How to Play
Feed the Bonfire. Cash out before you get burned.
1 human + 1–3 computers · one shared, comingled deck pool · about 4 minutes a deck.
The goal: bank the most points before the shared deck runs out. Only banked points count.
Card values
Every card is worth its rank. Suits are decoration — a 7♠ and a 7♥ are the same 7 for pairing and for points.
A turn
Flip one card from the shared pool, put it in one of your face-up rows, then bank any row you like the look of. Play passes to the next seat. That's the whole loop — everything below is what makes it interesting.
Pairs light a row
Two cards of the same rank light the row for ×2. Every copy past the first adds another +1 — and it makes no difference whether that copy deepens a rank you already paired or starts a new pair:
One pair of 7s → +1
A third 7 → +1 more
A second, different pair → also +1
Every copy past the first adds +1. Nothing busts.
Banking
Bank a lit row any time, at any size — points × multiplier:
7 + 7 + 4 = 18 ×2 = 36 banked
The row clears and starts over. Banked points are yours for good — nothing in the game can take them back. A cold row (no pair yet) can't bank.
Bank now, or push?
This is the whole game. Your own draws can never bust your row, so pushing is free on your turn — but an unbanked row is a target until your turn comes round again:
Your lit row: 13 + 13 + 5 = 31 points
Bank now
62 points, safe forever
Push for a third King
132 points — if it survives
Any opponent who draws a King before your next turn can torch the lot. The app shows you that risk live, as a 🎯 ~31% torch risk chip on the row.
Torching
When your flipped card would also be a repeat on an opponent's row, you get a genuine choice — and you have to pick exactly one:
Their lit row
Unbanked, worth 44 to them
You flip
- Play it safe onto your own row
- Torch their row instead
- Capture the Bonfire, if it also matches the key
If you torch
They lose 44 — their bank is untouched
You gain 0 — torching is pure denial
Their whole row plus your 9♣ goes onto the Bonfire, up for grabs by whoever draws the key next — you included, but not guaranteed. Torching pays nothing directly, which is what keeps it a real decision instead of a free way to hurt the leader.
Capturing the Bonfire
Every torch all game feeds one shared pile in the middle. The rank of the card on top is the key:
The Bonfire pile
You flip a 6
9 + 9 + 4 + 9 + 6 = 37 straight into your bank
Face value, no multiplier. Any suit works, and the card is spent on the capture — it never also lands in your row.
Two lines (the default table)
Every seat plays two independent rows. You flip one card, see it face-up, then choose where it goes:
You flip
The 8 pairs — this line lights up
The 8 just tags along
Each line lights and banks on its own, and either choice is safe — a card of yours can never burn a row of yours. Torch is live across both. "Customize match" drops you back to one line per seat if you'd rather.
How a game ends
When the shared deck is empty, play stops and leftover rows settle themselves:
Lit — banks itself, +36
Cold — never paired, so it's lost
Highest bank wins; ties share it.
Quick reference
| You flip a card that… | Result |
|---|---|
| Matches the top of the Bonfire pile | Capture the whole pile at face value — the card is spent, not placed |
| Matches your row (1st repeat) | Row is lit ×2 — bankable any time from here |
| Matches your row again (2nd+ repeat) | Multiplier stacks further ×3 ×4 — never a bust |
| Matches an opponent's paired row | Torch: your choice — place safely, burn their row (you gain nothing directly, the whole row feeds the Bonfire), or capture |
| Matches nothing | It joins your row |