President
Also known as Scum, Asshole, or Capitalism. A multi-round climbing card game where finishing position in each round determines your role (and advantages) in the next.
President — table layout
https://engine.moddable.games/play/?game=standard-52&variant=president
Setup
- 4 to 8 players
- Standard 52-card deck (no jokers), dealt evenly (discard remainders or give to President)
- First round: player with 3 of clubs leads. Subsequent rounds: Scum leads
Roles (from previous round)
| Position | Role | Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| 1st out | President | Receives 2 best cards from Scum |
| 2nd out | Vice President | Receives 1 best card from Vice Scum |
| 2nd last | Vice Scum | Gives 1 best card to Vice President |
| Last out | Scum | Gives 2 best cards to President |
Middle positions (in 5+ player games) have no trading obligation.
Rules
- Lead player plays any valid combination (single, pair, triple, or sequence)
- Each subsequent player must play the same combination type but higher value, or pass
- When all players pass consecutively, the last player who played leads the next trick
- First player to empty their hand finishes 1st, second finishes 2nd, etc.
- Round ends when all but one player has emptied their hand — that player is Scum
- Roles are assigned based on finishing order
- Card trading occurs before the next round begins
- Game continues for a set number of rounds or until a player accumulates enough “President” wins
Card Ranking
2 > A > K > Q > J > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3
(Same as Big 2 — 2 is highest)
Key Differences from Big 2
| Concept | Big 2 | President |
|---|---|---|
| Players | 4 (fixed) | 4–8 (variable) |
| Rounds | Single | Multi-round with persistent roles |
| Card trading | None | Forced exchange based on roles |
| Who leads | 3 of diamonds | Scum (lowest rank) |
| Win condition | First to empty hand | Accumulate President wins |
| Deck | Standard 52 | Standard 52 (split evenly) |
| Combinations | Singles, pairs, 5-card hands | Singles, pairs, triples, sequences |
Why This Tests the Engine
President forces the engine to handle:
- Multi-round persistence — roles and scores carry between rounds
- Asymmetric card dealing — trading phase modifies hands before play
- Variable player count — same rules scale from 4 to 8
- Role-based turn order — who leads depends on previous round outcome
- State between rounds — not just within a single game
- Component interaction — deck (deal) + player state (roles) + game flow (rounds)