This has been a favorite in our family for something like 25 years. We used to play it more often than we do now - partly because we've gotten so many new games since that time, and partly because even favorites can get overdone. We played it Wednesday night with David's family, and we almost always play it when our friends, the Easthams, come over. It works particularly well for "large" groups (6 to 10 or so). The game is very basic, and you can play it without thinking much about it at all, or you can take it to a higher level and get reasonably strategic with it. The directions say it's for ages 8+, but it would have worked well for my kids to have been playing this at age 5 or so.
The game consists of cards numbered 1 through 12. There is one 1, two 2s, three 3s, etc., all the way up to twelve 12s. There are also two jokers that are basically wild cards. The goal is to get rid of all your cards first, but play continues until all players have emptied their hands. The player who went out first is the Great Dalmuti. The player who goes out second is the Lesser Dalmuti. The last two players to go out are the greater and lesser peons. Everyone in the middle is a merchant. After each hand you move to the place around the table representing your position in this "society."
We like to add a little flair by making the seating match the position of the player. The greater peon does all the work. Here you can see Hannah, who is sitting on a stool, dealing the cards. David, sitting to her left, is the Great Dalmuti, and he is in a very comfy, cushy chair with a back and arms. Dale, to David's left, is the lesser Dalmuti and is in an office chair with a comfy seat, arms and a back. The merchants (in the middle) are in regular dinning table chairs. I've heard of this being played as an event for a large group gathering where there are multiple games going on at one time and where the dinner at the gathering is served according to your position. For instance, for the salad course, the Great Dalmuti would get a huge Caesar Salad with all the fixings, and the greater peon would get a wilted leaf of lettuce; the merchants might get a "house" salad with a little dressing and no croutons or something. Each hand would precede the next course of the meal, and depending on how well you played and what position you end up in you get an awesome, mediocre or kinda bad dish for that course of the meal. Now that's motivation to play well and take strategy seriously!!
We will continue to love and play this game for many years go come. Thanks for hosting family game night Jessie! :-)
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