The 17 card is placed in front of Christian, face up on top of the Bottle Imp card. He does not take the 19 card and those cards under it. So Christian gets the trick and also the Bottle Imp card.

Of the latter two, Christian's 17 is higher than 15 - and closer to 19. The following cards are played: Adam: 24, Betty: 15, Christian: 17, Doris: 32.Īdam and Doris played cards above 19 while Betty and Christian played cards lower than 19. Those are for the Bottle Imp owner at the end of the game.Įxample: It is the start of the game and no one owns the Bottle. Note: you never take the 19 card and the cards under it. It is possible that the new and former owners of the Bottle Imp are identical. He turns it over and adds it to any other cards he has won. The card which denoted the previous price of the Bottle Imp goes to the Bottle's former owner. That player is also now the current owner of the Bottle Imp. The card that won the trick is placed face up on top of the Bottle Imp card, becoming the new current price of the Bottle Imp. If more than one player plays a card with numbers lower than the current price of the Bottle Imp, then the player who played the highest such card (the one closest to the current price) receives the trick and the Bottle Imp card. He also places the card that won the trick face up on top of the Bottle Imp card to indicate that this is the new current price of the Bottle Imp. That player takes the Bottle Imp card from the middle of the table, or from another player if applicable, and places it in front of him. If only one player plays a card whose number is lower than the current price of the Bottle Imp, then the Bottle Imp automatically transfers to its new owner at the end of the trick. The Bottle Imp can always be re-sold as long as the price is lower than the last price. The player who wins the trick will be the next one to lead the trick. If all of the played cards are numbered higher than the current value of the Bottle Imp, the player who played the highest numbered card, regardless of whether he followed suit, wins the trick. If a player cannot follow suit he may play any card. Whatever color has been played, the other players must follow suit. The player to the left of the dealer begins by play- ing a card. Finally he takes the two cards which are lying before him (from his neighbors) into his hand. Each player exchanges a card face down with both of his neighbors.įirst he passes a card from his hand to his left hand neighbor, then one to his right hand neighbor. The discarded card is placedįace down as the Imp's Trick under the start value card (no. In receiving the cards it is recommended that the players sort them by number, rather than color.Įach player discards a card. The remaining 36 playing cards are dealt evenly to the players. They show the distribution of the colors and numbers on the cards. This is the current price of the Bottle Imp.Įach player is given a reference card. 19) and the Bottle Imp card are placed face up on the table. Only remember it must be coined money that you sell it for.

If you sell it for as much as you paid for it, back it comes to you again like a homing pigeon. it cannot be sold at all, unless sold at a loss. There is one thing the imp cannot do - he cannot prolong life and, it would not be fair to conceal from you, there is a drawback to the bottle for if a man die before he sells it, he must burn in hell forever. If any man buy this bottle the imp is at his command all that he desires - love, fame, money, houses like this house. An imp lives in it, and that is the shadow we behold there moving: or so I suppose. 'Of glass it is but the glass of it was tempered in the flames of hell. Whoever has the Bottle Imp at the end of the hand earns negative points instead of positive ones. In this way the owner of the Bottle Imp changes until its value can no longer be undercut. Then the price of the Bottle falls to that of the winning card.

The player with the highest card less than the price of the Bottle earns the trick and also the bottle imp card.

The Bottle Imp makes trumps out of the lowest cards. As with many other trick-taking card games, the idea of The Bottle Imp is to acquire the most points.

The bottle imp