This game is very old, from the mid-17th Century, but not as old as Comet, the French card game it is based on! New Comet is also known as Commit, and has many variants. This is our favourite, slightly simplified, way to play.
Players: 3-5
Age: 7+
Cards: 2 packs of 52 cards with the aces removed. Reorganise the cards so that you have one pack of only red cards and another of only black cards, then find the 9 of diamonds and the 9 of spades and swap them over. They become wild cards. Alternate between the red and black packs for each round.
Additional equipment: Lots of counters! At least 15 or 20 per player.
Instructions
The aim is to be the first to put down all your cards.
Choose a dealer. Deal the cards as follows: 12 cards each for 3 players, 10 cards each for 4 players, 9 cards each if 5 players. Set the remaining cards aside.
Player 1, to the left of the dealer, plays a card (or preferably a sequence of cards) from his hand. Suits do not matter. As he places the cards down he names them: for example, "4, 5, 6, 7 - no 8."
Player 2 may continue the sequence. For example, "9, 10, no Jack". If she can't continue the sequence, she says "Pass".
Player 3 then has a turn, or passes, and so on. Any player who plays a King has "stopped" the sequence, and receives one counter from each player. The player that stopped the sequence with a King also starts the next sequence.
Because you set some cards aside there will be "stops" in the sequences. Let's go back to Player 2. She put down "9, 10, no Jack". Players 3, 4 and 5 could not continue the sequence as they didn't have a Jack either. So Player 2 "stopped" the sequence. She therefore starts the next one, choosing any card or cards from her hand to do so.
The 9 of diamonds or 9 of clubs can be used at any time as a wild card. The player laying it down must declare it: "9 of diamonds". If they remember to declare it, they receive 2 counters from each player.
The round ends when one person has laid down all their cards - the winner. The winner receives one counter for each card left in the other players' hands, or 3 counters for a King, and 5 counters for the 9 of diamonds or 9 of clubs, if it hasn't been played!
Gather all the cards together and play another round, continuing as long as you like - or until someone has all the counters!
Variation
This "rule" is part of the original game, but we found that it confused our younger players so ommitted it from the version above. Once you are familiar with the game you might like to reintroduce it.
If you happen to have 4 of a kind in your hand - such as four 7s, four 10s - you can put them all down at once as you place your sequence. It's a great way to get rid of lots of cards but it doesn't happen often!
