How to play 12 (aka Jamaican Sniping)

Dear FutureMe, "This is mostly so I don't forget, but please use this to learn 12. It is my life's mission to spread it. History: this game was invented this week by a cabin at Yosemite. The game was devised by me (Sam Levey), Juan Campos, Thomas Zachariah, and Aaron Uh. It is awesome. This game works best with 3-6 players, although could be done with 2 or 7. 8 would probably suck. If it's 1, then you have no friends. Each player is dealt 5 cards by the dealer. Each player takes turns starting with the dealer's right, going away from the dealer. To start, a card is flipped over from the remaining deck and placed faced up for all to see. The player whose turn it is must either lay down a card that makes the 2 cards add to 12 (J's, Q's, and K's are worth 11, Aces are worth 1) or play the same number, so for example, if the card is a 4, the player would either play a 4 or an 8. If the player can make 12 or doubles, he or she takes the pile, lays it off to the side, and takes another turn. (ie, another card is flipped from the top of the deck) If the player cannot make 12 or doubles, he or she must play another card (anything) and then draw a card. As as result, the only way to lose cards in your hand is to make 12 (or doubles) and take piles. If the player fails to make 12, then it is the next player's turn. For the next player, and each subsequent one, only the card on the top of the pile of face up cards is taken into consideration, however if 12 is made, all of them are taken. (for example, if the pile is, from bottom to top, 2, q, j, 4,7, and I played a 5 or a 7, I would take the entire pile) If any player runs out of cards in their hand, the game is immediately over. If the deck runs out first, then the game goes around one more time: if anybody takes the current pile, the game is over, or if not, the game ends on the person who drew the last card. If the last cards are drawn and there is no face up pile, then the game is immediately over. A special circumstance occurs when a player makes 12 with a 6. Since 6's are both 12 and doubles, they are special and rare, and when that happens, every other player must draw one card from the deck, going to the right. If the deck runs out before everybody finishes drawing, the game is over, and those who did not draw got lucky. After each round, the score should be totaled: a player's score is equal to the number of cards they have picked up MINUS the number still in their hand at the end of the game. (note: NOT the value of each card: only the number of them.) The minimum score then, is -5. The highest score I have seen was in a game of 3, with a score of 21. If you are playing multiple rounds, then you may either total the score and end up with a cumulative winner (it is customary to play 12 rounds of 12) or simply note the winner of each round. If multiple rounds, then the dealer should be rotated to the left, and if desired, players may alternate which direction the game proceeds. I think that about covers all the lose ends, lol. Enjoy." Can you believe you just climbed 3 waterfalls, jammed and ate smores in the rain, biked with no hands for an hour, whined and sifted through chaperone lies, watched zoolander, again, had ramen for breakfast 4 days in a row, went stargazing, for about 10 minutes, looked at a mirror lake, and are working on a quilt for a pillow tomorrow? Yosemite = fun. Have fun, bro. Sam Levey