Eleventh Floor

This is the more advanced version of Elevator Buttons. The biggest addition of complexity is that players may earn direction cards, which they can use, barter away, or save multiples of for bigger effects. Eleventh Floor has been likened to Scat, (also known as 31), and provides players with a growing number of options as play progresses.

11 is the chosen number because its the sum you're most likely able to create when playing with ranks 1 through 10.

Players

2-4 per deck

Deck Build

30 cards — only numeric cards ( 1 - 10 ) in each of the 3 suits

Setup

Randomly determine who will go first. Shuffle the deck. Deal out the entire deck to all players. Players may look at their hands.

Place an Up-Down card DOWN in the center of the play area. This is the direction card.

Objective

To empty your hand of ranked cards.

Play

The first player may play as many cards from her hand as she wants, provided they are all the same suit. She puts them in the center of the game area, near the direction card. Note the "rank-sum" of the cards played, which is determined by adding together the rank of each. For instance, if a player plays 7, 10, 1 of Scissors, then the rank-sum is 18.

Play continues clockwise.

In each turn after the first, the next player must only play cards from her hand of the superior suit to the last cards played. So if the last player played 18 Scissors total, then the current player must play Rocks. The rank-sum the current player should play is determined by the direction card. When the direction card is "UP" that player must play a greater or equal rank-sum. When the direction card is "DOWN" that player must play a lesser or equal rank-sum.

Make a pile of cards with the last cards played clearly visible on top.

If a player plays a rank-sum that is equal to the previous rank-sum, then the direction card flips.

If a player cannot legally play any cards from her hand, or wishes to pass her turn, then she must put the bottom card of the pile into her hand, and end her turn. If each player in a row ends her turn this way, then the direction card flips.

Continue playing until a player empties her hand of ranked cards.

Earning Direction Cards

Each Pilatch deck comes with 9 Up/Down cards (called direction cards in this game). At the beginning of a game of Eleventh Floor, 8 direction cards will be set aside. When you earn a direction card, take it from those set aside.

You will earn a direction card whenever you...

• Play a rank-sum that totals 11
• Play a rank-sum that matches the previously played rank-sum

Note that if the previously played rank-sum is 11, and you match it, you earn 2 direction cards! (And the direction card in the center flips too.)

Put any direction cards that you earn in your hand. You do not need to empty your hand of its direction cards to win, only of ranked cards.

Spending Direction Cards

On your turn, before you play a rank-sum, you can spend direction cards for the following purposes...

# Spent	Effect
1	Flip the direction card in the center of the play area.
2	Put the cards of the last rank-sum played on the bottom of the pile. Play against the rank-sum of what's now the topmost suit.
3	Take an extra turn after your current turn.
4	Switch your hand with another player's.
5	Flip over the pile, shuffle it, and deal it out to your opponents. Play any number of cards of one suit.

Optional Rules

• Bartering

  Players are encouraged to trade cards with one another. Whether negotiating a trade of one suit for another, or direction cards for ranks, only allow the active player to ask for trades.

• Party Style

  Eleventh floor can transition into a party game that supports larger numbers of players by using multiple Pilatch decks. Leave out all the face cards, Aces, and Jokers of course, but shuffle additional ranked cards into one big deck, then deal it out to all players.

  Instead of awarding only one player with the win when she runs out of cards, the next player to empty her hand gets second place and so on. The order in which players empty their hands determines who will go first in successive games, and what additional "powers" they may accumulate as a result.

  This style of play should sound familar to some of you, especially if you've damaged your liver in college by playing games like this one.

  When a player empties her hand of ranked cards, she is encouraged to give away her unused direction cards to more unfortunate players. For the people!