Silent bidding is one of the most compelling reasons to use Misshelved for your gift exchange this year. In most gift exchanges a gift becomes unavailable after it has been stolen one time, thereby limiting the game play significantly. Some groups have tried to get around this by increasing how many times a gift can be stolen, but this only prolongs the inevitable frustration that one feels when playing with these rules. Misshelved has made gift stealing a key feature of the game. There are three ways in which you may steal a gift in Misshelved: “Steal” cards, the North Pole Trio set, or “Swap A Gift” cards.
- Steal Cards
- The primary method to steal is to play “Steal” cards. Once a player plays a “Steal” card, any other player in the game may join the steal by playing their own “Steal” card. If a player does not have a “Steal” card they cannot join the steal. Each player who has joined the steal places a silent bid. Each card in your hand contains a value between 0 and 3, although there are a few special cards with higher values. A bid must contain a minimum of one card, but there is no upper limit to how many cards a player uses in a bid (from their hand). The bid is considered silent because all bids, when played, must be played with the cards face down. Once all bids are played by each participant, the bids are revealed. The bid values are totaled, and the highest bid wins. If there is a tie, the tie goes to the player who played the most cards. Keep in mind that there are special cards that can allow you to significantly increase the value of your bid and make the bidding process very dynamic.
- North Pole Trio
- It’s a collection of three cards: “Santa Claus,” “Sleigh,” and “Reindeer.” As you decide which cards to discard and pick up, keep in mind that if you are able to collect all three of these you will have acquired the most powerful play in Misshelved. When you play all three of these cards at the same time you are able to steal the gift of your choice without being blocked. Don’t forget that each gift that has a new owner must lose a layer if it still hasn’t been revealed.
- Swap a gift
- In card play there is a card type called “Swap a Gift;” this card allows the player who plays the card to pick two other players (not including themselves) and force them to exchange gifts. Don’t forget that each gift that was swapped must lose a layer if it still hasn’t been revealed. This allows a set of players to work in coordination. For example, a wife may have her husband swap gifts with a player that is holding the gift that he/she is trying to win.
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