Goal and contents
Once no face-down cards remain on the table, the first player with no cards of their own wins. The center always takes priority.
- 120 number cards: six complete sets from 1 to 20.
- 1 special 21 card: El Travieso.
- 9 replacement cards stay out of play at the start.
- 121 active playing cards; 130 cards in the box altogether.
Setup
- Remove the 9 replacement cards.
- Shuffle the 121 playing cards and spread them individually face down on the table within everyone’s reach. Do not make small draw piles.
- Leave room in the center for up to six ascending number sequences.
- Everyone starts without a hand of cards. Each player will build a face-up discard pile in front of them. Choose a starting player and play clockwise.
Where can a card go?
Center: A 1 starts a sequence. Continue in exact ascending order up to 20. There can be at most six sequences.
Another player: Play on the top face-up card of another player’s discard pile with a number exactly 1 higher or lower. A 4 or 6 can go on a 5.
Your discard pile: Only when the card fits neither the center nor another player’s pile. Placing it here ends your turn.
Priority: If a card fits both the center and another player’s pile, it must go to the center.
The special 21 card
The 21 may only be played on another player’s face-up 20 - never in the center.
If no other player has a face-up 20, place the 21 on your own discard pile as usual. Your turn ends.
You do not have to play the 21 to be able to win.
Your turn
- Check the top face-up card of your own discard pile first.
- If it fits, play it: first to the center, otherwise to another player’s pile with a neighboring number.
- After every successful play, check the newly revealed top card of your own discard pile again. Continue as long as a card can be played.
- Only when your top card cannot be played, draw exactly one face-down card from the table.
- Play the drawn card to the center first, otherwise to another player’s pile. Then check your own discard pile again.
- If the drawn card does not fit, place it face up on your own discard pile. Your turn ends immediately.
TOCK! - Knocking and penalties
Knock when someone draws despite having a playable top discard card; ignores the center and plays to another player instead; or puts a playable card on their own discard pile.
Correct knock: The card in question stays where it was placed. The active player receives the bottom card of each other player’s face-up discard pile, if any. Penalty cards go underneath their own discard pile. Their turn ends.
Incorrect knock: Only the player who knocked incorrectly receives the bottom card of each other player’s face-up discard pile, if any, and places the penalty cards underneath their own discard pile. The original active player continues their turn.
When the face-down table cards run out
- Do not interrupt the current round.
- At the start of your own turn, check your top face-up discard card first.
- If it cannot be played and no face-down cards remain on the table, turn over your entire discard pile as one block.
- Do not shuffle or pull a single card out from underneath.
- Then draw from the top. Other players only turn over their piles on their own turns.
Winning and quick check
While face-down cards remain on the table, an empty discard pile does not yet mean a win. The active player keeps drawing until a card remains on their discard pile.
Once no face-down table cards remain, the first player with no cards of their own wins and leaves the turn order. The others may continue until all six center sequences reach 20.
Before drawing: Have you checked your own discard pile? The center? A neighboring number on another player’s pile?
Always draw and play from the top. Only penalty cards are taken from the bottom.