Dim Sum plays over three rounds. Each round, players draft cards one at a time, then score sets and patterns across suits. After three rounds, the player with the highest total wins.
1Setup
Shuffle the entire 52‑card standard deck thoroughly.
Deal cards so that each player has the same number, setting aside any remainder face-down.
Play three rounds, using the entire deck each round.
Player count: Works best at 3–5. For 2 players, consider a dummy hand: deal a third hand face‑down and burn the top card of it each pass.
2Drafting Procedure
Each player selects 1 card and places it face‑down.
Pass the remaining hand to the next player.
All players reveal chosen cards simultaneously.
Repeat until all cards are drafted.
After each round, reshuffle before the next round.
Direction: Alternate pass direction by round (left ↔ right) to keep the table spicy.
3Scoring
♠
Spades (A–10)
Count non‑face Spades (A=1, 2=2, …, 10=10).
Only the player with the most Spades scores their lowest Spade's rank. Everyone else scores 0.
Tie: tied players score their own lowest Spade’s value.
♣
Clubs (A–10)
Divide Clubs: Odd (A=1,3,5,7,9) & Even (2,4,6,8,10).
Each player scores equal to the size of the larger group -- even or odd.
♦
Diamonds (A–10)
Exactly 4 non‑face Diamonds = 4 points.
Otherwise = 0 points.
♥
Hearts (A–10)
Sum non‑face Hearts.
Points = ⌊√sum⌋ (floor of the square root).
Example: sum = 16 → √16 = 4 → 4 points.
👑
Face Cards (J, Q, K)
J = 1 point
Q = 2 points
K = 3 points
🔥
Longest Streak
A streak is 3+ consecutive ranks in the same suit.
Only the longest streak scorer(s) get 5 points.
Tie: all tied players get 5 points each.
🃏
Four‑of‑a‑Kind
Four cards of the same rank = 4 points.
Multiple sets score separately. Example: four 7s = 4 points.
4End of the Game
After three rounds, sum all points from each round.
Highest total score wins.
Quick tip: Track scores per round in three columns, then add a bold total at the bottom. Your future self will thank you.
5Scoring Example
Generating a fresh, fully‑validated example…
6Variants
Cooperative mode: Players attempt to maximize the sum of their scores, but keep the drafted cards face-town until the end of the third round and CANNOT COMMUNICATE during the draft. A good score is 20 × the number of players.