Uptake 2011

The game uses 24 cards from a standard card deck: one red suit and one black suit, minus aces and jokers. These are shuffled and dealt face-up into a 5x5 grid, the central space being left open.

One player uses black, the other red. Turns are alternate. The goal is to capture an opponent's cards using one of yours of lower rank, until you have the highest ranked card remaining.

Captures are only valid if they take place in the same row or column as the card you want to use, the card-to-be-captured also must be of higher rank. For example, 2black can capture 5red, but 5red cannot capture 2black (or anything below a 6). A capture is performed by placing your card on your opponent's, and removing the captured card from the field.

When no legal moves are possible, the person with the highest ranked card remaining wins the round, and earns the point value of the card. Kings are 13 points, Queens 12, Jacks 11. For example, if 8black and 5red remain, black wins and gets 8 points. If the round ends in a tie, then the person who made the last move wins. The game continues until someone gets 30 points.