Less Than Three
2025Matthew LaBrake
2 players
30 min
Medium weight: Teach it in one sitting
From BoardGameGeek
This game is playable with a standard deck of cards. Less Than Three is a 2 player ladder climbing game. Over 6 rounds, players will try to win by emptying their hand first. If a player doesn't have a winning hand, they can sweep to regain control, or end the round early by knocking. Using three different melds (singles, sets of 2 or more, and suited runs of 2 or more), players will attempt to climb over their opponent's plays. Both players have 2 sweep cards to last them the entire game. These clear the field of all cards played to the current trick, and allow the sweeper to lead the next trick. Only one of these may be played in each round. So over 6 rounds, player A will use 2 sweeps, Player B will use 2 sweeps, and 2 rounds will go without a sweep played. Players can end a round early by knocking when they have less than three cards remaining in their hand. This will score them the difference in remaining cards between them and their opponent. Or they can risk continuing the round, hoping to shed out of cards completely, and earn a 5 point bonus.
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Taylor's Trick-Taking Table
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About Less Than Three
From BoardGameGeek:
This game is playable with a standard deck of cards. Less Than Three is a 2 player ladder climbing game. Over 6 rounds, players will try to win by emptying their hand first. If a player doesn't have a winning hand, they can sweep to regain control, or end the round early by knocking. Using three different melds (singles, sets of 2 or more, and suited runs of 2 or more), players will attempt to climb over their opponent's plays. Both players have 2 sweep cards to last them the entire game. These clear the field of all cards played to the current trick, and allow the sweeper to lead the next trick. Only one of these may be played in each round. So over 6 rounds, player A will use 2 sweeps, Player B will use 2 sweeps, and 2 rounds will go without a sweep played. Players can end a round early by knocking when they have less than three cards remaining in their hand. This will score them the difference in remaining cards between them and their opponent. Or they can risk continuing the round, hoping to shed out of cards completely, and earn a 5 point bonus.