Last Updated on March 31, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

The Great Dalmuti is a shedding-type card game published by Wizards of the Coast in February 1995. It is a commercial variant of the popular card game President and the Japanese game Daifugō. The goal is to become the Greater Dalmuti and maintain that position by being the first to get rid of all the cards in your hand.

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How to Play The Great Dalmuti

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Components

The game includes:

• Two 40-card decks, each containing:
  • Twelve 12s, eleven 11s, ten 10s, and so on down to one 1.
  • Two Jesters, which function as wild cards. (A Jester played alone counts as a 13; when played with another card, it takes on that card’s value.)

Card Names and Ranks

Each rank has a medieval-themed name:

Card	Rank
Jester	13 (wild)
Peasant	12
Stonecutter	11
Shepherdess	10
Cook	9
Mason	8
Seamstress	7
Knight	6
Abbess	5
Baroness	4
Earl Marshal	3
Archbishop	2
Dalmuti	1

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Setup

1. Each player draws a card to determine seating. The lowest-ranked card becomes the Greater Dalmuti, and the highest becomes the Greater Peon. Other players take roles accordingly:
   • Lesser Dalmuti sits to the left of the Greater Dalmuti.
   • Greater Peon sits to the right of the Greater Dalmuti.
   • Lesser Peon sits to the right of the Greater Peon.
   • All others are Merchants.

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Gameplay

Dealing

The Greater Peon shuffles and deals the entire deck. Some players may receive more cards than others.

Taxes

• The Greater Peon gives the Greater Dalmuti their two lowest cards and receives any two in return.
• The Lesser Peon gives their lowest card to the Lesser Dalmuti, who returns any one card.
• A player holding two Jesters may call a Revolution, canceling taxes. If the Greater Peon calls a Greater Revolution, seating is reversed.

Playing Rounds

1. The Greater Dalmuti starts by playing a set of one or more matching cards (e.g., four 12s, two 9s, or a single 7).
2. Play moves clockwise. The next player must:
   • Play the same number of cards at a lower rank.
   • Use a Jester as a wild card.
   • Pass if unable or unwilling to play.
3. The round ends when all but one player have passed. The last player to play leads the next round.

Winning a Hand

• A player who sheds all their cards sits out the rest of the hand.
• The hand ends when only one player has cards remaining.

Reseating

For the next hand, players are reseated in the order they shed their cards:

• The first player to go out becomes the Greater Dalmuti.
• The last remaining player becomes the Greater Peon.

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Ending the Game

There is no fixed win condition. The game continues until players agree to stop or a set time limit is reached.

Similar Card Games:

• President – A classic shedding game where players aim to climb the social hierarchy.
• Daifugō – A Japanese variant of President with similar ranking mechanics.
• Karma – A shedding game with wild cards and strategic twists.
• Tichu – A team-based climbing game with special card abilities.
• The Crew: The Quest For Planet Nine – While not a shedding game, it features cooperative trick-taking with strategic play.