Scarab 21 or Why That Chia So Happy

by bobbycorwin

Scarab 21 is one of the recent additions to the Neopian game collection. Like Pyramids, this card game has a limit to how many Neopoints you can earn in a day rather than how many times you can play it, so it's a good way to accumulate money, especially since this limit is 5000 NP (nice and high). This article offers a few tips on how to play Scarab 21.

The game costs 50 NP to play, so each time you do, you aim to get at least 50 NP back, to cover expenses. Be aware that even if you come out dead even you'll be counted as winning money for the purposes of the 5000 NP per day limit, so you want to win as many NP as you can (don't you always?). You get points by placing cards in columns, aiming to get each column to add up to 21 (hence the name).The cards have the values they do in Blackjack: number cards are worth their face value; Aces are worth either 1 or 11, and are necessary to get the high-scoring Blackjack (an Ace and a single card worth 10). All the face cards are worth 10, and so you can expect a large proportion of the cards you draw to be worth this much.

Since roughly 31% (a lot) of the cards you draw will be worth 10, a column of 11 has a good chance of being cleared. Try to prepare columns so that they add up to 10, like placing 5s on 6s, 9s on 2s and the like. That way, when a 10-card comes up, you'll have a column ready to go!

Low cards can give you more chances of a 21. Don't be too quick to play low cards on top of high ones. If you have a 6 by itself, you could wait for a 5 or try for a 6-7-8 combo; if you had played it on a 10, you wouldn't be able to attempt the second option.

What you don't want to have is a column adding up to 20 - you'll need an Ace to clear it, and there are only 4 of them in the pack, each potentially getting you the high-scoring Blackjack. However, if you do get a column adding up to 20, don't hesitate to use an Ace to clear it - it's the only way you're going to be able to use that column again.

If you can, leave a column with only a 10-card in it, in case you get an Ace. In a pinch you'll be able to load another 10-card in it if you're pressed to do so and you'll still have be waiting for an Ace.

One way of playing is to count cards. It's slower, but you don't have to be pedantic about it. Just keep in mind the cards that you have been through. For instance, if you have used all four 3s and have just drawn an 8, it's probably not a good idea to play it on a 10, since the only way you could get 21 from 18 would be to draw a 2 then an Ace. Similarly, a 7-7-7 combo will be rather difficult if you don't have three 7s in your deck.

That's about all. When you clear a deck, you'll get 10 bonus points. Might not sound like a lot, and it isn't really that much, so you'd better get cracking!