THE RULES

1969	The Chappiquiddick Incident	4
1973	The Agnew Capers	6
1973	Watergate	10
1974	The Fanne Foxe Affair	5
1976	D.C. Fringe Benefits	4
1980	The Abscam Sting	7
1986	The Iran-Contra Operations	9
1987	The Monkey Business Affair	4
1989	The Keating Five	7
1990	The Barry Bust	5
1991	Here Come Da Judge	6
1992	The Packwood 29	5
1994	Jones v. Clinton	8
1998	Monica Madness	6
2002	Beam Me Up	6
2003	The Immaculate Insertion	4

The cards are broken down as follows:

• There are 16 BROWN title cards, one for each scandal. Each title card has the name of the scandal and a list of the other cards associated with that scandal. They are worth 5 points.

• The 7 BLUE cards represent Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Supreme Court Justices. They are worth 15 points.

• The 13 GREEN cards represent all other elected officials, and are worth 10 points.

• The 12 RED cards represent other (non-elected) persons involved in the scandal, and are worth 5 points.

• There are 25 BLACK picture cards that represent places, things, and events, and the crimes and punishments associated with the scandal. They are worth 5 points.

• The 7 GOLD picture cards are similar to the black cards. The difference is that they are associated with more than one scandal, and therefore have a higher point value. They are worth 5 points for each scandal they are associated with.

• There are 16 help cards (one for each scandal). They have no point value and  are not used in the play of the game. They can be left on the table for reference by any player.

• The single SCANDAL card with the red, white and blue border just provides the copyright notice. The Scandal card and the help cards can also be used as replacements for lost or damaged cards.

The object of the game is to assemble the cards into sets which represent the different scandals, and laying them out into “melds” to accumulate points. The first player to reach 500 points (or any points total agreed to by the players), wins the game.



The first dealer is chosen randomly, and the turn to deal alternates if there are two players, and rotates clockwise if there are more than two. In a two player game, each player is dealt a hand of ten cards. Seven cards each are dealt if there are three or four players, and when five or six play each player gets six cards. The cards are dealt one at a time, and after the deal, the next card is placed face up on the table to start the discard pile, and the remainder of the deck is placed face down beside it to form the stock pile.



If there are two players, they take alternate turns starting with the non dealer. If there are more than two players, they take turns in clockwise rotation, beginning with the player to dealer's left. Each turn consists of the following parts:

1. The Draw. You must begin by taking one card from either the top of the stock pile or the top card on the discard pile, and adding it to your hand. If the stock pile has run out and the next player does not want to take the discard, the discard pile is turned over, without shuffling, to form a new stock pile, and play continues. You may take a card from lower down in the discard pile, provided that: 1) You immediately meld the card - either in a new combination or by laying it off on an existing meld, and 2) You also take all the cards above the card you meld.

2. Melding. If you have a valid minimum set in your hand, you may lay one such set face up on the table in front of you. A minimum set consists of three cards, as follows: 1) The brown title card, 2) A blue or a green card, and 3) Any other associated card. You can meld more than one set in a turn. Melding is optional; you are not obliged to meld just because you can.

3. Laying-off. This is also optional. If you wish, you may add cards to sets previously melded by yourself or others. There is no limit to the number of cards a player may lay off in one turn. When laying off a card on another player's meld, you place the card in front of yourself, rather than with the existing meld.

4. The Discard. At the end of your turn, one card must be discarded from your hand and placed on top of the discard pile face up. If you began your turn by picking up the top card of the discard pile you are not allowed to end that turn by discarding the same card, leaving the pile unchanged - you must discard a different card. You may however pick up the discard on one turn and discard that same card at a later turn. If you draw a card from the stock, it can be discarded on the same turn if you wish.

A player wins an individual hand by either melding or laying-off all of his or her cards, and discarding the last card. A single, final discard is required. As soon as someone goes out, play ceases. There can be no further melding or laying-off, even if the other players have valid sets or cards in their hands.


When a player goes out, all players add up the point values of all the cards they have melded, and from that subtract the point values of the cards still remaining in their hands. This net score is then added or subtracted from the players cumulative score. If the cards left in your hand total more than the cards you have melded, your score for that hand is negative. The game continues with further hands until a player reaches 500, or the points target that was decided before the game began.


Since the play of SCANDAL is similar to Rummy games and many players may be familiar with those games, Rummy type variations to the basic rules are allowed, if agreed to by the players.