This Is Not A Game About A Pipe 2025

In 1929, the Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte painted The Treachery of Images. The painting is perhaps better known by the French text under the pipe, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe", translated to English as "This is not a pipe".

Magritte's surrealist theme is reflected in this trick-taking game as we consider what things are and what they are not. - From the Rulebook

As a trick-taking game where each player plays a pair of cards from their hand to the table. Pairs of cards are played one on top of the other. The suit of the top card is the played suit. The bottom card is used to either affirm or negate the top card. The bottom card is rotated to complete the top card's sentence. The value of the pair of cards is the sum of the two card values as shown in the lower left. The sentence at the bottom of the card MUST be true to be a valid play. The bottom card can be played face down in order to make the sentence at the bottom the card a valid play.

A Pipes card must always be negated. "This is not a pipe." A Cards card must always be affirmed. "This is a card." A Tricks card must be affirmed ONLY if it is the last card played to the trick. Otherwise it must be negated. (It's not a complete trick until the last card is played.) A Winning card must be affirmed if the suit and combined value will win the active trick when played. Otherwise it must be negated. The first card played to a trick is always winning the trick when it is played.

Players score +1 point for each of their tricks, +1 point for each face-down card in their tricks. Then turn all cards face up, +2 points for the highest total value of Winning cards, -2 points for the highest total value of Pipes cards, and +1 point for taking no Pipes cards.

The game ends after each player has been Dealer once. The player with the most points wins!