A game of Cards.
Bartok (or Bartog) begins with the same rules as Uno, played with one or more (possibly incomplete) decks of playing cards. If a player has one card left in their hand they must say "Bartok" (rather than Uno), lest they get noticed by other players and forced to take 5 penalty cards.
The additional rules are:
- If you ask a question, you get a card (sometimes, even if you're not playing. At which point someone may point out that you haven't said "Bartok", whereupon you are forced to take penalty cards)
- The winner of any round gets to make up an additional rule for the next game.
- If you catch someone breaking the rules (including playing out of turn, being too slow, or incorrectly giving out penalty cards), you may hand them a card from the top of the deck as a penalty.
Typically Bartok games are played until early morning hours, frequently under the influence of alcohol, chocolate and sleep deprivation whilst the competitors attempt to remember more than 30 rules, some of which can involve switching between completely different sets of rules. Rules that involve silence, mathematical calculations (ie prime numbers, and the redefinition of the rules of mathematics to change which numbers are prime) are also seemingly common.
Bartok is believed to have been inherited from The National Science Summer School via RobertSewell, but did not originate there. It is known to be also be played at the various International Science Olympiad selection schools, as well as at the National Maths Summer School. There are also similar games (at the start of play at least) known by different names.
There is a still greater (or some might say, stupider) version of Bartok known as Mao.
See Also: