters, he/she may call a "greater revolution" which results in all seats being swapped (so the Greater Peon becomes the Greater Dalmuti, the Lesser Peon becomes the Lesser Dalmuti, etc.).
Card Names and Ranks
Each card in Dalmuti has a medieval name. Each rank is represented by an equal number of cards to its rank, except for the two Jesters.| Card | Rank |
|---|---|
| Jester | 13 (wild) |
| Peasant | 12 |
| Stonecutter | 11 |
| Shepherdess | 10 |
| Cook | 9 |
| Mason | 8 |
| Seamstress | 7 |
| Knight | 6 |
| Abbess | 5 |
| Baroness | 4 |
| Earl Marshal | 3 |
| Archbishop | 2 |
| Dalmuti | 1 |
Corporate Shuffle
Dilbert's Corporate Shuffle was a Dalmuti spinoff based on the comic stripComic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
Dilbert
Dilbert
Dilbert is an American comic strip written and drawn by Scott Adams. First published on April 16, 1989, Dilbert is known for its satirical office humor about a white-collar, micromanaged office featuring the engineer Dilbert as the title character...
. Corporate Shuffle used the same mechanic, but set it in Dilbert's cubicle hell. The Dalmuti and Peon ranks were replaced by the Big Boss, Little Boss, Senior Intern, and Junior Intern. Taxation became Executive Bonuses, and Revolution became Corporate Takeover.
The cards have ranks 10 through 1 in those frequencies, plus two Dogbert
Dogbert
Dogbert is Dilbert's anthropomorphic pet talking dog from the Dilbert comic strip. According to creator Scott Adams, the character is being based on, if not a member of, the beagle breed.-Characterization:...
wild cards that rank higher than all others. Corporate Shuffle also adds several special cards to the mix:
- Twirling Wedgie, a card with value 6 which also allows the player to choose another player who may not play any further cards in that round.
- RatbertRatbertRatbert is a regular character from the Dilbert comic strip. He was not originally intended to be a regular, instead being part of a series of strips featuring a lab scientist's cruel experiments...
, a single card with value 11 (worse than any other card) with the special rule that any player who wins a trick containing Ratbert must take it into their hand, unless no other cards were played in the hand or the trick winner played his last card in the round. Thus, this allows players a "free" chance to throw away a useless single, with the tradeoff that they'll have to offer the same chance to other players later in the hand. - Dogbert, World Ruler, a single card with value 0 (better than any other card). The Dogbert, World Ruler card is always played as a single card, but proves to be an exception to the rule that you must play the same quantity of cards as the previous person. A Dogbert, World Ruler card can be played on any trick, regardless of quantity, and immediately wins that trick.
When executive bonuses are granted to the bosses, wilds are given first, then the 0, then the numerical cards in order from smallest to largest.
| Card | Rank |
|---|---|
| Ratbert | 11 |
| Engineer | 10 |
| Marketing | 9 |
| Sales | 8 |
| Managers | 7 |
| Accounting | 6 |
| Twirling Wedgie | 6 |
| Human Resources | 5 |
| Lawyers | 4 |
| Consultants | 3 |
| Vice Presidents | 2 |
| CEO | 1 |
| Dogbert, World Ruler | 0 |
| Dogbert | W! |
Dalmuti's
In 1997, Wizards opened a series of game centers, with the flagship center located in Seattle near Wizards' corporate headquarters in RentonRenton, Washington
Renton is an Eastside edge city in King County, Washington, United States. Situated 11 miles southeast of Seattle, Washington, Renton straddles the southeast shore of Lake Washington. Founded in the 1860s, Renton became a supply town for the Newcastle coal fields...
. The restaurant at the flagship center was called Dalmuti's.