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Pink

These conventions apply to any variant with a pink (touched by all ranks) suit.

Level 9 - Basic Pink Principles

Pink Promise

  • When a pink card is focused by a rank clue, the number must match the true identity of the card. In other words, the focused card is Promised to match the number of the rank clue.
  • Pink Promise applies to all clues: Play Clues, Save Clues, 5 Stalls, etc.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • Cathy has a pink 2 on chop followed by a blue 5.
    • Alice and Bob need to give a Save Clue to both the pink 2 and the blue 5.
    • If Alice gave a number 5 clue, it would save both of the cards in one fell swoop, since a number 5 clue would touch the pink 2.
    • However, doing that would break Pink Promise, since once Cathy learns that her slot 5 card is a pink card, she will always assume that it is a pink 5.
    • Thus, Alice gives a number 2 clue as a 2 Save on the pink 2, and then Bob clues a number 5 clue as a 5 Save on the blue 5.
CathyAlice saves 2Cathy1345134513451345123452Bob saves 5Cathy1341341345123455
  • Pink Promise is the most important pink convention! If you need to handle a tricky situation with pink cards, then make sure you first satisfy Pink Promise so that it is clear to the team what is going on.

The 1's Assumption

  • Just like in a normal game, when a player gets clued about two or more 1's, then they should play all of them in the normal order.
  • In other words, even though the non-focused 1's could be non-1 pink cards, players are expected to assume that they are real 1's.
  • This assumption does not apply to the other ranks. For example, if all the 1's are played on the stacks, and a player has a card in their hand with a single positive number 2 clue on it, then they cannot play the 2, because they might be misplaying a pink 5.

No Order Chop Moves

  • Even though we have the 1's Assumption convention, it is still possible that a player will give a number 1 clue that touches a bunch of 1's and an unplayable pink card.
  • In this situation, a Fix Clue will need to be given in the future. (Pink Fix Clues are covered later on.) But the first card that will be played from the clue will always be a real 1.
  • Thus, in pink variants, players are not allowed to perform an Order Chop Move, because they could be misplaying a pink card.

Good Touch Principle

  • Due to the nature of pink cards being touched by a lot of different kinds of clues, they are a bit easier to duplicate than a normal suit, or even a rainbow suit.
  • However, just like any other suit, Good Touch Principle still applies to pink cards. Players should:
    • do their best to not duplicate pink cards
    • assume by default that the remaining pink cards in their hand are "good"

Prompts with Pink Promise

  • The Pink Promise convention does not change how Prompts work - players are still expected to play the left-most card into a Prompt (or a Priority Prompt), just like they would in any other variant.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • Red 1 is played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 2 to Bob, touching his slot 2, slot, 3 and slot 5. This must be a 2 Save.
    • Bob marks his slot 5 card as a true 2, because of Pink Promise. The cards on slot 2 and slot 3 could be 2's, but are not necessarily 2's.
    • Later on, Alice clues red to Cathy, touching a red 3 as a Play Clue.
    • Bob knows that he is Prompted for the red 2. Bob has three cards in his hand marked with a number 2 clue. Even though Bob knows for sure that slot 5 is a 2, Bob knows that the Prompt simply calls for the left-most card.
    • Bob plays the red 2 from slot 2.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob12345Red 21234512345(2)CathyRed 3

The Pink Prompt Rank Exception

  • Normally, Prompts take precedence over Finesses. This means that if a card in a player's hand has one or more positive clues on it that "match", they should never blind-play their Finesse Position and instead play their left-most clued card.
  • This rule does not apply to potential pink cards that only have a single rank clue on them (and the rank on them does not match the rank of the promised card). In this situation, players should prefer playing their Finesse Position instead of playing the clued card.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • All of the 2's are played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues pink to Cathy, touching a pink 4 on slot 1 as a Play Clue.
    • Bob knows that this is either a Prompt or a Finesse on the pink 3.
    • Bob's slot 2 card and slot 3 card have a single number 4 clue of them (and no other clues). Thus, the pink 3 could technically be Bob's slot 2 card.
    • Bob knows that Prompts normally take precedence over Finesses. However, Bob also knows that Prompts do not apply to pink cards with a rank mismatch. This is currently the case for him since he is promised a 3 and his clued card has a number 4 clue on it.
    • Thus, Bob plays his Finesse Position card as pink 3.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBobPink 31234512345CathyPink 4
  • This rule applies to both Prompts initiated by clues and Prompts initiated by discarding a card (i.e. Sarcastic Discards).

Remaining 1's After All the 1's Have Been Played

  • Often times, in the beginning of the game, a player will receives a number 1 clue that touches a bunch of 1's. In these situations, they will play them all from oldest to newest (using the 1's Assumption).
  • If all of the 1's have been successfully played on the stacks and a player still has 1's remaining in their hand, they should mark them as useful pink cards and hold on to them for later.
    • In other words, they should not assume that that they have the next playable pink card (e.g. pink 2).
  • Later on, if a pink card is Prompted from their hand, the player should play the 1.
    • In other words, the Pink Prompt Rank Exception does not apply to these cards, because they are considered to be "filled-in" as a pink card.
  • This same concept applies to remaining 2's after all of the 2's have been played, and so forth.

Level 10 - Violations of Pink Promise That Don't Require a Fix

The Pink Play Clue Lie (PPCL) (With Multiple 1's)

  • Players can violate Pink Promise with a number 1's clue if all of the cards will successfully play.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • It is the first turn and nothing is played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 1 to Bob, touching a red 1 on slot 1, a pink 3 on slot 2, a pink 2 on slot 3, and a pink 1 on slot 4.
    • Bob knows that from Good Touch Principle and the 1's Assumption that all of his 1's are good, so he can play all of them from oldest to newest.
    • Bob plays the pink 1 from slot 4.
    • On his next turn, Bob plays the pink 2 from slot 3. Bob is immediately surprised that this is not a real 1, but he knows that this kind of thing is allowed and that he should continue to play his remaining 1's.
    • On his next turn, Bob plays the pink 3 from slot 2. Bob is again surprised that this is not a real 1, but he knows that this kind of thing is allowed and that he should continue to play his final 1.
    • On his next turn, Bob plays the red 1 from slot 1.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob123451Red 1123451Pink 3123451Pink 2123451Pink 1

The Pink Play Clue Lie (PPCL) (With a Mismatched Play Clue That Touches Other Cards)

  • Players can also violate Pink Promise if they are giving a Play Clue and the lie will be resolved when the player who is clued plays their focused card.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • Pink 3 and red 2 are played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 3 to Cathy, touching a pink 4 on slot 1 and a blue 3 on slot 2.
    • Bob discards.
    • Cathy plays the card on slot 1, thinking that it is a red 3. It is actually the pink 4.
    • Cathy knows that Alice broke Pink Promise and that she was lied to, but that it was a Pink Play Clue Lie. Cathy knows that Alice likely did things this way because she wanted a 2-for-1 (to pick up some useful 3 "for free") instead of just a 1-for-1 on just the pink 4.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBobCathy123453Pink 4123453Blue 3

Level 11 - Pink Fix Clues

The Pink Fix Clue (on 1's)

  • Normally, when someone receives a number 1 clue that touches a bunch of 1's, they will play all of those 1's from oldest to newest.
  • If a subsequent clue "fills in" one of the 1s to be a pink card, then the player will not play that card anymore (because it could just be any pink card in the game).
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • Alice clues number 1 to Bob, touching three 1's in slot 1, slot 2, and slot 3.
    • Bob plays slot 3 and it is a red 1.
    • Cathy discards.
    • Alice discards.
    • Bob plays slot 2, and it is a blue 1.
    • Cathy discards.
    • Alice clues number 5 to Bob, touching a 5 on his chop as a 5 Save. This also "fills in" the 1 to be a pink card.
    • Bob knows that the pink card in his hand could be a pink 1. However, it could also be any other pink card in the game. Bob knows that when 1's are filled in to be pink, they should not be played anymore.
  • Pink Fix Clues do not necessarily have to be performed "just in time". In other words, any rank clue that "fills in" a pink card should stop it from being played, even if the clue was early.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob123451123451Blue 1123451Red 123452345Bob plays Red 1Bob123451234512345Blue 123452345Bob plays Blue 1Bob12345123451234523452345Alice saves 5 on chopBob123412341234552345Could be any pink, maybe even 1 or 5

The Pink Fix Promise (PFP)

  • First, see the section on the Pink Fix Clue (on 1's)
  • Normally, Pink Promise only applies when a pink card is the focus of a clue. However, as an exception, Pink Promise also applies to a Pink Fix Clue that stops a card marked with a number 1 clue from misplaying.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • Alice clues number 1 to Bob, touching three 1's in slot 1, slot 2, and slot 3.
    • Bob plays slot 3 and it is a red 1.
    • Cathy discards.
    • Alice discards.
    • Bob plays slot 2, and it is a blue 1.
    • Cathy discards.
    • Alice clues number 3 to Bob, touching a 3 on his chop. This also "fills in" the 1 to be a pink card.
    • Bob knows that the pink card in his hand could technically be a pink 1. However, Bob also knows that when 1's are filled in to be pink, they should not be played anymore.
    • Thus, Bob knows that the point of Alice's clue was a Fix Clue to stop him from playing the pink card. The 3 on his chop could be any 3 in the game. Furthermore, Bob knows that Pink Promise applies to this Fix Clue and that his pink card should be a pink 3.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob123451Pink 3123451Blue 1123451Red 123452345Bob plays Red 1Bob1234512345Pink 312345Blue 123452345Bob plays Blue 1Bob123451234512345Pink 323452345Alice clues 3Bob12451245123453Pink 3(3)2453
  • As an exception, Pink Fix Promise does not apply when the Fix Clue is a number 2 clue or a number 5 clue and the newly introduced card was on chop. An example of this can be found in the previous section. (In the example in this section, Bob's pink card is not necessarily a pink 5; it could be any pink card in the game.)

Pink Fix Clues (in general)

  • Normally, if a clue re-touches pink cards that are known to be pink, it is treated as a Pink Choice Tempo Clue or a Pink Choice Finesse.
  • However, what if the indicated slot is not a pink card? That does not make sense, as Pink Choice is typically only used to communicate a play about a pink card.
  • In this situation, it must not be a Play Clue at all. Instead, it is a Fix Clue - the rank of the left-most pink card must match the clue.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • All of the 3's are played on the stacks.
    • Bob has a known pink card on slot 4 and a known pink card on slot 5.
    • Alice clues number 3 to Bob, which re-touches the pink cards on slots 4 and 5.
    • Normally, Bob would interpret this as a Pink Choice Tempo Clue and play his slot 3 card. However, his slot 3 card is completely unclued.
    • Bob instead knows that this must be a Pink Fix Clue and that his left-most pink card (on slot 4) must be exactly the pink 3.
    • Bob discards his slot 4 card as pink 3.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob1234512345Bob123453Pink 3123453

Level 13 - Positional Moves

Pink Tempo Clues

  • If a player gives a Tempo Clue to a single pink card, it is never a Tempo Clue Chop Move.
  • This is because it is fairly valuable to get pink cards out of the hand as soon as possible in case blocking cards are drawn.

The Pink Choice Tempo Clue

  • When one or more pink cards are retouched with a pink clue, the interpretation should be as normal: play the cards from left to right as a Tempo Clue (or a Double Tempo Clue).
  • When one or more pink cards are retouched with a rank clue, and there are no "new" cards introduced (or, if the only "new" cards introduced are trash), then extra information can be conveyed by what rank is chosen.
  • The rank chosen should correspond to the slot that they should play.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • Bob has two pink cards clued in his hand on slot 3 and slot 4. He does not know the rank of either card.
    • Alice clues number 4 to Bob, which touches both pink cards and nothing else.
    • Bob knows that a rank 4 clue means to play slot 4, so he plays his right-most pink card.
    • Bob holds on to the other pink card for later, knowing that the Pink Choice Tempo Clue only "gets" one card.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob1234512345Bob123454123454Pink 2Play

The Pink Choice Finesse

  • The concept of Pink Choice can also be used to initiate a Finesse on a pink card.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • No cards are played on the stacks.
    • Cathy has a clued pink 3 in slot 3 and a clued pink 2 in slot 4. She does not know the rank of either card.
    • Alice clues number 4 to Cathy, which touches both pink cards and nothing else.
    • Bob knows that a number 4 clue means to play slot 4, so the pink 2 must be playable right now. Bob plays his Finesse Position card as pink 1.
    • Cathy plays the pink 2 from slot 4.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBobPink 1Cathy123454123454Pink 2

Pink Positional Clues

  • Towards the end of the game, a player may have multiple pink cards in their hand, with one of them being playable. If the playable pink card is in between other pink cards, it can be difficult to "get" the card to play.
  • In cases where a number clue would be nonsensical, it is an indication to the player with two or more pink cards of which slot to play.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • The pink 4 is played and all of the other 3's are played.
    • Bob's hand is completely unclued.
    • Alice clues Bob number 2, touching slot 1, slot 2, and slot 3.
    • Bob knows that since all of the 3's are already played, this might be a Trash Chop Move. If this is the case, slot 1 is focused, and he should discard that card, and then chop move slot 4 and slot 5.
    • However, Bob also knows that it is near the end of the game and there are no cards left to chop move, so this interpretation does not make much sense.
    • Thus, Bob knows that this must be a Positional Clue, and he plays his slot 2 card as the pink 5.
  • Positional Clues are different from Pink Choice Tempo Clues in that they can touch new cards. (Pink Choice Tempo Clues only re-touch known pink cards.) For this reason, Positional Clues can typically only be done at the end of the game when the clue is not likely to be interpreted as anything else.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob123452123452Pink 5Play123452

Level 21 - Bubblegum Moves

  • Normally, when players give a clue to a pink card with a number, they exactly match the number of the card in order to satisfy Pink Promise.
  • Some common situations where players violate Pink Promise are covered in the two different Pink Play Clue Lie sections above.
  • It is also possible to violate Pink Promise in a different way: by lying about the rank of a pink card that is not yet playable. Doing so communicates the slot number of where the connecting card is to the other players on the team.
  • By unexpectedly playing cards from the matching slot number, the player communicates the true rank of the pink card, which fixes the lie.
  • All moves of this nature are called Bubblegum.

The Bubblegum Finesse

  • For example, in a 4-player game:
    • All the 1's are played on the stacks.
    • Donald has a pink 3 in his hand clued with pink. He does not know the rank of the card.
    • Alice clues Donald number 4, which only touches the pink 3.
    • Bob knows that since the pink 3 is the focus of the clue, it must be playable right now. However, if this was a normal Finesse (and Bob had a pink 2 on his Finesse Position), then Alice would have used a pink clue or a number 3 clue (to match the real rank of the card, satisfying Pink Promise).
    • Bob knows that since Alice did not do either of these things, she must be trying to communicate something extra. This must be a Bubblegum Finesse, indicating which slot the pink 2 is in.
    • Bob sees that Cathy has the pink 2 in slot 4. Thus, he knows that the Bubblegum Finesse is not on him. Bob discards.
    • Cathy goes through the same steps as Bob. Cathy does not see the pink 2 anywhere else, so she knows that the Bubblegum Finesse is on her. Cathy blind-plays pink 2 from slot 4.
    • Donald knows that since Cathy played her slot 4 card, this was a Bubblegum Finesse. Donald's pink card must be the connecting card. Donald plays the pink 3.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBobCathyPink 2Donald123454Pink 3

The Bubblegum Prompt

  • Normally, you can only Prompt a card if it is the left-most clued card. However, you can Prompt a non-left-most clued card by violating Pink Promise. This is called a Bubblegum Prompt, which is conceptually similar to a Bubblegum Finesse.
  • For example, in a 4-player game:
    • All the 1's are played on the stacks.
    • Bob's Finesse Position card has negative pink. He also has three cards clued with number 5 on slot 2, slot 3, and slot 4.
    • Alice clues number 3 to Donald, which focuses a pink 4 on slot 2 and touches a pink 3 on slot 3.
    • Bob sees that in order to make the pink 3 and the pink 4 playable, someone has to have the pink 2. Since no-one else seems to have it, Bob must have it as one of his clued 5's.
    • Given that Alice violated Pink Promise, Bob can determine that his pink 2 is on his slot 3. Bob plays his slot 3, and it is the pink 2.
    • Cathy discards.
    • Donald knows that clues do not normally Prompt a non-leftmost card. Thus, Donald knows that the focus of Alice's Play Clue cannot be a 3.
    • The next card after a pink 3 is a pink 4, so Donald knows that the card that Alice focused is a pink 4. Subsequently, since Alice's clue was a Play Clue, the pink 4 must be playable. In order for a pink 4 to be playable, someone has to have a pink 3. Donald does not see it anywhere else, so he determines that he must have the pink 3 on slot 3 (since that is the only other clued card that could possibly be a pink 3).
  • It is possible for a clue to be both a Bubblegum Finesse and a Bubblegum Prompt at the same time.
    • In the previous example, we can modify Donald's hand such that he only holds the pink 4 (instead of holding both the pink 4 and the pink 3).
    • In the previous example, Cathy discarded, but in the modified example, Cathy would know that the pink 4 was promised to be playable. And Cathy would not see anyone else holding the pink 3, so Cathy would have to respond by playing a pink 3 from her Finesse Position.

The Bubblegum Bluff (Standard Form)

  • Similar to a Bubblegum Finesse, it is also possible to perform a Bubblegum Bluff.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • It is the first turn and nothing is played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 3 to Cathy, touching a pink 2 on slot 5.
    • Bob knows that Alice is violating Pink Promise. This must mean that he is supposed to play his slot 3 card.
    • Bob blind-plays slot 3 and it is a red 1.
    • Cathy knows that if this were a 3 Bluff, then Bob would have played his Finesse Position. So it cannot be a 3 Bluff.
    • Thus, Cathy knows that this must be a Bubblegum clue. Since red 1 is not a pink card and Alice was in Bluff Seat for Bob, this must be a Bubblegum Bluff.
    • Cathy marks her slot 5 card as the one-away-from-playable pink card, the pink 2.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBobRed 1Cathy123453Pink 2
  • Bubblegum Bluffs can only be performed on non-pink cards; otherwise, it will look like a Bubblegum Finesse.
  • Note that it is impossible to 3 Bluff and Bubblegum Bluff at the same time.

The Bubblegum Bluff (Two-Away-From-Playable Form)

  • Normally, the clue receiver of a Bubblegum Bluff marks their pink card as the lowest-possible, useful value. (In other words, it is marked as the one-way-from-playable pink card.)
  • However, it is sometimes possible that the lowest-possible, useful value of the focused pink card is actually two-away-from-playable.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • It is the first turn and nothing is played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 2 to Cathy, touching a pink 3 on slot 3 as a Play Clue. (The pink 3 is currently two-away-from-playable.)
    • Bob knows that Alice is violating Pink Promise.
    • If Bob blind-plays his Finesse Position card and it successfully plays, it is guaranteed to be one of the 1s. If that happened, then Cathy would mark her clued card as the matching 2 and will go on to misplay it.
    • Thus, Bob concludes this is a Bubblegum Finesse, with pink 1 in slot 2 and pink 2 in slot 1.
    • Bob blind-plays his slot 2, but it is a red 1. It is now revealed to Bob that this was a Bubblegum Bluff instead of a Bubblegum Finesse.
    • Cathy knows that if her clued card were really a 2, Bob would have played slot 1. Thus, it cannot be a 2. Furthermore, there are no Ejections that match this situation, so a Bubblegum move must have happened. Normally, a Bubblegum Bluff would be on a one-away-from-playable card, but that would be the pink 2, and due to the circumstances of the clue, it is impossible to be a 2. Thus, it instead must be the two-away-from-playable card, which is the pink 3.

The Bubblegum Double Bluff

  • Normally, after a Bubblegum Bluff, the entire team is synchronized on the identity of the focus of the Bubblegum move.
  • But what if the note that the clue receiver would write on their card is still incorrect? In this situation, the clue-giver expects additional blind-plays to resynchronize the information, in the same way that a normal Double Bluff works.
  • For example, in a 4-player game:
    • It is the first turn and nothing is played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 3 to Donald, touching a pink 4 on slot 1.
    • Bob knows that Alice is violating Pink Promise. This must mean that he is supposed to play his slot 3 card as pink 1, with pink 2 and 3 promised as playable through his current Finesse Position and Second Finesse Position, respectively.
    • Bob blind-plays slot 3. It is a red 1 and it successfully plays on the stacks.
    • From Donald's perspective, he knows that Alice performed a Bubblegum Bluff. Donald marks his slot 1 card as a pink 2 (i.e. the one-away-from-playable pink card).
    • Next, it is Cathy's turn. Cathy sees that Donald will mark his pink card as a pink 2. However, the card is really a pink 4, so the situation has not yet resolved.
    • Cathy blind-plays her slot 1 card. It is a red 2 and it successfully plays on the stacks.
    • Donald realizes that if his clued card were a pink 2, then Cathy would not have blind-played. Donald also knows that if the card were a pink 3, Bob would have played slot 1 as a 3 Bluff. Thus, Donald updates the note on his card to be the next pink card, which is the pink 4.
  • Note that, in the previous example, the pink 4 happens to be three-away-from-playable, but that is not relevant for the move to work properly. A Bubblegum Double Bluff can also be performed with a two-away-from-playable card. What matters is that the team is re-synchronized on the identity of the focus of the Bubblegum clue.

The Bubblegum Slide

  • If a Bubblegum Prompt or a Bubblegum Finesse is telling a player to play a card in a slot that has negative pink, then that is nonsensical.
  • In this situation, if there is no other possible interpretation for the clue other than a Bubblegum Prompt or a Bubblegum Finesse, and it is unlikely for the cluer to be making a mistake, then the target slot should "slide" to the right.
  • If the slot immediately to the right is also impossible to be a pink card, then it should continue to slide right until it finds a pink card, wrapping around to the other side of the hand if necessary.

Level 21 - Other Special Moves

The Turnabout Ejection

  • If a player violates Pink Promise to falsely indicate a pink 5 as a 1, or a playable pink card as a 5, this is a dangerous lie that must be immediately resolved.
  • In this situation, the next player must immediately play their Second Finesse Position to prove what happened. This is called a Turnabout Ejection.
  • After the Ejection, the player who received the clue will know that the focused card's identity has been "reversed".
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • It is the first turn and nothing is played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 5 to Cathy, which touches a pink 1 on Cathy's chop.
    • Bob knows that Alice is violating Pink Promise. This must be a Turnabout Ejection.
    • Bob blind-plays his Second Finesse Position (slot 2). It is a blue 1 and it successfully plays on the stacks.
    • At first, Cathy thought that the number 5 clue from Alice was a 5 Save.
    • After Bob blind-plays, Cathy knows that Alice did not perform a 5 Save and instead did something else.
    • Cathy knows that Alice did not perform a Bubblegum Bluff, because Bob would have played his slot 5 card instead of his slot 2 card.
    • Thus, Cathy knows that this must be a Turnabout Ejection. She marks her slot 5 card as a pink 1.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBobBlue 1Cathy123455Pink 1
  • If a Turnabout Ejection occurs from a number 1 clue that also touches other 1s, the non-focused cards should still be assumed to be 1s (using the 1's Assumption convention).
  • During the Early Game, Turnabout Ejections take precedence over Bad Chop Move Ejections (with 5's). Afterwards, Bad Chop Move Ejection takes precedence.
  • Turnabout Ejections (with 5's) can only be performed with non-trash cards.
  • Turnabout Ejections (with 1's) cannot be performed once all 1's have been played.

The Pink Fake Prompt & The Pink Fake Finesse

  • First, see the section on the Pink Play Clue Lie.
  • In the Pink Play Clue Lie, Pink Promise is violated when giving a Play Clue to a playable pink card. However, no special actions need to be taken from anyone else on the team, because the lie will automatically resolve when the card is played.
  • In some special situations, it is possible to give a Pink Play Clue Lie that will not resolve automatically. In this situation, the next player must play a card to "fix" the lie.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • It is the first turn of the game and nothing is played on the stacks.
    • Alice gives a number 2 clue to Cathy, touching a pink 1 on slot 2. (Cathy does not have a playable card on slot 1.)
    • Bob knows that if he does nothing, Cathy will go on to interpret this as a Self-Finesse, and play her Finesse Position, which will misplay.
    • Thus, Bob plays his Finesse Position as a Pink Fake Finesse. It is a blue 1 and it successfully plays.
    • From Cathy's perspective, Alice performed a Finesse on the blue 1 into the blue 2. Cathy plays the blue 2, but it is actually the pink 1. Now, Cathy knows that Alice performed a Pink Fake Finesse.
  • Rarely, Pink Fake Finesses can be performed Out of Position, but only if the Finessed card plays into an ancillary-touched card. (This turns the "fake" Finesse into a "real" Finesse on the non-focused card.)
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBobBlue 1Cathy123452Pink 1

Level 21 - Edge Cases

Trash Pushes in Pink

  • When a Trash Push happens in a normal variant, if more than one card is touched, then all of the touched cards are known to be trash.
  • When a Trash Push happens with a rank clue in a variant with a pink suit, if more than one card is touched, it is possible that only the card on chop was trash, and that the other cards touched are useful / critical pink cards.
  • In this situation, after blind-playing the Trash Pushed card, the player should first discard the card that initiated the Trash Push (the oldest card) and then hold on to the other touched cards.
    • In this situation, Good Touch Principle applies to the other touched cards. The other members of the team must give a Fix Clue to those cards if they are also trash.

Pink Precedence

  • The Bubblegum conventions usually take precedence over other kinds of moves. Specifically:
    • The Bubblegum conventions take precedence over a Rank Choice Ejection (with 2).
    • The Bubblegum conventions take precedence over an Unknown Trash Discharge.
    • The Bubblegum Bluff holds equal precedence to a 4 Charm. Thus, the clued player must write identity notes for both options (including the pink 4).
    • A true Bubblegum Finesse takes precedence over 4 Charm. (This is because, unlike in the Bluff scenarios, the pink blind-play "connects" to the rank clue).
  • Note that Trash Bluff still takes precedence over a Bubblegum Finesse and a Bubblegum Bluff. For example, in a 3 player game:
    • Red 1 and blue 1 are played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 1 to Cathy, touching a red 1 as a Trash Finesse.
    • Bob blind-plays a pink 1.
    • Cathy knows that this is either a Trash Finesse or a Bubblegum Finesses:
      • If Alice's clue was a Trash Finesse, then her clued card is either a red 1 or a blue 1.
      • If Alice's clue was a Bubblegum Finesse, then her clued card is a pink 2.
    • Cathy knows that Trash Finesses take precedence over a Bubblegum Finesse, so the card must be a red 1 or blue 1, and can be safely discarded.

Pink Promise with a 5 Stall

  • When a player performs a 5 Stall, it is clearly a type of Save Clue. But if two or more 5's are touched as part of the clue, the focus of the clue is unclear.
  • We define the focus of the clue to be the specific 5 that is closest to the chop.
  • Thus, when a player knows for sure that a number 5 clue indicates a 5 Stall, Pink Promise only applies to the 5 that is closest to the chop.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • The variant is "Pink (6 Suits)".
    • It is the Early Game and all of the Play Clues and Save Clues have been extinguished.
    • Bob has a completely unclued hand.
    • Alice clues number 5 to Bob, touching two 5's on slot 1 and slot 2.
    • Bob knows that this is a 5 Stall. Bob knows that the clue is either focused on slot 1 or slot 2.
    • Because of the "Pink Promise with a 5 Stall" convention, Bob knows that since this clue is focused on slot 2.
    • Thus, Pink Promise applies to this card, so he marks slot 2 as a 5.
    • Later on in the game, another rank clue "fills in" Bob's slot 2 card to be a pink card. From Pink Promise, Bob knows that it must be exactly the pink 5.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob123455123455(5)

Pink Promise with a 5's Chop Move

  • First, see the section on Pink Promise with a 5 Stall.
  • When a player performs a 5's Chop Move, it is clearly a type of Save Clue. But if two or more 5's are touched as part of the clue, the focus of the clue is unclear.
  • We define the focus of the clue to be the specific 5 that is one-away from the chop. (This is similar to how Pink Promise works with a 5 Stall.)
  • Thus, when a player knows for sure that a number 5 clue indicates a 5's Chop Move, Pink Promise only applies to the 5 that is one-away from the chop.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • The variant is "Pink (6 Suits)".
    • It is the middle of the game and no 5's are yet playable.
    • Bob has a completely unclued hand.
    • Alice clues number 5 to Bob, touching two 5's on slot 1 and slot 4.
    • Bob knows that this is a 5's Chop Move, and marks his slot 5 card as being Chop Moved.
    • Bob knows that the clue is either focused on slot 1 or slot 4.
    • Because of the "Pink Promise with a 5's Chop Move" convention, Bob knows that since this clue caused him to Chop Move, it is focused on slot 4.
    • Thus, Pink Promise applies to this card, so he marks slot 4 as a 5.
    • Later on in the game, another rank clue "fills in" Bob's slot 4 card to be a pink card. From Pink Promise, Bob knows that it must be exactly the pink 5.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob123455123455(5)(CM)

Pink Promise with a Trash Chop Move

  • First, see the section on Pink Promise with a 5's Chop Move.
  • In a 5's Chop Move:
    • The focus of the clue is the 5 that is one-away from chop.
    • Pink Promise applies to the focused 5.
    • Other cards, if any, are not necessarily promised to be anything.
  • This same convention applies to a Trash Chop Move given with a number clue. In a Trash Chop Move given with a number clue:
    • The focus of the clue is the touched card that is closest to chop.
    • The focus of the clue is promised to be trash.
    • Other cards, if any, are not necessarily promised to be anything.

Pink Promise with a 5 Pull

  • First, see the section on Pink Promise with a 5's Chop Move.
  • When a player performs a 5 Pull, it is clearly a type of Play Clue. But if two or more 5's are touched as part of the clue, then the focus of the clue is unclear.
  • We define the focus of the clue to be the next to the "pulled" card. (This is similar to how Pink Promise works with a 5's Chop Move.)
  • Thus, when a player knows for sure that a number 5 clue indicates a 5 Pull, Pink Promise only applies to the 5 that is next to the pulled card.
  • For example, in a 3-player game:
    • The variant is "Pink (6 Suits)".
    • It is the first turn of the game and nothing is played on the stacks.
    • Alice clues number 5 to Bob, touching two 5's on slot 1 and slot 2.
    • Bob knows that this is a 5 Pull, because he sees that Cathy has a bunch of playable cards in her hand that Alice could have clued instead.
    • Bob blind-plays his slot 3. It is a red 1 and it successfully plays.
    • Next, Bob retroactively considers the implications of the 5 Pull. Bob knows that the 5 Pull was either focused on slot 1 or slot 2.
    • Because of the "Pink Promise with a 5 Pull" convention, Bob knows that since this clue was a 5 Pull, it must be focused on slot 2 (the card that was next to the pulled card).
    • Thus, Pink Promise applies to this card, so he marks slot 2 as a 5.
    • Later on in the game, another rank clue "fills in" Bob's slot 2 card to be a pink card. From Pink Promise, Bob knows that it must be exactly the pink 5.
AliceClue GiverClue GiverBob123455123455(5)Red 1Cathy