Krummy

by Frater Pyramidatus 22nd April 2011

Krummy is a game using Tarot cards, and although the choice of deck is a personal issue, the object is to
learn the correspondences of the Hermetic Tree of Life. It is designed to teach groups the various
correspondences of the Hermetic Qabalah in a painless and fun way. The method used is called that of
'Yetzirah'. This basically means the different symbol sets are intermingled in a way which is not disciplined
Qabalism, but tangential and rather skew wise. Although Qabalists do not properly mix up the symbol sets
without much forethought, this game does teach one over time. 'Krummy' is obviously a play on words with
'rummy', I believe this game is also known as 'Karbuncle'. I should also add that this is my own version of
'Krummy' and that older, and probably more concise and streamlined, versions exist. I can only refer any
students to historical sources, especially 'The Royal Game of Life' by Papus, and perhaps Hoyle as well. I
have embellished the Krummy game that I discovered on the World Wide Web many years ago. This in itself
does not require an apology, rather a disclaimer that what I call 'Krummy' is a variation of something far
older.

One – The Dealing

Deal alternately, ie. one card at a time, clockwise or anticlockwise, between five and eleven cards a person.

Two – The First Lay

After all the players have picked up and had a moment or two to look at their cards, the dealer lays a card,
face up, in the centre. The first card laid depends on whoever is quickest. If one mistakenly lays down a
card that has no Qabalistical connection then that player is annulled from that particular hand, and has to stay
put until the cards are reshuffled. If a perfect correspondence is laid, then the player gets three points.

Three – The Points System

A maximum of two points may be scored per turn (with two exceptions where three points can be scored).
They may be scored in two ways: a) playing a trick, or b) emptying your hand.

Playing a Trick -

A card with only a loose association may by played yet score no point. For example one could play the Four
of Swords on top of The Fool due to the Elemental connection of Air. One point is scored for an unarguable
association. For example the Princess of Swords on top of the Ten of Swords, as they are both of one Suit,
and they are both stationed on Malkuth, the tenth Sphere. Two points are scored for a 'trick'. However, a
trick must be the third card dealt in a row. So if the two previous cards were, for instance, the Three of
Swords then the Four of Swords, you could come in with the Five of Swords for two points. The same goes
for three, four, five, six, seven or eight of a kind. It is this rule that stops the game becoming too tangential.

Arguments -

If a player claims a point with a Qabalistic correspondence, and another believes this to be a spurious and
illegitimate claim, argument is not allowed during play. It is up to the player to make a note of the two cards
in question and point it out after play, and then debate the connection or lack thereof.

Emptying Your Hand -

The object of Krummy is not to empty your hand, but rather to score points. As play revolves, a player who
cannot score a trick simply does not lay. A player who deals his last card earns two points. One may deal all
one's cards simultaneously it they either a) connect Qabalistically in an undeniable manner, or b) form a
sequential trick of all least three cards, or a three/four/five/six/seven/eight of a kind trick, or combination of
sequence and same kind. This is a quick way of scoring two points. Once a player has emptied his or her
hand, the deck is reshuffled and a new round commences.

Four – The Will to Power

If a player is down to the last two cards, he or she has the right, but not the obligation to claim 'The Will to
Power'. If after claiming this, one then empties one's hand, then three points are scored. If one claims 'The
Will to Power' and is not the first to empty one's hand one loses two points. One can only claim 'The Will to
Power' immediately after one's turn.

Five – Breaking the Rules

If a rule is broken, knowingly or inadvertently, play continues but the infraction accrues an exponential loss
of points, to the power. That is the first rule broken incurs a penalty of two points, the second four, the third
eight, the fourth 16 etc..

Six – The Choice of Deck

Any deck may be used that ties in with the Hermetic Tree of Life. It goes without saying that Tarot decks,
rather than 'angel cards' or 'Zen koan cards' are the most appropriate. Tarot decks do vary in the number of
cards, with for example some having 81 cards rather than 78, or with different names for the Trumps and so
on. I can only recommend the Rider Waite Tarot, or the Thoth deck by Crowley, or the Tarot of Ceremonial
Magick by Lon Milo DuQuette and others that 'tie in'. It is also possible to use a playing card deck if a group
is fluent in how they correspond with the Tarot symbols, although this is rarely the case, and the lack of
Trumps may somewhat dilute the game. I would not get too tied up in knots about the hundreds of Tarot
decks available. My personal preference is the Thoth deck by Crowley because the principal symbols of the
Hebrew and astrological for each card are printed on the bottom of each card. The Morgan Greer tarot is, in
my humble opinion, the most beautiful.

Seven – The Winner

A player wins when either a) a predetermined number of points is reached, or b) all but one of the players
resigns, or alternatively one player is unanimously agreed upon as the winner. It is far better if the former is
chosen as the game is basically a tool to teach correspondences and is not really meant to be competitive.

Eight – Divination

If players wish to use the game in a divination type way that is acceptable but this requires that each trick be
recorded. And we must remember that divination is very dangerous and not to be dabbled with lightly.
Crowley rightly states that divination is the most dangerous type of magick. A whole volume of guidelines
could be written on this.

Nine – Gambling

It is in the spirit of the game to allow single stakes, however it is not in the spirit of the game to allow antes,
straddles, raising and calling, or bluffing.