SharkJack

A relatively new variation on a couple of older games of chance played with a traditional set of playing tiles, a round of SharkJack plays fast and encourages successive plays. It is wildly popular at coastal casinos, and on the FlightSerendipitous, while more personal games favor the handbuilding games like White Whale and Octopus' Garden.

To play, the tile set shall include all of the pip tiles and all of the Deeps tiles (that is, sharks, octopi, mer and jacks [which is a colloquial term for the sailor's tile, often a captain or a selkie]). Tiles are dealt in pairs, the player's face up and the dealer's one up and one down. After the reveal, players may request a 'hit' for a new tile or 'stand' and keep their tiles. Pips count for their face values, and deeps count ten apiece, but Sharks may count for one or eleven depending on which is to the advantage of the tile holder. All involved are aiming to score a 21 or lesser - to exceed 21 is to immediately lose ('drown' or 'sink', colloquially). After the first choice to hit or stand, the dealer reveals the hidden tile and scores are compared, with the dealer taking first option to another tile. Rounds continue until one participant busts or both stand - not as long as it sounds!

Tied scores are a 'dive' and a new round is played from the beginning at most tables.

Now, I just so happen to have a commemorative tile set from the 279 GrandSummer exhibitions..anyone up for an old hand of White Whale?

--by HalloaGrisau

Comments, addenda, favorite cheats, corrections;

I was happily surprised to discover that Octopus' Garden was a DeepCourt name for the game I know as Pretty Maids All In a Row or TwoHundredFlowers?. I was not able to trace the LanguageOfFlowers references in Octopus' Garden, though I suspect they were there. It was a nice change from Xiogi, and I am pleased that EvadneSpiral and her sisters indulged me.

-- LilyQuillpot

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(last edited September 13, 2014)
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