Nuclear Annihilation Hold'em:

Players: 4-6	Time: About an hour (??) 
 
	[probably add a couple paragraphs of initial flavor text]
The Cold War is heating up as Communists land on American soil.  You and 3 to 5 friends have been hidden away in secret underground bunkers with the ability to launch all of America’s nuclear armament.  You have lost communication with your superiors and have no idea if the government still exists or not.  All you can do is watch as the lights on the big board representing each state still fighting slowly go out.  Is your home still safe?  Do you really want to start the end of the world? Do you have any other choice?  Do you even care anymore? What about the others? Can you still trust them?

I. You need: 
 1.	A pack of playing cards including jokers
 2.	A printed list of all 50 states
 3.	An index card for each player
 4.	A pen or marker
 5.	A button – e.g., a Texas Hold 'em button, an “Easy” button from Staples, or other prop big-red button, a pin-back button, even a clothing button, etc.

 II.	The roles:
Each player will be assigned one of four roles at the beginning of the game, although your role may change over the course of the game.
 1.	Hawks (kings) want to launch.
 2.	Doves (queens) want to disarm.
 3.	Moderates (jacks) are on the fence.  As long as their home state survives they want to disarm.  After their home state is destroyed they will want to launch.
 4.	Communists (Jokers) are secret Communist agents and want to disarm so America can be safely nuked, or to see all states defeated without a launch.

III. Winning or losing the game:
The game can end in one of three ways: a successful vote to disarm, a successful vote to launch, or the destruction of all states.

 1.	Disarm:  Jacks with surviving home states, queens and jokers typically vote to disarm.  It takes two to launch so this vote fails if two or more players vote against it.  If the vote passes and one or more players reveal themselves to be jokers then you have foolishly thrown away your defenses and doomed your country, the jokers win and narrate their victorious conquest. Otherwise the queens and jacks who voted for disarmament win and narrate the end of hostilities.
 2.	Launch: Jacks whose home state has been lost and kings will vote to launch.  This vote needs two more in favor than opposed to succeed.  If the launch vote passes, then the kings and jacks who voted to launch narrate the nuclear attack and its aftermath.
 3.	Defeat:  If no decision can be made before the last state is lost, then the Communists have won and your country is no more.  The Jokers win if present and narrate their victory.  Otherwise everyone narrates their final end.

IV. Starting the game:
 1.	Give every player an index card
 2.	Every player secretly determines which state they call home and writes it down on their card.  This knowledge is secret but the players are allowed to talk about it honestly or not.
 3.	Shuffle the deck and have each player draw cards until they have a face card (including Jokers). Each player keeps their face card secret.  They may discuss it, but anything they say may be false.  The remaining cards and all cards each person's role card are reshuffled.
 4.	Chose a dealer.  This is the first player for the first round.  The dealer for the next round is the player to his left.  It is traditional to use a button to indicate who is the current dealer, and pass it to the next player on the left at the end of each round.
 5.	The dealer deals 2 cards to each player.  If you receive a joker then you must replace your current role card with it, as secretly as possible, before the end of the round. If someone notices you doing this, this could clue someone in that you are a Communist.
 6.	Each player must then introduce themselves, in character, to the group, in order starting with the dealer.  First person to specify a year between 1947 and 1991 has set the date for the scenario.  If the date is before 1959 cross off Alaska and Hawaii.  If the date is 1959, the person who specified year can choose to cross off Hawaii or not.  Any player who was from Alaska or Hawaii can reveal their card then secretly write a new one, if that state has not yet been admitted at the time of the conflict.

V. Game rounds
 1.	Table talk is encouraged as long as you remain in character, pretty much any time after the initial roles are chosen.  You may discuss your home state or role, but are not permitted to actually reveal your role card or home state card, prior to the end of the game (unless required to by the Background Check Action).
 2.	Each game round takes the form of a round of Texas Hold'em without the betting, interspersed with in-character discussions of the fictional situation. 
 3.	Each round after the first, also begins with each player being dealt two cards.
 4.	Each player, taking turns clockwise, starting with the player left of the dealer, may discard one or both cards, one at a time, from their hand, face down to replace them from the deck.  For each card they discard, the player must pick a surviving state and narrate their character noticing it dropping off the big board and cross it off the list.  The other players may or may not wish to react to this.  Any time you are dealt a joker into your hand you must keep it and replace it as your role card as secretly as you can before the hands are revealed or discarded at the end of the round.  If you are already a joker then you must discard the second joker card and narrate a state as usual.  If you are already a joker and are dealt the other joker as your second card for this round then you must keep it, fold this round and discard your hand without revealing at the end of the round.
 5.	After each player has had the opportunity to change his hand, then the dealer deals the community cards and burn cards in the following order; one burn card, dealt face down into the discard, then three cards dealt face up into the center; the “flop”.  Then the “turn” is dealt, another card into the discard face down, and a 4th card into the center.  Then the “river” is dealt, a third card face down into the discard, and a 5th card face up in the center.  The five face up cards act as community cards.  If a joker is revealed as a community card it cannot be used as one of the five cards in a valid hand to win the round.  
 6.	Winning hands are determined as per normal poker/hold'em rules, no cards are wild.  You may use 2, 1 or 0 of the cards in your hand, together with enough community cards to bring the total to 5, to make the best hand possible.  All community cards remain in the center and are available to everyone to build with. If there is a tie for the best hand, all in the tie count as winners, and are safe from the actions of other winners.  Each winner gets an opportunity to perform an action in clockwise order from the dealer.  You may either “fold” or “reveal”. “Folding” concedes that you have not won, rather than revealing your cards. If no one wishes to reveal their cards first, the player to the left of the deal must choose to reveal or fold, and continuing clockwise.
 7.	The order of winning hands from stronger to weaker is – (aces always counting high)
 a.	Royal Flush – ace, king, queen, jack, 10 all in one suit
 b.	Straight flush – any 5 cards in one suit in order, with aces counting low – highest card breaks ties within the category
 c.	Four of a Kind – four cards of the same rank - the higher foursome wins, and if tied, the highest 5th card wins
 d.	Full house – 3 cards of one rank, and two cards of another rank – the higher threesome wins, or if still tied the higher pair wins
 e.	Flush – 5 cards of the same suit, but not in order – the highest card of the flush breaks a tie between flushes, then the second highest, and so on.
 f.	Straight – 5 cards in order, with aces counting high or low, but not all of the same suit- the highest card breaks ties
 g.	Three of a kind – 3 cards of the same rank – the highest threesome breaks ties, as does the highest 4th card, and even the highest 5th card – ie an ace, ace, ace, king, queen hand beats and ace, ace, ace, king, jack hand.
 h.	two pair – 2 cards of one rank, and 2 cards of another rank – highest pair breaks tie, then second highest pair, then 5th cards.
 i.	Nothing / High Card – a hand that does not fit any of the above criteria is ranked by it's highest card, then next highest card and so on.
 j.	The higher category always wins, ie. Any flush beats any straight (other than a straight flush).
 k.	Hands that are identical, or identical other than suit within the same category, tie allowing two or more winners.
 8.	Each winner performs an action (described below). Actions happen before the community hand and individual hands are discarded, but after any hands that didn't fold have been revealed.  Players may elect to discard their hands face up or face down after the actions have all occurred.
 9.	The players may discuss their feelings or suspicions about the war and each other before passing the button to the left and then shuffling the deck and starting a new round.

VI. Actions:
The winners of each round may take one of the following five actions in clockwise order starting from the dealer:

 1.	Nuke: Name an additional state for each player that will be scratched off the list.
 2.	Intel: Look through the deck, possibly learning what roles are taken, and chose a card to swap with one of the cards from your hand.  The discarded card is placed face down.
 3.	Background Check: Secretly look at the role and home state of another player who did not win this round of holdem.
 4.	Persuade: Choose a player who did not win this round of hold'em.  Pick up the community cards and your hand.  Secretly chose one of these cards and give it to the other player.  discard all other cards, including your hand, face down and draw a new hand.  The other player must pick up their hand and role card along with the card you gave them.  If the new card is a role then they swap their role with it.   If it is not a role then they must swap one of their hand cards with it.  This should happen under the table or after some shuffling to obscure what is replaced. There is little reason for a non-joker to give someone else a joker but if it happens and you are already a joker then simply discard it as if it was your extra card.  The replaced card are discarded face down.  
 5.	Propose a Vote: Propose a vote for either disarmament or launching and give a short speech to encourage the others.  Each player then secretly writes their votes, and any message they wish to pass to you, on a note card.  You collect all the cards and count the vote.  If the vote passes then the game is over.  Remember that two or more no votes will prevent disarmament and a vote to launch requires two more in favor than opposed.

VII. A little strategy:
	Queens should make sure there are no Communists and then push for disarmament.  If you find or suspect a Communist, you can use Persuade to change their role.
	Kings don't care if there are Communists, but often need to use Persuade actions to make other players Kings (or later in the game Jacks) in order to set up for a winning launch vote.  A King uncertain of support may wish to discard even strong hands in the early game in hopes of destroying enough states to bring the Jacks to their side.
	Jacks can play like Queens in the early game, or can destroy their own state and play like Kings, especially if they suspect (or know of) a Communist.
	Jokers might press for an early disarm before the Jacks have converted.  It's also tempting to use the Intel action to determine if there are 2 or more kings, or to use Persuade to convert people to queens, in hopes of either disarming, or at least delaying launch until all the states are wiped out.