High Society
High society is a quick and easy card game designed by Reiner Knizia & Published by Osprey Games.
In this game players are taking on the roles of cultural elites. The competition is fierce amidst the high born and you’ll need to assert your status and earn prestige in the eyes of your peers. Adorn yourself with splendid jewelry, high fashion and enjoy fine cuisine, and fizzing champagne. Are we sure this isn’t Cantonica? ANYWAY, it’s time for you to waste your money away in the casinos and at the races while you show off your exquisite palette and excellent tastes. Just don’t be caught penniless or you’ll be cast out as an impostor.
In this game each player starts the game with a set of 11 money cards. There is a deck in the center of the table filled with status cards which will all be shuffled together! The player who shuffled the deck, starts the game!
Because each of you is playing a socialite trying to live as lavishly and frivolously as possible, you must outbid each other to prove you are living life to the fullest. At the end of the game, the player who managed to become the most fashionable, by collecting the highest value status cards, wins the envy of all as well as the game.
Each round starts with flipping the top card of the Status Deck! The players will bid on the cards in the center. To Bid for a Status card, one must place one or more money cards face up in front of them. They may only increase their bids from there and because we’re all so incredibly lavish, one would never be caught dead picking up money they don’t need from the table. Once you have placed a bid, you may only increase it by adding more moneys card to your bid. If any any point you find yourself growing bored you may decide to pass instead. If you have already bid this round, return all face up money cards to your hand. You may no longer bid this round.
When a player has either bid or passed, the turn moves to the player on their left. If for whatever reason nobody bids on the card at all, the last player to pass gets the card for free. They become the starting player for the next round and reveal the next status card.
Now, most turns, you’ll be bidding for points, HOWEVER there are a few special cards for which you will be bidding to avoid acquiring When the disgrace cards are revealed, the bidding ends as soon as any one player passes the turn. They acquire the discard card and place it in front of them, however they get to take all of their money back into their hand while all other players must discard their face up money on the table.
If they are acquiring the Faux Pas! They must discard one of the luxury cards in front of them. If they have none, they must discard the next one they acquire.
If they acquire the Passe! Card their status is reduced by 5 points.
If they acquire the Scaddale card then they’ll have to halve their status at the end of the game.
On the other hand, there other cards that might double your status at the end of the game. Once the fourth card with a dark green background is revealed, the game ends immediately with no bidding for the revealed card so hope that Scaddale is near the bottom of the deck!
But we’re not done just yet, after all, this is the high society and status is everything here. After all players reveal their hands and announce the total of their remaining money cards… the player with the least money is cast out and can not win the game!
Players then tally up their status points and the player with the most wins! In the event of a tie, the player with the most money wins! That’s how you play High Society! Thanks for watching and don’t forget to like and subscribe! Be Bold, Play Games, Be you!