Dead Man's Dash


Racers start your engines! This is a speedy two player drag race card game.
You and your opponent are two dragsters racing full-speed down a narrowing alley that only fits one car at the end. You've got to pull every trick in the book to gain each little edge over your competitor or you'll wind up a smouldering wreck - or worse, use the brakes!

Setup:

Shuffle the deck and deal 15 cards to each player.
Put 1 card face down between both players as the Target Card.

How To Play:
The winner of the whole race is the player whose final card next to the Target Card is a face card (Jack, Queen, King) that matches the suit of the Target Card when these cards are revealed.
The card that's face down and furthest from the Target Card for each player will always be the card revealed.
On turn 1...
Each player puts 10 cards face down in a strip, ending beside the Target Card. Once each player has their strip ordered, the Target Card is flipped over and the race begins.
The players each reveal their card furthest from the Target Card and compare them to each other, with rankings and outcomes as described below. If there is a winner they gain an edge in the race as a reward; they get take a bonus action as described below before the next turn.
For turn 2 and onwards...
Reveal and compare the furthest face down card. If there is a winner, that player gets their edge.

Revealing Cards:
Normally a higher number beats a lower number when revealed, but some cards have special abilities:
- 2 or 3 win against 8, 9, or 10.
- Ace = Wins, except they lose against a face card.
Jack, Queen, King = Ties, except they lose to a number card of their suit.
- Joker = Always ties (even against an Ace) & a new Target Card is taken from the top of the pile, the old one goes to the bottom of the pile. A Joker has no suit of its own. Using Jokers is optional.

Gaining an Edge:
Winning a reveal gives you an edge in the race.
The winner of a reveal chooses one of these advantages to gain an edge over their opponent:
- switch any card in their strip for any card from their hand
- switch any card in their strip for another card from their strip
- switch the Target Card for any card from their hand
- draw a card from the pile

Note: Face up cards can be switched. If a face down card is switched for a face up card, the cards also flip when switched.  

Be aware: Not all races will end with a winner.