Fazes is a trick-taking card game for 3-8 players. A full match runs through six 'fazes,' each with its own avoidance rule (don't take specific colors, don't take the 13, don't take any tricks, etc.). The final faze, 'Madness,' combines every rule from the prior fazes. Penalties accumulate across all six fazes; lowest cumulative score wins.

How to Play Fazes

Setup

1. Shuffle the four-color deck (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue suits with numeric ranks).

2. Deal an equal number of cards to each player.

3. The player holding the green 2 leads the first trick of every faze.

Trick play

• Players must follow the led color.

• If void, they may play any card (and must play a trump if they have one when applicable).

• The highest card of the led color wins the trick (trump beats non-trump).

The Six Fazes

Each faze applies a different avoidance rule. Standard rule set:

1. Faze 1 - Avoid Red Trump: Red is trump; do not take tricks containing red trump cards.

2. Faze 2 - Avoid Yellow: Avoid taking yellow cards in tricks.

3. Faze 3 - Avoid the 13: Avoid taking the trick that contains the 13 card.

4. Faze 4 - Avoid Tricks: Avoid taking any tricks (Hearts-style 'no tricks').

5. Faze 5 - Additional Avoidance: Avoid the last trick or a specific card (consult rulebook for your edition).

6. Faze 6 - Madness: All previous penalty rules stack; every avoidance rule is in effect at once.

End condition

All six fazes are played and scored.

Companion app

A free Fazes Scoring App (iOS/Android) handles totals - useful since per-faze penalty values vary.

Cumulative penalty across all six fazes. Lower wins.

Record each player's final cumulative penalty score.