How to play the Houston Rockets history timeline

Every card here is a Rockets milestone, described in a line under the headline, and you need to order them by year. One card starts the line with its year showing. Take each new card and put it before, after or between what's down. When the spot is right, the year comes up; wrong ones still land in the true spot but take one of your three lives.

The franchise began somewhere other than Houston, and it has always been a team that chases stars: top overall picks, big trades and veteran signings fill this deck. That's exactly what makes it hard, because star acquisitions from different eras read alike. Look at the description for teammates or the playoff seed. The championship cards are fairly easy; the trades and signings around them are where people slip.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 24 of the 24 cards you might be dealt. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Franchise debuts and drafts Elvin Hayes The San Diego Rockets take the top pick in their first year
Team relocates to Houston The Rockets move to Texas for good
Made the playoffs for the first time in Houston The franchise reaches the postseason in Texas
Reached the Eastern Conference Finals Made a deep run before realignment sent them west
Moses Malone named league MVP The young center wins his first MVP award
Reached the NBA Finals behind Moses Malone The center carries a sub-.500 team past three rivals to the Finals
Drafted Ralph Sampson first overall Took the Virginia big man with the top pick
Drafted Hakeem Olajuwon first overall Selected the Houston center to build the 'Twin Towers'
Reached the Finals with the Twin Towers Sampson and Olajuwon fall to the Celtics
Won the first title in franchise history Hakeem earns MVP and Finals MVP beating the Knicks
Won back-to-back titles as a 6-seed A midseason Drexler trade fuels a sweep of Orlando
Signed Charles Barkley Added the star forward to chase another title
Signed Scottie Pippen Formed a veteran trio with Hakeem and Barkley
Steve Francis becomes the new face of the team The rookie guard arrives to lead the post-Hakeem era
Drafted Yao Ming first overall Selected the Chinese center with the top pick
Toyota Center opens The Rockets leave The Summit for a new downtown arena
Traded for Tracy McGrady Paired the scoring wing with Yao Ming
Won 22 straight games Reeled off one of the longest win streaks in NBA history
Traded for James Harden Acquired the star guard from Oklahoma City
Signed Dwight Howard in free agency Added the star center alongside Harden
Reached the Western Conference Finals Harden leads a run that falls to Golden State
James Harden named MVP of a 65-win team The guard tops the league after a record scoring season
Traded for Russell Westbrook Reunited Harden with his former OKC teammate
Traded James Harden to the Nets The star guard forces his way out of Houston