“The Sum” is a guessing game where players must guess the total sum of all cards in play, seeing only some of them. They bet with each other on their guess. This game is simple, but can be a bit brainy.

Dealing

Each player is dealt the same number of cards.

Before dealing, the person to the right of the dealer must announce how many cards will be dealt this hand. It’s recommended to start with low numbers and go increasing as players get comfortable (there’s a lot of adding!)

Betting

Players bet with each other individually. They can bet on exact numbers or ranges, for example:

• The sum is larger than 30.
• The sum is between and including 20 and 25.
• The sum is even.
• The sum is exactly 26.

Announcing: It is common for players to announce their intended bet to everyone, looking for an interested player to take up that bet.

Ratios: It is also common for players to bet in ratios, for example:

• 5 to 1 the sum is larger than 40.
• 2 to 3 the sum is lower than 30.

The suit

When a player draws all cards of the same suit, they can say “I have the suit” and draw an additional card.

Bluffing: Players can bluff and draw an additional card without having the suit. Two things can happen:

1. If they are lucky and draw a card such that they now can claim to have had the suit, they are off the hook.
   • For example, they had a clubs and a heart, and draw a clubs.
2. If they are unlucky and don’t draw a suit, two more things can happen:
   1. They are not caught, thus they are naturally off the hook.
   2. They are caught and must pay a predefined fine to each player. The fine will depend on the amount of players and the initial stack size. It’s recommended that the cost of the fine to the payer be between 5-10% of the initial stack.

Swapping cards

You can optionally add the following rule:

After each player sees their cards, they must pass half of their cards to the player on their right. Round down if there’s an odd number of cards (if playing with 3 cards, pass 1). This gives each player a bit more of information on the total sum.

Note that “the suit” is played before swapping cards.

Note on language for betting ratios

What does “I bet 3 to 2” mean?

• The first number is what Player A is risking (the stake), what they think is their chance of success. If this number is bigger, they believe they are more likely to win.
• The second number is what Player B must risk (the pay), or what Player A thinks is her chance of failure. If this number is bigger, Player A believes they are more likely to lose.

Another way of saying it: “I’ll risk/give 3 for/against your 2.”