Players
PIP Rush is played with either two or four players.
- 2 players: Each player controls one team and plays two cards into every trick.
- 4 players: Form two teams of two. Partners sit opposite each other and each player plays one card into every trick.
Every trick contains exactly four cards.
Components
- 1 standard 52-card deck. Use only Ace through 6 of each suit to create a 24-card game deck.
- 4 six-sided dice, with 2 dice in each team color.
- 1 three-lane race track with spaces 0–10.
Track
The track has three lanes. Start is Space 0 and Finish is Space 10. Spaces 7–9 are the Last Mile.
All racers begin together at Start and do not block one another there. A racer's first Movement places it into any open lane at Space 1.
Setup
- Create the 24-card game deck using Ace through 6 of each suit. Set the other cards aside.
- Shuffle the game deck.
- Give each team 2 matching-color dice.
- Set every racer to 4 Pips and place all racers at Start, Space 0.
- Deal 4 cards to each player.
- Randomly choose the first Trick Leader.
Pips
A racer's current die value is its Pip value. Pip values always remain between 1 and 6.
- Maximum: 6 Pips.
- Minimum: 1 Pip.
- A racer at 1 Pip cannot Move.
- Every successful Movement causes that racer to Decay by 1 Pip after moving.
Playing a Trick
- The Trick Leader plays the first card face up.
- In a four-player game, continue clockwise with one card from each player. In a two-player game, play in this order: Leader → Opponent → Leader → Opponent.
- Keep all four cards face up in play order.
- The highest rank wins. Ace is high. If the highest rank is tied, the last tied card played wins.
- Resolve the trick beginning with the card immediately after the winning card in play order, then continue in play order until the winning card resolves last.
- Each of the three losing cards resolves its mandatory Suit Action.
- The winning card does not resolve a Suit Action. Instead, the winning team receives one Movement.
- The trick winner leads the next trick.
Affecting Racers
Each racer may be affected only once per trick. A racer becomes affected when it resolves a Suit Action or receives the winning team's Movement.
When an action resolves:
- If both of that team's racers are available, the team chooses one.
- If only one racer is available, that racer must be used.
- If neither racer is available, the action is lost.
Actions are mandatory. A team may not skip an unfavorable action. A racer still counts as affected even if the action cannot change its Pip value, such as a Heart applied to a racer already at 6 Pips.
All racers become available again at the start of the next trick.
Suit Actions
Suit Actions affect only racers on the card player's own team.
| Suit | Action |
|---|---|
| Hearts ♥ | Gain: Increase the chosen racer's Pip value by 1, to a maximum of 6. |
| Diamonds ♦ | Decay: Decrease the chosen racer's Pip value by 1, to a minimum of 1. |
| Spades ♠ | Flip: Flip the chosen die to its directly opposite face. |
| Clubs ♣ | Swap: Choose one of your racers and swap its track position with its teammate. Only the chosen racer counts as affected. This allows two Clubs to resolve consecutive swaps if each Club targets a different racer. |
Movement
The winning team receives one Movement. Choose an available racer that has at least 2 Pips and a legal destination.
Move that racer exactly one space forward, either straight ahead in its current lane or diagonally forward into an adjacent lane. A racer may never move sideways. After moving, reduce its Pip value by 1.
If neither racer can legally move, the Movement is lost.
Blocking
A racer may not enter an occupied space or a printed track obstacle. Racers may not jump over occupied spaces or obstacles.
Opponent racers are not directly affected by Suit Actions. Teams interact through lane choice, positioning, and blocking.
Drawing Cards
After each trick, each player draws back to 4 cards while cards remain in the draw pile. When the draw pile is empty, continue playing with the cards in hand until all 24 cards have been played.
One Cycle uses all 24 cards and lasts exactly 6 tricks. At the end of a Cycle, collect all cards, shuffle the game deck, and deal new 4-card hands for the next Cycle.
Winning the Race
Perform a Win Check after every trick. A team wins immediately if:
- one of its racers is at the Finish, Space 10; and
- its other racer is in the Last Mile, Space 7 or higher.
Race Length
A standard race lasts no more than 5 Cycles, or 30 tricks.
If neither team has won after Cycle 5, compare:
- Lead racer position.
- Trailing racer position.
- Combined remaining Pips.
If the teams are still tied, the race ends in a shared victory.
Optional Overtime
Before the race begins, players may agree to use one extra Cycle instead of the standard end-of-race tiebreaker.
Quick Reference
- Every trick has exactly four cards.
- Highest rank wins; Ace is high; ties go to the last tied card played.
- Resolve from the card immediately after the winner until the winner resolves last.
- Three losing cards resolve mandatory Suit Actions.
- The winning team receives one Movement instead of a Suit Action.
- Each racer may be affected only once per trick.
- Movement is exactly one space forward, straight or diagonal, then Decay by 1 Pip.
- Win when one racer reaches Finish and the teammate is in the Last Mile.