Start by dealing 5 cards to each player, you're allowed a maximum of 8 in your hand at any time.
At the start of each turn pick up 1 card from the draw pile and then play up to 2 cards from your hand.
As the game progresses the aim is to add 5 player cards (one of each positional variant) to your starting line up.
You also have a bench where you can add up to player cards from your hand face down.
Then once your line up is set, with your final move play a trophy card from your hand to take the win!
Starting Five can be played by 2–4 players. There's different 'game modes' depending on how many friends your playing with, there's Exhibition and Playoff Series for 2 people and for groups of 3 or more there's Killer (also known as knockout).
An Exhibition game could take as little as 5–10 minutes, whereas Playoff Series or Killer are likely to take at least 30 minutes depending on how many players are playing.
A rulesheet is included in every deck. You can also download a digital copy at startingfivecardgame.co.uk/rulesheet
A deck contains 59 game cards and 1 instructions card. There's x20 player cards — x4 of each position: PG, SG, SF, PF & C — plus x4 Trophy cards and 25 action cards.
Not at all! If you've never played a game of basketball in your life it won't stop you playing — Starting Five is easy to learn and even easier to play!
