dnup rules: how to play and how to score

dnup quick rules

The goal

You try to empty your hand before the others, over several rounds. Each round, the first player to lay down their last card scores 2 points, the second scores 1 point. The first player to reach 4 points wins immediately.

Cards with two values

Each card has two values, from 1 to 10, one at the top and one upside down. Only the top value counts: that’s the active value. You can change the order of your cards, never rotate them. Golden rule: whenever you take back cards from the table, rotate them half a turn. That’s a dnup.

Sets

A set is one or more cards of the same value laid down together in front of a player. Its size is its number of cards, its value that of its cards. Two sets of the same size can’t stay on the table together: the higher one knocks out the other, whose player takes it back, rotating each card. Sets of different sizes never get in each other’s way.

A turn

First, discard facedown the set you laid in front of you on your previous turn. Then take one action: A, lay down a set from your hand (higher than a same-size set already on the table); B, add one card of the same value to an opponent’s set; C, take an opponent’s set, rotating its cards; D, rotate your whole hand at once.

The end of the round

The first player to lay down their last card scores 2 points and sits out the rest of the round; their last set stays on the table until their next turn, unless someone beats it first. The second to empty their hand scores 1 point, and the round stops at once. Reshuffle all the cards for the next round.

With two players

Each player has two areas in front of them, marked by two player aid cards of the same color. On your turn, take two turns in a row: one in area 1, then one in area 2. Your two sets can beat each other. At the very start, the player with the star takes only one turn, in area 2. You need to win two rounds.

Beginner traps

Rotating a card while sorting your hand (change the order, never the orientation); forgetting the half-turn when taking cards back from the table; laying down all your cards of one value instead of keeping one for an opponent’s set; forgetting action C, which sometimes stops an opponent from finishing the round.

How to score dnup

Round score

2 points if you emptied your hand first, 1 point if you emptied it second, 0 otherwise.

With 2 players

2 points for the round winner: two rounds won make 4 points.

End of the game

As soon as a player reaches 4 points, they win.

Worked example

Round 1: Emma empties her hand first (2), Jake second (1). Round 2: Alex finishes first (2), Emma second (1), so Emma is on 3. Round 3: Emma finishes first and moves to 3 + 2 = 5 points: she wins.

Common mistakes

• Playing on after the second player empties their hand: the round stops at once.
• Giving 1 point to the runner-up with 2 players: only the round winner scores, 2 points.
• Playing another round when someone reaches 4 points: the game ends right away.

How to set up dnup

Setup is quick. The deck depends on the player count; the second part is repeated every round.