Scum: The Masquerade (copyright 1996 Dennis Clark, Christine Lee, Noah Lesgold, Tom Lotze, and Ariel Segall)
Scum: The Masquerade is a card game for 4 to 9 people, played with a normal deck of cards. It is based on the game Scum, or Capitalism, or Asshole, but with a twist of Vampire: The Masquerade. The goal is to seize and remain in the highest position, the Justicar, amidst the manipulations of the other players.
Glossary:
To begin playing Scum: The Masquerade, ranks must be determined. This may be done in any agreed-upon way, but the most common method is thus: A normal hand is played, save that there are no ranks (and thus no trading cards). The first person to lead is the one who has the 3 of clubs (lowest card). They must lead this card, either singly or in a hand. The winner becomes the Justicar, the next the Prince, etc. (see below) Draw straws, deal one card to each person, or fight it out. It doesn't matter. After some method, there is an order of players, from highest to lowest.
Once the ranks are in order, the players sit in a circle according to their rank. The highest rank is Justicar. To the left of the Justicar sits the second highest rank (Prince, a genderless title; there can be female Princes), to the left of the Prince sits the next highest, and so on, until the lowest player, mortal scum.
Next, the entire deck is dealt out to the players, beginning with scum, and proceeding upwards in class (to the right) until the entire deck is dealt.
At this point, the higher classes get to trade cards with the lower
classes. In trading cards, the higher player may ask for cards (the
number of cards he/she may ask for depends on the number of players [see
below]). These can be specific cards, or "your highest card(s)", or any
combination thereof.
However, he/she may not ask what cards the lower player has; if he/she
does, the lower class player is under no obligation to answer
truthfully.
The lower class person must give the cards asked for (if the lower
player does not have the cards, the higher player may ask again). The
higher player must then give the lower player as many cards as he/she took
(these need not be, and usually are not, the same cards. Who and how
many people get to trade cards depends on the number of players (again,
see below). This portion of the game is often
accompanied by pleading looks and/or cursing from the lower ranks, and
mercy and/or mockery from the higher ones.
Once all trading is done with, the game begins, with the Justicar leading the first round. The person leading may lead any hand. Hands which may be played are dependant on the number of players (just see below, okay?). The next player by rank (the player to the left) then has a chance to play a hand. It must be the same type of hand as that which was led, and must be higher. A card is considered higher if it is a higher number card (two being the highest, ace the second, king third, and so on down to 3 being the lowest). If they are the same numerical card, the higher card is determined by suit. The highest suit is hearts, followed by spades, diamonds, and lowest being clubs. A hand is considered "higher" if the highest card in it is higher than the highest card in the previous hand. If the player cannot or will not play a higher hand, he/she says "pass". Then the next player to the left has a chance to play, and so on.
A round is won when all the players pass. This is commonly referred to as a "general pass". The person who put down the highest hand (the last hand played) wins the hand, and begins the next round by leading a hand of their choice.
The first player to get rid of all the cards in his/her hand becomes the
new Justicar, second becomes the second highest, and so on, with the last
person to go out becoming mortal scum. Everyone shifts to their new
positions (yup; you have to get up off your chair and move), and the game
continues as the cards are redealt. Continue until time runs out or
participants are deceased.
Hands playable (hands which may be led):
Ranks and trading cards (from highest to lowest):