Rochi
Rochi is a card game from the fantasy novel The Stranger, by Sonia Lyris, the sequel to The Seer.
It was designed by James Ernest and Sonia Lyris, and it is now available in public beta from Crab Fragment Labs!
Rochi is a new gambling game for 2-8 players, played with a Tarot-style deck called the Roche deck. This is a unique Tarot-style deck with six suits of different sizes, from 4 to 14 cards. Rochi was developed by James Ernest and Sonia Lyris in 2017, and it will soon become a retail product from King of the Castle, makers of Campaign Coins.
Rochi is an unusual gambling game, with no betting, very little bluffing, and six little pots that continue from hand to hand. Below are the rules for Rochi, along with graphics for making your own suit tokens.
Rochi Beta Rules 2021, including new variant games Roche and Rugen!
The Rochi Deck is easy to make on your own: you can combine the appropriate ranks from two Pairs decks or four Poker decks. For the sweet playtest art, you can use the print-and-play files above, and check out James’ “how to make cards” video. Or, if you prefer to have the hard work done for you, you can buy our beta test deck from Drive Thru Cards.
Along with the cards and tokens above, you’ll also need chips for gambling, and any object that can serve as a dealer button, to remind you who goes first each round.
We hope you enjoy this open beta version of Rochi, and please send us your feedback!
Rochi Links:
The Stranger Trilogy, by Sonia Lyris
The original book of the series, The Seer
Preview the Campaign Coins edition of Rochi
Check out the art of Mark Ferrari, illustrator for the final version
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The Day Bet
The “Day Bet” is shorthand for the “Night and Day Bet,” which is a side bet for Rochi. Essentially this is a bet on whether the final card of the game will be a Day or Night card, and it is awarded to the winner of the hand only if they were correct about the final card.
Players should agree beforehand whether they will play with the Day Bet. The bet is mandatory for all players (when in use) and has its own side pot. You will need tokens to track this bet, one black and one white for each player.
Note: In the beta decks above, “Day” and “Night” cards are distinguished by their borders: the thin double-lines are Day, and the thick single lines are Night. Each suit has an equal number of each.
Details:
In the Day Bet, players must bet on whether the winning card will be Day or Night. This bet is made after the initial deal, including seed cards.
Starting with the first player, each player in turn must declare for Night or Day, and take the matching token (black or white). They also must put one coin into a side pot. If they wish, they may fold out of the hand instead of placing this bet.
The Day or Night pot will be awarded to the winner of the hand, but only if their choice was correct. The final card of the hand (that is, the card that cuts the winning suit) must be Day or Night, as predicted. If it is, then the winner of the hand takes the side pot. If not, then the pot carries forward to the next hand.
Day Bet with “Last Hand”: If this is the Last Hand, and the Day Bet pot would carry forward, then it is combined with the other leftover pots.
Day Bet in Captain’s Rochi: In the two-player game, the Day Bet pot is awarded, and a new Day Bet is placed, each time a suit cuts.
Opting Out: Players cannot opt out of the Day Bet, except by folding out of the hand. If the bet is active, all players must participate.
Strategy: The Day Bet is mostly a matter of pure chance, added by inveterate gamblers to spice up the game. But since you do see your starting cards before you bet, you do have a tiny amount of information. If you’re hoping to win with a particular suit, especially a small one, you can see the ratio of Day and Night cards already exposed, and choose the opposite as your more likely pick.
This is a new side bet as of 6/8/23, so if you test this bet please give us your feedback!
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