Rainbow rules and how to play: a color-matching card game

Rainbow modes

• Random Match (ランダムマッチ): find opponents online (the CPU fills empty seats)
• Room Match (ルーム対戦): play friends using a room ID or a friend invite (to invite a friend, they also need to create an account and register as your friend). You can also choose the rules.
• Play vs CPU (CPU対戦): 2–4 players, three strength levels

Basic rules of Rainbow

• There are 108 cards. Each of the four colors (red, yellow, green and blue) has one 0, two each of 1–9, and two each of Skip, Reverse and Draw Two. There are also four Wilds and four Wild Draw Fours. Each player is dealt 7 cards to start.
• On your turn, play a card that matches the top card on the table in color, or in number or symbol.
• If you have no card you can play, draw one card from the deck.
• Skip skips the next player's turn, Reverse reverses the order of play, and Draw Two makes the next player draw two cards. With only two players, Reverse works the same as Skip.
• A Wild lets you choose any color, and a Wild Draw Four also makes the next player draw four cards.
• The first player to play all their cards wins the round and scores the points of the cards left in the other players' hands (number cards at face value, action cards 20 points, wilds 50 points). Points add up across rounds.

How to play on Asobi Lounge

• Cards you can play light up and rise. Tap one to select it, then press Play (出す) or tap it again to play it.
• When you play a wild card, choose the next color with the color buttons.
• When you are about to go down to one card, press Last (ラスト) before playing (the Last Call rule).

Rules you can choose

In room matches and against the CPU, you can turn each of the following three rules on or off. In random matches, all three are on.

• Draw Stacking (ドロー重ね): you can answer a Draw Two with a Draw Two or a Wild Draw Four, and a Wild Draw Four with a Wild Draw Four. The player who cannot answer draws all the stacked cards at once.
• Multi-Play (重ね出し): cards of the same number or the same symbol can be played together, as many as you like, even in different colors (the first one must be playable on the table).
• Last Call (ラストコール): if you go down to one card without pressing Last, you draw two cards.

CPU strength levels

• Easy: plays whatever playable card it feels like, and often forgets to call Last.
• Normal: builds toward the color it holds most and plays its highest-scoring cards first.
• Hard: watches how many cards its opponents have left and picks between action cards and wilds accordingly. It never forgets to call Last.

Tips

• The standard play is to save wild cards and draw cards for a comeback late in the round. But if someone goes out while you still hold a wild, it gives them 50 points.
• If you can set the color to one you hold a lot of, you will have more cards you can play.
• Check how many cards your opponents have, and when they are running low, use cards that hold them back.
• With only two players, playing a Skip or a Reverse gives you another turn. It works well when you have another card you can play right after.
• Under the Draw Stacking rule, keeping one Draw Two in your hand gives you a shield to send back a Draw Two that comes your way.

Frequently asked questions

How many players can play?

From 2 to 4. You can play alone against the CPU, and online the CPU fills any empty seats.

Are there rules I can choose?

In room matches and against the CPU, you can choose Draw Stacking (send back a Draw Two or Wild Draw Four by stacking another), Multi-Play (play the same number or symbol together) and Last Call (draw two cards if you forget to announce your last card).

What kinds of action cards are there?

Skip, Reverse, Draw Two, Wild and Wild Draw Four. When only two players are left, Reverse works the same as Skip.

Is Rainbow free to play?

Yes, it costs nothing. Games against the CPU and solo modes work right away without signing in. Online play (random matches and private rooms) and saving stats or leaderboard scores require signing in with a Google account. To play with a friend, your friend also needs to create an account and register as your friend.

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