What is Revolution?
In the standard game the ranks run from the 3, the lowest card, up to the 2, the highest, and a set of 2s clears the pile. With Revolution switched on, any set of four cards of one rank starts a revolution. The order is reversed at once: the 3 becomes the highest card and the 2 the lowest, so every play after it must be equal to or lower than the one before in the usual order.
The set of four itself is judged in the order in effect when it is played. As in the standard game, four of a kind can be led or played on another four of a kind that it equals or beats. Once it is down, the next player must follow it in the reversed order.
While the revolution lasts, a set of 3s clears the pile in place of the 2s. Another set of four starts a counter-revolution and brings the usual order back, and each further set of four turns it again. Every new deal starts in the usual order, so the card exchange between rounds always works with the usual ranks.
Rule changes
| Rule | Standard President | Revolution |
|---|---|---|
| Four of a kind | Standard PresidentAn ordinary play: it beats an equal or lower set of four and nothing else happens. | RevolutionStarts a revolution at once. The set is judged in the order in effect when it is played; the next play is judged in the reversed order. |
| Card order | Standard President3 lowest, then 4 up to King and Ace, and 2 highest. | RevolutionDuring a revolution: 2 lowest, then Ace down to 4, and 3 highest. |
| Clearing the pile | Standard PresidentA set of 2s clears the pile and its player leads the next trick. | RevolutionDuring a revolution a set of 3s clears the pile instead, and a set of 2s is the weakest play. |
| Back to the usual order | Standard PresidentThe order never changes. | RevolutionAnother four of a kind starts a counter-revolution and restores the usual order; each further four of a kind reverses it again. |
| New round | Standard PresidentEvery round uses the usual order. | RevolutionUnchanged: every round starts in the usual order, whatever happened in the last one. |
| Other options | Standard PresidentJokers, runs, 8 clears the pile, the card exchange and the number of rounds can be chosen. | RevolutionRevolution works with all of them. Three of a kind and a joker count as four of a kind, and a joker played alone stays the highest play. With runs, a run must be equal or lower, measured by its bottom card, and a run of four starts no revolution. |
History
Revolution comes from Dai Fugō, the Japanese climbing game generally described as the likely direct ancestor of President. In the usual Dai Fugō rules, any four of a kind, including one made with a joker, causes a revolution; a second four of a kind is a counter-revolution that restores the original order, and for a new deal the cards always go back to their original order. There the reversed ranking takes effect from the next time the table is cleared. Here it takes effect at once, as soon as the four cards are down.
President also has a Western form of the rule, in which four of a kind, played at once or as four single cards in a row, reverses both the ranking of the cards and the direction of play. Here the direction of play stays the same.