Glossary and Rules
Deck: The Unity deck consists of
54
cards
in
a
revolutionary
alphabetical design. The deck has
four suits (colors) , 13 cards each,
and two special universal cards
(Joker types). Each suit is ordered
from high to low as follows: AA,
BB, CC, DD, EE, A, B, C, D, E, F,
(the “bug” card, so named for its
six legs), and
(the double bug
card). Each suit is represented by a
color and also a symbol: Blue
,
Gold , Red , Black . In games
where suits have different powers
or orders, (Bridge for example),
the Unity suits are ordered Blue,
Gold, Red, and Black. The Blue
symbol (Circle) has one geometric
side and suggests 1st in order. The
Gold symbol (Crescent) is a two
sided figure and 2nd in order. The
Red symbol (Triangle) with three
sides, and is 3rd. The Black symbol
(Square) is four-sided, and is 4th.
To see how the Unity deck
compares to the common 52 card
deck, Rook, and Pinochle decks, see
the table on the back of the
Rulebook.
Dealer: The Player that is selected
to distribute the cards to each
player.
The
first
dealer
is
determined by each player cutting
the deck, high card deals. The deal
rotates one to the left each hand.
Hand: The full compliment of cards
dealt to each player to start each
round of play.
Trick: One round of play with each
player playing 1 card. The trick is
taken by (belongs to) the player
that plays the highest card in the
suit (color) that was led. If trump
is played then the highest trump
card played takes the trick.
Trump: One suit (color) is selected
each hand to be more powerful
than any other suit. The highest
Trump
card
takes
the
trick
whenever trump is played.
The
Universal
cards
are
always
considered Trump cards. If a
Universal card is turned up in the
trump selection process, the dealer
looks at his hand and then chooses
the trump color from the two colors
on the universal card. When Blue or
Gold is trump, the Blue and Gold
Universal card is considered the
highest trump (higher than the AA)
while the Red and Black Universal
card is considered the lowest trump
(lower than the
). When Red or
Black is trump, the Red and Black
Universal card is the highest; and
the Blue and Gold Universal card is
the lowest. The Universal cards are
played like you would play any
other trump card.
Bidding: Each player declares
(bids) how many tricks they want to
take for the hand. The player left of
the dealer bids first. The bidding
proceeds to the left, the dealer
being the last to bid.
Play: After the first card is led
(played), play then rotates left
(clockwise). Each player must follow
suit (the color that was led) if
possible. If a player doesn’t have
the color that was led, they can
play any other color. The player
that wins the trick leads the next
card.
ELEMENTS
Elements is a game for two to Six
players. Each player competes
against the rest. It is an easy game
to learn and is the best way to
become familiar with the Unity
deck. The game varies with the
different
styles
and
game
philosophies
of
the
players
involved.
Deal: Each player is dealt 8 cards
the first hand, then 7 cards for the
second hand, 6 the third and so on
down to a hand with only one card
for each player. The sequence is
then reversed so that after the
hand with one card, the next hand
has 2 cards, then 3 and so on back
up to 8 cards in the last hand. At
that point the player with the most
points is the winner. If there is a tie
for first place another hand of 7
cards is played. The sequence is
continued until the tie is broken or
a winner is determined. After the
players have been dealt their
hands, the dealer turns up the top
card of the remaining deck and this
color becomes trump.
Bidding: The dealer must bid a
number that when added to the
other bids totals more or less than
the number of tricks possible. For
example: There are 7 cards in each
player’s hand, and there are three
players. The first bidding 3; the
second 2. This means that the
dealer can’t bid 2, for then the total
would be 7. The dealer can bid
either 0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. This
procedure insures that at least 1
player will not make their bid.
Scoring: A player has to make
their bid exactly to score. If they
take more or less tricks than they
bid, they don’t gain or lose any
points for that hand. If a player
makes their bid, they receive 10
points plus a point for each trick
that they bid. If their bid was 3,
they would make 13 points. If 2
were bid: 12 points. A zero bid
receives 10 points. In the course of
play if a player feels that they
aren’t going to make their bid, they
should try and cause other players
not to make theirs by taking of
giving away tricks the players want.
Play: The player left of the dealer
leads the first card.
UNITY
Unity is similar to Elements in
concept but is a game for partners.
Players who have played a game of
Elements have no problems playing
a game of Unity. (Four Player
Partnership)
Deal: All cards are dealt except the
last 2, one being turned face up.
This color becomes trump. The last
2 cards are not used in play, and
the card laying face down is not
revealed until after the completion
of the hand.
Bidding: The bids for each set of
partners are added together and
the two players work together to
obtain their total bids. There are
thirteen tricks possible.
Scoring: Each team scores 10
points for each trick that they
collectively bid and 1 point for each
extra trick taken. If a team fails to
make their bid, they subtract from
their score the amount of their bid
(10 points for each trick bid). For
example: if a team bids a total of 7
tricks and they take 9, they score
72 points. If they had made only 6
tricks they would have lost 70
points. If any player bids zero and
doesn’t take any tricks that team
receives an additional 100 points. If
the player that bid zero takes a
trick then he loses 100 points for
the team. His partner can use the
tricks taken to make his bid which
is added or subtracted to the results
of the zero bid. A player can bid a
blind zero if his team is at least 200
points behind. This means the
player has to bid zero before
looking at their hand. A blind zero is
worth 200 points. Game is 500
points. If a player doesn’t play
according to the rules, that team
subtracts the amount of their bid
from their score and the opposing
team automatically makes their bid.
Play: The double bug card (
) of
the complimentary color of trump
leads for the first trick. (Blue and
Gold are complimentary as are Red
and Black). If the
is unavailable
then the bug card ( ) is led.
Alternative: This game can be
played with no partners each player
playing alone. A player must be at
least 200 points behind the second
lowest score to bid a blind zero.
UNITY (For two Players)
Deal: The dealer deals 2 cards, one
face down and the other face up.
The color on the card face up
becomes trump.
The remaining
deck is placed on the table. The
other players draws the top card.
If he wants to keep it for his hand,
he does so. He then draws the next
card and discards it without looking
at it. If the player didn’t want the
first card drawn, he discards it and
draws the second card for his hand.
He must then keep the second card.
The dealer then goes through the
same procedure, and this alternates
between the two players until all
the cards have been distributed.
The game is played with the cards
selected by the players (13 each).
The dealers opponent bids first and
leads the first card.
UNITY
(For Three Players)
All rules apply as with four players
except the following:
Deck: A partial deck of 46 cards is
used (remove the , and
cards).
Deal: The dealer turns the top card
face up and places it aside not to be
used in play. This color is trump.
The remaining cards are dealt
giving each player 15 cards.
Scoring: The scores for each player
are kept separately since there are
no partnerships with three players.
A player must be at least 200
points behind the second lowest
score to bid a blind zero.
Play:
The
F
card
of
the
complimentary color of trump leads
for the first trick. (Blue and Gold
are complimentary as are Red and
Black).
UNITY
(For Five Players)
UNITY
(Six Player Partnership)
All rules apply as with four players
except the following:
Deck: A partial deck of 50 cards is
used (remove the
cards).
Deal: Trump is determined by a cut
of the cards. The entire deck is
dealt giving each player 10 cards.
Scoring: Each player’s score is
kept separately since there are no
partnerships with five players. A
zero bid is worth 50 points and
blind zero is worth 100 points. A
player must be at least 100 points
behind the second lowest score to
bid a blind zero. Game is 250
points.
Play:
The
card
of
the
complimentary color of trump leads
for the first trick.
All rules apply as with four players
except the following: With six
players there are three partnerships
with two players. Partners sit
opposite to each other at the table.
Deal: Trump is determined by a cut
of the cards. The entire deck is
dealt giving each player 9 cards.
Scoring: Each team’s score is kept
separately. A zero bid is worth 50
points and blind zero is worth 100
points. A team must be at least 100
points behind the second lowest
score to bid a blind zero. Game is
250 points.
Play:
The
card
of
the
complimentary color of trump leads
for the first trick.
Alternative: This game can be
played with no partners each player
playing alone. A player must be at
least 100 points behind the second
lowest score to bid a blind zero.
SOLITAIRE (One Player )
Use the Unity deck to play the
many existing games of Solitaire as
follows: Use the
(Double Bug)
cards like Aces, and the AA (Double
A) cards like Kings. A part of the
game is to build sequences of
alternating color groups. In these
sequences consider Blue and Gold
as one group and Red and Black as
another group. This means that a
Blue or Gold BB card would be
placed on either a Red or Black AA
card. Universal cards are wild cards.
The Blue and Gold Universal card
can be substituted for any Blue and
Gold card while the Red and Black
Universal card can be substituted
for any Red or Black card. After
being substituted for a certain card,
their identity can be changed as
long as Sequences are maintained.
Exhibit 1
You will notice that each card was
designed for instant readability in
your hand. It is difficult to mistake
single letter cards for double letter
cards, or to confuse suits.
Exhibit 2
The
was selected as the symbol
of the Unity deck because it
represents the accepted sign for
infinity, corresponding to the deck’s
universal application.
The metric system is being used
more and more worldwide. The
Unity deck is the first to adopt a
truly metric size, 6 X 9 centimeters.
For comparison , the Unity deck is
1/8” narrower than a Poker deck,
1/8” wider than a Bridge deck, and
1/16” longer than both.
Unity deck cross reference table.
***INDEX***
Reg- Uni
Pino Tarok
ular ty Rook chle Blue Gold Red Black
A AA 14 A XXI XX XIX XVIII
Glossary and Rules …………..…… 1-4
K
Q
J
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
BB
CC
DD
EE
A
B
C
D
E
F
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
1
Joker Uni Rook
Joker Uni
10 XVII XVI XV XIV
X
K XIII XII XI
IX VIII VII VI
Q
V
IV III
II
J
A
K
10 Q
K
C
Q
J
J
10 A
9
2
9
8
3
9
7
4
XXII
I
Blue
Gold
Red
Black
Circle
Crescent Triangle Square -
Unity Rules …………………..…….. 8-10
Unity Rules (for 2 players) ….... 11
Unity Rules (for 3 Players) ……... 12
Unity Rules (for 5 players) ….…. 13
Unity Rules (for 6 players) …. 14-15
Solitaire (one player) …….……….. 16
Order of Suits: Order is Determined by the
number of geometric sides in each symbol.
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
Elements Rules …….………..…..… 5-7
1
2
3
4
side
sides
sides
sides
Exhibit I …………………….………. 17-18
Exhibit II …………………….…….. 19-20
Deck Comparison Table ………...… 21
RULE BOOK
Double Letter Cards
Unity Deck
Size
TM
AA BD
WANACO Inc.
PO Box 181
Signal Mountain, TN 37373
Bridge
Size
TM
4 suit alphabetical card game
Metric Size 6X9 Centimeters
C 2002 Wanaco Inc.
Single Letter Cards
Poker
Size
Unity deck cross reference table
Poker
Unity
A
K
Q
J
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
AA
BB
CC
DD
EE
A
B
C
D
E
F
Joker
Joker
Uni
Uni
Rook Pinochle
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
1
RULE BOOK
A
10
K
Q
J
A
10
K
Q
J
9
9
TM
TM
TM
Rook
Order of Suits:Order is Determined by the
number of geometric sides in each symbol.
1st Blue
2nd Gold
3rd Red
4th Black
21
Circle
Crescent
Triangle
Square
- 1 side
- 2 sides
- 3 sides
- 4 sides
4 suit alphabetical card game
Metric Size 6X9 Centimeters
C 2002 Wanaco Inc.