Bartok (thing)

• Get rid of all your cards
• Single discard pile
• Discard a card that matches rank or suit of top of discard pile
• If you can't play, draw from the deck

Bartok itself goes about like this...

1. Players are dealt 5 cards
2. Remaining cards are placed face down in the center, forming "the deck". The dealer turns over the top card from the deck, this card has no effect on play. If a joker is turned up, then the dealer may turn over another card, and so forth.
3. The first player is the first one to place an eligible card after the card is turned over.¹
4. Play proceeds clockwise, unless any other rule states otherwise.
5. On a player's turn, the player may either play an eligible card from the player's hand onto the discard pile, or pick up a card from the deck (but not both).
6. Unless rules state otherwise, an eligible card to play must be of the same rank or the same suit as the card on top of the discard pile.
7. A joker is a wild card, and so may be played as if it were any other eligible card. The player paying the joker must announce which card it represents.
8. When a player's hand changes to only one card, the player must say "Bartok".
9. Players may not ask questions during play.
10. Players may not make (provably) false statements during play.
11. If the player is deemed (by general consensus) to have broken any rule, the player must draw a card from the pack. Such a draw does not constitute a player's turn.²
12. The winner of a round is the first person to have zero cards in the hand. Generally, a player is deemed to have won before the final card played takes effect.
13. A round ends when the winner is decided. The winner shall then invent a new rule which will come into effect in the next round. New rules may repeal or override older rules. New rules must not be obviously biased towards or against any player. New rules may not directly effect the creation or content of later rules. Other players may express their dissatisfaction with any new rule, but so long as the rule meets the previous guidelines, the winner's word is final.
14. The winner then becomes the dealer for the next round. If the winner so desires, any other player may be designated the dealer instead.
15. During a round, timeout may be called by the players for rule clarification. During this time, questions may be asked of the player who created the rule in question without penalty. In all cases, the word of the rule's creator is final. If two or more rules conflict or combine with unclear effect, the player who created the most recent of those rules may decide the effect. Questions of the topic of rules clarification are not allowed during timeout. Trivial questions, or questions which have been already clearly answered should not be tolerated.
16. IMPORTANT: If any player enters the game and is unfamiliar with the rules in effect at the time, the other players ought not explain any more than the general basics of the original rules. If the new player receives a penalty for some reason, then a brief (and not necessarily clear) reason for the penalty ought to be given. New players should be encouraged to work out the current rules by their own ingenuity.³

There exist many suggested rules for creation including switch, reverse, swap hands, changing places.

1. All of the cards that aren't on the bottom are penalized as if they had been played.
2. This penalty may only be incurred if the breaking of the rule is announced within a reasonable time after the event.
3. Asking "what are you playing?" or "may I play" should be dealt with as follows:
   • 1 card penalty for asking a question
   • 1 card penalty for not saying "Bartok" when only having one card in hand.