Keeping score in Dékal, cancelled cards included
At the end of each round, you type the total of everyone's grid, once the matching neighbours are removed: Teamzy adds up the totals, ranks from lowest to highest and ends the match as soon as someone reaches 100.
Dékal in 30 seconds
Dékal is a card game by Claude Clément, published by Gigamic, for 2 to 6 players. Everyone gets 16 cards, numbered 1 to 10, and lays them face down in a 4 by 4 grid. Each turn, everybody reveals one card from their grid, then each player takes one of the revealed cards from the middle and slides it into their grid, pushing a row or a column. After 16 turns every card is face up: cards of the same value that touch cancel each other out, you add up the rest, and the lowest total wins. For a longer game, you play several rounds and add the points up until a player reaches 100.
What each card is worth
At the end of the round, each card in your grid is worth its number, from 1 to 10. A card that touches a card of the same value, in a row or a column (never diagonally), does not count: both are cancelled, and so are three or more identical cards in a chain. You add up the cards that are left: the lower your total, the better. Everyone then adds their total to those of the previous rounds.
The points of a round
| What counts | Points |
|---|---|
| Each card of your grid (1 to 10) | its value |
| Cards of the same value that touch (in a row or a column) | 0 |
| Same total | fewest cards left wins |
A grid counted card by card
Emma's grid at the end of round 3 of the example. The two 7s touch in a row, the two 3s in a column and the three 4s in a row: those seven cards are cancelled. Nine cards are left.
Total of the grid: 1 + 2 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 1 + 6 + 2 + 9 = 34
The two 6s touch only at a corner: both stay. Emma types 34 in Teamzy.
The example's score sheet
The three rounds of the match told below, with the total of each grid as you type it in Teamzy. Chloé's total reaches 104 in round 3: the match ends.
| Round | Emma | Lucas | Chloé | Nathan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 31 | 24 | 38 | 27 |
| 2 | 22 | 35 | 29 | 41 |
| 3 | 34 | 30 | 37 | 26 |
| Total | 87 | 89 | 104 | 94 |
A match in three rounds, up to 100
Emma, Lucas, Chloé and Nathan are playing a four-player match, over several rounds, ending at 100.
- 1Round 1: Emma 31, Lucas 24, Chloé 38 and Nathan 27. Lucas takes the lead.
- 2Round 2: Emma 22, Lucas 35, Chloé 29 and Nathan 41. The totals become Emma 53, Lucas 59, Chloé 67 and Nathan 68.
- 3Round 3: Emma scores 34 (her grid is the one above), Lucas 30, Chloé 37 and Nathan 26. The totals become Emma 87, Lucas 89, Nathan 94 and Chloé 104.
- 4Chloé reaches 100: the match ends at the end of that round, and the lowest total wins.
Emma wins with 87 points, ahead of Lucas (89), Nathan (94) and Chloé (104).
In Teamzy, at the end of each round you type the total of everyone's grid, cancelled cards already removed: 34 for Emma in round 3. The app adds up the totals, ranks from lowest to highest and ends the match as soon as someone reaches 100.
The questions that come up at the table
Once the 16 turns are played, each card in your grid is worth its number, from 1 to 10, except identical cards that touch, which are cancelled. You add up the cards that are left, and the lowest total wins. If your table plays several rounds, everyone adds up their totals and the match ends as soon as a player reaches or passes 100.
Dékal rules by Gigamic (PDF, in French)Cards of the same value that touch along a side: next to each other in a row, or one above the other in a column. Two cards that touch only at a corner, diagonally, do not cancel. Three or more identical cards in a chain are all cancelled, and two identical cards far apart count normally, each with its number.
With the same total, the rules give the win to the player whose grid has the fewest cards left, that is, the one who cancelled the most cards. If it is still a tie, the win is shared. Teamzy shows a tie: check it against your grids.
With a single round, when the 16 turns are played and the points counted. With several rounds, at the end of the one in which a player reaches or passes 100 points in total: reaching 100 does not win, the lowest total does, like Emma in the example. In Teamzy, the goal of 100 can be changed in the game's settings.
On the first turn, the player who reveals the lowest card takes the First Player pawn, which then passes to the neighbour on the left after every turn. When you play several rounds, the rules say to change the first player at the start of each one. Teamzy has no dealer to pick for Dékal: there is nothing to set.
The game has 100 cards, from 1 to 10, ten of each value. Each player uses only 16, and the cards that are left serve only to settle who starts on the first turn. Dékal is played by 2 to 6, as in Teamzy, in 15 to 25 minutes a round.
Dékal XL is the same game in a large format. The rules do not change: Teamzy counts the same way.
At the end of each round, count your grid at your table, cancelled cards removed, then type your total in the box next to your name. Teamzy does not see the grids: it adds up the totals of each round, ranks from lowest to highest and keeps the history of your matches.
Your next Dékal match, without pen and paper
Count your grid, type your total at the end of each round, let the app add up the totals and find your matches in the history. Free to start, Premium as a one-time purchase, no account and no ads.
