Overview
Sequence is a fun strategy game that involves players trying to form a sequence of five chips of the same colour on the game board. The chips may be arranged either up or down, across or diagonally on the board. The game is easy to learn and the rules are simple. The game can be played as individuals or in teams. Read on to learn how to plan Sequence game.
Objective
In a Sequence game of 2 players or 2 teams, the objective is for one player or one team to score two Sequences before their opponent.
In a sequence game involving 3 players or 3 teams, the first player or team to score a Sequence wins.
Sequence Game Rules
For team games, the teams must be even.
Members of the same team must play with the same colour of marker chips.
A player must draw a new card at the end of every turn as failure to do so means the player must finish the game with one card less.
Jacks are special cards and they are of two types. One-eyed Jacks are used to remove marker chips belonging to opponents from the board. Only chips that are part of a completed Sequence cannot be removed by one-eyed Jacks. Two eyed Jacks are Wild and can be used to place chips on any free space on the board.
A player can discard a “Dead” card and draw a new one without punishment.
Corners are special and can be used by any player as part of their Sequence.
If a member of a team coaches another and they get caught, every member of that team must forfeit one card of their choice from their hand and place it on their discard pile.
When playing two-player or two team games, players or teams are allowed to use any one of the spaces from their first Sequence as part of the second one
Number of Players Needed
For Sequence games played as individuals, 2 or 3 players are needed.
For team Sequence games, 2 or 3 teams can play.
Equipment
Game board
50 Green marker chips
50 Blue marker chips
35 Red marker chips
104 Sequence cards.
Note that for games involving two players or two teams, only blue and green marker chips are used. The red chips are used when there is a third player or team. Joker cards are not involved in playing Sequence game.
Setting Up
The game board is placed in the middle of the playing surface and the players gather around it. For team games, the teams must be even. If a two-team game is to be played, arrange the players such that members of opposing teams sit next to one another. For a game involving three teams, players must be arranged such that members of the same team do not sit next to each other.
Players will then select one colour of marker chips but for team games, members of the same team must choose the same colour of chips. With player arrangement and chips sorted, have the players draw a card each from the card deck. The player who draws the lowest card becomes the dealer. Note that Aces are ranked high. The dealer gathers the cards and shuffles the deck.
Each player receives an equal number of cards from the dealer. If there are only two players, each player gets 7 cards. In a game involving 3 players, 6 cards will be given to each player by the dealer. For team games with four players (two teams with two players each), the dealer hands each player 6 cards. For team games involving 6 players (two teams of 3 players each or three teams of 2 players each), each player gets 5 cards from the dealer.
If a team game involves 8 players (two teams of four players each), the players each get 4 cards. A team Sequence game involving 9 players (three teams of 3 players each) will see each player receive 4 cards from the dealer. If there are 10 players involved in a game (two teams of 5 players each), each player will be given 3 cards. Lastly, if the game is to be played with 12 players (two teams of 6 players each or 3 teams of 4 players each), each player gets 3 cards.
The rest of the cards form the draw pile from which players can draw cards during the game.
How to Play Sequence Game
Play begins with the player to the left of the dealer and continues to the left. On each turn, a player must select any card from their hand and discard it face-up on their discard pile. Each player forms their discard pile in front of them and the pile must be visible to the other players. After discarding a card, the player will then place one of their marker chips on the matching card that is on the game board. To conclude their turn, the player must draw a new card from the draw pile to replace the card they discarded. If the player fails to draw a new card from the discard pile, the player must finish the game with one less card and this is a huge disadvantage.
On the game board, each card is pictured twice except for Jacks which do not appear at all. Players can play on any space on the board so far it is unoccupied by a marker chip. Once a chip has been played, it cannot be removed by an opponent except a one-eyed Jack is used. This leads us to special cards which are discussed below.
Jacks
The card deck has 8 Jacks, four of which have two eyes, while the remaining four only have one eye. The Jacks with two eyes are Wild and may be used for any space on the board. To play the two-eyed Jacks, place the Jack on the discard pile and place a marker chip on any open space on the board. Jacks with only one eye are Anti-wild. They are used to remove marker chips from the board. To play a one-eyed Jack, place the card on the discard pile and remove any chip belonging to an opponent from the board except for chips that are part of a complete sequence. Chips that form part of a complete sequence cannot be removed as sequences cannot be broken once formed. Once a player has used a one-eyed Jack to remove an opponent’s chip, their turn is over. The player must wait until their next turn to place a chip.
Dead Card
A Dead card is a card that does not have an open space on the game board because both spaces for that card are occupied by marker chips. A player holding a Dead card is allowed to turn the card in for a replacement card. When it is the turn of that player, the player will place the Dead card on their discard pile and announce to the others that they are turning in a Dead card. The player will then draw a replacement card from the draw pile and still go-ahead to play their normal turn.
Special Spaces
The four corners of the board are special and serve as bonus spaces to players when forming sequences. There is a chip printed on each of the four corners of the game board and players are allowed to use these corner spaces as if their marker chip is there. When forming a sequence involving a corner space, you only need an additional four marker chips to complete a sequence. Multiple players can use the same corner as part of a sequence.
While the game is in progress, players are prohibited from talking. Teammates are not allowed to coach one another and any team that fails to respect this will be punished. If a member of a team coaches another and they get caught, every member of that team must forfeit one card of their choice from their hand and place it on their discard pile.
As the game progresses, the draw pile may become depleted. If this happens, all the discard piles are gathered and shuffled to form another draw pile. The game continues until one player or team has formed the required number of Sequences needed to win the game.
Winning the Game
The game continues until one player or team has formed the number of sequences needed to win. For a game involving two players or two teams, the first player or team to score two Sequences wins. When playing two-player or two team games, players or teams are allowed to use any one of the spaces from their first Sequence as part of the second one. For games involving three players or three teams, the first player or team to form a Sequence wins.