Charta Bellica

Preparations: For this line of play 4 players are needed. Set the 14 cards of the 4 nations each apart. Turn the four aces (capitals) upside down to decide by lot for the nations. One of the players takes his/her own capital while choosing an ally from the other 3 cards. The remaining two make up the enemy. All the four players shuffle their 14 cards and put seven of them upside down on the table, without having a look. The other seven are held in the hand.

Simple line of play: The player (let us say Hungarian) having chosen an ally (let us say Polish) from the 3 other nations leads an attack by showing the uppermost one of his/her 7 cards on the table. The enemy opposite (let us say Austrian) shows the uppermost one of his/her cards at the same time. Now they can see how strong their armies are and the allies are called to aid (Hungarian-Polish contra Austrian-Turkish alliance in the example). Both of the allies table one (as a relief force) of the 7 cards in their hands next to the one of their own ally to go beyond the total of that of the enemies’ two cards. Then all the 4 cards are taken by the alliance with the total (battle card value) higher.

When battle card values equal, both allies withdraw their relief forces and draw cards from each other to decide their final relief force. Next time the other two allies (i.e. the Polish and the Turk) show the uppermost one of their cards on the table and are sent relief forces (by the Hungarian and the Austrian, respectively). The game comes to an end when all the players run out of cards. Then both alliances count the value total of their cards collected. The simplest way of doing this is to put out the cards of the same value on both sides and add no more than the value of the remaining cards. The winner is the alliance with the total card value higher.

Combined line of play: It means that certain pairs of cards have extra battle card values.
- Number 2 cards double the battle card value of their allies.
- In case the total amount of allied cards is 13, it overtrumps any other pair value (even 10+priest is overtrumped by 9+4).
- A pair (such as two number 4 cards), however, overtrumps any numbered cards as well 
as value total 13 or even a capital+10.
- If both alliances have pairs, the winner is the pair of a higher value.
- A pair of priests, being „sacred”, is of the highest value, with an extra 11 card value (i.e. 11+11+11=33).
- Two Court cards of different kind make an élite partner with 3 extra values added to the total of the two cards (e.g. monarch and priest: 13+11+3=27). Court cards such as a monarch in pair with a jester overtrump any other élite partner with a monarch because élite-mates are overtrumped by a jester-mate (so jester+capital overtrump queen, sovereign+capital as well as monarch+capital, priest+capital or capital+capital).
- In case of an élite partner the value13 rule is invalid.

Total amount 13 overtrumps any number card sum, a pair overtrumps total amount 13, an élite partner overtrumps any pair, an élite pair overtrumps any élite partner, and jester partner overtrumps any élite pair. But any jester partner is overtrumped by a greater number, by total value 13, by a pair and by such elite partners which are not partners of the jester.

Bellum (Lat. War)

Preparations: For this line of play two, three or four players are needed. All the players have the cards of one nation, i.e. they have cards of the same value total. The point is to take the stronger cards of the other(s).

Line of Play: Players take one card and hand it forward back side up, then turn it over at once. The card of the highest value overtrumps all the other ones. Players with cards of the same value draw a card each from one another (putting auxiliary force into action). The trick is taken by the one drawn the strongest card from. Players with cards of low value, ninterested in the battle, drop one card to his/her liking. Tricks are counted at the end.

Players with cards of just one card value inferior to the strongest one in that round (e.g. a number 9 over against a number 10) but having a horse card in the hand, can help themselves with their horse by putting a horseman over the card numbered 9 and drawing a card from the enemy to fight with. Drawing a stronger card, their number 9 cards as well as horses get lost but in case of a weaker one it is won along with the number 10 card. In case of drawing a horse, both horses are retaken and other cards are drawn from each other instead. (Players uninterested in the fight drop any one card but in case of more than one player with only one card value behind the strongest one, or in the last but one round, no horsemen can be put into action.)

Jester cards overtrump monarchs as well as queen sovereigns, in case of jester tricks no horses can attack, and jesters of more than two players can not be overtrumped but by capitals. Run out of cards, tricks are counted and the winner is the one with the highest card values total.