Are you good at cheating? If so, then Mito is the game for you! Learn the rules of Mito and make sure you don’t get caught.
Material
To play Mito, the following items are essential:
- to be at least 7 years old
- number of players between 3 and 5
- a game box containing 72 cards
Installation
- Choose a player to be the bug keeper and offer him/her the card (the green bug keeper card)
- The bug keeper shuffles the cards
- She deals 8 cards face down (one per player) to each player, starting with the player on her left
- The remaining deck of cards is placed in the center of the table and will act as the deck
- Turn over the first card of the deck and it will be the discard pile
- The game goes clockwise
- The game can now start
Goal of the game
The goal of the game Mito is to be the first player to get rid of all his cards, either by cheating or by playing honestly.
Flow of the game
- The bug keeper is the one who starts the game
- She must play a card of higher or lower value than the one that was turned over on the discard pile, and she must put it on the discard pile (the turned over card)
Example: The returned card is a 4 card. The starting player (the bug keeper) must place a card of value 3 (lower than 4) or a card of value 5 (higher than 4) on top of the returned card.
Note: If it is a 5 card that is on the table, the card below it is the 4 and the card above it is the 1, because 5 is the maximum value for this game. If a 1 card is on the table, the card below it is the 5. - The player to his left does the same, putting down a card of higher or lower value than the last player who played.
- Each player takes turns playing a card higher or lower than the one previously played
- The game continues in this way until one player manages to get rid of all his cards first
Note: The gray colored cards are the only cards that do not represent a special power. The other cards have special powers when you play them.Special cards
- The “Mosquito” Card
When you put this card down, all players (including you) will try to squash this card with their hand as quickly as possible. Whoever puts down their hand last will have to receive a card from all players. - The “mito” card
This card cannot be played and cannot be offered to another player when it is a pledge. You can only get rid of it by cheating. - The “cockroach” card
When you play this card, all players (including you) must play a card of the same value as this special card as soon as possible (e.g. if the “cockroach” card is a 4, all players must play a card of value 4 as soon as possible). The card of the same value that is placed first will be the card that will be retained and the player who placed this card first will start the next round. - The “spider” card
When you play this card, you can choose a card from your deck (except for the “mito” card, which cannot be offered) and offer it to a player of your choice. - The “ant” card
When you play this card, all other players will have to draw a card from the deck.
The bug keeper
- The bug guard is the player who got the green card at the beginning of the game.
- Her role is to keep an eye on players who are trying to cheat
- When she notices a player cheating (a player who is trying to get rid of his card by cheating), she must call “stop” and at that point, the game and all cheating attempts must stop
- The player accused of cheating will be asked to tell the truth about whether or not they cheated.
- If he is guilty, the bug keeper will have to give him a card from her deck with the “bug keeper” card on it and this player will become the new bug keeper
- If he is not guilty, the bug keeper must draw a card from the deck and this player will remain the bug keeper
Watch out!
- The bug keeper is the only player who is not allowed to cheat
- The bug keeper is the only player who is allowed to play a “mito” card when it is her turn to play
- The bug keeper is the only player who is allowed to accuse another player of cheating
Permitted to cheat
It is allowed to cheat when you play Mito. Cheating in Mito is to get rid of one card at a time without the bug guard noticing you.
Example: Take a card from your deck and throw it under the table, put a card up your sleeve, put two cards down when it is your turn, put a card in your pocket, etc.
Watch out!
- All hands of each player must be visible. It is forbidden to place your hand(s) under the table
- When you have only one card left in your hand, you are not allowed to get rid of it by cheating. You must place it on the discard pile according to the rules of the card values (lower or higher)
End of the game
The game ends when one player gets rid of all his cards first. This player is the winner of the game.
Variant
- Mito with several rounds
When a player manages to get rid of all his cards, the first round ends and the points of each player will be noted on a sheet of paper. At this point, all the other players who still have cards in their hands must keep track of their points. The points obtained will be negative points for each player, i.e. it is better to obtain as few points as possible. - Keeping score
When a player has no more cards in hand, the other players will count the points of the cards they still have in hand:
-A gray card is worth 1 point
-Special cards are worth 5 points, except for the “mito” card
-The “mito” card is worth 10 points
Each player totals the points he/she has obtained and writes them down on a piece of paperµ
Note: the player who managed to get rid of all his cards scores 0 points and is the best score.
The second round begins by choosing a bug keeper that is to the left of the one chosen in the last round. Each time a round ends, the new pin keeper will be the player to the left of the old pin keeper.
When all players have been able to have the role of the pinned goalie per end, the game ends and the player with the least amount of points at the end of the last end is the winner.