Jewel Thief

Note: Jewel Thief can be played with a standard 52 card deck; just snag the downloadable rules at the bottom of this page and check out the tutorial near the end of this blog post to learn how

Jewel Thief has four rule variations.

The first variation, from which the game derives its title, is a card matching game with a villain. One player tries to find 2-card matches in a 6 x 6 grid while another player, the Jewel Thief, periodically removes rows and columns of cards from the playfield, limiting the number of possible matches. There can be any number of players in the main game, each one taking up the Jewel Thief’s mantle after they’ve had a chance to find matches, so the game is great for large groups.

The next three variations are for 2 – 4 players. They each utilize the two main mechanics of the game, card matching and thievery, in different ways.

The second game is a more standard memory game, but it’s competitive. The cards are laid out in a grid like before, but face-down instead. The players take turns flipping cards face-up; when a match is present, the first player to notice and grab the cards receives the point. A more difficult sub-variant of this game is also included.

The third game is similar to a Match 3 game, like you might have on your smartphone. The grid is smaller this time, 4 x 4 to be exact, with the remaining cards in a deck to the side, and the cards are face-up. Each player chooses a card from their hand to slide into the grid, pushing the card on the opposite side out. They may choose to add the removed card to their hand or discard it and draw another. When 3 jewels of the same type are next to each other that is a match and the player that made it happen receives a point.

Finally, the last game is similar to Crazy 8’s. Players take turns stacking cards that have the same jewel shape or jewel color, or any jewel if they don’t have matches. When a diamond is played, however, the player that placed it receives a point for every match under it and a new stack begins. Players may choose to draw a card at the end of their turn or steal one from another player, potentially depriving them of a diamond.

The cards in Jewel Thief are versatile; originally only the first rule set existed, with the other variations coming later. I imagine (and hope!) that players will be able to think up their own rule sets to play. I hope you enjoy Jewel Thief as much as I enjoyed making it!

If you’d like to read about the making of Jewel Thief please visit my website: bugbeast.me.