Rules in Scottish

Revised from the Camsteerie Rules Edition of 1776 and approved by the Board of the International Stramash Society of Edinburgh in 1852 and adopted as the International Standard from 1st April 1853.

Come ben the hoose and set ye doon for a wee jooglie o’ Stramash. Ha’ a wee swatch afore ye get goin’, e’en tho’ these rules are weel-kent.

The point o’ the game is ettlin tae git ye five Laddies fae ya Dock tae ya Castle until it’s stappit. Ye’ll be tha Muckle Stoater.

Set up the board Mashies, yin fur each person playin’. If thairs twa o’ ye use four Mashies.

Fur up tae four players use twa deil’s picture beuks. Fur five or six players, use three. Each player is deelt five cairds.

Ye hefta spraucle o’wheech in a clockwise direction aroon’ the board, ceptin’ when ye haf tae go widdershins. Use the cairds tae determine yon moves. An ace o’ coup’n is needed tae tak a Laddie fae the Dock tae start play. Move yin Laddie tae the howe fornenst the Dock fur that turn.

Movin’ aroon’ the board
In turn, each player picks up a caird, plays the value by discardin’ yin o’ the six cairds haud in the hon, ye can wyle yer pick. A player is only allowed tae hae five cairds left tae haud in the hon. Ye air’nae allood tae land an or lowp ower y’ain Laddie. If ye finish ya move by landin’ an the same howe as an opponent, the opponent’s Laddie is bumpit and huckled back tae its ain Dock. Y’ain Laddie taks its place.

A player maun play if any move is possible an’ dree their weird, ye cannae swither.

Card Values:
• Ace moves yin place or moves fae Dock tae start
• Coup’n cairds move 10 places or fae Dock tae start
• 2,3,4,5,6,9 and 10 move for’ard at face value
• 8 only moves widdershins 8 places
• 7 can move 7 places for’ard or can be divvied twain twa active Laddies (2 and 5, 6 and 1, 4 and 3)
Yon Bonnie Fechter can be used tae bump any of yur opponents’ Laddies anywhere on the board (ceptin’ Castles) with yin o’ your ain, hucklin’ yon opponent back to its Dock.

Winnin’ the Game:
The Muckle Stoater o’ the game is the first to get aw their Laddies safely intae their Castle. Once in the Castle a Laddie cannae be bumpit, but tae finish aw must be in and they cannae lowp ower each ither. If a player cannae get his Laddie intae his Castle cos it’s hoatching wi’ ither Laddies, he hastae keep agoin’ roon’ the board, so tak tent.

Playin’ Doubles:
While ye cannae lowp ower y’ain Laddie ye can bump ye partner’s, which sends it tae the entry o’ their Castle. Ya opponents’ still get huckled back tae their Dock. The same caird values apply. When playin’ a 7 ye can use pairt o’ the value tae move y’ain Laddie and part tae move ya partner’s if playin’ doubles.

Both players have tae ha’ aw their Laddies in their Castles tae win the game. When a’ yin partner’s Laddies are in their Castle he works as a gillie for his partner tae ging tae their Castle by playin’ the cairds in his ain turn, but movin’ his partner’s Laddies.