Madam, Watchdog & Burglar is a trick-taking game for 3 to 5 people. It is a "may follow" game, where following suit is not required, and there is no single trump suit. Instead, the suits form a rock-paper-scissors type relationship, with Madams winning over Watchdogs, Watchdogs winning over Burglars, and Burglars winning over Madams. The Madam cards contain a number of diamonds shown on the cards which represent the victory points in the game. The player who collects the most diamonds wins. However, players must manage their trick-earnings well, as they have to discard a Madam card for each Burglar card they've acquired unless they have enough Watchdog cards to negate their Burglar cards.