Cuttle
An ancient combat card game where players attack each other with number cards while defending with face cards. First to accumulate 21 or more points in played cards wins.
What You'll Need
About This Game
An ancient combat card game where players attack each other with number cards while defending with face cards. First to accumulate 21 or more points in played cards wins.
How to Play
- Deal 6 cards to each player; place deck as stock
- On your turn: draw a card OR play a card
- Number cards played to your side = points (face value)
- 2-9 can attack to destroy opponent's point card (same or lower value)
- Jacks destroy any one of opponent's point cards
- Queens protect all your point cards while in play
- Kings reduce point threshold to win (K=14, KK=10, KKK=5)
- Aces destroy all of opponent's point cards
- Face cards can be countered by 2s (special ability)
- First to reach 21+ points on the table wins
- If deck runs out, most points wins
- Strategic timing of attacks is crucial
History & Background
Cuttle's origins are mysterious. It appeared in Richard Sipie's 1975 book "A Gamut of Games" with claims that it dated back centuries, but earlier documentation is sparse.
The game is sometimes called the "ancestor of Magic: The Gathering" due to its use of cards as both points and effects - a mechanic that became central to collectible card games decades later.
Cuttle enjoyed a revival in the 2010s when board game enthusiasts rediscovered it. Its strategic depth rivals modern card games while requiring only a standard deck.
The game's unique combination of mathematics (reaching 21 points), combat (attacking point cards), and special effects (using numbered cards as abilities) creates gameplay unlike any other traditional card game. It proves that innovative mechanics don't require specialized equipment.