Hollywood Sensation is a trick-taking game for two players, each of whom takes on the role of a starlet hoping for fame — but not too much fame, mind you, as that would be gauche, and besides, it would be harder to hide any scandals! Each round, the players randomize the strength order of the four suits. Cards collected in two suits are worth positive points, and the other two suits are negative points. Each player is dealt a small hand, then the top card of the deck is flipped face up. The players compete in a must-follow trick-taking game, with the winner of each trick taking the face-up card from the deck in their hand, and the other player doing the same with a face-down card from the top of the deck. After the round, the players' points are converted to a type of meta points by moving a pawn on a red carpet. In subsequent rounds, the player who is behind in meta points begins the round by setting cards aside from their hand to create a small private deck; they will draw from this deck once the main draw pile is exhausted.