A quiet card game of hidden suits and sudden skies.

Invented by Jolon Fairweather

Players

Two to four.

Deck

One standard 52-card deck.

Goal

Be the first to reveal a hand of five cards of the same suit (a flush).

Setup

  • Shuffle the deck.
  • Deal five cards to each player.
  • Place the rest face-down as the Draw Pile.
  • Each player keeps their hand secret.
  • Leave space next to the Draw Pile for a separate Discard Pile (cards will be placed face-down here).
  • A face-up Weather Pile will form during play as players use weather cards (see Weather Effects).

On Your Turn, Choose One Action

You must do exactly one of the following:

1. Draw & Discard

  • Draw one card from the top of the Draw Pile.
  • Discard one card face-down onto the Discard Pile.
  • Always end your turn with five cards.
  • You may discard the card you picked up (unless affected by Cloud; see Weather Effects).

2. Play a Weather Card

  • Choose any card from your hand and play it face-up into the Weather Pile.
  • That card’s suit triggers a one-time weather effect (see below).
  • Your turn ends after applying the effect (holding only four cards).
  • On your next turn, you must:
    • Draw one card.
    • Keep it: No discards allowed until your following turn.
  • Note: Weather cards are permanently removed from play and must not be placed back into the Discard Pile.

3. Reveal a Flush

  • If you begin your turn holding five cards of the same suit, you may reveal them.
  • You win the game.
  • Note: You may not reveal a flush on the same turn you draw the fifth matching card. You must wait until your next turn to play it.

Weather Effects

Each weather card triggers a one-time effect when played.

Diamonds (Wind)

  • All players choose one card to pass to the player on the left (two players: swap one card).

Hearts (Sun)

  • Look at one player’s entire hand.

Spades (Thunder)

  • Choose one player to skip their next turn.

Clubs (Cloud)

  • Force one player to draw two cards on their next turn. They may look at both cards. They must keep both cards.
    • To maintain a hand of five cards, that player must immediately discard two cards from their current hand (i.e. neither of the two forced-draws).
    • The forced-kept cards may be discarded on subsequent turns.

Card Flow & Reshuffling

  • All discards are placed face-down onto the Discard Pile.
  • Weather cards are played face-up into the Weather Pile and are permanently out of the game.
  • If the Draw Pile runs out of cards:
    • Take all cards from the Discard Pile.
    • Shuffle them thoroughly.
    • Place them face-down to form a new Draw Pile.

Winning the Game

Reveal a flush on your turn → you win. The game ends.