How to Play Sea Salt & Paper: Draws, Duos, Stop & Last Chance
Sea Salt & Paper is a set-collection and push-your-luck card game. Players build points in hand, play pairs for special effects and decide when to end a round after reaching at least 7 points.
Scope: base game only, excluding Extra Salt.
1. Draw a card
Either draw the top two cards from the face-down deck, keep one and discard the other to a face-up discard pile, or take the top card from either discard pile.
2. Optionally play one or more Duo pairs
Matching Duo combinations can be placed face up to trigger effects. Crab pairs retrieve from a discard pile, Boat pairs grant another turn, Fish pairs draw from the deck, and Shark + Swimmer steals a random card. Played Duo cards still count for scoring.
3. At 7+ points, you may end the round
Count points in both your hand and your played area. If you have at least 7, you can keep playing or end the round by declaring Stop or Last Chance.
Stop: score immediately
All players reveal their hands and score their cards normally. This is the safe ending with no one receiving another turn.
Last Chance: opponents get one final turn
Every opponent takes one final turn, then compare card-point totals. If the caller has at least as many points as every opponent, the bet succeeds and scoring is heavily favorable to the caller; if anyone exceeds the caller, the caller loses the bet and receives only the color bonus.
Four Mermaids can win immediately
If a player places/collects all four Mermaid cards as specified by the rules, that player immediately wins the entire game.
Otherwise, play rounds to the target score
The normal victory thresholds are 40 points with 2 players, 35 with 3 and 30 with 4. Once a threshold is reached after a scored round, highest total wins.