Pegs and Jokers Rules: the Card & Marble Race Game

What is Pegs and Jokers?

Pegs and Jokers belongs to the same family of race games descended from the Indian game Pachisi, the same family as Sorry! or Ludo. Its twist: instead of a die, you move your marbles using a deck of playing cards, trading pure luck for real tactical decisions on every turn. Its exact origin is debated: some accounts trace it to the early 20th-century United States, others date the modern ruleset closer to the 1970s. The same game goes by different names elsewhere: Tock in France, Keezen in the Netherlands, Dog in Germany and Switzerland.

The goal: get all 4 of your marbles from their starting box, around the board, and into your home lane before your opponents do.

Setup

• Mercury always seats exactly 4 players, each with 4 marbles in their own color.
• The game uses a 54-card deck (a standard 52-card deck plus 2 jokers).
• Each player is dealt 13 cards, split across 3 rounds of 5, 4, and 4 cards; 2 cards stay in reserve each cycle.

How a Turn Works

1. On your turn, you play one card from your hand.
2. Playing an Ace, a King, or a Joker lets you enter a marble onto your starting square.
3. Landing on an opponent's marble sends it back to its starting box.
4. Once your marble is past your starting square, it can enter your home lane: you must land exactly on a free slot to get in.
5. If no card in your hand allows a legal move, you discard your hand and wait for the next deal.

What Each Card Does

Key Rules to Know

• Freshly entered marble: a marble that has just entered on its starting square (via an Ace or King) is fully protected: it blocks passage and cannot be passed, captured, swapped, or moved backward. Once it moves forward, that protection is lifted for good.
• Jack restriction: you can never swap with a marble that is already in a home lane.

2v2 Team Mode

On Mercury, the default mode pits two teams of two players against each other, sitting across from their partner: Red & Blue versus Green & Orange. Your team wins once both you and your partner have all 4 marbles home.

Playing as a Team

• Once all 4 of your marbles are home, you keep playing: your cards now control your teammate's marbles instead.
• With a 7, you must move one of your own marbles first; the remaining steps may then go to one of your teammate's marbles.
• With a Jack, you can swap any two marbles of different colors, and your own marble doesn't have to be involved.
• Blocked-hand rescue: if you have no legal move but hold an Ace, King, or Joker, your teammate still has marbles in reserve, and their starting square is free, you must play that card to bring their marble in. Discarding is not allowed.

What Doesn't Change

• No team immunity: landing on your teammate's marble captures it too, sending it back to its starting box just like an opponent's.
• A freshly entered marble stays protected from everyone, including your own teammate.

Pegs and Jokers around the world

Pegs and Jokers is the North American name of a card-and-marble race game played under its own name in several countries. The rules described above apply to all four variants.

Frequently Asked Questions