
Frequently Asked Questions
Flush is a shedding card game where the aim of the game is to shed all of your cards before your friends do. If you win the round, you will score 0 points, and your friends will score points based on what cards they still have remaining in their hand. In Arena format - after 5 rounds (with the 5th round being a double points round), the player with the lowest total score wins the game! For Elimination games - once a player reaches a points limit (we recommend 30pts), they are removed from the game.
Deciding what cards to play, whether to strategically pick up, skip your neighbour or release a special Flush card, all depends on the type of player you are. Are you a bold and brave risk taker? Or are you more conservative and prefer to play safe? With Flush, there are many decisions that each player faces during a typical round, even during a single turn. A good decision might put you as the favourite to win the round, with a poor one doing the exact opposite! Despite there being a few core rules, we've found that complete beginners understand the game after playing just one round. However, their journey of mastering Flush has only just begun.
Check out the How to Play videos for a more in depth look at how the game works.
2-6 players. However, larger tournaments can be accommodated too. Check out our Tournament Guidance section.
Each game can last between 30-60 mins to complete.
Flush is playable with all ages (see Baby Flush variant for <10 years old). However, the full game is generally recommended for ages 10+.
The quickness of the Flush has led to some people comparing it to other easy-to-learn games such as Uno. However, it's biggest comparison is with the North American traditional card game 'Swoop'. For the UK and Europe, Flush is often compared to the classic university card game 'Sh*thead'. If you like 'Sh*thead', then you will LOVE Flush. It follows a similar set up, but the depth of Flush far exceeds any card game that's played with a regular 52 card deck.
The Flush team have trialled many different manufacturers and settled with the reliable manufacturer LongPack, that consistently produce premium quality cards. Each card face is printed on a robust linen style, black core card then coated with a market leading anti-scratch varnish. This helps protect the cards from frequent scratches and helps to maintain their stunning colour.
When a game has incomplete information, luck will always play a factor. Players cannot choose the hands they receive or what Blind Cards they may hold. This gives Flush a good amount of luck.
However, due to the various decisions each player is faced with - skill definitely plays a large part. If a player consistently makes decisions that favours their chances of winning the round (+equity), then in the long run this player will always finish better than players who consistently make decisions that decrease their chances of winning the round (-equity).
So yes, luck does play a role, but it is far from 'just a game of luck'.
Flush is still in it's infancy, and whilst we have ran successful local tournaments, we are aiming to run many larger tournaments in the future.
So join our socials (instagram.com/flush_card_game) and stay tuned for now!
Yes. But we warn you, it's utter chaos! It's really fun, until you get skipped! Grrrrrrrrrrr. It's a long time to wait to play again.
No. You can play Flush however you feel. The rulebook is designed to make the game fair for all and to help the game flow smoothly. If you wish to remove certain elements, then that's absolutely fine. Especially for new people learning the game.
Please bare in mind that Flush has been playtested and tweaked a ridiculous amount. The current rules and cards are designed to keep the game fun, deep and fair. So we always advise to eventually play with the full components to get the most enjoyment out of the game.
Sometimes during 2-3 player games there might be a stalemate in which the round is no longer progressing. If the same players make the same plays then all players can agree to enter a 'Shootout'.
Shootout:
1) Collect all cards and shuffle the deck again.
2) Deal out ONE base to each player (blind card and the card of top).
3) Deal out another 3 cards to each players hand.
4) Flip over another card in the deck to highlight the Mimic.
5) Draw a random card for each player from the remaining deck. The player with the lowest card value starts the Shootout (Big Flush>Flush>1-10). Mimic Flush can be swapped by this player too.
6) Play Flush as normal but with this shorter hand and score points after a player releases all of their cards (as normal).
Shootout Flush (for quicker games):
1) Deal out one base to each player (blind card and the card of top).
2) Deal out another three cards to each players hand (instead of the usual 8 cards).
3) Flip over another card in the deck to highlight the Mimic.
4) Play Flush as normal but with this shorter hand and score points after a player releases all of their cards.
Baby Flush (younger ages):
1) Deal out two blind cards to each player (without the card on top).
2) Deal out another 5 cards in to each players hand (instead of the usual 8 cards).
3) There are no Mimics, Skips, Links, or Deductions. Play all cards as values only.
Memory Game:
1) Collect 4 x each regular value and 2 x Flush cards.
2) Shuffle all cards and then place each card face down in rows of 7 cards across.
3) One player at a time flips over one of the cards and then has another chance to flip another card to match it. If both cards are the same value (e.g 2 x 6's) then this player collects the cards and then has another attempt at flipping another two identical cards. If a player does not match the cards, then they must flip them both back face down (without moving their position). The next player has an attempt at flipping two identical cards.
4) Once all cards have been collected, the round is over and each player will add up all of the points on their cards (like in normal Flush).
5) Play the above for 3 rounds.
6) The player with the most points at the end of the final round is declared the winner.