Jalape-NO!

About this board game

Jalape-NO! is a trick-taking card game for 3–9 players, with a play time of about 45 minutes, in which the goal is to finish with the lowest score after five rounds.

The deck contains 108 cards: 102 numbered cards and 6 pepper cards. Cards come in six colors and are numbered from 1 to 18, with the 1s serving as peppers. Depending on the number of players, the game uses 4–6 colors and card ranges from 1–9 up to 1–18.

At the beginning of each round, every player receives 12 cards. Any peppers in your hand must be placed face up in front of you. The lead player starts each trick by playing a card from their hand or one of their peppers.

Players must follow the suit led when possible, but matching peppers are an exception: you are not required to play a pepper of that suit. If you have the matching pepper, however, you cannot play a pepper of another color. The highest card in the suit led wins the trick and leads the next one.

Winning a pepper adds it to the table in front of you. That pepper can be played on a later trick, either to lead or during a trick already in progress. The round ends as soon as one player has no cards left in hand.

• Each pepper in front of you is worth 2 points.
• Each card matching the suit of one of your peppers is worth 1 point.
• After five rounds, the player with the lowest total score wins.

In Jalape-NO!, taking tricks is not always desirable. Watch the suits, manage the peppers you collect, and keep unwanted cards from turning into a fiery final score.