AGE 8+

PLAYERS: 4–8

RULEBOOK
 The Great Dalmuti®

“One day I will ride a horse like that,”

said the child to the woman as they

watched the noble procession pass.

“Yes dearie.”

“And I will have a palace, and lots of cake.”

“Maybe,” she said,

remembering the marble-lined

halls of her youth.

“But today let’s just try to finish

planting to the stream.”

THE ONLY PLACE THAT PEASANT AND PRINCESS

CHANGE PLACES FASTER THAN IN A FAIRY TALE!
 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GAME
When I was in graduate school, I was introduced to a
fascinating card game by a friend (who I called “Doctor
Chocolate,” but that’s another story). I had never seen
a game like it before; it rewarded the player in the lead
and penalized the player who was falling behind. The
game was played for no other purpose than to play. There
was no winner or loser at the end; there was only the
longest-lasting “Dalmuti” and the “peon,” the player
most talented at groveling.

Later my friends and I introduced scoring to the game

and started playing it to get a winner. It was fun. I played
it with my bridge club. It was fun. I played it with my
folks. It was fun. I played it with gamers, nongamers,
young people, old people, all kinds of people . . . and it
was always fun. Curiously, this game was fun no matter
who was playing. And the most curious thing of all was
that no matter who I played it with, once we started
playing we couldn’t stop.

Intrigued by this game’s wide appeal, I tried to trace its

origin. I couldn’t find it mentioned in any Hoyle, but I
kept running into groups of players who played their
own versions of the game. It went by different names in
different locations: “Super 2 Peasant” in Japan, “Rich
Man–Poor Man” in Alaska, “Scum” in Utah, among
others. My hottest lead was a gambling game that was
played in Chinatown in New York City. Though I couldn’t
track down its name, I learned that it had been around
for a long time, and it had qualities that would seem to
make it a parent to all these other games.

Years later I found an amazing book that I recommend

to anyone interested in games: A History of Card Games,
by David Parlett. Parlett suggests that the common
ancestor of these Dalmuti-like games is a Chinese game,
“Zheng Shàng Yóu,” which literally means “Climbing
Up.” Parlett’s book also makes reference to a Japanese
game called “Dai Hin Min,” or “A Very Poor Man.” This
meaning is ironic since I believe “Dai Hin Min” to be the
origin of the word “Dalmuti,” which means something
quite different in our game!

If you’ve enjoyed The Great Dalmuti® and don’t usually

play regular card games, give them a try. For me there
are more hours of amusement in a single deck of cards
than in all the world’s movies combined. And I love the
movies.
—Richard Garfield
The Great Dalmuti game designer
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 Introduction
The Great Dalmuti card game is easy to learn and
quick to play. It’s best with five to eight players,
though you can play with four people and with nine
or more. The faster you get rid of your cards, the
higher your social class will be in the following
hand. Since your social class is indicated by your
seating, each hand ends with players changing seats
to reflect the new social order. The Great Dalmuti
card game is fun for just about anyone over eight
years old.

Game Components
One deck of 80 cards
One rulebook

The Deck
The number on a card is called its rank. The lower the
rank, the better the card (see chart). For example, the
Baroness (4) is better than the Abbess (5). A card’s
rank also tells you how many cards of its type are in the
deck. The only exceptions are the two Jesters, which are

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a type of wild card. A Jester played alone counts as a card
with rank 13—worse than even the Peasants (12)—but
when played along with one or more other cards, Jesters
take on the rank of the other cards.
CARD RANKS

Jester (alone) 13 Knight 6

Peasants 12 Abbess 5
Stonecutter 11 Baroness 4
Shepherdess 10 Earl Marshal 3
Cook 9 Archbishop 2
Mason 8 The Great Dalmuti 1
Seamstress 7

Object of the Game

In each hand of The Great Dalmuti card game, the
object is to get rid of your cards as soon as you can. The
faster you get rid of your cards, the higher your social
class will be in the following hand.

Setup
Shuffle and fan the deck, and let each player draw and
reveal a card. Players arrange their seating to reflect
their cards’ ranks: The person with the best card is
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called the Greater Dalmuti and takes the seat of his or
her choice. The person who drew the second-best card,
who is called the Lesser Dalmuti, sits to that person’s
left, and so forth around the playing area. The player
with the worst card is the Greater Peon. The person to
his or her right is the Lesser Peon. All other players are
varying classes of Merchants. Remember, the lower the
rank, the better the card; treat the Jesters as the worst
cards possible. Break ties by drawing additional cards.

The Deal
The Greater Peon is responsible for collecting,
shuffling, and dealing the cards. He or she deals out
the entire deck each hand, starting with the Greater
Dalmuti and giving one card to each player in clockwise
order until the deck runs out. Some players may
get more cards than others—after all, life isn’t fair!
Players may look at their hands while the cards are
still being dealt.

Taxation
Before play begins, the Peons must pay taxes. The

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Greater Peon chooses his or her two best cards to give
to the Greater Dalmuti, and in exchange the Greater
Dalmuti chooses any two of his or her own cards to
give to the Greater Peon. (Again, the lower the rank, the
better the card, with the Jesters considered the worst
cards.) The Lesser Peon and Lesser Dalmuti do the
same but with one card rather than two. All exchanges
happen at the same time.

Revolution
If any player is dealt both Jesters, he or she may call a
revolution. A revolution means there is no taxation, to
the disappointment of the Dalmutis and the delight of
the Peons. If the Greater Peon declares a revolution, it’s
called a greater revolution. In a greater revolution all

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players exchange seats with their opposites. That is, the
Greater Peon becomes the Greater Dalmuti, the Lesser
Peon becomes the Lesser Dalmuti, and so forth.

The Play
Each hand starts when the player who has the lead
plays a set of cards of the same rank face up. A set is
simply one or more cards. The Greater Dalmuti has the
lead in the first hand, and then play proceeds clock-
wise. On his or her turn, each player can either play a
set of the same number of cards of better rank or pass.
(Remember, the lower the rank, the better the card.)
A player who chooses to pass may still play later in the
hand, when it’s his or her turn again. Play continues
clockwise until everyone passes in a row. This ends the
hand, and the Greater Peon collects the played cards
and puts them aside. The player who made the last play
then gets the lead for the next hand.

Going Out
A player who has played his or her last card is said to
have gone out. The first player who goes out wins the

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hand and becomes the Greater Dalmuti for the next
hand. The second person to go out becomes the Lesser
Dalmuti and sits to the left of the Greater Dalmuti, and
so on around the playing area.

After a player goes out, play continues clockwise as

usual. If no one plays a better set, then the lead passes
clockwise to the next player who still has cards.

Winners and Losers

Each hand of The Great Dalmuti card game is played
for its own sake: Becoming the Greater Dalmuti is
winning and becoming the Greater Peon is losing, and
all the other positions are somewhere in between. Like
life, the game isn’t fair, and it’s often difficult to hold
your position, let alone move up in rank.

For even more flavor, get into the roles. Merchants

might schmooze with the upper classes while snubbing
the lower. Dalmutis might be either kind or spoiled.
Peons might show deference or defiance. Just make
sure you have fun!

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 Joining a Game in Progress
New players can join a game at the beginning of any
hand. Because the Peons shouldn’t be deprived of the
joy of working themselves out of the lower classes,
the new player enters as a Merchant, halfway between
the Greater Dalmuti and the Greater Peon. If there’s
a choice of positions, the Greater Dalmuti decides
the order.

The Strategy of Saving Cards

Most of the time you should play your worst cards when
you can, but don’t be afraid to pass sometimes even
when you can play. A savvy player in a lower position
often won’t play a good set until several people are out,
saving it until he or she can use it to try to take the lead.
Saving cards until they’re the best that are left is a good
idea if you’re only trying to move up one rank or you
just want to hold onto your position.

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 Optional Rules
Once you’ve got the basic game down, you might want
to try one or more of the following variations.

First Deal Revolution

The first deal automatically has a revolution, so no taxes
are collected. If the Greater Peon is dealt both Jesters,
he or she may still call a greater revolution as usual.

Stripped Decks for Four or Five Players

When playing with fewer players you may want to use
a smaller deck so you have fewer cards to hold. When
playing with five players, strip out the Peasants so
you’re playing with a deck of sixty-eight cards. For four
players, strip out the Peasants and the Stonecutters to
bring your deck down to fifty-seven cards.

Scoring
As each player goes out, he or she gets 1 point for every
player still in that hand. Set a number of hands to play,
and the person with the highest score at the end wins.
Twenty hands is a fine number to start with.

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Philanthropic Scoring
Use the scoring rules above. In addition, the Greater
Dalmuti gets 1 point at the end of the hand if the Greater
Peon goes up in status, and the Lesser Dalmuti gets 1
point if the Lesser Peon goes up in status.

More Appropriate Seating

Arrange the playing area with ranked seating. This
means the Greater Dalmuti gets the best or most com-
fortable seat; the Lesser Dalmuti gets a very nice seat;
the Merchants get ordinary seats; and the Peons are
stuck with the worst seats. The Greater Peon might even
have to sit on a suitcase, a box, or the floor—if he or
she gets to sit at all!

Other Status Symbols and Perks

Players wear hats that indicate their ranks: A crown
for the Greater Dalmuti and a straw hat for the Greater
Peon, for example. Allow the Greater Dalmuti first
choice of the snacks, with the Lesser Dalmuti getting
second choice, and so forth, so that the Greater Peon
only gets the bubble-gum-flavored jelly beans. Use your
imagination and invent your own status symbols.

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 Merchant Exchange
During taxation, the highest-class Merchant may
choose a card at random and exchange it with another
Merchant of his or her choice.

Misdeals
If the Greater Peon accidentally exposes a card while
dealing, the Greater Dalmuti decides whether it goes to
the intended person or to the Greater Peon. If the card
goes to the Greater Peon, he or she must replace it with
one randomly drawn from his or her hand.

Questions?

U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific & Latin America U.K., Eire & South Africa
www.wizards.com/customerservice Hasbro UK Ltd.
Wizards of the Coast, Inc. P.O. Box 43
P.O. Box 707 Newport, NP19 4YD
Renton WA 98057-0707 UK
U.S.A. Tel: + 800 22 427276
Tel: 1-800-324-6496 (within the U.S.) Email: [email protected]
1-206-624-0933 (outside the U.S.)

All Other European Countries

Wizards of the Coast p/a Hasbro Belgium NV/SA
‘t Hofveld 6D
1702 Groot-Bijgaarden
BELGIUM
Tel: +32.70.233.277
Email: [email protected]
Keep these addresses for your records.

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 Credits

Game Design: Richard Garfield

Design Contribution: Dave Howell, T. Brian Wagner, Vic Wertz, Lily
Garfield, Beverly Marshall Saling, Kristin Looney, and Andy Looney
Editing: Jenny Scott and Darla Kennerud
Art Direction: Daniel Gelon
Illustration Line Art: Margaret Organ-Kean
Graphic Design: Daniel Gelon, Anson Maddocks, Sandra Everingham,
and Kim Casebeer
Typsesetting: Monica Glasenapp-Horn and Nick Isaac
Production Management: Jane Flohrschutz
Brand Management: Linda Cox
Thanks to all our project team members and the many others too
numerous to mention who have contributed to this product.
Special thanks to Elizabeth Garfield for suggesting the project, and to
all the playtesters through the years.

© 1995 Wizards of the Coast, Inc., P.O. Box 707, Renton WA 98057-0707, U.S.A. The Great
Dalmuti, Wizards of the Coast, and their logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. in the
U.S.A. and other countries. The Hasbro logo is a trademark of Hasbro and used with
permission. ™ and ® denote U.S. trademarks. All rights reserved. MADE IN CHINA.
Card illustrations by Margaret Organ-Kean.
30021796000001 EN
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