I've always had a love of tarot cards. I love their art. I love the politics and religion that surround their history. I'm also an avid lover of games. Tarot cards were invented for game playing, so it made sense to combine my two passions to create Tarot Poker.

If asked to summarize the game, I would say its actually a mixture of three games:

• Five-card draw poker - Obviously, the basis of this game was built upon that one.
• Sorry - Different cards have different effects and choices, much like in the classic board game
• Risk - Attacking an opponent can reap great rewards, but can backfire drastically!

Mind you, playing poker with tarot cards is certainly nothing new. Over the years, I've come across several sets of rules for the game and even more references to playing poker with tarot in novels, magazines, and websites. The most common of these references, of course, is comedian Steven Wright's famous one-liner: Last night I played poker with tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.

However, these rules were designed completely in a vacuum. When I created this game in 1995, I had never considered the concept before, thinking the idea was completely novel, new, and a lot of fun.

Appearantly, others thought so as well. Over the course of the last 15 years, many people have told me how much they've enjoyed the game and offered suggestions for improvement. The rules presented here represent their fifth major revision after over 10 years of playtesting and feedback.

I hope you enjoy them as much as we all have.

NOTE: As you read through these rules, hover over the tip symbols ( ) as they offer additional help and commentary.

M. Long
shinma@shinma.org