All following variants of Take 6! use the basic rules of the game. Additional rules are described under the different variants, below.
Variant 1: Take 6! - Tactics
In this variant, all cards in play are known. From the 104 card total, you sort out a certain number of cards before the game, which depends on the number of players participating.
The rule is: number of players x 10 plus 4.
Example:
- 3 players - 34 cards, numbers 1-34
- 4 players - 44 cards numbers 1-44 etc.
All cards with higher numbers are removed from the game.
Variant 2: Take 6! - Logic
In this variant, players get to pick their 10 cards themselves. The rules of "Take 6! - Tactics" apply, with one addition: The cards are put on the table face-up before the game.
In turn, each player takes up one card in hand, proceeding clockwise, until all players have 10 cards each. The four cards now remaining become the first cards of the four rows.
This variant is especially recommended for players who like thinking games, and also very suitable for two players (in the latter case, cards 1 - 24 are used).
Variant 3: Take 6! - Tournament
This variant should be played with no more than five players. It uses the rules of both "Take 6! - Tactics" and "Take 6! - Logic". Additionally, the following rules apply:
Each player gets a tournament sheet (you can copy p. 16 of this rules booklet for this purpose). On this sheet, he notes the 10 cards he picked for the first game, and puts his name under "Name Player 1".
In the lines underneath, he puts the names of his fellow players, proceeding clockwise (his left-hand neighbour is Player 2).
After the first game, each player takes note of his minus points, then hands his tournament sheet to his left-hand neighbour. All players take up the cards listed on the tournament sheet they have just received.
When all players have their 10 cards, the second game begins. After each game, minus points are taken note of, and the tournament sheets passed on. This means that each player will play with each 10-card hand once, minus points being noted on the sheets every time.
At the end of the game, each player adds up his minus points from all the tournament sheets. The player with the lowest total wins the tournament.
The example shows that the same hand of cards can yield very different results.
Variant 4: Take 6! - Professional
This variant uses the basic rules, with the following additions:
You can add cards to a row on the left or right, with the order always ascending to the right and descending to the left. Whoever has to add the sixth card to a row - whether left or right - must pick up the five cards, scoring minus points just as in the basic game.
A player who could add a card to one row on the left or to another row on the right must put it wherever the difference is smallest.
Example 1: We are in the middle of a game, with the four rows currently looking as illustrated on the right.
The following cards have been played: 5, 17, 58, 62.
Player A must put his "5" in the second row, adding it on the left. Player B must put his "17" in the first row, on the left, and pick up the five cards of the row. The "17" is then put in place of the "40".
Player C must put his "58" in the third row, adding it on the left. Player D must put his "62" in the second row, adding it on the right.
The illustration on the right shows the four rows after the cards have been added. A player who now played a 1, 2, 3, 4, or a 63 or 64 would have to pick up the cards of the second row.
A player who plays a card that cannot be added to any row must pick up a row of his choice, as per the basic rules.
Example 2: If a player were to play the 59 or 60 in this situation, he could not add his card to any of the four rows - neither left, nor right - and would therefore have to pick up a row of his choice.
"Take 6! - Professional" is a lot more complex than the basic game, and players must constantly be on guard to avoid tricking themselves. This is a variant for those who find the basic game too simple and not challenging enough.
Variant 5: Take 6! - Open
This variant uses the basic rules, with the following changes:
Take the "1 " out of the stack of cards before the game; it is used as the First Player card and is handed to the oldest player. Shuffle the cards and deal 10 cards to each player, just as in the basic game. Take four cards off the stack as the first cards of the four rows.
The first player puts down a card face-up. His lefthand neighbour next plays a card, also face-up. When each player has put down a card, they are added to the rows according to the rules of the basic game.
After each round, the First Player card passes to the left-hand neighbour of the current First Player, so that a different player goes first each round.
Variant 6: Take 6! - Nifty (for 2-7 Players)
Each player is dealt 14 cards, and plays two cards per round, face-down. Once all players have played their two cards each, they are revealed.
The player who put down the lowest card goes first, adding both cards to the appropriate rows. However, he may decide which card to add first.
When the first player has added both his cards to rows, the player who now has the lowest card in front of him is next, also placing both his cards in the order of his choice.
Variant 7: Take 6! - Hand
Each player is dealt 14 cards in hand. The youngest player begins, playing one or two cards face-up and immediately adding it/them to the appropriate row(s). His left-hand neighbour is next, also playing 1 -2 cards and adding them to rows at once.
The game continues in this way, with the turn to play passing clockwise. A player who must pick up a row may choose which of these cards to add to his bullhead stack (= minus points) and which to take in hand.
He may take all cards in hand or put them all in his bullhead stack, but a player may have no more than 16 cards in hand at any time.
The game ends after the round in which either of the following conditions is fulfilled:
A player has no cards left in hand at the end of a round.
A player has more than 20 cards in his bullhead stack. All players now count their minus points, with the cards a player has left in hand counting double! The cards in the bullhead stack only count as normal (one minus point per bullhead). The player with the fewest minus points wins.
Variant 8: Take 6! - Double
This variant is played with all cards of two card decks (a total of 208 cards), according to the rules of the basic game.
For 'twins' (cards with the same number), the following additional rules apply:
When twins are played in the same round, they are added to the same row on top of each other. For the purpose of counting the number of cards in a row, they count as one card. However, a player who has to pick up a row gets minus points for each card.
When a card is played whose twin has already been added to a row and is currently the last card in that row, it is put on top of its twin. However, if the twin is somewhere in the middle of a row, the card is added to the end of an appropriate row normally.
If two players play the same card, which forces them to pick up a row, they split the minus points - half points are rounded up. In order to split the minus points, players may have to use cards from the stack of cards that haven't been dealt out.
If twins are turned over as first cards of the four rows at the beginning of a game, they are put on top of each other and replacement cards are turned over for the missing rows.
This variant can also be played with the cards of one deck, plus all doublets (11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, 99) of a second deck.
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