How to play
How to play with each other is as important as how to play the game itself. In line with the philosophy of Junior, games published by Junior encourage players to decide upon their own social solutions to otherwise arbitrary rules traditionally set by games.
How you shuffle, deal, begin a game, and resolve ties is up to you.
“Shuffle the deck and deal…”
The method of shuffling and dealing cards has historically differed per game and per region. While there are many ways to shuffle cards—even more if you consider cutting the deck—the goal of shuffling is only to randomize the sequence of cards. However you prefer to shuffle cards is likely to suffice.
Though different games might have a traditional dealing style—assuming the deck was shuffled thoroughly—there’s little difference between dealing in an alternating fashion and dealing all cards to each player at once. Just as with shuffling, whatever order you choose to deal cards is probably fine.
By omitting requirements for shuffling and dealing, you spend less time on matters that don’t matter, and more time playing and socializing.
“Choose a player to begin.”
For all games from Junior, no suggestion exists for how to choose a player to begin. In casual play, who plays first has little effect or advantage. By merely alternating between who begins each round, players largely dilute the impact of any possible advantage. How you decide who begins the game then becomes a trivial decision.
Decide via a coin toss, a rolled die, a flipped card. Maybe whoever won the round leads the next. Or the reverse. The oldest player or the youngest player. Any method that works for you works for the game.
“Rejoice in the shared victory!”
Games are best played in a series of rounds. That allows players to have opportunities to overcome their opponents, but it does not preclude the possibility of a tie. When that happens, everyone wins! Why not? Share the victory. If you absolutely must break a tie, just play another round.
Unless playing in a super-serious championship, the goal of playing games is to have fun with your friends and family. No one person has to win or lose. If a good time was had, that’s what matters most.