THE MATCH

First to 11 points wins. You only score on your own serve. If you win a rally while receiving, you don't get a point — you just take over the serve (side-out).

THE BAR (tug-of-war)

Every shot moves the marker. Reach +9 and CPU cracks — you win the rally. Reach −9 and you crack — you lose the rally. The server starts the rally already down 1, so the receiver has a slight edge.

A RALLY

1. Serve — server rolls 1d6. Marker shifts by (roll − 3) toward them.
2. Return — receiver rolls 1d6. Same math.
3. Then players alternate playing one card per turn, starting with the server.

THE CARDS

DINK · 1d6 vs opponent's last roll. Delta = your roll − their last. So if they hit a 6 last, dinking is dangerous. Also draws you a new card.

DRIVE · 2d6 with raw value as your push. Costs 6 lead up front, so net = (sum of 2d6) − 6. Roll an 8 and you actually lose 2. Roll a 12 and you crush them.

LOB · 2d6 vs opponent's 2d6 contest. Your value is max(your roll, your current lead). They roll 2d6 to track it. Difference is the swing — but if they beat you by 8+, you lose the rally outright.

PRESSURE CHECK (DINK only)

When you're trailing by 4+ on the bar, DINKing gets risky. You must roll (your deficit − 2)+ or the ball pops up and you lose the rally.

• Down 4 → need 2+
• Down 5 → need 3+
• Down 6 → need 4+
• Down 7 → need 5+
• Down 8 → need 6 (one shot)
• Down 9 → auto-loss

The deeper your hole, the harder DINKing out becomes — eventually you have to swing for power.

EDGE CASES

• Out of cards? SCRAMBLE — burns 3 lead to draw one.
• Long rally? After 12 shots, the trailing side gets one d6 to steal. They need to roll ≥ the current gap or the leader wins it.
• Each new point starts with a fresh 5-card hand.