Skœjarth

Skœjarth

Years active	Around 380 ANB
Genres	Vying
Players	Preferably 2 to 4, up to 8 with only a 4 cards left in stock
Skills	Observation, attention, bluffing

Skœjarth or skoejarth (Ascon: sköjarþ [ˈʃkœjaɦθ], lit. "liar") is a vying game popular in Asconia and spread into other regions using Asconian playing cards, such as Hearn and Toamts. Players wager over the value of the hands they've been dealt by the dealer, and whomever has the highest valued hand wins the pot. In place of actual currency, players often use a system of marked metal, ceramic or plastic counting tokens, as is common throughout gambling games in the Orddonach. Alternatively, skœjarth may be played as a drinking game, where the winner of a round gets to give a set amount of shots to players of their choice.

Gameplay

Skœjarth is played with a single 28 card deck (the sun and moon cards aren't used). Gameplay is divided in rounds, which go as follows:

1. Before the game can begin, all players each put an equal set amount of currency agreed beforehand (an ante).
2. Three cards are dealt to each player. Players begin betting, starting from the player to the left of the dealer, and may fold (skip the round) if they have been given a bad hand.
   1. Players are encouraged to bluff others into folding early.
3. After the initial bet is over, the dealer takes one card from the stock (the fourth) and reveals it to all players. The fourth is added to all the players' hands simultaneously. Players then see if their hand is completed by the card, at which point they may fold, raise the bet or check (allow the game to continue with the current bet).
4. When the final bet is over, all players reveal their hands. The player with the most valuable hand (preferably completed by the fourth) wins the pot. The cards are then put back in the stock, reshuffled, and a new round begins.
   1. In the event that two people have the same kind of hand, the overall rank of the highest card in each serves to break the tie. The pot goes to the player holding the highest card. In the event that this still does not break the tie, the pot is split across the tied players.

Hands

The following are all valid hands from weakest to strongest.

Skœjarth hands

Name	Description	Example
Orphan	The simple value of the highest card, matching none in its hand. In the example, the King of Batons would be the orphan.
Eyes	A pair of cards of the same rank.
Short	Three cards in ascending order.
Threefold	Three cards of the same rank.
Row	Four cards in ascending order.
Twins	Two pairs of cards of the same rank.
Disparate	Four cards of the same suit but not in any order.
Fourfold	Four cards of the same rank.
Perfect	Four cards of the same suit in ascending order.
Four Kings	All four kings of each suit.