Mastering Cover Your Assets: A Comprehensive Guide to Rules and Strategy

Cover Your Assets is a fast-paced, engaging card game that’s easy to learn but offers surprising strategic depth. Played with a standard deck of cards, it’s perfect for family game nights or casual gatherings. This guide will walk you through the rules step-by-step, providing tips and strategies to help you become a Cover Your Assets champion.

## What is Cover Your Assets?

Cover Your Assets is a card game where the objective is to be the last player with assets remaining. Players create “assets” by pairing cards of the same rank and then attempt to “cover” (steal) their opponents’ assets using matching pairs or wild cards. The game continues until only one player has assets left, declaring them the winner.

## What You’ll Need

* **One or Two Standard Decks of Playing Cards:** Using two decks allows for more players and a faster game.
* **2-6 Players:** The game is best with 3-5 players.
* **A Flat Surface:** A table or clear area to play on.

## Setting Up the Game

1. **Shuffle the Deck(s):** Thoroughly shuffle the deck (or decks) of cards.
2. **Deal the Cards:** Deal four cards face down to each player. These cards are held in hand and kept secret from other players.
3. **Start the Discard Pile:** Place the remaining deck face down in the center of the playing area. This forms the draw pile. Flip the top card of the draw pile face up next to the draw pile to start the discard pile.

## Understanding the Cards

* **Numbered Cards (2-10):** These cards are used to form pairs and cover assets.
* **Face Cards (Jack, Queen, King):** These cards are also used to form pairs and cover assets.
* **Aces:** Aces are special cards used for making the highest-value assets and covering assets.
* **Jokers (If using two decks):** Jokers are wild cards and can be used to represent any rank when covering assets.

## How to Play Cover Your Assets: Step-by-Step Instructions

The game proceeds in turns, with each player taking the following actions in order:

### 1. Creating Assets

* **Form a Pair:** On your turn, you can create an asset by playing a pair of cards of the same rank from your hand face up in front of you. For example, two 7s, two Kings, or two Aces.
* **Initial Placement:** These pairs are placed in a stack, with one card slightly offset from the other to visually represent the asset.
* **First Asset is Special:** The first asset created by a player is considered their ‘base asset’. All subsequent assets created by that player will be placed ON TOP of their base asset stack.
* **Order Matters:** Each asset you create goes on top of the previously made asset. So, the topmost asset is the most vulnerable and the first asset created is the most protected.

**Important Rules for Creating Assets:**

* You can only create **one** asset per turn.
* You are not required to create an asset if you don’t want to or can’t.

### 2. Covering (Stealing) Assets

This is the core mechanic of the game.

* **Attempting to Cover:** On your turn, you can try to “cover” (steal) the topmost asset of another player. You do this by playing a matching pair of the same rank as the topmost asset, or a single card matching the asset card, combined with the top card from the discard pile, or a pair of Jokers (if playing with two decks), or a Joker combined with a single matching card from hand.
* **Targeting a Player:** You can target **any** player’s topmost asset, including those covered earlier. You are not limited to only targeting the last player who covered an asset. This can lead to strategic alliances and rivalries.
* **Defending Your Asset:** The player whose asset is being targeted has the opportunity to defend their asset. They can defend by playing a matching pair of their own or a single matching card plus the discard pile card (matching the rank of the asset). If the defender successfully defends, the attacker does not get the asset, and the attacker’s cards are discarded.
* **If the Defender Fails:** If the defender cannot or chooses not to defend, the attacker successfully covers the asset. The attacker takes the entire stack of the target’s topmost asset and places it face up in front of them, forming a new asset stack of their own. This stolen stack becomes the attacker’s topmost asset and is now vulnerable to being covered by other players.
* **Covering Your Own Assets (Strategic Use):** You *can* use the covering mechanic on your own assets if you want to protect a lower asset in your stack. The assets remain in the player’s asset stack, but the asset that was “covered” is now on top.

**Covering Rules in Detail**

Let’s break down the specifics of how to cover an asset:

* **Using a Matching Pair:** If the topmost asset is a pair of Queens, you can cover it by playing a pair of Queens from your hand.
* **Using a Single Card and the Discard Pile:** If the topmost asset is a pair of 8s, and the top card of the discard pile is an 8, you can play a single 8 from your hand along with the discard pile card to cover the asset. The player whose asset is being covered can defend using the same method – playing a matching pair of the original card or a single matching card from hand and the discard pile.
* **Using Jokers (With Two Decks):** If using two decks, Jokers are wild. You can use a pair of Jokers to cover *any* asset. You can also combine one Joker and a single matching card from hand (of the same rank as the asset) to cover an asset. For example, an asset is a pair of 4’s. You can use one 4 and one Joker to cover that asset.
* **Discard Pile Consideration:** You *must* use the topmost card in the discard pile if you choose to use the discard pile to cover or defend. You cannot dig through the discard pile for a card you need.
* **Defending with a Matching Pair:** If an opponent tries to cover your asset with a matching pair, you can immediately defend by playing another matching pair from your hand. The attacker’s pair is discarded, and your asset remains safe.
* **Defending with the Discard Pile:** If an opponent tries to cover your asset with a single card and the discard pile card, you can defend by playing a single matching card from your hand and the discard pile card. The attacker’s card and the discard pile card are discarded, and your asset remains safe.
* **Defending with Jokers:** If Jokers are in play, and an opponent is using a pair of jokers, or one joker combined with one matching card, to try to steal your asset, you can defend with the same: a pair of Jokers or a Joker and a matching card.

### 3. Drawing Cards

* **Draw to Four:** After attempting to create an asset or cover an asset, you must draw cards from the draw pile until you have four cards in your hand. If the draw pile is empty, shuffle the discard pile (except for the top card, which remains in place) to create a new draw pile.
* **Drawing When the Draw Pile is Depleted:** If the draw pile is empty and the discard pile has been exhausted, you do not draw any cards. You simply play your turn with the cards you have.

### 4. Discarding

* **If You Don’t Create or Cover:** If you don’t create an asset or attempt to cover an asset on your turn, you must discard one card from your hand onto the top of the discard pile after drawing to four cards.
* **If You Cover:** The cards used for covering another player’s asset are *not* discarded; they become part of your new asset stack.
* **Discarding and Hand Size:** You only discard if you haven’t created or stolen an asset, and you still have more than four cards after drawing. You must always draw back up to four cards when it is your turn to do so if cards are available in the draw pile or discard pile. You can only discard at the end of your turn and only if you have not created an asset or tried to cover an asset. If your hand contains four cards and you have not stolen or built an asset, you do not discard a card.

## Ending the Round

The round ends when the draw pile is exhausted, and at least one player has no assets remaining. At this point, the remaining players tally the value of their assets. You can determine that value by the following means:

* **Assign numerical values to the cards:** Use the numerical value of numbered cards, 10 for face cards (Jacks, Queens, Kings), and 11 for Aces.
* **Determine the total value of your remaining cards:** Total the values of your assets. The player with the lowest value wins the round.

## Winning the Game

The game continues for multiple rounds. It is up to the players to determine the winning conditions, such as reaching a certain score or playing a set number of rounds. The player with the most points, or who wins the agreed upon number of rounds, is the winner!

## Advanced Strategies and Tips

* **Card Counting:** Pay attention to the cards that have been played and discarded. This can help you anticipate what cards your opponents might have and make informed decisions about whether to create an asset or attempt to cover one.
* **Strategic Discarding:** Think carefully about which cards you discard. Avoid discarding cards that could be used to defend your own assets, unless you are confident that no one has the matching cards.
* **Bluffing:** Sometimes, it can be advantageous to bluff. For example, you can make it look like you are considering covering an asset, even if you don’t have the cards to do so. This can discourage the other player from building more assets.
* **Targeting:** Choose your targets wisely. Consider the potential benefits of covering an asset versus the risk of leaving yourself vulnerable to being covered.
* **Defensive Play:** Don’t neglect your defense. Make sure you always have some cards in your hand that can be used to defend your assets. This might mean avoiding creating assets on your turn if you have a good hand for defense.
* **Monitor Opponent Card Count:** Pay attention to how many cards each player has in their hand. This gives you a clue to how well the player can either cover someone else’s asset or defend their own asset. A player with a small hand might be trying to get by with as few cards as possible, hoping to draw cards that will improve their situation. A player with a large hand might have a lot of pairs that can be used to either cover or defend. Or the opposite might be true; that player might have a lot of useless cards.
* **Joker Strategy (If Applicable):** Jokers are powerful wild cards, so use them strategically. Save them for when you really need to cover an asset or defend your own. Don’t waste them on low-value assets unless you have no other options.
* **Discard Pile Awareness:** Always be aware of the top card on the discard pile. This card is available for anyone to use in covering or defending, so it can significantly impact your decisions.
* **Knowing When to Attack and Defend:** Not every asset is worth stealing, and not every attack needs to be defended. Sometimes it is better to let an attack succeed so you can save your cards for a later, more critical defense. Sometimes, especially if there is a low-value asset on top of another player’s stack, it might be better to let an attacker have it rather than use two of your own cards that have higher value.
* **Learn from Experience:** The best way to improve your Cover Your Assets skills is to play the game often and learn from your mistakes and successes.
* **Watch for Card Combinations:** As cards are played into the discard pile, always keep track of possible combinations. For example, let’s say a 5 and a 6 are discarded in one turn. A player might be trying to create a 5 and 6 combination by discarding those two cards so that they can combine them with the discard pile later on, in a subsequent turn. If you see such combinations forming, it might be a good idea to cover someone else’s asset before that player can complete their combination, as they will soon be trying to steal one of your assets.

## Variations

* **Team Play:** Two teams of two can play together. Partners sit opposite each other. Players can only cover assets belonging to players on the opposing team.
* **High Stakes:** Assign a monetary value to each card. The winner of each round collects from the losers based on the value of their remaining assets.

## Conclusion

Cover Your Assets is a simple yet addictive card game that can provide hours of entertainment. By understanding the rules, employing effective strategies, and practicing regularly, you can become a master of the game and dominate your opponents. So gather your friends and family, shuffle the deck, and get ready to Cover Your Assets!