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Cover-cover is a fun card game for two or more players. Its beauty lies in its simplicity and anyone should be able to play after reading this entry. If some of the terms used below are unfamiliar, you might find the entry on Card Games useful.

Rules for Two Players

1. Divide the pack between yourself and your opponent.

2. Place your half of the deck face down in front of you. This pile of cards is referred to as your 'hand'.

3. Play one card from the top at the same time as your opponent.

4. The highest card wins the round. (The game is Ace-high¹.)

5. If you won the round, called a trick, you place the cards face down next to your hand to form a 'winnings pile'. When you run out of cards in your hand you will use this as the new hand.

6. If the cards of a trick are of the same hierarchical value, both players must shout 'Cover-cover!' - in order to share the joy - and then cover their own cards with a further card from their hands played faced down on top of their previous cards. They must each then play another card on top, face up, and as before the player of the highest card wins all the cards in the trick.

7. Play continues until one player has all the cards.

Rules for More Players

This game works best with two players, but more can play. A few clarifications are needed for play with more than two:

• If two players turn up cards of the same value, while someone else has a higher card, the Cover-cover is ignored.

• Only the players with equal-valued cards participate in the Cover-Cover. (2-4 players with an ordinary deck.)

• Very occasionally a Cover-cover with more than two players leads to a subgroup Cover-cover. The winner of this nested Cover-Cover takes all the cards for the trick.

A Friendly Game

Cover-cover is more a game of friendship and endurance than brain and skill, as there is no strategy involved. Play can go on for ages; people have been reduced to fits of the giggles when they think they are about to lose but suddenly have a run of luck.

The most fun ensues when nested Cover-covers occur...

The game may, or may not, improve with the consumption of intoxicants. Further research is required to determine this.