Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Easier to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Light strategy
More strategic control
How it plays
How does it play?
Extend a shared number row only at its extremes, match or exceed the end stacks, and be the first player to shed every leaf.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Read the full game description
13 Leaves is a quick hand-shedding card game built around one shared ascending row. The opening player lays any number of cards of a single value. Later players may add a lower or equal value to the left end or a higher or equal value to the right, but the number of cards played must meet or exceed the size of the stack already at that end. Values between the two extremes are locked out. A player who cannot or chooses not to play takes one visible card, turns their hand face down, and sits out the rest of the round; the last active player clears the row and begins the next. The first person to empty their hand wins. An expert variant links games together, scoring cards left in hand until someone reaches twenty points and the lowest total prevails.
