Last Updated on August 19, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

In Hands Up! – the Quick Thinking Card Game by FlexiQ, players become museum security guards trying to catch crafty thieves in the act. Flip cards rapidly, look for theft incidents, and be the first to snatch the diamond and claim victory!

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How to Play Hands Up!

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Objective

Catch as many theft incidents as possible—that unique combo of a Thief card, a Fingerprint card, and a Diamond card—and collect cards to become the top security guard.

Players & Duration

• Players: 2–6
• Age: 7+
• Playtime: ~15 minutes per round

Setup

1. Place the diamond token in the middle of the table.
2. Place the Power ON/OFF card next to it (choose mode based on difficulty: OFF for beginners, ON for advanced play).
3. Shuffle the 60 game cards—18 each of Diamond, Fingerprint, and Thief cards, plus 3 Lights Off and 3 Security Camera cards. Deal them evenly, face-down, into draw piles for each player.

Hands Up! Gameplay

1. Players shout “Hands up!” and simultaneously flip the top card from their draw pile into the center, ensuring no card overlaps another.
2. Continue flipping until a player spots a “Theft Incident”—a combo of Thief, Fingerprint, and Diamond cards that all share either the same quantity or are all different quantities, based on the mode.
3. The first player to notice must grab the diamond and within 5 seconds, correctly point out the three cards forming the theft incident.
4. If correct, the player collects those three cards to their personal winning pile. If wrong or too slow, it’s a false alarm: they discard two won cards (if any) and sit out the rest of that round.
5. Once resolved, put the diamond back in place and continue flipping to discover any more theft incidents, repeating the detection process until none remain.
6. That ends the round. Players begin the next one by again calling “Hands up!” and flipping cards.

Power Modes and Special Cards

• Power OFF (Beginner Mode): Ignoring card colors, look solely at quantity criteria. Special cards (Lights Off, Security Camera) are inactive but serve as bonuses when revealed.
• Power ON (Advanced Mode): Colors do matter, PLUS special cards become active:
  • Lights Off: Grants bonus if a theft incident is spotted while it’s in play.
  • Security Camera: If a Thief card matches color with a Security Camera card, grabbing the diamond lets you claim both immediately.

Ending the Game & Winning Hands Up!

After all draw piles run out, tally the cards in each player’s winning pile. The player with the most cards wins.

• In case of a tie, the player with the most Thief cards wins.
• If still tied, all tied players share the victory.

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Quick Reference Table

Feature	Details
Objective	Spot theft incidents fastest, grab diamond, collect cards
Round Start	Players say “Hands up!” and flip cards in sync
Theft Alert	Look for Thief + Fingerprint + Diamond (same or all different quantities)
Power Modes	OFF: ignore color; ON: consider color, activate special cards
Penalty	False alarm = lose 2 won cards + sit out rest of round
Winner	Most cards in winning pile (tie-breakers included)

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Video Tutorial