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Set - The Family Game of Visual Perception

The object of the game is to identify a 'set' of 3 cards from 12 cards laid out on the table. Each card has four features, which can vary as follows:

SYMBOLS: Each card has ovals, squiggles or diamonds on it;
COLORS: The symbols are red, green or purple;
NUMBER: Each card has one, two or three symbols on it;
SHADING: The symbols are either filled in, outlined, or striped.

A 'set' consists of 3 cards in which each of the card's features, looked at one-by-one, are the same on each card, or, are different on each card. All of the features must separately satisfy this rule. In other words: shape must be either the same on the 3 cards, or different on each of the 3; color must be either the same on the 3 cards, or different on each of the 3; etc.

THE PLAY
The dealer shuffles the cards and lays 12 (in a rectangle) face up on the table so that they can be seen by all. Players remove 'sets' of 3 cards from anywhere on the table. Each 'set' is checked by the others. If correct, the 'set' is kept by the player and the dealer replaces the 3 cards with 3 from the deck. Players do not take turns, but pick up 'sets' as soon as they see them. A player must call 'set' before picking up the cards. After he/she has called 'set', no other player can pick up cards until that player is finished. The 'set' must be picked up within a few seconds after calling it. If a player calls 'set' and does not have one, he/she loses one point, and the 3 cards are returned to the table.

If all players agree that there is no 'set' in the 12 cards, 3 more cards are laid face up (there are ~ 33:1 odds that a 'set' is present in 12 cards, and ~ 2500:1 odds when 15 cards are on the table). The 3 cards are not replaced when the next 'set' is picked up, reducing the number to 12 again.

The play continues until the deck is depleted. At the end of the play there may be 6 or 9 cards remaining which do not form a 'set'. The number of 'sets' held by each player are then counted. One point is given for each 'set' and added to their score. The deal then passes to the person on the dealer's left and the play resumes with the deck being reshuffled. When all the players have dealt, the game ends; the highest score wins.

When playing solitaire, if the player does not find a 'set', 3 more cards are laid down with a penalty of one 'set'. To win the game, the player must remove this penalty by finding the 'set' on the table after the deck is exhausted.