Those that follow Fallout closely would have noticed back in May that the collector's edition of Fallout: New Vegas comes with, amongst other things,

a customized deck of cards

to play Caravan, a mini-game for gambling found within New Vegas. Well, you don't have to wait until October when New Vegas releases to start playing. The developers have provided us with the complete rule set so you can play on your own with a normal deck of cards and a friend.

Once Fallout: New Vegas Caravan plays a bit like a head-to-head version of Blackjack, with the objective being to build sets of cards -- or Caravans -- with combined values between 21 and 26. You'll need at least two decks of cards to play, as each player sets up their own deck with any 30 cards. It's fine to have the same cards as your opponent, but you yourself can't have more than one of any specific card. In other words, your deck of 30 can't have two ace of spades.The rules are pretty simple, but there are a few things to keep in mind as you work to build your three caravans filled with cards of the same suit. Rather than paraphrase them and confuse anybody, I'll list them verbatim.Caravan is played with two players building three opposing piles (or "caravans") of numbered cards. The goal is to outbid your opponent's caravan with the highest value of numbered cards without being too light (under 21) or overburdened (over 26).The game begins with each player taking eight cards from their deck and placing either one numerical card or ace, on each caravan. Players may not discard during this initial round.Once both players have started their three caravans, each player may do one of the following on their turn: 1. Play one card and draw a new card from his or her deck to their hand, 2. Discard one card from their hand and draw a new card from his or her deck, or 3. Disband one of their three caravans by removing all cards from that pile.Caravans have a direction, either ascending or descending numerically, and a suit. The suit is determined with the first card placed on a caravan, the direction by the second. All subsequent cards must continue the numerical direction or match the suit of the previous card. Cards of the same numerical value cannot be played in sequence, regardless of suit. Face cards can be attached to numeric cards in any caravan and affects them in various ways.Joker - Played against Ace, 2-10. Effects change based on whether it is an ace or numbered card (see below). Multiple jokers may be played on the same card.Ace - Value of 1. Jokers played on aces remove all other non-face cards of the ace's suit from the table. E.g. a joker played on an Ace of spades removes all spades (except face cards and that card, specifically) from the table.2-10 - Listed value. Jokers played on these cards remove all other cards of this value from the table. E.g. a joker played on a 4 of hearts removes all 4s (other than that card, specifically) from the table.Jack - Played against Ace, 2-10. Removes that card, along with any face cards attached to it.Queen - Played against Ace, 2-10. Reverses the current direction of the hand, changes the current suit of the hand. Multiple queens may be played on the same card.King - Played against Ace, 2-10. Adds the value of that card again. E.g. a king played on a 9 adds 9 to that hand. Multiple kings may be played on the same card for multiplicative effects. E.g. 4 + king = 8. 4 + two kings = 16.A player's caravan is considered sold when the value of its cards is over 21 and under 26. The other player may still outbid by increasing the value of their opposing pile while still staying within the 21 – 26 range. When each of the three competing caravans has sold, the game is over. In the event that one of the three caravan values are tied between players, the game continues until all three caravans have sold. The player with two or more sales wins the pot.

If you grab a friend and give Caravan a try, let us know how it works out in the comments below. Or just leave a comment for the heck of it. It's fun.