Whot Game Rules

General Rules

Internet Settings:

Playing WHOT! game on the eSportcave app requires you to have a strong & stable internet connection and be positioned in areas where your phone reception is great, to enjoy a seamless gaming experience as the eSportcave app might experience occasional freeze if you do not have a strong internet.

Please note that we are not liable for any loss that occurs during your game play as you might be disconnected from the game if your internet connection is not stable.

Turn Time

On eSportcave, each player has a turn time countdown of 20 seconds to play a card or pick from the stack pile at each turn, in cases where a player misses his/her turn, they automatically miss their turn to play.

Raise Stake

During a game play, you can raise the stake amount at any time to increase the total prize to be won during a game.

Please note, the opponent has to accept the “raise stake” offer within 10 seconds, for the new stake to be applied to the stake balance.

1 on 1 Match Mode

The 1 on 1 battle is a game of death that leaves only one winner standing and the rules applicable are as follows:

Card	Effect	Explanation
1	HOLD ON	The same player plays again.
2	PICK TWO	The next player must either play another two(to defend), or must draw two cards from the stock instead. After cards have been drawn for the two(s), the next player can play any legal card.
5	PICK THREE	The next player must either play another five(to defend) or must draw three cards from the stock instead. After cards have been drawn for the five(s), the next player can play any legal
8	SUSPENSION	The next player misses a turn.
14	GENERAL MARKET	All players except the person who played the 14 must immediately draw one card from the stock.

Note that in a two-player game (2 players), there is no difference between "HOLD ON" and "SUSPENSION" since there is only one opponent to skip.

Variations

The rules supplied with the cards also describe a short game without scoring: there is just one deal and the first player to get rid of all their cards is the winner.

Tournament Games

The tournament challenge takes a slightly different approach. The game is played until a player declares all his card, the remaining participant’s cards is then calculated and the player with the highest points is eliminated.
This continues, until the "Finale" where only two players face off in a final challenge of 1 on 1. The winner of the final is declared the winner of the tournament…

Special Cards

Card	Effect	Explanation
1	HOLD ON	The same player plays again.
2	PICK TWO	The next player must either play another two(to defend), or must draw two cards from the stock instead. After cards have been drawn for the two(s), the next player can play any legal card.
5	PICK THREE	The next player must either play another five(to defend) or must draw three cards from the stock instead. After cards have been drawn for the five(s), the next player can play any legal
8	SUSPENSION	The next player misses a turn.
14	GENERAL MARKET	All players except the person who played the 14 must immediately draw one card from the stock.

In the multi-player tournament game(4 players), the use of the 1 and 8 varies. "HOLD ON" means all the other players to wait while the same player plays another card while

"SUSPENSION" means just the next player misses a turn.

The next card played after a "HOLD ON" or "SUSPENSION" has to follow the normal rules - it must have the same symbol as the 1 or 8, or the same number (causing another hold on or suspension) or a wild 20WHOT! card accompanied by a call for the shape that should be played next.
A player whose hand is reduced to two cards must warn the other players by saying “warning” . A player with just one card must warn the others by saying "last card".
Any card symbol or number can win the game.

Note: Star cards count double when scoring. To help when calculating the score, the star cards show two numbers: the large number is the number of the card, used in play; the small number is the point value of the card, used in scoring.

If you cannot or do not wish to play a card at your turn, you draw one card from the draw pile instead; having drawn a card, you are not allowed to play a card on this turn.

If the draw pile runs out, all except the top card of the play pile are shuffled to form a new draw pile, and play continues.

Deal

Deal and play are clockwise and the turn to deal passes to the left after each hand. The card shuffles randomly and is distributed clockwise to all players. The system deals 7 cards to each player, one at a time, and puts the rest of the pack face down to form a draw pile.

When a WHOT! card is played, the player must name a suit (symbol). The next card played must be a card of the named suit or another Whot card.

Scoring

The play ends when a player wins by getting rid of all their cards. The other players score penalty points for the cards left in their hands. Circles, squares, crosses and triangles count face value, stars count double (the penalty value is usually printed inside the small stars), and WHOT! cards count 20.

The player who has the highest count or more penalty points drop out, while the game continues. The last player left in, is declared the winner of the Tournament.