SortingCasino Rules

SortingCasino is a game involving sorting algorithms and concepts related to them. Learning objectives of the game are recognizing the properties of the algorithms and understanding the related concepts, such as: stable, in-place and big-O notation. SortingCasino resembles the card game "Casino".

General

  • Number of players: 2-4
  • Two decks of cards: Algorithm card deck (blue) and Special card deck (red)

The Deal

  • The dealer deals 3 special cards and 3 algorithm cards to the table and 2 special cards and 2 algorithm cards for each player.

The Play

  • On a turn, player can capture one or more cards from the table by using one of his or her hand cards. With an algorithm card, player can capture all special cards that are valid for that algorithm. Respectively, with a special card, player can capture all algorithm cards that are valid for the criteria in the special card. A player can put all the captured cards to his victory stack. If a player can capture all the cards on the table, he or she receives a "sweep".
  • If a player can not capture any cards from the table, he or she must place one of the hand cards to the table.
  • When all the hand cards are on the table, each player draws 4 new hand cards (they can be from either stack).
  • When capturing cards from the table, a player must show all the cards involved to the other players. If someone disagrees with the validity of the capture, the players have to settle the disagreement for example looking from additional material. The player who was wrong, has to give one card from his or her victory stack to the player who was right.
  • There might be cases when the player in turn does not find all the cards he or she could capture. If there are some cards that could have been captured with the card that was played, any of the other players can instantly claim the additional cards and place them to their own victory stack.

End of the Game

  • The game ends when either algorithm stack or special card stack is empty.
  • Every card in victory stack is worth one point and every sweep is worth three points.
  • The winner is the player with the most points.