How To Play Après
In Après, the best ski day wins. As cards are passed around the table, collect “Run” cards, “Special” cards, and “Bonus” cards in an order that creates combinations to earn you points. In each round, you assemble a 12-card ski day that adds up to your score. The player with the highest cumulative score after 3 rounds wins.
The Rules
PLAYING A ROUND
1) Deal 12 cards to each player.
2) Everyone play one card simultaneously.
3) Pass unplayed cards to the left and play again.
With each turn, place your personal cards in front of you in the order played, arranged into 2 rows of 6:
When 12 cards are played in front of you, the round is over.
Score your points, shuffle the deck, and repeat for 3 rounds.
SCORING
AT THE END OF EACH ROUND:
Tally your points.
APRÈS CARDS:
Set aside your Après cards after each round and save them for scoring until the end of round 3 (the end of the game). Do not shuffle Après cards back into the deck.
AT THE END OF ROUND 3:
Game over! Add up your points from each round plus your Après cards score to determine your final score.
WINNING
The player with the most cumulative points at the end of round 3 wins the game.
TIES
If the final score is a tie, the player with the highest single-round score wins. If the single-round high scores are also a tie, challenge your opponent to a top-to-bottom beer-in-hand ski race.
The Cards
The Après Deck Contains 72 cards:
70 standard-rules game cards and 2 customizable “Go Off-Piste: Make Your Own Cards.” To play by the standard rules, remove the “Go Off-Piste” cards from the deck before shuffling.
RUN CARDS
EARN POINTS AS YOU GO
Score 1 Point
for each Green Run card.
Score 2 Points
for each Blue Run card.
Score 3 Point
for each Black Run card.
Score 7 points for a set of 2 successive Double Black Run cards.
If any Run cards are played between the 2 Double Black Run cards, then the Double Black Runs are NOT a successive set and are worth 0 points.
You may play any non-Run cards between the 2 Double Black Run cards and count the Double Black Runs as a successive set.
Playing only one Double Black Run card is incomplete and is worth no points.
SPECIAL CARDS
MIX THINGS UP
Score 3X points for your next-played Run card.
If a Pow card is played before 2 successive Double Black Run cards, score 21 points.
If played between 2 Double Black Run cards, the Pow card is void and has no effect.
If played before an incomplete Double Black Run set, the Pow card is void and can not be applied to the next-played run card.
Steal any player’s last-played Run card.
You may ONLY steal Run cards.
Replace the Run card you are stealing with the Yard Sale card and place the stolen Run card as your most recently played card.
Run cards played at the same time as the Yard Sale card may be stolen.
If stealing a Double Black Run, only take the one most recently played card.
Draw 3 cards from the main deck and choose 1 card to play.
After choosing your card, discard the 2 unplayed cards AND the Season Pass card.
If another player plays a Yard Sale card at the same time, select your card BEFORE the Yard Sale is enacted.
If another player plays a Season Pass card at the same time, take turns drawing cards in clockwise order from the dealer, then reveal your cards simultaneously.
Reorder your cards once.
Your cards must be reordered at the moment the Trail Map card is played.
If another player plays a Yard Sale card at the same time, reorder your cards BEFORE the Yard Sale is enacted.
If another player plays a Season Pass card at the same time, reorder your cards BEFORE the Season Pass is enacted.
BONUS CARDS
GAMBLE ON EXTRA POINTS
Score increasing points for each successive Lift Beer card.
If any Run cards are played between Lift Beer cards it breaks the successive streak.
The Lift Beers after the Run card start over at a value of 1 point.
You may play any non-Run cards between Lift Beers and count the Lift Beers as successive.
Score 0 points for 6+ successive cards.
Score 3 points if another player who has also played a Shotski card this round agrees to “partner” their Shotski card with yours.
Each Shotski card can only be “partnered” with 1 other Shotski card.
You may NOT “partner” with yourself, even if you have 2 Shotski cards.
Subtract 3 points for each unpartnered Shotski at the end of the round.
Score 5 points for the player with the most Big Air cards at the end of the round.
Subtract 5 points for the player with the fewest Big Air cards at the end of the round.
Score 0 points for any player with neither the most nor the fewest Big Air cards. Also score 0 points for all players tied with the most or the fewest Big Air cards.
Players with no Big Air cards should still be counted.
After each round, SAVE Après cards for scoring at the end of the game.
During each round, play Après cards like any other card by placing them into your most recently played card spot.
At the end of each round, do not score. Set aside your Après until the end of the game.
Score 7 points for the player with the most Après cards at end of game.
Subtract 7 points for the player with the fewest Après cards at end of game.
Score 0 points for any player with neither the most nor the fewest Big Air cards.
Also score 0 points for all players tied with the most or the fewest Big Air cards.
Players with no Après cards should still be counted.
GO OFF-PISTE CARDS
MAKE YOUR OWN RULES
The Après deck includes 2 Go Off-Piste cards for you to customize the game with your own house rules.
Every time we play, we think of fun new cards we can’t wait to introduce for future Après seasons. In the meantime, these blank cards give you the chance to call “Ski Patrol,” go “Goofy,” blast an “Avalanche,” or whatever other shenanigans you dream up.
Got an awesome card idea? Tag us on Instagram!
For standard gameplay, remove these cards from the deck.