Mentok
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Mentok is a point-scoring game, created as a hybrid of Go Fish, and Blackjack (though it owes more to the Pontoon blackjack variant)
It is named after Mentok the Mind-Taker from Harvey Birdman.
The game does indeed has an element of mindtaking (basic memory and deduction). The basic goal is to build a 21point hand (blackjack/pontoon style) using methodology derived from Go Fish.
Note that this page uses 'meld' style terminogy as used in Mock
Game play
A Game of Mentok is multiple rounds of play (usually 4 or 5, but 3 to 8 are viable. 2 to infinity is possible). Players score points at the end of each round, and the game ends at 21 points.
Setup
Cards are dealt as follows:
To each player are dealt
- Four cards to the hand
- One card open to the table. This table card is the start of your blackjack hand.
Play
You now start building your table hand using Go Fish techniques. That is, you ask another player for a card that you desire, and if they have it, they HAVE to give it to you. you HAVE to meld it to the tabe. If on the first round you ask for (and get) the card dealt on the table, you may split your hand blackjack style (ie, you now have two base cards), thus potentially doubling your possible total. Note that you may only split once.
If the player you ask for a card doesn't have it, you have to take a card from the top of the deck, and you meld that instead.
Note that you cannot ask for just anything. Like Go Fish, you can only ask for cards which are currently in your sphere of influence. ie, in your hand, or part of what you are building on the table. Thus what you ask for may reveal what cards you have to other players, possibly to their advantage. (And thus, Mindtaking!)
The game moves quite fast since on every turn, a card IS melded to the table.
When everyone sits on their cards (or has busted), points are scored.
Scoring
At the end of each round, game points are scored thus:
| hand | points |
|---|---|
| 17 | 1 |
| 18 | 2 |
| 19 | 3 |
| 20 | 4 |
| 21 | 5 |
Bonuses:
- A blackjack or pontoon (ie, 21 points in only 2 cards): bonus 1 point (so, 6 points total)
- Not busting with 5 or more cards in your hand (ie "five-and-under" from pontoon): bonus 1 point. (thus: a hand up to 16 in 5 cards will score 1 point, 17 scores 2, etc, up to 21 scores 6.
With a split hand, this means 12 points is the maximum possible in a single round.
Note that at this final scoring stage, you can choose to score on the cards remaining in your hand instead of the cards on the table. This is only ever a backup, as there is no direct control you can have on the cards you remain with. However, in-game hinting of a card in your possession (to encourage others to fish for it) is permitted in friendly games. (and the inventors of Mentok play no other type!)
Winning
A game is won when a player reach 21 points. (Tied games are possible if two players reach 21 game points on the same round).
Note that as the game score of 21 is reached, players may need to target a smaller point scoring hand in an individual round, so as to not bust out of the game. Players may deliberately have to bust their hand to ensure their game target remains below 21. (for eg: a player with a game score of 20, will only want a hand of 17, for 1 point to reach a game score of 21!
