Feral Worlds: Tabletop Games · Tile Games · Classic rules
Matador
Don’t match it. Make it seven.
Setup
- Players: two to four. Our practice table is you against one bot.
- Set: one double-six set: 28 tiles.
- Your hand: seven tiles each.
- Boneyard: the rest, face down. The last two are never drawn.
How to play
- 1Highest double leads. The player with the highest double plays it first. With no double out, the heaviest tile leads.
- 2Make seven. Play a tile on either end so the touching numbers add up to 7. Doubles go in line like any tile.
- 3Matadors go anywhere. The 0-0, 6-1, 5-2 and 4-3 can go on any end, either way round. They are the only tiles a blank end takes.
- 4Stuck? Draw. With no ordinary tile to play, draw one at a time, or play a matador. You never have to play a matador. With two tiles left in the boneyard, you may pass.
- 5Out or blocked. The hand ends when someone goes out, or nobody can play.
Winning
At the end of each hand the lighter hand scores the other hand’s pips, less its own. First to 100 wins.
Scoring
| How the hand ends | Points |
|---|---|
| You go out | All the pips left in the bot’s hand |
| Blocked, and your hand is lighter | Their pips less yours |
| Blocked, and the hands tie | Nobody scores |
Our Classic rules: the highest double leads, seven tiles each, and you may draw instead of playing a matador. Some tables let you pass instead of drawing.
Key terms
- Make seven:
- Touching numbers must add up to 7.
- Matador:
- The 0-0, 6-1, 5-2 and 4-3. They go on any end, either way round.
- Blank end:
- An end showing 0. Only a matador can go there.
- Line:
- The row of tiles, with two open ends.
- Boneyard:
- The face-down tiles you draw from. The last two stay.
- Blocked:
- Nobody can play. The lighter hand scores the difference.